Chapter 78 78

Chapter 78 78
Third Person POV
Jason and Adrian ran as fast as their tired legs could carry them. The sounds of fighting grew louder with every step—growls, shouts, swords clashing.  
They reached the main field near the Diamond Pack’s center. It was chaos. Warriors from both sides were everywhere. Some were hurt, some were still fighting. 
The ground was messy with broken weapons and blood. The air smelled of smoke and fear.  In the middle of it all, Alpha Draven stood tall, fighting three warriors at once. 
His eyes burned with rage, and his movements were strong and sharp. Jason didn’t waste time. He charged into the fight, sword swinging. Adrian followed, gritting his teeth.  
They fought side by side, covering each other’s backs. Jason’s sword clashed against one of Dorian men’s blade, sending sparks flying. 
He shoved the warrior back and knocked him out with one hard punch. Adrian struggled a little more. His arms were weak from the earlier fight, but he didn’t stop. 
He blocked a blow meant for Jason and knocked the enemy down with all the strength he had left.  "Stay close!" Jason shouted over the noise.  
Adrian nodded, breathing hard. Alpha Dorian was there too, standing on a hill, shouting orders to his men. His face was twisted with anger. He didn’t expect the Diamond Pack to fight back so hard.  
Jason’s eyes locked on him. For a second, everything else faded. “We end this tonight,” Jason muttered to Adrian. They fought harder, pushing toward Alpha Dorian. 
Other Diamond warriors, seeing Jason and Adrian, found new strength. They roared and fought with everything they had.  Adrian saw friends fall. He saw enemies fall too. 
It was messy. It was real. And it was terrifying.  But they had to win. They had no choice. At one point, Adrian almost fell. A warrior swung a sword at him, but Jason blocked it just in time.  
"Focus!" Jason barked. Adrian shook his head, clearing his fear. “I’m with you!” he yelled back. Alpha Draven, seeing them, gave a small nod of approval.  
Slowly, the tide of battle started to turn. Diamond warriors were gaining ground. Alpha Dorian’s men were beginning to fall back.  
Jason’s heart pounded. His whole body hurt. Blood dripped from a cut on his arm. But he didn’t stop.  
He couldn’t.  
Not until his pack, his home, was safe again. In the middle of the war, Noah had only one job—protecting Luna.  
He had dropped Alice off with her mother, told her to stay hidden, and then ran straight to Luna's room. His heart pounded as he pushed through the chaos, dodging fighting warriors and fire-lit debris. 
When he reached Hazel’s quarters, he swung the door open.  
Empty.  
His stomach dropped.  
“Hazel?” he called out, rushing inside. He checked every corner. No sign of her. He slammed his fist into the wall, breathing hard. Pain shot through his hand, but he didn’t care.  
Alpha Draven had given him one job. Just one. And he had failed. “She was right here,” he whispered, angry at himself. “I should’ve stayed.”  
But he didn’t have time to stand around and regret. Hazel was gone, and she was sick. If something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.  
He stepped out of the room and looked around. The pack house was full of noise—shouting, clashing steel, smoke in the air. He didn’t even know where to start looking.  
Then a thought hit him.  
The hidden border.  It was an old escape path, known only to the Alpha, Beta, and a few trusted guards. If someone wanted to take Hazel and disappear, that’s where they’d go.  
Without wasting another second, Noah called a few guards. “Follow me. Fast!” They ran through the trees, branches scratching their arms, feet pounding against the dirt. 
The sounds of battle grew quieter as they moved deeper into the forest. Then they heard shouting ahead. They slowed and crept closer.  
There, near the hidden border, they saw her—Hazel. She was pale, her body weak, struggling to stay on her feet. 
Ember had one arm wrapped around her, trying to pull her forward. Thalia stood next to her, watching for danger.  
Hazel fought back weakly. “Let me go,” she yelled.  “You have no idea what would happen to you Hazel,” Ember snapped, trying to drag her along. “We have to go now.”  
Noah didn’t wait. He rushed forward with a roar, his eyes blazing with fury.  He slammed into Ember, knocking her away from Hazel. 
Thalia turned in shock, but Noah punched her hard in the stomach, and she dropped to the ground. “Take them!” he shouted to the guards.  
The guards ran forward, grabbing Ember and Thalia before they could run. Ember tried to fight back, kicking and screaming.  “You don’t know who I am right?” She yelled.
But the guards were stronger. They held her tight. Noah dropped to his knees beside Hazel. “Are you okay?” he asked, voice shaking.  
Hazel’s lips trembled. “I—I don’t know…I still feel very weak”  
“You’re safe now,” Noah said softly, lifting her into his arms. She was so light. Too light. He looked at Ember and Thalia, his jaw tight. “If anything had happened to her…”  
Ember turned her head away, silent now. Noah stood, cradling Hazel. “Let’s go,” he told the guards. “Back to the pack house. Now.”  
