Chapter 70: Blood and Betrayal
Caleb’s blade came down like a streak of lightning.
Ethan barely managed to duck, the edge slicing through the air where his neck had been a heartbeat earlier. Sparks flew as the blade struck the metal table, splitting it with a ringing crack that echoed through the war room.
“Are you trying to decapitate me?!” Ethan shouted, scrambling backward and clutching his laptop to his chest like it was a newborn baby.
“Yes,” Caleb said flatly, twisting the blade free.
“Well at least he’s honest,” Elena muttered, kicking a Creed soldier into the wall. She whirled on Ethan, “Move your ass! He’s not going to miss twice.”
“I am moving!” Ethan shouted, crawling toward the corner. “Do I look like I’m taking a nap?!”
Caleb lunged again, but Aidan was there this time. His sword clashed against Caleb’s with a bone-rattling strike, the force sending both men sliding back across the floor.
“Stay away from him,” Aidan growled.
Caleb’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Protecting the human? How noble. How weak.”
“Not weak,” Aidan snapped. “Family.”
For a moment, the two locked eyes, wolf against wolf. Caleb’s expression hardened, his jaw set, and in that instant I realized just how far gone he was. This wasn’t just my brother standing in front of me. This was someone else entirely—someone who had been twisted by Gregory, by the Creed, by his own hunger for something bigger.
And yet… a part of him was still Caleb. That was what scared me most.
\---
“Somebody please tell me there’s a plan!” Elena shouted, stabbing a Creed soldier in the thigh and then smacking him over the head with the hilt of her blade. “Because if the plan is wing it until we all die dramatically, I’d like to file a complaint.”
“Working on it!” Ethan barked, typing furiously. “But it would be easier if I wasn’t dodging homicidal siblings every three seconds!”
“Excuse me?” Elena yelled. “Siblings? Did you just call him homicidal like that’s his defining character trait?!”
“Well, right now it is!” Ethan snapped.
“You’re not wrong,” she admitted, slashing her knife across another soldier’s arm. “But still, you could be nicer about it.”
\---
I swung my blade at Caleb again, sparks flying as we clashed. “You don’t have to do this,” I said, my voice breaking as our weapons locked together. “Whatever Gregory told you—whatever the Creed promised—it’s a lie. You’re not their weapon. You’re my brother.”
Caleb’s eyes softened for half a second, the golden glow flickering. “I was your brother,” he said quietly. Then his voice hardened, and he shoved me back with a burst of strength that sent me stumbling. “Now I’m what I was meant to be.”
“Which is what?!” I demanded.
His answer was a whisper, full of conviction. “The future.”
\---
Ethan yelped as a blade nicked his arm, nearly cutting the laptop strap. “Okay, that’s it, I officially hate your family drama! Next reunion, count me out!”
“Shut up and keep working!” Elena barked, dragging him behind the barricade. “And for the love of everything sharp and pointy, don’t die! You’re the only one who knows the Wi-Fi password.”
“You seriously care about the Wi-Fi right now?!” Ethan groaned.
“Yes!” she snapped. “Do you know how boring it is in this house when you nerds don’t have Netflix?”
Despite the chaos, I almost laughed. Almost.
\---
Aidan shoved Caleb back with a growl, his eyes flashing wolf-gold. “You’ll have to go through me first.”
Caleb smirked. “Gladly.”
Their blades collided in a blur of silver and steel, the clash echoing like thunder. Aidan was strong, fast, and skilled—but Caleb was different. He wasn’t fighting like a wolf. He was fighting like something else. Something sharper. Something colder.
“Elena!” I shouted, parrying another Creed soldier. “Help Aidan!”
“Oh sure,” she muttered, stabbing her opponent and stepping back. “Because I didn’t already have enough on my plate today.”
She lunged toward Aidan and Caleb, throwing one of her knives with perfect aim. Caleb twisted just in time, the blade grazing his cheek instead of sinking into his skull.
He wiped the blood with the back of his hand and smirked. “Nice aim.”
“Thanks,” Elena shot back. “I’ve been practicing on dummies. Guess you fit the bill.”
\---
Suddenly, a loud beep echoed through the war room. Ethan’s laptop screen flashed red.
“Uh… guys?” he said nervously.
“Not now, Ethan!” Elena barked, ducking another swing.
“No, I mean—seriously not now! He’s overriding the estate’s core!” Ethan shouted, eyes wide as his fingers flew across the keyboard. “He’s been in the system this whole time!”
Caleb’s smile widened. “Clever boy.”
“What did you do?!” I demanded, swinging at him again.
Caleb sidestepped easily, his blade grazing my arm. “Nothing you can stop. The Creed is already inside your walls. And soon, they won’t need me to guide them. Because you will.”
My chest tightened. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll see,” Caleb said, his golden eyes burning into mine. “When the time comes, you’ll understand. You’re not fighting against me, Roxanne. You’re fighting against yourself.”
And with that, he threw a smoke bomb at his feet. The room exploded in white haze.
“Don’t let him escape!” Aidan roared, slashing through the fog.
But by the time it cleared, Caleb was gone.
\---
For a long moment, the war room was silent except for the crackling fire and our heavy breathing. Soldiers lay unconscious—or dead—around the floor. The table was ruined. The walls were scorched. And in the middle of it all, Ethan sat slumped against the barricade, clutching his laptop.
“I hate him,” Ethan muttered. “I hate him so much.”
Elena collapsed beside him, blood on her sleeve. “Get in line, tech boy. Get in line.”
I stood frozen, my blade still in my hand, staring at the door Caleb had disappeared through.
He hadn’t just come to fight.
He had come to send a message.
And deep down, I knew what it was.
This wasn’t over.
It was only the beginning.