Chapter 73: Desperate Strike
Claire’s POV
The night air was thick with tension. A storm was coming—not of rain or wind, but of blood and war.
I could feel it in my bones.
Redwater had been repairing, fortifying, and mending. However, peace was never permanent, and I had discovered the hard way that safety did not always come from silence. Jared was still out there, like a wounded beast, hiding in the shadows. Additionally, the beast put up their strongest fights when cornered.
Derek, feeling the same uneasiness that tormented me, had doubled patrols around the borders. Jared was desperate, according to the former Midnight Moon wolves who had taken sanctuary in Redwater. Even though his pack was disintegrating and his Beta had betrayed him, he managed to hang on. All that remained of him was his hatred.
Furthermore, hatred might be more deadly than an army.
I stood on the main watchtower tonight, looking out over the gloomy horizon. Half-hidden behind the clouds, the moon's light was dim and unsure. Redwater warriors were moving in silent formation beneath me, fortifying the gates and bracing for the inevitable.
My heart was pounding when I heard a distant sound. A distant, low howl—one that was filled with anger, pain, and the threat of devastation.
They were on their way.
I spun around and dashed down the wooden stairs. My boots rang out against the floor as I joined Derek, who was already strapping on his armour. His golden eyes gleamed in the torchlight, and his face was grim.
"They are moving," I panted.
As he tightened the final buckle, he nodded. In the east, scouts reported movement. Jared is bringing together everyone he has left.
"How many?"
Derek let out a breath. "Enough to turn this into a true battle."
I balled my fists up.
Everything was gone from him. His allies, his pack, and his power. However, Jared did not care about that. He had no intention of winning.
He had come to demolish.
Derek put a firm hand on my shoulder and turned to face me. "We are going to stop this time, Claire."
My heart thumping, I looked into his eyes. "For good."
Fire started the battle.
Jared's troops were not stealthy. With torches, blades, and rage, they rushed through the eastern border like an avalanche. Smoke plumes rose into the night sky as they burned the buildings outside.
The snarls of shifting wolves and the metallic ring of swords filled the air as Redwater warriors fought the attackers, sending shouts reverberating throughout the village.
I shifted halfway, half wolf, half human, the ideal balance for combat, and charged into the fray, my claws outstretched. The wolf from Jared's broken pack was the first enemy I saw, so I lunged at him, knocking him to the ground before slashing across his chest.
He crumpled and yelled.
Beside me, Derek was a blur of movement, ruthlessly dispatching adversaries. Redwater's warriors engaged in a fierce battle, using all of their strength to drive the invaders back.
Jared, however, had picked his moment wisely. We were still getting better. Though not entirely recovered, our forces were powerful. Jared's wolves fought as if they had nothing to lose, but in reality, they had nothing.
I twisted and drove my dagger into my attacker's side just in time to avoid a clawed blow from my left. While I whirled around, looking around the battlefield, blood-spattered my arms.
Where had he gone?
Jared was where?
A howl so loud it split the air.
My heart stopped when I turned to face the sound.
Jared's massive wolf form loomed over the battlefield as he stood at the edge of the chaos. His eyes were wild with a manic gleam, and his once-immaculate black fur was wild and matted with dried blood.
However, Jared was not the only one who made me feel cold.
He held on to it.
Liam.
The puppy, who was only ten years old and an orphan we had taken in following the war, was in Jared's clutches, his tiny body limp, his eyes wide with fear, and Jared's enormous claws clamped down on his throat.
Jared's lips curled into a ruthless smile. Claire, call them off. He had a harsh, hardly human voice. "Or I tear this little one to pieces."
Time paused.
Derek froze next to me, his face darkening with unadulterated rage.
All I could see at the time was Liam, his small body trembling and his lips quivering as he tried not to cry, while the battle raged all around us.
Jared was fully aware of his actions.
He desired to shatter me.
He desired for me to give up and crumble under the burden of my own kindness.
My mind racing, I gripped my dagger tighter.
He would still massacre us if I caved in and summoned our warriors back.
Liam would perish if I did nothing.
Derek's voice was urgent and low. "Don't, Claire."
However, how could I not?
As I looked into Jared's eyes, my heart pounded, searching for a gap, a way out of this nightmare.
Liam gave a little, choked gasp as Jared's claws closed around his throat.
I had seconds.
It takes seconds to decide.
My breath caught as everything around me became blurry—
Then a shadow shifted.
A silver fur streak.
A haze of movement.
And suddenly—
Liam had left.
A figure tackled Jared from the side, sending them both crashing into the dirt as his claws slashed through the empty air.
My breath caught.
Elias.
In the same heartbeat, the young warrior grabbed Liam and threw himself at Jared, moving faster than I had imagined.
Jared growled in rage, but Elias persisted. With the desperation of a wolf defending his family, he fought, clawed, and snapped.
I did not think twice.
With my dagger in hand, I lunged, aiming directly at Jared's bare side.
However, as my blade hit—
A burning ache ripped through my back.
White-hot pain tore through me as I gasped and arched my body.
Blood.
A lot of blood.
I staggered ahead, hardly noticing the person standing behind me.
A traitor. One of Jared's remaining supporters, who managed to get past the confusion hit me.
With my eyes spinning, I hit the ground.
Derek's voice was angry and far away, but I was unable to hear what he was saying.
Jared remained upright.
The conflict was still going on.
Additionally, I—
I was going down.