400- The Women Who Went to War
POV Seraphine Valerian:
I stopped crying, forcing myself to be strong like Viktor.
When the village gates closed, I took a deep breath. They were descending the road now, out of our sight.
Daciana hugged me, her three sons heading to war, her husband responsible for the village. The girl she had helped raise, dead. And Viktor, whom she considered a son, marked as a target in that war.
I comforted her, just as I did the others who stayed behind and gathered around us.
“I wanted to fight with them!” Lana burst out angrily. “Kill the bastard who took Adelina’s and Katarina’s lives! Stand beside my father! Many of us are trained!”
“So did I.” Stoica wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “But Emil will come back to us. All of them will. And if they invade here, we’ll fight.”
Everyone echoed the same thing, even the children, shouting in hatred. The elders ushered them inside while Anica said:
“We should’ve let Florian take the elderly and the children through the secret passage and all gone down with our friends and relatives! I want revenge! Blood!”
“We need to obey Viktor.” Daciana wiped her eyes and turned to me. “Let’s go to the castle, Seraphine. You need to eat and rest.”
“I can’t. I’m going to the office with Florian to follow everything through the cameras.”
“But what good will that do? You’ll only get more nervous!”
“I’ll be with Viktor. At least watching what happens to him. And praying.” I kissed her cheek and ran toward the building without waiting another second.
I didn’t feel tired.
Adrenaline surged wildly through my blood, fear and anxiety making my legs weak, yet a new strength pushed me to hope and believe.
I climbed the stairs to Viktor’s office with him occupying every thought in my mind. Love consuming every cell inside me. He would come back safe and sound. Then nothing would separate us.
That was what I clung to.
My shoulder throbbed, a strange pain radiating through my chest and stomach. I even touched the skin, thinking I had a fever. But no, it was cold. Different. More sensitive.
I ignored it and knocked before entering. The man who had taught me to shoot, whom I cared for deeply, looked at me with worried eyes.
“Seraphine… I thought it was the assistant who’d stay here with me.”
“I’ll be your assistant. Tell me what I need to do.”
“Girl, go to the castle and—”
“I’m not leaving.”
I immediately positioned myself in front of the monitors, seeing the massive pack descending the road, Viktor half-transformed and leading them. All of them looked the same, ready for war.
My heart skipped a beat and I sat beside him, my legs turning to jelly.
Florian didn’t stop me. He watched what unfolded before us and around the territory. Then he pointed toward a more distant area.
“There’s movement there, but it’s too far to see clearly. It’s difficult terrain between several territories, directly in front of Tharengard. Our cameras and sensors can only identify a large number of beings there.”
“They’re there to defend Lucian?”
“He summoned many packs and knows Viktor is coming for him.”
“Do you think the other alphas will support him? Or stay out of it?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. They still don’t seem to believe they’re brothers.”
Fear tightened inside me while I analyzed all the screens.
“But if it’s between territories, then it could be a trap. They’ll be cornered between Cyndrael, Valmorin, Dăneşti, and Tharengard. They’ll be attacked from all sides, trapped in the middle.”
“It’s a risk.”
“My God… Saint Sara…” I prayed, terror filling my guts. “We have to warn them!”
“Viktor already knows. He’s counting on his brothers at least staying out of it. Then he’ll fight Lucian and what’s left of Konrad’s pack, which likely joined forces against us.”
I leaned forward, my heart pounding so violently it slammed against my ribs. I watched the Averwyn pack cross the lower gates and head into the forest while the gates shut again behind them, guards positioned in the towers.
They quickened their pace, beginning to run toward danger. Those carrying weapons stayed at the front, followed by the strongest fighters who would rely on physical superiority.
Soon I could no longer distinguish individual figures as they disappeared into the distance. I tried to cling to the image of my love until he became nothing more than a blur among the others.
Again, I fought against tears.
We remained silent until Florian suddenly moved, adjusting a mouse and enlarging another monitor’s image. I noticed movement there too but couldn’t understand what it was.
His tense expression warned me first.
“What is it?”
“Shit…”
“Florian?”
“It’s a trap.” He stood, enlarging the image further.
I could finally make out half-transformed wolves moving quickly through the vegetation.
“How do you know? Who are they?”
“They’re coming from behind, Seraphine. See?” He pointed. “Viktor is heading toward the others while these arrive afterward. He’ll be attacked from every side. Fuck!”
Nervously, he hurried to the map, studying the geography and pointing things out.
Then I understood.
And my terror exploded.
“They won’t survive that ambush!” I jumped to my feet, searching desperately for a solution.
Florian didn’t deny it, and I realized this was the worst possible scenario. Lucian had thought of everything. The bastard was planning a massacre.
“No! That’s not going to happen!” Deadly hatred consumed me and I demanded: “Show me on the map where they are.”
“Through the forest. Soon they’ll pass in front of us. Fuck, I can’t even call my sons and warn them! It could distract and scatter them, and they’re already surrounded from the front and sides!”
“We have to use the same strategy!” I slammed my hand against the table and the bite mark throbbed while everything inside me ignited. Rage surged upward, nervousness fueling me. “We attack from behind! Blow up the ones coming after them before they reach our pack!”