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Lucian's POV

The war chants resonated around the field, and it assured me that these men were ready to lay down their lives. I put it bluntly to them that they were most likely going to die, and yet they were ready to go to battle. Their willingness to fight and lay down their lives warmed my heart.

In the next moment, the men dispersed to get themselves ready. They were going to say goodbye to their family members and say their prayers. Because from then on out, their lives were at risk.

I began to feel the pressure of the impending battle. I was about to come head-to-head with the alpha of another pack. Although I had longed to face Alpha Derrick for years now, being faced with the opportunity actually made me feel more tense than I expected. But I was still fully ready to avenge Elena and whatever was done to her.

I had become consumed by rage and sadness over the past few days of Elena going missing. I could not bear the thought of her dying on me or being defiled by someone else. When Lucas told me that Elena had bravely fought against Alpha Derrick all along, it made me feel really happy, and I became very proud of her.

Our training sessions with Artemis were paying off, and I was glad. I suddenly began to wonder where Artemis was, but the thought immediately left my mind because I saw Marcus passing by.

"Marcus, come here," I called out to him, signaling that he approach me.

Marcus immediately turned, leaving whatever it was he was doing, and walked directly in my direction. When he arrived before me, he bowed submissively.

"Marcus, this mission is going to be one of a kind. The outcome of today's battle will probably rewrite the history books and create many new things. Among those things that will be created, open slots in the ranks of this pack will be there. Although you are very young and some will consider you too young to be in charge of any division, I am more than willing to give you a rank that suits your skill. When we go and battle against the rogues, there's a good chance that they will have more numbers than us. After all, rogues are the collective group of individuals who refused to obey the rules and regulations of their own pack. Rogues are not born into a pack but instead are initiated. The rogues initiated into a pack daily is high, and therefore the chances of us being outnumbered... Well, what I'm trying to say is, in the moment of truth, I want you to step up for me. I don't want my men to be outnumbered 5 to 1 or 6 to 1. I want you to cut down as many enemies as you can with that brilliant blade of yours. And if you survive this ordeal, I will personally promote you," I said, patting Marcus on the head.

"Thank you, my lord. I really appreciate this. Although I already planned on giving this my all, now that you have said these words, I guess I could try to go beyond. Of the many people I've encountered in my life, you are the only one who not only believed in my potential but gave me the avenue to grow and shine. I owe you many things, and today I will repay you as much as I can. Rest easy. Even though we're outnumbered, I will cut down more enemies than any other person and even the odds," Marcus said with his head bowed.

Staring down at Marcus now, my heart began to feel warm again. He was so skilled and talented and yet so humble as well. Many other young boys his age, if they possessed the same skill as Marcus, would probably grow prideful and arrogant. I appreciated this quality of Marcus and hoped that the son in Elena's belly, if it would be a boy, should turn out to be like Marcus.

"Okay then, since I've taken care of that, carry on with your business. Say goodbye to whatever family you have and say your prayers. The war ahead of us will not be easy," I said to Marcus, dismissing him.

Marcus said nothing but simply bowed before leaving.

Eventually, after approximately 20 minutes, everyone was done with setting their affairs in order and was ready to go to battle. I rallied all of my men and raised their battle morale. When I was sure that my men were ready to die for me now, I shouted the words... "CHARGE!"

They began to run in a very orderly and speedy manner. They were headed directly for Alpha Derrick's pack, and the pace was satisfactory. I followed calmly behind them as my fists began to tighten.

"Wait for me, Elena," I mustered under my breath as I increased my speed and charged forward.

About an hour passed, and I was face to face with the alpha of the rogues. The aura he gave off showed just how many people he had murdered in his lifetime. The aura made one feel as though they were destined to die should they face this opponent. His eyes were so red as though they were filled with the blood of all the enemies he had murdered.

But I knew my worth, and I knew just how powerful I was. I was not going to back down to another alpha just because he seemed terrifying.

Alpha Derrick's strength surpassed my expectation, and eventually, I got hit by one of his punches. It hit me directly in my hands, which were crossed defensively against my stomach. He hit both hands with great force, and I felt my bones quake under the pressure.

The punch left me hurt for a few seconds, but after a few stretches, the pain began to go away. Whatever damage was done to my bones and muscles with that punch was quickly healed.

It was well-known that werewolves had quick healing ability. What would take a random human a month to fully heal would take a werewolf a single day. But when it came to alphas, such healing abilities were enhanced. Therefore, what would take a regular werewolf a day to heal would take an alpha a couple of minutes.

Alpha Derrick was the first alpha I had fought in years. Although I had great experience killing alphas because I had killed an alpha at a very young age. That alpha, of course, was none other than my father.

Alpha Derrick was lashing out viciously at me right now, and some memories began to flash through my mind.

"Try to keep up. You will have to face faster enemies," I heard my father's voice say from a far-away distance.

Suddenly, the person punching me was no longer Alpha Derrick but someone seeming more gentle but with the same speed of attack. I saw faces everywhere I turned and was having a hard time blocking. Eventually, I was overwhelmed by the speed and took a powerful punch to the face. My nose began to bleed, and I began to cry.

"Don't you cry, Lucian. The eyes of an alpha were not made to shed tears but be coated by the blood of their enemies. Whatever alpha uses his eyes for shedding tears is no alpha. Therefore, no son of mine will cry in my presence," my father thundered angrily.

It all began to come back to me now, slowly but surely. Back when I was younger, perhaps 6 to 7 years old, my father made me go through hellish training every day. He made me fight experienced soldiers who surpassed me in basically everything. They surpassed me in strength, speed, experience, size, and mastery of weapons.

My father would usually tell me that I didn't need to be superior to them in strength or speed. He told me that the blood of an alpha overcame all other werewolves. He always told me that the only thing that could rival an alpha was another alpha. But the strength and abilities of an alpha had yet to kick in. I was still young and did not possess the strength of an alpha at all. I was even weaker than an average werewolf. Each and every day, I would go to bed with tears and wounds that refused to heal.

But eventually, when I was 10 years old, under the harsh training of a superior soldier, something snapped in me. I was told that I underwent a complete transformation on the outside. I felt the transformation on the inside, and it was inexplicably wonderful. It was as though I had grown 100 times stronger, and every other being seemed inferior. I was only 10 years old, and the person I was fighting was probably four times my age.

As soon as I unlocked this side of me, the fight ended in a few seconds. I maimed my enemy, and he did not do any damage to me at all.

And that was when I turned to look at my father, and for the first time in my entire life, he smiled at me with pride in his eyes. He was finally proud of me, and he approved of what I did.

Every day after that, I was made to fight a more experienced and stronger soldier than myself, until I began to fight war veterans, and each day of training became harder. But the more I unlocked the alpha side of me, the easier it was to win fights. My winning streak came to an abrupt end, of course, when I began to fight Artemis.

Artemis was impossibly strong, and no matter how much I used my alpha ability, he managed to surpass me. His strength was that of a wild beast, and his speed was something I could not follow with my eyes. Eventually, I gave up on trying to win against him. To this day, I did not manage to best Artemis in a fight.

My most crushing defeat against him was the time we battled each other beside a pool. He ravaged my body until I eventually and helplessly fell into the pool unconscious.

The barrage of consciousness closely resembled what Alpha Derrick was throwing at me at this moment. And out of nowhere, an unexplainable strength surged through me, and I landed a vicious punch on his face.