Chapter 157
Kane's POV
We finally escaped that goddamn desert.
The sand beneath our feet gradually turned to gravel, and the outline of distant mountains appeared warped and blurred in the heat waves. The column dragged forward with exhausted steps, every face written with depletion.
I could hear coughing behind me, children crying, and the heavy wheezing of the elderly.
"Narrow ridge ahead," Steven came up beside me, his voice hoarse. "Single file only. It'll slow us down even more."
I looked up at the winding path along the mountainside, steep cliffs on both sides.
Shit. If we got hit in terrain like this, we wouldn't even have room to form up.
"Spread the warriors front and back," I said. "Elders and children in the middle. Everyone stay alert."
Steven nodded and turned to relay the orders.
I gripped the tattered Lightning Wolf Pack banner in my hand, the fabric snapping softly in the wind.
Blaze growled deep in my consciousness: "Something's coming."
I whipped my head around, squinting back the way we'd come. A plume of dust rose on the horizon, glaring in the afternoon sun.
That wasn't wind-blown sand—that was the trail of a large force on the move.
"Fuck," I muttered.
"What's wrong?" Dorothy ran over from the column, her face still slick with sweat from distributing water skins.
"Blood River pursuers," I said shortly. "Blaze can feel their bloodlust. Maybe an hour behind us."
Dorothy's face went pale instantly, but she quickly bit her lip, not letting fear creep into her voice. "Can we outrun them?"
"Impossible." I glanced back at the stumbling elderly and mothers carrying children. "Unless we abandon all the dead weight."
"So what's your answer?" She looked me straight in the eye.
I was silent for a moment, then shouted: "Steven! Take a few of our best warriors and hold the rear. Everyone else, push the column faster—run if you can, walk if you must, but get through that ridge no matter what!"
Without a word, Steven started calling names, picking out the five strongest warriors. They quickly checked their weapons, their expressions both resolute and calm—these men knew what holding the rear meant.
"Frank." I turned to my grandfather. "You get Dorothy out of here. Now."
But Frank shook his head, something I'd never seen before flickering in those clouded eyes. "These old bones can't run fast. I'll be more useful staying."
"Grandpa—"
"I left Ivan behind once," he cut me off, voice soft but every word clear. "That was because I had something entrusted to me. But it became the biggest regret of my life. This time, nothing will make me abandon my grandson and walk away alone."
My throat tightened. I couldn't find words.
"I'm staying too." Dorothy spoke up suddenly, her hand gripping tight around the dagger I'd given her.
"Are you insane?" I nearly shouted. "You haven't even awakened your wolf—staying here is suicide!"
"So what?" She looked at me stubbornly. "You said the pack doesn't abandon anyone. Well, I'm not abandoning you either."
There was something in her eyes I couldn't argue with. I opened my mouth, then could only let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine," I said. "But you follow my orders. Understand?"
Dorothy nodded, a pale but genuine smile crossing her face.
The column began moving faster through the narrow ridge. Children's cries, elders' coughs, mothers' soothing voices all blended together. I stood in place, watching them disappear one by one around the bend in the mountain path, something indescribable aching in my chest.
"They're here," Blaze warned.
I turned and saw the dust cloud drawing closer.
Soon I could make out the running figures—about twenty or so, all Blood River elite warriors. The one in front was especially massive, and even at this distance I could feel the savage aura rolling off him.
"Use the terrain," I told Steven. "This path only fits one at a time. Their numbers won't mean shit."
Steven nodded, quickly positioning warriors at advantageous points. I handed the banner to Frank and rolled my shoulders, feeling Blaze's power surge through me.
The pursuers charged up the ridge fast. The big bastard in front grinned, showing sharp fangs. "Lightning Wolf Pack remnants? Perfect. Saves us the trouble of hunting you down."
I didn't answer, just bent slightly forward, feeling the change begin. Black fur erupted from beneath my skin, muscles swelled, bones cracked and popped.
I didn't fully shift—just let Blaze's power partially manifest. In terrain this tight, full wolf form would be too clumsy.
When the first Blood River warrior rushed me, I sidestepped his claws and drove my fist into his throat. The sound of shattering bone rang clear, and he went down before he could even scream.
