Chapter 107

Lucas' POV

"This isn't possible. You're dead." The words came out before I realized I'd spoken them.

"Surprise, Alpha. I'm very much alive." His grin was wide, almost too wide, like he'd been waiting for this moment. "Do you feel it yet? Has the magic kicked in?"

The air was tense, everyone held their breaths. I knew what Matthew meant, I just didn't think the other Lycans did. The sheer number of wolves around us was too much. None of us was at full power. The forest is pumped with witch magic, which in turn weakens us. Each of us can handle fighting about 50 wolves, even while weak. That's the power of a Lycan. However, something else was off. The magic got stronger and stronger.

"Sabrina…" My father cried out. I turned to see my sister slumped against a tree, her hand pressed to her side. Her face was pale, her breathing shallow. She was slipping away, and I couldn't do anything about it-not yet.

"That's right," Matthew said, his tone mocking. "I laced my arrows with the same poison Sabrina almost killed me with. Silver."

The words hit hard, and I panicked. I couldn't let my sister die. If we could get her to Elara, there was a chance. If she touched my mate's belly again, perhaps she'll be healed.

"Aren't you going to ask me the question?" Matthew raised an eyebrow, his movements exaggerated, like this was some kind of game. I scanned the area, looking for a way out, but there wasn't one. We were surrounded, outnumbered, and weakened. But I wasn't worried. Not yet.

"How are you alive?" I asked, my voice flat, edged with irritation.

"Bingo." He clicked his tongue, his grin widening. "It starts with the witches. They found me after you left. Overpowered the one you left guarding them. They healed me, and then we made a deal."

"You're their pet," one of the Lycans behind me spat, voice thick with disgust. "Typical wolf. Weak. Compelled."

Matthew's grin didn't falter. "Wrong. I'm not compelled. I hated you enough to make a deal with them. Right now, my army is moving on your pack. We'll wipe out anyone loyal to Lycans."

His words were meant to provoke, to scare us, but I felt nothing but cold anger. Matthew had always been arrogant, always underestimated what it meant to face a Lycan King. He was about to learn how costly that mistake could be.

I turned to look at my sister. Her skin became pale and clammy, clearly getting worse. She was shaking while my father held her.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" Matthew sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "The witches didn't just give me silver arrows. They cooked up a little extra spell for me. Made the poison deadlier. Slower. More painful. Isn't that poetic?"

My jaw tightened, my claws extending as rage burned through me. I could feel the power surging in my veins, the primal force of a Lycan King ready to unleash hell. Matthew's grin faltered for a moment as he saw the shift in my expression, but he quickly masked it with false bravado.

"What's the matter, Lucas?" he taunted, nocking another arrow. "Not so invincible now, are you?"

I didn't respond. I didn't need to. With a snarl, I charged at him. Matthew barely had time to react as I closed the distance between us. He fired the arrow, but I dodged it effortlessly, the silver tip grazing my shoulder but failing to pierce my skin.

Before he could draw another arrow, I was on him. The second I'd moved, the other Lycans followed que. They attacked Matthew's wolf. My claws slashed across Matthew's face, making him bleed. I didn't give him a moment to recover. I pounced again, slamming him to the ground with a force that knocked the air from his lungs.

Around us, chaos erupted. The other Lycans tore into Matthew's wolf army brutally. Matthew's wolves were strong, but they were no match for Lycans. Especially not when we fought together.

Matthew scrambled to his feet. " For an Alpha, you're pathetic.''

He fired another arrow, but I caught it mid-air, snapping it in two like a twig. His eyes widened in disbelief as I closed in on him again, my presence towering and unrelenting.

"Notice that?" I said, my voice calm but laced with menace. "The magic isn't very effective, is it? You may be determined to fight us, but you barely have enough knowledge. Typical young wolves. Always so arrogant."

I grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground with ease. "I'm more than 300 years old, Matthew. I've met wolves like you. Full of themselves, thinking you can take us on but too ignorant to gather intel." He struggled, his claws scratching uselessly at my arm, but I barely felt it. With a flick of my wrist, I threw him across the forest floor, his body crashing into the dirt with a satisfying thud.

"Lycans are weakest apart," I continued, walking toward him as he dragged himself backward, He looked like he'd cry, the sight made me sick. This wasn't an ideal Alpha, he certainly wasn't the tough Alpha he pretended to be. "Together, we're unstoppable. Especially with a Lycan King present. Being together is the ultimate immunity against anything."

I crouched down, my face inches from his, my golden eyes glowing with predatory intensity. "Everything," I said slowly, savoring the word, "including magic."

Matthew's breath came in ragged gasps, his bravado completely shattered. He tried to speak, to beg or bargain, but no words came out. He was nothing now. Just a broken Alpha who'd dared to challenge a King.

I stood, leaving him trembling in the dirt. He wasn't worth another moment of my time. Behind me, the battle was already winding down, Lycans standing victorious amidst the wreckage of Matthew's army.

I turned my back on him, my focus shifting to Sabrina. She was still fighting, still clinging to life. And I would make sure she survived.

Matthew was a lesson. A reminder to anyone foolish enough to challenge me. I was Lucas, the Lycan King. And I didn't lose.