Chapter 74: Redwater Strikes

Claire’s POV

I rose from the dirt, stained from blood, in excruciating pain. Ragged, uncomfortable breaths came out of me, every muscle screaming in protest. I could not hold myself upright right now. 

He tore through the battlefield, killing anyone who dared to encroach on his way, his golden eyes blazing with rage. Then, to me, his voice sounded like a distanced roar. All around the Redwater warriors were putting up hard fights, especially despite Jared's savage onslaught, their resolve did not fail.

I had pressed my hand against my side and felt the warm blood oozing from the wound viscously. Derek was dead because he had dealt with the damned traitor who had struck me when I hit the ground, but Jared remained upright.

He was also watching me. 

His eyes were misty, wolf-like, savage as they glowed with perverted delight, and his lips curled in a savage smirk as he stepped over Elias's writhing form. 

"You are still standing,'' he said with a sneer. "Honestly, I thought that would end you." 

With unwavering defiance, I stared him in the face while swallowing the metallic taste of blood. "You'll have to try harder." 

Jared laughed, a deep, malevolent laugh.  "Oh, you need not worry.  I intend to.  

With a sharp whistle piercing the air, Midnight Moon's forces suddenly charged forward, fighting with renewed vigour.  It was not only their desperation that drove them, but also the knowledge that this was their last stand.  

Jared's final action was this.  

Yes, I would.  

I turned to face the fighters closest to me and tightened my hold on my dagger.  Rowan, Theo, and the others had supported me through every battle, every setback.  They looked at me while they waited for my command.  

Over the noise, I spoke louder.  

“Redwater, hurry up!”  

My wolves came together, their battered bodies rushing forward with ferocity, and there was a clamour of howls.  

We would not shatter.  

Not this evening.  

Never.  

A roaring charge launched the counteroffensive.  

Like a violent storm, we smashed into Jared's forces, our claws and blades slamming into flesh and bone. Blood soaked the ground beneath our feet as the battlefield descended into a flurry of snarls and screams.  

I moved deliberately, slicing through the confusion and eliminating every adversary that got in my way. I did not think twice. To hesitate was to die.  

Derek battled at my side, his movements a deadly blur. Despite their strength, Midnight Moon's warriors lacked cohesion. They lacked genuine leadership and were desperate and disjointed. Jared had been in charge of them out of fear, but now he was weak.  

We took advantage of it.  

Rowan struck an enemy wolf, piercing the man's throat with his blade. With a guttural roar, Theo slashed through two warriors simultaneously. Seth continued to demonstrate his loyalty by tearing through the ranks with unwavering vengeance.  

However, Jared—  

Jared stood by.  

He appeared to know that the battle was far from over as he stood unharmed in the middle of the battlefield.  

As though he still had a move to make.  

The air ripped with an explosion.  

The shockwave sent me staggering before I could even react. Debris flew in all directions as fire broke out close to the outer wall.  

My heart tightened.  

Jared had placed snares.  

Abruptly, dense smoke choked the battlefield as a second explosion roared through the village's west side. Redwater fighters, momentarily blinded by the confusion, coughed and stumbled.  

Then Jared took a step.  

His claws flashed as he lunged at me.  

His blow cut into the void where I had been standing a moment before, and I twisted away, barely avoiding it. His strength was relentless, and his speed was monstrous.  

He had no intention of winning.  

He fought to pull me along with him.  

The force of the impact sent a sharp shock through my already injured side, but I managed to parry his next blow. Jared launched a barrage of counterattacks, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward despite the pain.  

He snarled and avoided my blade swing, saying, "You should have stayed dead."  

I confronted his anger with icy resolve. "You ought to have known when to give up."  

Two wolves engaged in a vicious dance of death, our battle turned into its storm within the greater conflict.  

There was always another strike.  

I responded to each wound with one of my own.  

My blade slammed into his shoulder, driving the blade deep, and spraying blood across the dirt. Jared yelled in pain, but instead of backing off, he lunged for me and slammed me down onto the ground.  

The wind was knocked out of me.  

With bared teeth and claws digging into my wrists, he held me down.  

He snarled, raising a free hand for the deathblow, "This is it now."  

Time slowed.  

I saw the fatal blow coming.  

I was aware that I could not stop it.  

Then—  

A haze of movement.  

A flash of golden fur tore Jared from me.  

Derek.  

He dug his claws deep and threw Jared hard against the earth. With a feral rage-filled snarl drawn out from deep in his throat, he slashed his fangs across Jared's chest, splattering blood into the night.  

Jared's body shuddered as he screamed in pain.  

I was gasping for air as I came to my feet.  

Derek's golden eyes flared with fury. With a hold on Jared's throat, he easily lifted him. In a voice thunderous, he proclaimed, "You do not get to take her from me."  

Jared's lips dripped blood as he choked forth a laugh. "You believe this is how it ends?"

 Derek's hold became more firm. "No. However, you are.  

Then he pierced Jared's chest with his claws.  

Once, twice, Jared's body jerked violently before the light in his eyes went out.  

Then he became motionless.  

There was silence.  

The battlefield appeared to freeze for a moment.  

When the warriors of Midnight Moon saw their Alpha's dead body, they stumbled. Their ranks shook with confusion. A few people let their weapons fall. Others took off running.  

However, the battle was coming to an end.  

Jared had passed away.  

Redwater had prevailed.  

###  

There was anarchy in the aftermath.  

Controlling the fires was necessary. It was necessary to care for the injured. It was also necessary to bury the bodies—so many bodies.  

With fatigue weighing on every step, I made my way through the battlefield's ruins. I could still feel the afterglow of each wound and the ghost of Jared's hold on my wrists.  

Derek, looking glum, discovered me close to the village's edge. He simply reached out and drew me into his arms without saying anything.  

