135

135
Dante’s POV

My paws hit the ground hard as I rushed through the forest, and my pack followed me in perfect formation. The scent of war was prominently in the air, a mix of blood, steel, and fear. But my wolf pushed me harder, needing me to find Diana before the war started.

Two days. It took us two days without stopping to run to get here. Two days without knowing if our Luna was safe, without knowing if the cubs were covered, without knowing if Malachi had attacked already.

My beta, Marcus, ran by my side, and through the pack link, I could feel how he worried as much as I did.” We are near, Alpha, and I can smell the camp.”

“Faster,” I commanded through the link. “We need to reach them now.”

Some trees reduced ahead, and I suddenly ran into a gigantic clearing. Thousands of tents lay ahead, correctly organized in straight lines. Witches in cloths of different color rods through, preparing spells and potions. The werewolf warriors shredded their lodgments and drilled through, creating drills. This was indeed Diana’s army, which had come to be more significant than I could have predicted.

I changed form back to my human shape, my already-clothing body having shown up with the magic Diana assisted me with learning. My pack followed suit, and all of us came up straight, ready for a fight.

A bunch of witches came towards us, headed by an old woman with silver hair and kind eyes, and she restrained a little. “Alpha Dante, we were expecting you. Diana said you’ll be arriving today. “

“Where is she? ”

“In the command tent, planning strategy with the other leaders. I’ll take you to her.” My eyes scanned everything as I followed the witch through the camp. Soldiers looked tired. They should. They would need their determination when Malachi arrived. I’d seen the reports. We were outnumbered but not outmatched. Not with Diana. The command tent was the largest, with guards at every entrance.

They stepped aside as soon as they saw me, and I pushed through the flap. Diana was standing over a huge table covered in maps, her finger tracing battle lines as she spoke to several werewolf alphas and witch leaders. Her long black hair was pulled back, and armor that combined werewolf leather with witch enchantments covered her body. She was every inch the powerful Luna the world now saw her as. She sensed me before she saw me. Her head snapped up, and our eyes met across the tent.

“Galen.” For a moment, everything else disappeared. There was just her and me, mates, partners, parents. She saw her relief flood out her face quickly chased by something else. Love and fear. She excused herself from the others and walked over to me. I met her halfway, pulling her into my arms and burying my face in her hair. She smelled like home, like safety, like everything I was fighting for.

“You came.” She whispered against my chest.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” I pulled back to look at her face. “Diana…I will always come for you. Always.”

“The children?”

“Safe. Hidden away in the werewolf realm with my top guards. No one can reach them there.”

She sagged in relief and her hands gripped my arms tight. “Thank the moon goddess. I have been so worried.”

“They are both safe for now, but we need to end this. Malachi won’t stop until he is destroyed or we are.” I couldn’t help but bite the inside of my cheek at that. “Diana, they can destroy me if it came down to it.”

“Good, we will take the mountain then. Come, I show you our battle plans.” Since we were heading towards our seats, it wasn’t a long walk. The other leaders nodded in our direction as we passed. I recognized Alpha Thomas from the Northern Pack and Alpha Sarah from the East territories but the witch leaders, I had not met before, I could feel their power, though.

“Dante meet Elder Miriam and Elder Cassian from the high witch council, Commander Vale who leads our vampire allies.” I somehow managed to keep my face from crumpling.

“You have vampire support?” I gasped. Diana smiled a little.

“There is a lot you do not know, Dante. I will fill you in.” \\

For the next hour, Diana filled me in. Malachi had around three times the number of me, positioned on the western plains. He had dark magic users and shadow crystals that could absorb witch magic. He had spies everywhere, though Diana had caught and interrogated one Malachi’s spy.

“What did he tell you?” I inquired.

“That Malachi will attack at dawn tomorrow, he wants to trap us between his front lines and a secondary force to the north.”

“Then we need to counter,” alpha Thomas suggested, “split our forces.”

“No,” I shook my head as I studied the map in front of us. “If we split, we play into his hands. He wants us split. We will position our strongest fighters on the northern flank. When Malachi’s second force attacks, we hit them hard and fast, eliminate them before they trap us.”

Diana nodded and said, “That is exactly what we thought. Dante, I want you and your pack on that northern position. You are the finest fighters we have.”

Pride beamed in my heart. “You can count on us to not fail you.”

“I am aware of that,” she said. The meeting lasted an additional hour and we worked through the details. The witches client Malachi’s godsend, when the vampires settled on striking. It was dangerous and convoluted, but it was everything we had.

Once the long meeting was over, and all the other leaders had left, Diana and I were alone. She collapsed onto the table, and with a sigh, I walked up to her. I tossed my arms around her waist from behind, rested my chin on her shoulder, and after a moment of silence.

