Chapter 174 We prepare to strike
Coban’s POV
The king’s sitting room had never felt this heavy before.
Smoke still clung to the air drifting in through the cracked windows. Even from here, faint shouts echoed across the palace grounds. The warriors were hauling debris, healers rushing the injured, Leaders were barking orders. The smell of burned wood and scorched stone hung thick in my lungs.
Clarence had made his statement. And now the entire kingdom was answering it.
I stood near the center table, both palms pressed against the polished oak. My shoulders were tight, jaw locked so hard my teeth ached.
“No one in,” I ordered quietly. “No one out of the arena grounds. Triple the security.”
A warrior near the door bowed his head. “Already done, Your Majesty.”
Good.
Because if Clarence thought he was slipping another rat into my kingdom today, he had another thing coming.
Around the room, my family gathered.
Benjamin leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, calm as ever, but the glow behind his eyes hadn’t faded since his little light show the night before.
Caden paced slowly like a caged wolf.
Mark and Kevan stood together near the window, watching the grounds below.
Darien and Lucian guarded the doors like statues carved from stone.
And on the thick rug near the couch was where the excitement was now. Five boys had turned the entire damn war room into a playground.
Kael sat in the middle of them, stacking wooden blocks with extreme seriousness. Orion and Theron crawled around him like tiny hurricanes, stealing blocks and knocking them down.
Roxie’s twins shrieked with laughter every time the tower collapsed.
Atlas sat silently beside them, watching everything with those strange golden eyes of his.
Cassian crawled over and promptly knocked the entire tower over again.
Kael blinked slowly at the destruction.
"Damn, little barbarian,” Kevan muttered under his breath.
Mark snorted.
Trinity rolled her eyes from the couch. “They’re babies. They all play like that."
“Yes,” Kevan said dryly. “Tiny destructive menaces.”
Cassian clapped proudly. Atlas tilted his head. And suddenly. The blocks lifted. All of them. Five wooden blocks rose slowly off the floor and hovered in the air.
Everyone in the room stopped talking.
Atlas sat perfectly still. The blocks rotated once, then neatly stacked themselves again. Cassian squealed in delight. He was very proud of his brother as he looked at him with a huge smile.
Benjamin rubbed his temple. “They’re rebuilding now.”
Caden exhaled slowly. “Of course they are.”
Trixie leaned back in her chair like this was the most normal thing in the world. “Honestly? This is the calmest they’ve been all morning. It's nice to actually see them play and to be so calm.” She said as she was watching the five boys play.
I shook my head once before dragging the conversation back to where it needed to be.
“The damage report. I know it can't be good.” I said as I shook my head.
Lucian stepped forward. “Four homes destroyed,” he said. “They have been relocated, temporarily. Well, the ones that were able to be. The fires are under control. The healers have stabilized everyone brought in.”
My chest tightened.
“How many did we lose?” I asked hesitantly.
“Seven.” He answered as his gaze dropped to the floor.
Silence dropped across the room like a hammer.
“Elderly pack members,” Lucian continued quietly. “They weren’t at the tournament. They were still in their homes when the houses blew up." He said as he was still looking towards the ground.
My hands curled into fists. "And the children?” I asked as I hoped for the best.
“A couple injured. Already in the infirmary. They’ll recover.”
I nodded once. Good. Because if Clarence had killed children today, I'm not sure this kingdom would have survived the retaliation.
Caden stopped pacing. "He hit three borders and the residential quarter,” he said. “That’s coordinated. Planned out perfectly.” He said as his eyes flickered between us.
Mark nodded. “He wanted spectacle.”
Kevan crossed his arms. "And panic. He wanted us running around like chickens with our heads cut off.” He said with certainty.
Benjamin pushed off the wall slowly. “He also wanted to test our defenses. He wanted to see what are reaction time would be.”
My eyes lifted to him. “And?” I asked with one brow raised.
Benjamin’s voice stayed calm. "He learned something today.”
Caden looked over. “What?"
Benjamin’s gaze drifted toward the children. "That the heirs can detect threats we can’t.”
Atlas suddenly looked up. Cassian crawled over and slapped his hand on the floor. A ripple of invisible pressure spread through the room.
Not violent. Just enough that every Lycan present felt it.
Even the tension in my chest loosened slightly.
Mark blinked. “Fuck, did the little one just emotionally regulate the room?” He said with the look of awe written all on his face.
Trixie smirked. “Yes. Didn't you know? Don't tell me you just figured that out. They've been doing that a lot. They did that in the arena earlier today as well." She grinned proudly.
Kevan rubbed his face slowly. "Fantastic. The infants are already running the kingdom.”
Trinity laughed softly.
Darien spoke from the door. “What are our orders now? Are we going to strike back?"
Now the room truly fell silent.
Every set of eyes turned to me.
Clarence had declared war. That meant the kingdom would answer.
Slowly, I straightened. "The tournament continues.”
Caden’s head snapped toward me. "I agree. We can't give him what he wants. What he expected us to do.” He nodded for me to continue.
“He wants chaos,” I said evenly. “He wants fear. We give him neither.” I said with finality.
Benjamin’s mouth twitched slightly.
Mark grinned.
Kevan nodded.
I continued. “But while the games continue, our warriors move.”
Lucian stepped forward slightly. “Where?”
My voice dropped.
“We hunt. We don't move or attack at first. We pick them off one by one. We trap them inside. We make them think twice before they go outside their doors. We give them fear." I say with an evil grin. If they wanted war, if they even wanted a reaction, then we give it to them. But under our terms and at our pace.
The air in the room shifted instantly.
Caden cracked his neck slowly.
“Good.”
Mark smirked. "I was hoping you’d say that.”
Kevan’s grin was downright dangerous now.
Darien’s eyes gleamed.
Lucian simply nodded once.
And on the rug, Cassian lifted both hands.
Every block in the room rose into the air again.
Atlas watched them float.
Then. All of them dropped at once. The tower shattered across the floor. Kael blinked. Orion and Theron burst into giggles.
Benjamin sighed. "This, symbolism feels aggressive.”
Trixie grinned. “Oh they know.”
I looked at the shattered blocks scattered across the rug. Then toward the smoke still rising outside the palace walls. And I spoke the words Clarence had forced upon this kingdom.
“Prepare the warriors.”
My voice was cold now.
“Because we’re about to burn his world down. One warrior, one person at a time.”