Jason didn’t stop. He gripped his sword tighter and pushed through the pain. Adrian was right behind him, limping but still moving. 
Around them, the fight raged on, but more of Dorian’s warriors were falling or running. Jason’s eyes were locked on the hill. On Alpha Dorian.  
Dorian saw him coming. His face twisted with hate. He jumped down from the hill, sword raised high. “You think you’ve won?” Dorian growled. 
“You’re nothing but children!” Jason ran to meet him, sword ready. Their blades crashed with a loud clang. Jason grunted as Dorian swung hard, forcing him back.  
“You attacked our home!” Jason shouted. 
“You brought this on yourself!” Adrian came in from the side, swinging his sword. Dorian blocked him with ease and kicked him away. 
Adrian rolled and hit the ground hard, groaning. Jason lunged again. His sword scraped across Dorian’s arm, cutting deep. 
Dorian hissed in pain, then slammed his elbow into Jason’s face. Jason stumbled, blood in his mouth. “You don’t have the strength to finish this,” Dorian spat.  
Then, a deep voice cut through the battle.  
“I do.”  
Alpha Draven stepped forward, his sword shining with blood. His eyes locked on Dorian, cold and steady. Dorian backed up a step. 
“Draven…”  
“You should have stayed in your lands,” Draven said. “This is where it ends.” With a roar, Draven charged. The two Alphas clashed, blade to blade. Sparks flew. 
The ground shook beneath their feet. Dorian was fast and cruel, swinging heavy and wild. Draven was calm and sharp, every move controlled. 
They circled each other, metal crashing again and again. “You were always weaker than me!” Dorian shouted, swinging hard. Draven blocked, then shoved Dorian back. 
“And yet I’m the one still standing.” Draven struck low, cutting Dorian’s leg. Dorian dropped to one knee with a snarl. He tried to swing again, but Draven knocked the sword from his hand.  
Dorian looked up, chest heaving. “Wait—”  
Draven didn’t. He drove his sword straight through Dorian’s heart. Dorian gasped, eyes wide, then collapsed.  
Silence.  
All around the field, Dorian’s warriors froze. They saw their Alpha fall. One by one, they dropped their swords.  
Surrender.  
Jason dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Adrian crawled to his side, bloody but alive.  Alpha Draven turned to them, nodding once. 
“You both fought well.” Jason looked around the field. The bodies. The broken weapons. The smoke.  
But it was over.  
They had won.  
At last.  
The war was over, but Alpha Draven’s heart was still racing. The first thing he did after the fight ended was rush to check on Hazel. 
His boots echoed through the hallway as he ran, his sword still in his hand, blood dripping from his arms. He pushed the door open.  
There she was.  
Hazel lay on the bed, her face calm, chest rising and falling slowly as she slept. Draven stopped in the doorway. His hard expression softened.  
“Thank the Moon Goddess you’re safe,” he whispered. He stepped closer but didn’t touch her. His hands were bloody and bruised, and he didn’t want to stain her peaceful rest. 
He clenched his fists and stayed still, just watching her breathe. Behind him, Noah let out a long breath he didn’t know he had been holding. 
He leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from his forehead. His clothes were torn, and a cut on his cheek bled slowly, but he didn’t care. Hazel was safe. That was all that mattered.  
He didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if she had been taken across the border. A moment later, Adrian and Jason entered the room. 
Their faces were tired, skin smudged with dirt and blood, but their eyes were sharp. Jason spoke first. “What do we do with the bodies and the soldiers still alive?”  
Alpha Draven turned to them slowly. His voice was low, calm, but cold. “We burn the bodies… including their Alpha. Let the flames clean this land.”  
Jason gave a short nod.  
“And the others?” Adrian asked. “The ones who surrendered?”  
“Lock them in the dungeon for now,” Draven said. “We’ll decide their fate later, once the pack is stable.”  
Then Draven looked around the room. His brows drew together. “Where is Alice?” he asked.  The room fell silent.  
Noah froze. His heart skipped a beat. Jason and Adrian looked at each other, confused.  
“I... I left her with her mother,” Noah said, stepping forward. “She should still be there.”  
Draven’s jaw tightened. “Should be?” Noah nodded slowly, suddenly unsure. “I’ll go check now,” he added quickly, turning to leave.  
Draven looked back at Hazel. He didn’t say anything more, but the worry in his eyes said enough.  
This night had taken so much. Blood. Lives. Trust. He couldn’t afford to lose anyone else.  
Outside, the sounds of fire being lit and warriors gathering the fallen began to rise. The clean-up had started. 
But inside that quiet room, Alpha Draven stood guard beside Hazel’s bed, not as a warrior or a leader—just as a mate who had nearly lost the one he loved.  
And now, there was one more person they needed to find.  
Alice.