“Talk to me. What are you truly thinking, hun?” She mumbled

“I’m scared. What if we fail? What if Malachi murders everyone we love? What if our children live without us?”

“That won’t happen. You can’t promise me that,” she said and struck me on the chest.

I revolved and clasped her cheeks with my hand, “You’re right; however, I can swear on everything I have, for example myself, that whatever occurs, I’ll do everything in my power to preserve you. You’ll do the same. Right?”

She cried, “I can’t lose you again, Dante. We can’t experience all that that torment, that detachment, and afterward. I can’t lose you now.”

“You won’t. We’re going to win this war. We’re going to kill Malachi. At that point, we’re going to go home to our children and live the tranquil lives we’ve generally pursued.”

“Hahah! You make it sound easy.”

“It is possible. Possibly we are overthinking it.” She shook her head, yet there was a grin all over. She muttered, “You must know that I love you.”

“I know. I, too more than anything.” I kissed her softly, releasing all my affection, all my dread, all my zest to keep her safe. She answered violently, ripping my hair with her fingers.

When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing hard. Diana rested her forehead against mine.

“Promise me something,” she whispered.

“Anything.”

“If something happens to me tomorrow, if Malachi kills me, promise me you’ll take care of our children. Promise you’ll raise them to be strong and kind. Promise you’ll tell them of me.”

“Diana, don’t speak that way.”

She turned her face back to mine. “Promise me, Dante.”

I swallowed.

“I promise. But you have to promise me the same.”

“I promise.”

We stood there in the quiet, holding each other for a long moment, trying to memorize every sense. The way she felt in my arms, the sound of her heartbeat, the warmth of her skin. Tomorrow, everything would be different. Tomorrow, we would face our enemy. A horn sounded outside, three blasts. Diana stiffened.

“What was that?” I asked.

“The warning signal. Enemy force in sight”. We shot out together. Soldiers were running, panicking, grabbing weapons. Marcus was already getting my pack in formation. A scout ran up to Diana.

“Luna Diana, Alpha Dante. Malachi’s army is coming. They’re not waiting until dawn.” Diana looked stricken.

“How long?”

“An hour, maybe two.”

“Damn it,” Diana cursed. “He’s trying to catch us unprepared.” I grabbed Diana’s hand.

“Then we can’t wait. Get everyone in position.”

Diana nodded and ran off to yell orders. “All units to positions. Witches, defensive spells. Archers, front line. Hustle, hustle, hustle!” I ran off towards the pack.

“Be safe,” I said before catching one last kiss.

“You too. Go,” she said before pushing me away.

“Alpha, what are your orders?”

“We take the northern flank as planned. Malachi’s second force will hit us there. We must be ready.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

My pack gathered around me as we headed toward our position. Malachi’s army was already visible in the distance. They appeared like a black sea creeping across the plains, too many to count. My wolf howled in anticipation. It wished to fight, to safeguard our mate, and pack members. I changed, bones snapping into a new form while fur sprouted over all parts of my body. Over a hundred wolves changed shape around me. I connected them all via the bond.

“Today we fight to protect our families and our children. We fight to ensure our future. Grant no quarter. We will come out on top if we fight to the mark.”

Their howling combined to make an undying war-scream. I glanced in the distance to see Diana on a dais, her fist glowing with magic, and she seemed to be a goddess of war. Then I heard it: the drums that announced the impending battle. Our bodies moved in a single direction as Malachi’s army ran. Where we travelled, the ground rumbled due to the thousands of feet hitting it. And I released a howl, and my pack charged after me.

From behind, Diana shrieked through the bond using magnified magic, “For our freedom! For our future! Attack!”

There was a loud crash as both clans met. Blood gushed from the bodies of my soldiers, wolves bit into the flesh of enemy soldiers, witches cast spells into the heavens, which boomed with electricity, and vampires darted with unprecedented velocity and ability. Amid the turmoil, I fought, my crackling jaws slicing flesh as my limbs ripped through me.

Diana. I had to keep her. Safe. No matter what. Then I. I saw them. The second force. The men and women. Malachi. Malachi had told me not to expect. The second force he had planned was emerging from the forest to our north. But they. They weren’t soldiers. They were monsters. Creatures made of shadow and nightmare, things that should not. Should not exist. They. They moved towards our. Towards our northern flank where my pack had. Had been positioned. Through the pack link —. Through the pack link, I felt my wolves. Wolves’ fear. “Hold your ground!” I howled.

“We can fight them!” I can.

As she shouted to her pack, war lines, I wasn’t sure of it. The shadow creatures. They crashed into our lines screaming.