"Attack!" the lead warrior roared.
The battle erupted. The narrow path became our advantage—Blood River's warriors couldn't attack simultaneously, forced to come at us one at a time. Steven and the other warriors worked in perfect sync, using the terrain to repel the enemy again and again.
But the cost kept mounting. A young warrior got his chest torn open by enemy claws, blood spraying across the rocks.
He screamed, staggered backward, and finally lost his footing and fell off the cliff.
"Goddammit!" I snarled through gritted teeth, Blaze's speed letting me move like lightning through the enemy ranks. My claws ripped through throat after throat, blood spattering my face.
Another warrior fell. Then a third.
The wounds on my body multiplied, my stamina draining fast. A deep knife wound ran from my shoulder down to my ribs, each breath bringing searing pain.
"Kane, watch out!" Dorothy's scream cut through the chaos.
I spun around to see the elite warrior leader had broken through our line and was charging straight at me. He was even bigger than me, muscles coiled like steel cables, eyes glinting with bloodlust.
I barely managed to raise my arm to block, but injury and exhaustion made me half a beat too slow. His blade came down hard—I only had time to turn my head, the edge scraping across my cheek and opening a gash.
"It's over, pup." He sneered, raising his knife toward my heart.
In that split second, a figure suddenly burst from the side and slammed into me.
I went sprawling, the blade missing—but it drove straight through the person who'd taken my place.
Frank.
Time seemed to stop. I saw the blade emerge from my grandfather's back, blood dripping down the steel. His face held no pain, only a kind of peaceful release.
"No—!" I roared, Blaze's power exploding completely. I seized the opening the elite warrior had created and ripped my claws across his throat.
His eyes went wide with disbelief as he clutched his neck, then crashed heavily to the ground.
I rushed to Frank's side, carefully supporting his falling body. Blood kept pouring from the wound, staining his clothes crimson.
"Grandpa, Grandpa!" My voice shook. "Hang on, I'll get help!"
"Don't waste your energy, son." Frank smiled weakly, his hand rising to pat my cheek gently. "I should have died alone and full of regret long ago. But the heavens let me meet my own child again. I'm content."
"No, you can't die!" Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. "I still need you, the pack still needs you!"
"Dying on the battlefield is a warrior's greatest wish," his voice grew fainter. "Back then I couldn't protect my own pack, wandered with Ivan to the Lightning Wolf Pack. Later I couldn't hold onto Ivan and Chloe either..."
He coughed violently, blood frothing at his lips.
"Kane." He used his last strength to grab my hand and place it in Dorothy's. "Take care of her. And... stop Blood River. Don't let more families... end up like ours..."
His hand fell limp, eyes slowly closing.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!" I shook his body, but he would never respond again.
"Kane." Steven's voice came from the distance. "The pursuers are retreating. We're safe for now."
I raised my head and saw the remaining Blood River warriors pulling back. Bodies littered the mountain path, blood turning the rocks dark red.
Steven and I used mountain stones to build a crude grave for Frank. I knelt before it, hands trembling as I placed the final stone, tears falling one by one onto the rocks.
Dorothy stood silently behind me, her hand resting gently on my shoulder, wordlessly offering support.
"Grandpa," I said in a hoarse whisper. "I swear I'll fulfill your dying wish. I'll stop Blood River. I'll rebuild the Lightning Wolf Pack. I won't let you down."
Steven led the remaining warriors in saluting the grave.
I stood, forcefully wiping away my tears, my gaze shifting from grief to determination.
I walked to the tattered Lightning Wolf Pack banner and hoisted it onto my shoulder again. The fabric snapped in the wind, the lightning emblem faded but still clear.
"Count the numbers," I told Steven, my voice steady again. "We keep moving. Grandpa bought us time with his life. We can't waste it."
The column regrouped. Faces bore sorrow, but also a new kind of resolve.
They looked at me with trust, with expectation, with unwavering loyalty.
I took one last look at that stone grave, then turned and led the column forward.
The mountain path stretched beneath our feet, leading toward the unknown distance.
But no matter what lay ahead, I would carry my grandfather's dying wish and these people who trusted me all the way to the end.