Chapter 133: saving brian

Chapter 133: saving brian

Cara’s POV

Sound of blaring war whistles and horns started blasting immediately, and we reached 10m of the gigantic pack. 

I divided my troops into two based on the agreed tactic we will use. Garreth, with the other commanders, led half of the tropes into the middle of the pack. Although it was risky and far more dangerous. Garreth had agreed without hesitation, and now they were in position patiently waiting for my signal despite the chaos going on in the pack.

The other half of my troops led by alpha Alexander were back at the camp, in case of retreat. We exercised caution, knowing that the West was a foreign land to us. 

I was at my position. An undercover entrance to a mountain. The mountain wolves had disclosed a secret pathway I to the pack. That is where I will follow. I was following our mating bond that was still pulsing weakly.

“On your command,” she said, hiding beneath shrubs. She had insisted that she would follow me.

I nodded, “we attack” , 

The sound of the whistle rang throughout the mountains. My stationed tropes yelled in return, charging towards the pack. Meeting the enemies that had assembled already.

The battlefield was chaos incarnate. The clash of steel and the cries of warriors echoed in the cold night air, mixing with the acrid scent of blood and smoke. Garreth led half of our forces into the fray, his presence commanding and unyielding. His sword swung with deadly precision, carving through the enemy lines as if he were a storm made flesh. He was our vanguard, our shield, our distraction.

I stared down at the way his face was hardened. Recalling our conversation we had last night. 

“There is something you need to know” he had started.

“something that is?”

It's about Brian's home” he had said, with a complicated expression.

My I Teresa was piqued “I promised that I would help rebuild his pack, I know that it was my fault…”

“No, Brian's Origin. Brian is from the west”

It still felt like a fairy tale even now. He had continued to explain that Brian was supposed to be the alpha of the only and strongest pack in the west. But that was not the most shocking part of it.

He had revealed that the ‘master’ that is called Dereck and Brian are brothers. I was still battling with his piece of news even till now.

I shook my head, getting rid of every distraction. I need to focus on this mission. As it was the most important of all. If any mess up, then the possibility of saving Brian again might be null.

“Wait”, Emily caught up to me as I approached the entrance to the tunnels. “You’re not going in there alone,” she said firmly, gripping my arm.

“I have to,” I said, shaking her off. “This is something I must do myself.”

Her eyes blazed with frustration. “Cara, you don’t know what’s waiting for you down there. Let me come with you.”

“No,” I snapped, softening my tone when I saw the hurt in her eyes. “You’re needed here. Garreth will need you if things turn bad. Trust me, Emily. I’ll be fine.”

She hesitated, but eventually, she nodded. “Be careful,” she whispered.

I offered her a faint smile before turning and slipping into the darkness of the tunnels.

The air grew colder with each step I took. The dim torchlight cast flickering shadows on the damp stone walls, creating an eerie atmosphere that only heightened my unease. The scent of rot and damp earth filled my nostrils, but I pressed on, guided by the faint, persistent pull of the bond. The inside was cold, and it became colder on my descent.

The cells I passed were empty, their iron bars rusted and covered in grime. My footsteps echoed in the silence, each step feeling like a challenge to whatever unseen danger lurked ahead.

It was too quiet. And no guards or sentries or even a checkpoint. It was unsettling.

Either the master or Derek, as is his name, had complete confidence in his power, or this was a trap. My instincts screamed that it was the latter, but I had no choice. Brian was here, I could feel it in the marrow of my bones. The mating bond increased in intensity as I walked deeper into the darkness.

At last, I reached a cell. The door was old but sturdy, its hinges caked with rust. There were no guards, no chains, and no barriers to stop me. My heart hammered in my chest. This was exactly like how I had seen in my vision. I forced the door open with my strength, the sound of screeching metal echoing through the tunnels.

Inside, Brian lay crumpled on the floor, barely recognizable. His once-strong frame was gaunt, his skin pale and bruised with varying degrees of burn. The ever familiar scent of wolfsbane filled the small cell. He was alive, but barely.

“Brian,” I whispered, rushing to his side. My knees hit the cold stone floor as I gathered him in my arms. His body was limp, his breathing shallow.

Tears blurred my vision as I clung to him. “No, no, no... stay with me,” I begged, my voice breaking. “Please, Brian. Don’t leave me.”

