Chapter 70 THE OLD WOLF

Chapter 70 THE OLD WOLF
(Keiras Pov)
Dawn came slowly across the valley. Pale light crept over the rooftops of the small border town. The barbarian army had gathered in silence along the eastern road.
Keira sat astride Cairo at the front of the line.
The warcat shifted beneath her, restless and powerful.
Keira rested her palm against the warm fur of Cairo’s neck.
Stay calm, she whispered to him through their bond.
Cairo’s rumbling voice answered her at once.
I am steady, but I will not pretend I do not wish to hunt.
The town ahead was still asleep. A dog barked once behind the walls, then went quiet. Shutters stayed closed against the morning cold. Inside, the quiet streets had no idea an army waited outside.
Behind Keira stretched thousands of warriors.
Armor creaked. Horses shifted. Men waited with the patience of those who trusted their time would come.
Valen rode forward.
Even in the pale light, he commanded attention. The black warhorse beneath him tossed its head impatiently as though it could already smell blood in the air.
Valen raised his hand.
The army stilled.
“We strike hard and fast,” he said, his voice carrying easily through the front ranks. “Any soldier who raises a weapon against us falls. Civilians are not our enemy, but if they stand between us and victory, that is their choice.”
A quiet echo of agreement moved through the warriors.
Valen’s gaze flicked briefly toward Keira.
Then he smiled.
“Open the gates.”
The signal moved down the line and the riders surged forward.
The first wave of the barbarian horde thundered toward the town’s outer barrier before the sleepy guards on the walls fully understood what they were seeing.
The impact came seconds later.
The heavy wooden gates shattered under the charge.
The barbarian horde poured into the town, a nightmare brought to life.
Cairo did not wait for orders.
The warcat roared and launched forward, echoing across the valley. He cleared the broken gate in a single leap and crashed inside the town, shaking the street beneath them.
Keira drew her sword as they landed.
Men were already rushing from nearby buildings, half-armoured soldiers stumbling from barracks doors with belts half fastened and blades still being pulled from racks.
The first man never even raised his weapon.
Cairo struck him mid-charge.
Cairo’s massive paw smashed the soldier’s chest, hurling him across the street with bone-breaking force.
The second soldier lowered his spear.
Keira’s sword flashed.
Blood sprayed across the dirt road.
Barbarian riders thundered through the narrow streets, scattering defenders who had expected nothing more dangerous than another quiet morning.
But the resistance came faster than Keira expected.
Arrows suddenly rained down from the rooftops.
A shaft whistled past her cheek and struck a rider behind her.
More soldiers poured from the alleys ahead, shields raised, blades already drawn.
Someone had been ready.
Cairo roared.
The sound rolled through the town like thunder breaking across stone.
Several defenders froze outright.
Others hesitated just long enough to die.
Cairo lunged into them.
He moved with terrifying speed for a creature his size.
One man disappeared beneath his claws. Another collapsed as the warcat’s body slammed into him. A third soldier tried to drive a short sword upward into Cairo’s ribs and instead found himself lifted clear off the ground as the great beast struck him and hurled him into a wall hard enough to crack the stone.
Keira rode the motion as though they were one creature.
She swung her sword with ruthless precision.
A soldier rushed her from the side.
She parried the strike and drove her blade beneath his arm.
Another lunged forward with a spear.
Cairo twisted, jaws snapping around the man’s shoulder, flinging him aside.
The fighting closed in around them.
A group of defenders suddenly formed a barricade across the narrow street ahead, shields locked together, spears thrust outward in a tight wall of steel.
A captain stepped forward behind them, his voice sharp and commanding.
“Hold the line!”
The defenders steadied.
For a moment, the barbarian charge slowed.
Cairo lunged toward the barrier.
The first spear struck his shoulder armour and glanced away.
Another came dangerously close to Keira’s leg.
She leaned low over Cairo’s back and slashed downward, cutting one of the spear shafts clean in half.
“Now!” someone shouted behind her.
Barbarian warriors slammed into the shield wall.
Men shouted and struggled.
For a few moments, the battle was locked in a brutal stalemate.
