Chapter 147 Focus

Chapter 147 Focus
~ Kael's POV ~

Already armed with the knowledge that Iron Fang warriors were under a spell that had turned their minds against their pack and their Alpha, I did everything within my power not to kill them as I fought my way toward the pack house.

Knowing they could still be saved, I focused on disarming them and knocking them unconscious instead of ending their lives. The special poison I had been given at Alpha Vale's camp before we set out proved invaluable.

Each time I found an opening, I made certain they came into contact with it, allowing the poison to do its work while I continued pressing forward through the growing battlefield.

It was far from easy because they fought with the same skill and determination they always had, but reminding myself that they were still my warriors beneath the spell gave me the restraint I needed.

I didn't extend that same mercy to the Shadow Pack warriors. Those were different.

Unlike my people, they were not being manipulated by any spell or dark influence. They had willingly chosen to stand beside Valira and Dagan, and support everything that was happening.

When I finally charged toward the gate and launched myself over it into the courtyard, I was caught slightly off guard by the chaos that had already erupted inside.

The entire place had descended into a battlefield.

Warriors clashed from every direction. Witches hurled spells across the courtyard without restraint. Cries of pain mixed with furious growls and the crashing sounds of combat until the entire space seemed consumed by violence.

With a single sweep of my eyes, I took in everything unfolding around me.

I saw Taren fighting alongside the cabinet members, refusing to yield despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them. They battled relentlessly against the other warriors, creating every opportunity they could to keep one another alive.

Then my gaze found the Void Wolf.

It had completely merged with Dagan's wolf, transforming him into something so grotesque and horrifying that it barely resembled the man I had once known. Every part of the creature radiated pure evil. Its appearance alone was enough to make anyone hesitate, but what truly froze my blood was watching it seize people with terrifying ease before sucking their souls from their bodies.

That was the nightmare we had all feared. That was exactly what we had fought so desperately to prevent.

Then my eyes finally found Lyra.

Despite both of her hands still being bound, a faint smile rested on her face. It was not the smile of someone who had surrendered to fate. It was the smile of someone who knew something her enemies did not.

Even from where I stood, I could see her using her powers to support our warriors, driving back attackers and protecting those fighting for our side despite the restraints that were supposed to suppress her.

An overwhelming sense of pride filled me the moment I saw her.

"Thank you for holding this place down for me, my love," I whispered silently to myself as I carved my way through the Shadow Pack warriors throwing themselves at me. Every opponent I defeated brought me one step closer to her, and my only thought was reaching her before anyone else could lay another hand on her.

Even from a distance, I noticed she remained one of the very few people still standing in her human form.

Almost everyone else surrounding her had already transformed apart from the other witches, who I had no doubt were completely loyal to Dagan.

My claws came crashing down on one of the warriors, tearing deeply into his side with enough force to end his life almost instantly. Blood splattered across the ground, but before I could turn my attention to the next opponent, something at the corner of my vision caught my eye.

Lyra had lifted her face toward the heavens.

Her lips were moving gently, forming words I could not hear as they disappeared into the atmosphere above us. Her expression was calm in the middle of all the chaos surrounding her, and there was something about the moment that made everything else around her seem to disappear.

The instant she finished speaking, a deafening rumble of thunder rolled across the sky, shaking the entire courtyard beneath our feet. The clouds above churned violently before the heavens finally opened.

Rain poured down with astonishing intensity. Within seconds, every part of the battlefield was drenched.

At first, it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary downpour, but then I noticed a difference.

With every passing second, I could feel my body responding to it. My strength continued rising. The exhaustion that had begun creeping into my muscles disappeared almost completely, replaced by renewed energy.

My stamina returned faster than I had ever experienced before, and judging by the renewed determination with which our people were fighting, I realized I was not the only one benefiting from it.

The rain was strengthening us. It was restoring us.

I glanced toward Lyra again, unable to stop the smile that spread across my face.

Even restrained, she had found a way to change the tide of the battle.

The pride I felt in that moment was impossible to put into words.

But the smile disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared when I saw that the Void Wolf had noticed.

The creature's terrifying gaze settled entirely on Lyra, and instead of continuing its assault on everyone else, it began making its way directly toward her. Every step it took radiated fury, and it became painfully obvious that whatever she had just done had enraged it beyond measure.

The worst part was that Lyra seemed completely unaware of the danger approaching her.

Her attention remained fixed upward, her eyes still following the darkened sky while the rain continued falling over her face. She almost looked peaceful, simply standing there with her eyes closed for brief moments, allowing the cool droplets to wash over her without realizing death was rapidly closing the distance between them.

"Focus, my love. He's coming toward you," I screamed inside my mind.

Only after the thought left me did I remember she could not hear me as I was in my beast form, and there was no way I could reach her through mind link.

That realization filled me with frustration.

I tore through the next warrior standing in my path, determined to reach her before the monster did. Every muscle in my body strained as I forced my way forward, but the distance between us suddenly felt impossibly large. No matter how fast I moved, I could already see the Void Wolf stretching one enormous arm toward her.

My heart dropped. I knew I would not make it.

With nothing else left to try, I did the only thing that came to mind.

I threw back my head and released a thunderous growl that echoed across the entire courtyard.

The sound finally reached her, but it was already too late. The Void Wolf's hand was only inches away from reaching her.

"Nooo... my lady!" Taren's voice rang across the battlefield, making me realize he had already returned to his human form.

The instant those words left his mouth, he shifted back into his beast once again without the slightest hesitation. His massive body launched forward with everything he had, crashing violently into the Void Wolf before the creature could lay a single finger on Lyra.

The impact knocked the beast away from her.

For one brief second, hope returned, but then everything changed the next moment. Taren had successfully saved Lyra, but in doing so, he had also made himself the Void Wolf's next target.

The creature turned on him immediately, catching him before he could recover from the collision.

The Void Wolf seized Taren and, without wasting a single moment, ripped his soul from his body.

His soulless shell collapsed onto the rain soaked ground with a dull thud, completely empty of the brave warrior who had risked everything for us.

"No! No! Tarennnn...." Lyra's anguished scream tore through the courtyard with enough pain to make every person present feel its weight.

In that same moment, she violently ripped her hands free from the stakes to which they had been bound.