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to lean into him.  

Then Rowan came over, looking pale. "Claire, you have to see something."  

I felt dread coil in my gut.  

I trailed after him to the east side of the village, where a few warriors stood in a close circle, their faces displaying a distressed expression.  

Then I realised why.  

Among the corpses was a lone banner.  

Not that of Midnight Moon.  

Not owned by Redwater.  

But there is a third group.  

With my heart racing, I took a step closer.  

The message was obvious, but the symbol was strange.  

We were not by ourselves.  

And there had been another observer.

I stared at the strange banner among the corpses and felt a shiver run down my spine. I had never seen a pack insignia like the dark fabric with the silver sigil that looked like interwoven crescent moons on it. Before, it had not been there. It was there—left as a warning by someone.

Pulling back the frayed sleeve of his uniform, Rowan crouched next to the body of a fallen Midnight Moon warrior. Before he turned to face me with alarm in his eyes, I saw him take a sharp breath.

With a tight voice, Rowan declared, "He is not one of Jared's." "Not one of them is."

My heartbeat accelerated. I stepped forward and took a look at the body. The man had angular features and dark stubble on his jaw. He had a warrior's build, but his scent was odd, muted, as though deliberately disguised. There was no identifying mark on his uniform, just the banner hanging close to his dead hand.

A few of the fallen wore similar clothes, I noticed as I looked around. They were not a part of Midnight Moon, but they had fought with Jared's warriors.

On our battlefield, there had been an outside force.

And it was not until now that I realised.

Derek moved to stand next to me, examining the bodies with suspiciously dark eyes. "Who are they in hell?"

I had nothing to say.

Moments later, Theo and Seth showed up, both as battle-weary but vigilant. When Theo saw the banner, his jaw tightened. He remarked, "I have seen that symbol before." "But not in this area."

"Where?" I insisted.

He paused, then let out a breath. “The east. close to the border.

Something weighed down on me. Some of the eastern packs were notoriously secretive, but they were smaller and less involved in our affairs. We had a more serious issue than I initially believed if an unidentified group had entered our conflict without our knowledge.

Derek, his face etched with hard lines of frustration, ran a hand through his blood-matted hair. "Jared was both conceited and desperate. If he did not believe he could control them, he would not have asked for assistance. He gestured to the fallen fighters. "It appears he made a mistake in his calculations."

That much was obvious. However, that implied that someone else had spotted a chance in Jared's demise. Someone who had sent fighters into battle, maybe to see how we fought and to test us.

I looked over at Theo. "How certain are you that they are Easterners?"

He gave a nod. "I am positive. They have been getting stronger over time, but they still keep to themselves. They are acting now because they perceive an opportunity.

A gap.

Exhaustion swept over me, but I made myself maintain my focus. Had we truly won the war we had just won? This was not over if an unidentified group was hovering around, waiting for the ideal opportunity to attack.

Derek must have felt it too, because he let out a sharp sigh. "We must get everyone together. Right now.

With their bodies bruised but their spirits intact, the remaining members of Redwater's army assembled in the main hall. We were still standing, but the smell of ash and blood filled the air.

With his golden eyes, Derek stood at the head of the room, looking around at the warriors who had fought next to us. With a steady, unflinching voice, he declared, "We won tonight." "Jared has passed away. The moon has set at midnight.

There was a murmur in the room, a mix of triumph and exhaustion, relief and disbelief.

“But we have a new problem,” he added, his face growing serious.

I took a step forward and held up the banner we had discovered on the battlefield. "We battled more than just Jared tonight." I gave the words time to sink in. There was a third force present. They fought alongside Midnight Moon without our knowledge, but we do not know who they are or what they want.

Rowan folded his arms. "This implies that they either had a deal with Jared or are opportunists."

“They’re still out there, in any case,” Derek stated.

The room's energy changed. With their post-battle adrenaline turning into something more sombre, warriors exchanged nervous looks.

With my thoughts already racing through the possibilities, I said, "We need to move quickly." We have no idea how many of them there are or what they will do next. However, we are aware that they were observing us.

With a sombre expression, Seth leaned against the wall. "We just showed them everything we had if they were trying to test our strength."

The worst part was that. Redwater had fought this battle to the end. After putting up a fierce fight to defeat Jared, we were now vulnerable.

Theo gave his jaw a rub. We must send scouts if they are from the east. Right now. Before their disappearance.

Derek gave a nod. "Agreed. Before dawn, we will dispatch a team.

The burden of accountability descended upon me. Even though the fight was over, I could not afford to relax. Not just yet.

I looked around at the assembled warriors. "Anyone hurt needs to get medical attention right away. The others—remain vigilant. We have no idea if they will come back.

They nodded and made agreements in whispers, but I could see how tired they were. In my own bones, I sensed it.

Derek put his hand on my shoulder and spoke softly. "Claire, you need to rest."

He was not incorrect, but I still wanted to argue.

I lied and said, "I will."

He did not push, but he did not believe me. Not right now.

Over Redwater, darkness descended as we braced ourselves for whatever lay ahead.

People were burying the dead, tending to the injured, and putting out the fires. I stood looking into the darkness from the edge of the village.

It was too quiet at night.

Too motionless.

Then I heard it.

In the distance, there was a single howl.

We did not have it.

My pulse quickened as another howl joined the first, and I tensed up.

Then another.

And yet another.

They were not attacking. Not just yet.

However, they were present.

Observing.

Awaiting.

With my heart racing, I turned and ran back towards the village.

Derek's eyes were alert and met me halfway. "What is it?"

I did not slow down. "They are present."

His face grew serious. "How many?"

I took a deep breath. "Too many."

The howls then stopped in the distance.

Even worse was the silence.