Chapter 21 021
Dimitri’s POV
The arena fell into stunned silence after Cassius's ultimatum, and I could feel the weight of hundreds of eyes on me, but the only gaze that mattered was Seraphina's.
They were wide, frightened, and desperate for answers about her parents' death. That look steeled my resolve more than any threat could have.
"I accept." I said, dropping into a fighting stance despite my body screaming in protest from the previous two fights.
Blood still seeped from various wounds and my ribs felt like they had been trampled by a herd of wild horses, but none of that mattered now.
Cassius nodded, almost respectfully, and began removing his jacket with deliberate slowness. "You're brave, young alpha. Foolish, but brave. Celeste would have liked you."
The mention of Seraphina's mother sent another spike of determination through me. This ancient alpha held answers that could change everything, and I would tear them from his throat if necessary.
When Cassius shifted, the crowd gasped collectively. His wolf form was massive, easily the largest I had ever seen, with silver-white fur that seemed to shimmer with power.
Even in my own shifted form, I was giving up significant size and strength, but I had something he didn't. Desperation and rage fueled by an incomplete mate bond that demanded justice for my mate.
We collided with earth-shaking force, and immediately, I knew this fight would be different from the others.
Cassius didn't fight like a brute or with calculating precision. He fought like a force of nature, centuries of experience guiding every movement.
His jaws clamped down on my shoulder and I howled in pain as teeth pierced muscle and scraped bone.
I managed to twist away, leaving fur and flesh behind, and retaliated with claws across his flank, but where such a strike would have slowed Garrett or Kane, Cassius barely flinched.
He spun with impossible speed for something so large and his massive paw caught me across the face, sending me flying into the barrier.
The impact rattled my brain and I tasted copper as blood filled my mouth. Through blurred vision, I saw Seraphina pushing against the crowd, trying to get closer, and Viktor holding her back.
Good. The last thing I needed was her getting caught in this massacre.
Cassius stalked toward me, unhurried and confident.
"You fight well for one so young," His voice echoed in my mind through the pack link, a skill few alphas possessed. "But you cannot defeat centuries of experience with raw determination alone."
He was right, and we both knew it. In a straight fight, I was outmatched, but I hadn't survived this long by fighting fair.
As he lunged for what he assumed would be the killing blow, I didn't dodge backward like he expected. Instead, I dove forward, under his strike, and came up beneath his throat.
My teeth found its mark in the soft underside of his jaw and I bit down with everything I had. Cassius roared, the sound shaking the very ground, and tried to shake me off, but I held on like my life depended on it, because it did.
His blood filled my mouth and it was hot and metallic, as he thrashed and rolled, trying to dislodge me.
We crashed through the barrier, sending spectators scattering. His claws raked down my back, tearing through muscle to scrape against my spine, and I nearly let go from the agony, but Seraphina's scream pierced through the pain, reminding me what I was fighting for.
With a final desperate move, Cassius managed to grab me with his jaws and tear me away, taking a chunk of his own throat with me.
We separated, both bleeding profusely, and I could barely stand. My back legs weren't responding properly and I could feel my strength fading with each heartbeat that pumped more blood onto the ground.
But Cassius was hurt too, possibly fatally. The wound in his throat was deep and bleeding freely. When he tried to lunge again, his movements were sluggish, uncoordinated.
We met in the middle of the destroyed arena, no longer wolves but two dying predators refusing to yield.
Somehow, through luck or divine intervention or sheer stubborn will, I managed to get on top of him. My jaws found his throat again, this time from above, and I applied pressure until I heard him wheeze out a submission through the pack link.
The moment he yielded, I collapsed beside him, my body forcibly shifting back to human form as I lost the strength to maintain my wolf.
Medical wolves rushed toward us both, but I grabbed Cassius's arm before they could separate us.
"The name," I gasped through blood and broken teeth. "You swore to tell me."
Cassius, also back in human form and looking like death warmed over, met my eyes with something like respect.
"Elder Ruth," He said, loud enough for his voice to echo across the stunned arena. "She orchestrated everything. The murder of the Nightingales, the isolation of their daughter, this trial. All of it."
The crowd erupted into chaos. Wolves were shouting, demanding answers, while others were calling for Ruth to be brought forward and I blinked with disbelief. I was just as dumbfounded as they all were.
As I scanned the Elder platform, I realized with growing dread that her seat was empty.
"Where is she?!" I roared, or tried to, but it came out more as a bloody wheeze. "Where is Elder Ruth?!"
One of the elders stood from his seat, his face pale with shock. "She was here at the start of the trial. She must have slipped away during the fighting."
"Find her!" I commanded, my alpha authority ringing through despite my condition. "Lock down the territory! No one leaves until she's found!"
My guards immediately sprang into action, but I wasn't watching them. I was pushing through the crowd, ignoring the medics trying to stop me, ignoring the blood trail I was leaving, focused only on getting to Seraphina.
She met me halfway, tears streaming down her face as she caught me before I could fall. "Dimitri, you're dying! You need medical attention!"
"I'm fine," I lied, cupping her face with bloody hands. "Are you safe? Where were you during the fight?"
"Viktor kept me back," She said, her hands fluttering over my injuries like she could heal them with touch alone. "But Elder Ruth, she killed my parents? She's been planning this whole time?"
The anguish in her voice broke my heart. I pulled her against me, not caring that I was covering her white dress in blood. "We'll find her. I swear to you, she won't get away with this."
Viktor appeared at my side, his face grim. "The guards are searching, but Ruth had a significant head start. She could be anywhere by now."
I looked at Viktor. "Take a team. Search the caves. And Viktor, be careful. If she's desperate enough to run, she's desperate enough to kill."
He nodded and sprinted off, already calling for backup through the pack link. Around us, the crowd was still in chaos, wolves demanding answers, calling for justice.
Some were even eyeing Seraphina with a mixture of pity and fear, like she was cursed.
"We need to get you both to the medical ward," One of the healers insisted. "Alpha, some of these wounds need immediate attention or you could bleed out."
I wanted to refuse, wanted to lead the hunt for Ruth myself, but Seraphina's trembling in my arms made the decision for me. She needed me alive more than she needed immediate vengeance.
"Fine," I conceded, though every instinct screamed at me to join the hunt. "But I want updates every ten minutes."
As they helped us toward the medical building, Seraphina whispered against my chest, "What if there are others? What if Ruth wasn't the only one who wanted my parents dead?"
I tightened my hold on her, ignoring the protest from my injuries. "Then we'll find them all. Every last wolf who had a hand in this will pay. I promise you that."
The medical ward was chaos when we arrived, healers scrambling to treat all three alphas from the trial. They tried to separate us but I growled menacingly enough that they decided treating us in the same room was safer than arguing with an injured and possessive alpha.
As they worked on stitching my back together and setting various broken bones, a commotion outside caught my attention. Through the window, I could see wolves running toward the forest, their expressions urgent.
"They found something." I said, trying to sit up despite the healer's protests.
A moment later, Viktor burst through the door, his expression dark. "We found her trail. She's heading for the eastern border, but Dimitri, she's not alone. At least six wolves are with her, all bearing the mark of the Pure Blood Alliance."
The Pure Blood Alliance, a radical group that believed in the superiority of ancient bloodlines. They'd been quiet for years, but apparently, they'd been working from within our own pack.
"I'm going after them." I declared, pushing off the bed.
"You can barely stand!" The healer protested.
"Then I'll crawl if I have to," I snarled. "That woman orchestrated the murder of my mate's parents. She dies today.”