He didn’t respond. His eyes remained closed, his chest barely rising. Desperation clawed at me, and I knew I couldn’t let him die, not here, not like this. He was left at the point of death. It was on purpose.

Then, a memory surfaced. Julia’s voice echoed in my mind, a forbidden lesson whispered in secret. “The blood of a Cupbearer can give life to a fellow cupbearer, but it comes at a price. Never use it unless there is no other choice.”

There was no other choice.

If nothing is done, Brian will be dead before we can get help. I bit into my wrist, the sharp sting barely registering as blood welled up and spilled over. Pressing the wound to Brian’s lips, I let the crimson stream flow.

“Drink,” I whispered urgently while praying to every God I know to come and let it work. I did it despite there being only a one percent chance out of a hundred for it to work. Brian was not a cupbearer, so the possibility of the ritual working on him was one to null.

At first, nothing happened. Then, his lips parted slightly, and he began to swallow. Relief flooded through me as color slowly returned to his face. His breathing steadied, and his eyes fluttered open, hazy but alive.

“Cara?, wh..at are you doing…” he rasped, his voice barely audible.

“I’m here,” I said, tears streaming down my face. I hugged him tightly, the warmth of his body against mine, a reassurance that he was still with me.

We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity until he managed to sit up with my help. I slung his arm over my shoulders, helping him to his feet.

But as I turned toward the door, a shadow loomed in the entrance. My blood ran cold as Ryder stepped into the cell, his eyes gleaming with malice.

“Well, isn’t this touching?” he sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. “The little Cupbearer and her half-dead mate. How sad.”

Anger flared within me, hotter and fiercer than ever before. Memories of Debby’s lifeless body flashed before my eyes, and I felt the fire within me roar to life.

“Brian, stay back,” I said, gently lowering him to the ground despite his protests.

“Cara, don’t, ” he began, trying to stop me, but he barely had the strength to stay Alice. 

I cradled his head. “Don't worry, baby, I am a lot stronger than you think.” 

I drew my sword after placing brian well. the weight of it is familiar in my hand. Ryder’s expression shifted, surprise flickering in his eyes as I stepped forward.

“You think I’m the same weak girl you once knew?” I said coldly. “You’re about to find out how wrong you are.”

“The last time we met, you could hardly swing a stick well. Let's see what you got”.

The fight was brutal and swift. Ryder was strong, but I was stronger. Every strike of my blade carried the weight of my grief, my anger, my determination. He underestimated me, and it was his downfall.

With a final swing of my sword, I stabbed him. He watched my sword that was stuck inside him. his face alternating between shock and confusion.

“how…”

He could not finish his words before he slumped. I stood straight over his corpse. my chest heaved with exertion. The fire within me burned fiercely. I had exerted my revenge for Debby.

As I turned back to Brian, the ground beneath us rumbled ominously, and a deafening horn-like blast echoed through the tunnels. The walls quaked, dust falling from the ceiling as if the entire place was about to collapse.

My stomach twisted with dread. Whatever that sound was, it meant trouble.

“We have to go,” I said, rushing to Brian and pulling his arm around my shoulders. “Can you walk?”

He nodded weakly, his face pale but determined. “With you, I can.”

Together, we stumbled through the dark corridors, my heart pounding with urgency. The tremors grew stronger, cracks forming in the stone walls as the tunnels seemed to cave in around us.

When we finally emerged into the chaos of the battlefield was like nothing I had ever seen. my worst fears were confirmed. The whole battle field was filled with the west warriors. They were pressing our people who were already on the defensive back. If not for Garreth who was facing hundred wolves all by himself at the same time, olwe would have had no choice but to retreat. My people were fighting valiantly, but the odds were turning against them.

I looked at Brian, his face set in an unreadable expression. I sighed, I already knew that he was feeling guilty. I didn’t need anything to confirm that what Garreth had said is the truth. “Stay with Garreth,” I told him. “I need to help them.”

His grip tightened on my arm. “Cara, don’t go alone…”

“I’ll be fine,” I promised, forcing a smile. “I’m not the same weak girl you knew.”

Before he could argue, I turned and ran toward the heart of the battle, my sword gleaming in the dim light. The fire within me burned brighter than ever, a fierce reminder that I wasn’t fighting for myself, I was fighting for my people, for my mate, and for the future.