143- The Alpha Who Brings Fire
POV Edric Eldoria:
The sun rose over the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange as we advanced cautiously through the forest. My heart pounded with a mix of anxiety and determination, and my senses were sharp, searching for any sign of imminent danger.
The scent of moss—and of the Eclipse wolves—clung to the air, blending with that of the oaks surrounding us.
As we approached the village, my heartbeat grew heavier, driven by the urgency of the battle ahead. Every muscle in my body was tense, ready for the fight to come.
We stopped, observing the men who slept while sitting, though they were supposed to be guarding the place.
My eyes narrowed, and then a roar tore from my lips, echoing through the forest and announcing our presence.
The wolves jerked awake—but it was already too late. My men lunged and tore their heads from their bodies. Both hit the soft snow, dead.
It took only seconds before more of them emerged in our path.
I extended an arm, my nails elongated, and plunged my claws into one of their hearts, splitting through ribcage, skin, and muscle. His blood warmed my cold hand. I felt the organ pulse between my fingers before hurling it away from his chest.
The wolf collapsed dead at my feet.
My teeth were clenched, the muscle in my jaw tight. Another appeared before me. I dragged my claws across his throat, severing the artery and spraying blood in every direction.
Silence shattered into hysteria—screams and shouted orders as they struggled to contain the threat. More wolves charged, and every one of them died by our hands.
A bell rang—an alert for the villagers still asleep.
I tore off the head of a male who lunged at me and flung it across the field. I grabbed the bow he held, steadied an arrow, and shot it straight into the skull of the wolf ringing the bell atop a tower at the entrance.
He toppled sideways and fell, crumpling into the ground.
I grabbed a torch and hurled it into one of the houses, setting it ablaze.
My plans didn’t involve just killing every wolf in the village—I wanted to burn everything, reduce Eclipse to ashes.
A large, pale-furred wolf leapt at my side, jumping through the air to strike me. I crouched, dodging his sharp teeth. He landed a few meters away before turning back toward me. I struck with my index claw straight into his eye, bursting the cornea in a mixture of fluid and blood. He snarled and howled in agony, trying to pull his ruined eye away from my claws. I didn’t allow it—I grabbed him by the neck and twisted, snapping it.
I scanned the village, searching for Andrei. He was ripping the head off a female, hissing with elongated fangs exposed.
None of my men were wounded as they advanced, killing every wolf in their path and setting the rest on fire, following my orders.
I focused on the bond with Lunara—the soul-link we shared. She was close, but not close enough, as if being dragged farther away from me.
I prepared to walk when an arrow shot toward me, striking my arm. The silver penetrated the skin, burning and slicing through bone.
I let out a snarl, grinding my teeth. I grabbed the arrow’s tip, burning my palm with the silver, snapped it in half, and tore it from my flesh. I wouldn’t be able to heal with it lodged inside me.
I looked back, locking onto the wolf who’d hit me, then ran straight at him, slashing his chest with my claws, carving a hole into his slender body. He dropped the bow and fell, bleeding out and dying from the severity of the wound. Not even his genes could save him from something like that.
The hole in my arm began to heal, closing slowly as bone, skin, and muscle knitted back together.
I marched through the village, crushing snow under my boots. The screams of despair were music to my ears—and their cries, a sweet melody.
I retrieved a torch hanging from a sconce at the entrance of a house. I shattered the glass with my elbow and threw the torch inside, igniting the interior.
A she-wolf lunged at me, clawing my chest and stripping away skin and blood.
I shook my head and clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth.
“There’s only one omega with the right to do what you just did,” I announced, eyeing the dark-haired, brown-eyed female from head to toe. “And not with those intentions, if you know what I mean.”
She tried to scratch me again, but I caught her wrist and twisted it to the side, breaking it. She screamed loudly.
“You bastard! Our Alpha will destroy you!” she hissed, trying to pull away from me.
I tilted my head to the side, pretending to consider.
“Well… he can certainly try.” I twisted her elbow, breaking another part of her arm. “Unfortunately for you, you’re not on the list of people worth saving.”
“Fuck you!”
I glanced at the fire growing fiercely inside the house, devouring everything within it.
I snorted, rolling my eyes.
“My patience is gone. I need to find my mate.”
I lifted her into my arms as if she weighed nothing, pulling her off the ground. Then, with force, I threw her against the glass window, which exploded as her body crashed into it. Shards scattered everywhere. She rolled inside the burning house, landing in what must have been the dining room. The flames caught her, scorching the dress before spreading across her skin and hair.
The wolf screamed and tried to stand, to run out, but she didn’t have enough strength. The smell of burning flesh hit me. I watched her skin melt until little more than a charred body remained.
I rubbed my palms on my pants, cleaning my hands, and continued on my path, humming quietly.
I managed to walk two streets peacefully before two other wolves attacked. I tore the head off one and the heart out of the other. My clothes, skin, and hair were drenched in Eclipse blood, filling me with immense satisfaction—exactly as I desired.
I heard the sound of an arrow being released the second I turned my head to the left. I raised my arm, closing my hand around the arrow, stopping it inches from my face.
The silver burned me.