Then Valen arrived.
Keira saw him before she heard him.
He crashed into the defenders, swinging his axe in a brutal arc that shattered the first shield.
The captain stepped toward him.
Valen met the man’s strike with his sword, drove his shoulder forward, and threw him backward into his own soldiers.
The shield line broke.
Cairo pushed through the gap.
Within moments, the resistance collapsed.
The captain fell beneath Valen’s blade.
The remaining defenders scattered.
A barbarian warrior nearby let out a loud shout.
“The warcat fights with us!”
Others took up the cry.
“Cairo!”
“The mountain beast!”
Some threw down their weapons outright.
Others fled.
Doors slammed shut along the street as civilians guarded their children inside. Women dragged carts across doorways. Shutters banged closed while frightened faces peered through narrow cracks in the wood.
Cairo stalked forward through the broken barricade like something pulled from an old legend.
Men moved out of his path.
Keira lost track of time after that.
A small resistance spread across the town, street by street, until the defenders finally broke under the weight of the barbarian assault.
Within the hour, the town belonged to Valen.
Smoke drifted lazily through the air from a few burning wagons and shattered barricades. The surviving townsfolk watched in fearful silence from doorways and narrow windows as the warriors secured the streets.
Cairo prowled through the square like a dark spirit of war.
Keira slid down from his back.
Her arms ached, and blood stained her clothing. Battle thrummed through her veins.
Valen approached her across the square.
He looked carved from the same violence that had taken the town, sword dark, eyes bright with fierce satisfaction.
“You ride like death itself,” he said.
Keira wiped her blade clean.
“And you fight like a man trying to impress someone.”
Valen’s laugh rolled across the square.
“Was it working?”
She didn’t answer.
But the look she gave him was enough of an answer.
A messenger hurried toward them.
“My lord, the outer roads are secured.”
Valen nodded.
“Good. Gather the men. We move again before nightfall.”
He glanced back at Keira briefly.
“I must see to a few matters.”
Then he was gone again, already shouting orders to his captains.
Cairo settled beside her.
Aeden approached a moment later.
The older lycan watched them for a time before speaking.
“You are something mighty to behold in battle.”
Keira sheathed her sword.
“So I’ve been told.”
Aeden gave a thoughtful nod.
“I like you.”
She lifted a brow.
“But.”
“But I know Warcats,” he continued calmly. “I know how they move through the world. So free and untamed that they never think to stay.”
Keira stiffened slightly.
Aeden lifted a hand.
“That is not an insult. It is simply the truth.”
He stepped closer.
“Valen would not be pleased to know I am speaking to you like this.”
“Then why do it?”
“Because I am his advisor,” Aeden replied quietly. “And because I am his uncle.”
The words rested between them.
“He loves you,” Aeden said. “And when a lycan loves… it is not something that fades with time.”
Keira crossed her arms.
“There is no mate bond between us.”
“Not yet.”
Aeden’s voice was gentle but steady.
“If he marries you, he will mark you. He would feel every inch of the bond, but you would not.”
Keira went still.
“If he marries his betrothed,” Aeden continued, “there is every chance their bond will grow into a great love, something they both feel. A marked union between them would anchor his future.”
Keira looked away.
“I have no intention of hurting him.”
“I know,” Aeden said softly. “But good intentions do not protect hearts.” He studied her. “To be with you will divide our kingdom, which can be managed.”
He kept a stoic expression.
“But to lose you after loving you… when there is no bond on your part…”
Aeden shook his head.
“That could break him.”
He looked over at the warriors gathering across the square.
“And if Valen breaks, so do the men who follow him.”
Keira met his eyes again.
“I intend to take the King’s head.”
Aeden nodded.
“And I welcome you beside us when that moment comes.”
He paused.
“But if you cannot give Valen the future he deserves…”
His voice eased.
“Then be kind enough to leave him before it destroys him.” He paused. “And his people.”
Cairo’s voice touched Keira’s mind.
That old wolf sees more than most.
Keira watched Aeden walk away.
The road ahead stretched toward the distant castle.
Toward the King.
Toward the war that was only beginning.