Chapter 102 SHATTERED BREAKING POINT
AMBER’S POV
I didn’t scream, I wailed.
The sound tore out of me the second I understood what I was seeing. Derek was bleeding and Trent stood there like a storm that refused to pass. Shadows moving fast through the trees and there were too many, from too many directions.
“No… no, no,” I cried, my voice breaking apart.
My cry echoed, loud and raw, and I realized too late what I’d done.
Derek turned sharply. “Amber, get back!” he shouted.
Trent cursed under his breath. “Damn it.”
The forest exploded with movement.
Figures rushed in from the left, fast and silent, eyes glowing, weapons already drawn. From the right came answering snarls and heavy footsteps. The air filled with shouting, growls, metal clashing against metal.
Both packs were here and I realized this was about to get worse than it was already.
“This is bad,” I whispered, panicking, locking my legs in place.
A soldier from the spirit pack appeared beside me. “We’ve got to move,” he said urgently, grabbing my arm.
“Derek!” I screamed, trying to pull free.
“I’m fine!” Derek shouted back, already fighting off two attackers. “Go with them!”
“I won’t leave you!” I cried.
Another body slammed into Derek, knocking him to the ground. My heart stopped.
“Derek!” I tried to run to him, but strong hands held me back.
“Amber, listen to me,” the soldier said. “If they get you, this gets worse.”
“I don’t care!” I yelled, struggling. “Let me go!”
An arrow flew past my head, so close I felt the air shift. It struck a tree with a sharp crack.
“That was meant for you,” the soldier said grimly. “Move. Now.”
The sounds around us were overwhelming. Shouts of command. Cries of pain. The deep roar of shifting bodies. I saw members of Derek’s pack rush in, forming a wall between him and the attackers. Someone tackled Trent from the side, and he disappeared into the chaos.
“Where is he?” I shouted.
“No time!” another spirit pack member said. “We’re pulling back.”
I was dragged backward as the battle swallowed the clearing. My feet stumbled over roots and rocks. I kept looking over my shoulder, searching for Derek’s face through the mess of bodies.
“Derek!” I screamed again.
He didn’t answer.
Pain exploded through my shoulder. I gasped, the breath knocked out of me as I hit the ground hard. My ears rang, and for a second, everything blurred.
“Amber!” someone shouted.
I looked down and saw blood soaking into my sleeve. I didn’t even remember being hit.
“She’s wounded,” a voice said sharply. “Get her up!”
“I’m fine,” I said weakly. “I can walk.”
Another explosion of sound shook the ground. Something crashed nearby, sending dirt flying over us.
“You’re not fine,” the soldier said. “And you’re not staying here.”
Two of them lifted me, half carrying, half dragging me through the trees. I cried out as pain shot through my arm.
“Slow down!” I begged. “Please!”
“We can’t,” one of them replied. “They’re pushing forward.”
Behind us, the war grew louder. I heard Derek’s pack shouting orders, and I heard the spirit pack answering. The sounds blended into something terrible and endless.
“I have to go back,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “He’s still there.”
“He told us to protect you,” one of them said firmly.
Another arrow flew past, hitting the ground near my feet. Someone cursed.
“Down!” they shouted, pulling me behind a fallen tree.
I cried out again as my shoulder hit the bark. The pain was sharp and burning now.
“Hold still,” one of them said, pressing a hand to the wound. “You’re losing blood.”
“I don’t care about the blood,” I sobbed. “I care about him.”
“You won’t help him dead,” the soldier snapped, then softened. “Stay with us.”
More footsteps rushed past. I caught glimpses of bodies fighting through the trees. Faces twisted with anger. Weapons flashing. Blood everywhere.
This wasn’t a fight anymore, this was war.
A loud roar shook the ground, so deep it rattled my bones. The soldiers around me stiffened.
“That’s bad,” one of them muttered.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Reinforcements,” he said. “And not ours.”
My heart dropped. I clutched my injured arm, trying not to scream as they lifted me again.
“Derek,” I whispered over and over, like saying his name could protect him.
We moved faster now, retreating deeper into the forest as the sounds of battle followed us. The ground trembled beneath our feet behind us, the war only grew louder.
I knew, with sick certainty, that this was only the beginning. The forest blurred as they carried me, branches scratching my face, roots tearing at my clothes. My shoulder throbbed with every step. I wanted to run back, wanted to throw myself into the fight, but I knew I couldn’t. Not yet.
“Keep moving!” one of the soldiers shouted over the roar of battle. “We need cover, now!”
I looked back. Smoke and fire were rising from the clearing. Shadows moved like waves. I could see flashes of weapons, figures crashing into each other. My stomach twisted.
“Derek!” I screamed again, tears blinding me. “Derek, he’s…he’s…”
“Amber!” the soldier snapped, gripping my arm tighter. “Focus on staying alive!”
I shook my head, sobbing. “I can’t! He’s out there fighting, and I can’t help him!”
“You’re not supposed to!” another voice said urgently. A second soldier had joined, and together they steered me into a narrow path between thick trees. “If you go back, you’re dead or worse you get captured. We can’t lose you too.”
I stumbled, almost falling, and one of them grabbed my arm. “I told you to stay close!”
“Stop!” I yelled, the pain in my shoulder making me grit my teeth. “Stop dragging me like I’m helpless!”
“You are helpless if you keep running toward him!” the soldier snapped, clearly frustrated.
I pressed my hand to my bleeding shoulder. Blood was warm on my fingers, sticky and frightening. “I don’t care! He’s out there…he’s fighting alone! I can’t just sit here!”
“Amber, look at me!” the first soldier said, gripping my chin so I had to meet his eyes. “You will help him by surviving! That’s the only way he can win!”
I blinked through my tears, my chest heaving. The sounds behind us…metal clashing, cries, howls…felt like they were coming closer. Too close.
The second soldier glanced over his shoulder. “They’re advancing! Faster!”
I struggled against them for a moment, then sank back into their arms, exhausted and terrified. My throat burned from screaming Derek’s name. My body shook with pain and fear.
Then, a sudden, deep roar split the forest. It was louder than anything I had ever heard, unnatural and violent. Both soldiers froze.
“What now?” I whispered, voice trembling.
“They’re bringing something bigger,” one muttered, eyes wide. “Something… deadly.”
The ground trembled beneath us, and I felt it through my bleeding shoulder. My heart stopped.
In that instant, I knew this war wasn’t just
getting worse. It was about to become unstoppable.
WAR BREAKS LOOSE