Chapter 121: Call To War
The scent of dead bodies clung to the night as Meredith burst into the clearing. Her lungs burned, her muscles screamed, but she didn't stop. She couldn't.
Because there, standing in the center of the battlefield, was the man she had been running from for years. Alpha Ludwig of the Abyssal Pack.
His terrifying presence alone suffocated her. His long hair was tied back, revealing his piercing eyes. His dark robes barely moved despite the howling wind.
He hadn't changed. Still the monster who had almost destroyed everything about her.
Meredith looked around desperately, but her sons were nowhere to be seen. Her stomach twisted. She scanned the treeline, her heartbeat hammering like war drums. Her eyes darkened. She took a shaky breath and then stepped forward.
"Where are they?"
Ludwig's eyes flickered toward her, but he didn't move. Then, in a voice colder than death, he finally spoke.
"They've already gone."
Meredith stiffened. Gone? No. No, no, no. Her nails dug into her palms.
"Where did you take them?" she demanded. "Free them." She gritted her teeth. "It's me you want..."
Ludwig let out a low hum. "Do you truly think I came here for you this time?" he asked, stepping closer. "You, who have already shamed the Abyssal Pack?"
Meredith's breath hitched. His eyes darkened.
"No. You were never that important, after all."
The words sliced through her like a blade. Meredith clenched her fists so tightly that her nails pierced her sweaty palms.
"Give them back!" she seethed. "Please..."
Ludwig finally let out a low, cruel chuckle.
"Why would I?" he mused. "Unlike you, they are true heirs of the Abyssal Pack. They belong to me now."
Meredith's entire body shivered. "What the..."
Suddenly, she felt it. Her wolf howled violently inside her, finally awakened. It stirred as if preparing itself for what was about to come.
"Blood..." she demanded.
Magnus and Xavier finally reached her side, breathing heavily from the chase. Xavier's fangs glistened as he snarled.
"You bastard," he spat. "How the hell are you still alive?"
Magnus's voice quivered, barely above a whisper. "Well, not for long..."
Ludwig barely glanced at them, as if they were mere insects beneath his boots. Then his gaze flickered back to Meredith.
"Why do you care so much about them?" he asked lazily. "You're selfish. You abandoned your own blood once before. Your own family. Wasn't that what you wanted all along? Abandoning everything so you could free yourself?"
Meredith's breath caught. Her vision swam. A voice echoed in her mind.
You left us, Meredith...
The weight of those words crashed into her, but she shook her head.
"No..." That was different. This was different. She would not lose her sons. She would never abandon them.
Meredith lifted her chin. "No..."
Ludwig's eyes gleamed. "Do you want to stop me?"
A chill ran down her spine. Something flickered in his eyes. Like he wanted her to fight. Like he was waiting for this moment.
A trap, she thought.
"Little Wolf," Magnus called from behind, but she didn't glance at him. "Don't listen to him..."
"He's just manipulating you, Meredith," Xavier added. "Let's leave—"
She barely had time to react before the ground beneath her shook violently. From the shadows, dozens of wolves emerged. They were black as night, their eyes glowing with silver light.
Ludwig smirked. "Come, then." He spread his arms. "Let me see if you're worthy of claiming them back..."
And with that, the wolves lunged at them.
Meredith's bones cracked. Her muscles stretched and shifted as she surrendered to the feral rage surging through her veins. Ludwig had taken her sons. And because of that, she would tear him apart.
A snarl ripped through her throat as her form twisted. Her claws elongated, her fangs sharpened, and in an instant, she was not the same. No longer a human, but the beast she had feared becoming for years.
The massive white wolf towered over the others. Her amber eyes glowed furiously, like a mother who had been pushed too far.
Magnus's eyes widened. "Little Wolf..."
"You're so beautiful..." Xavier added, parting his lips.
Ludwig just laughed from afar. "There you are," he mused, watching her transform. "You should have been like this from the start."
A roar echoed from Meredith's throat before she lunged at him. "Shut the fuck up and die!"
As Meredith charged at Ludwig, Magnus and Xavier threw themselves into the fray. The Abyssal wolves came in a tidal wave, snapping jaws and flashing claws aimed to rip them apart.
Magnus shifted first, his brown wolf meeting the first wave of attackers. He crushed one wolf beneath his massive paws, his teeth sinking into another's throat, tearing through its flesh.
Xavier followed, his sleek wolf moving like a shadow. He ducked beneath an attack, countering with a brutal strike that sent his opponent skidding across the dirt.
"Stay close!" Magnus barked through their mind-link. "Don't let them separate us!"
Xavier leaped over a fallen wolf. He spun mid-air and slashed his claws across another wolf's side.
"They're weaker than they look," he noted. "But there's too many of them—"
A wolf crashed into Xavier, knocking him down. Its jaws snapped at his throat, but he twisted just in time, sinking his fangs into its neck instead. Blood sprayed across the ground.
Another shadow lunged at Magnus from behind, but he caught it mid-attack, crushing its throat with a single bite.
"Then we'll kill them all!" Magnus growled.
The second Meredith collided with Ludwig, the ground trembled beneath them. He met her attack with equal force, his own massive form shifting in the blink of an eye. Where once stood a man, now loomed a beast of nightmares.
Ludwig's wolf was colossal. Black as the void, with streaks of silver rippling through his thick coat.
Meredith went directly for his throat, but he sidestepped her effortlessly, his paw colliding with her ribs.
Crack!
Meredith skidded across the battlefield, dirt and debris flying around. But she didn't falter. She wouldn't lose.
Meredith dug her claws into the ground, anchoring herself before launching back at him. Their bodies clashed again, baring their teeth and slashing their claws.
Ludwig's fangs sank into her shoulder, tearing through her flesh, but Meredith countered by slamming her head into his jaw, forcing him to release her.
She barely felt anything. All she could think about was getting her sons back.
Meredith broke away, circling Ludwig. Ludwig watched her mockingly, licking the blood from his muzzle.
"Is this all you've got?" he taunted. "Did living among humans make you this weak?"
Meredith snarled, lowering herself into a deadly stance.
"Weak?" she growled. "You stole my children..."
Ludwig smirked.
She lunged again. But this time, she wasn't just aiming to kill. Instead, she darted beneath him, twisting mid-air and sinking her fangs into the back of his hind leg.
Ludwig roared as his stance buckled.
Meredith didn't waste time. She ripped free, dodged his flailing claws, and tore into his side, sinking her teeth deep into his ribs.
Ludwig staggered. The scent of his own blood finally filled the air.
And then, he laughed.
"Good," he murmured, almost... pleased.
Meredith's chest heaved. What the hell is he planning? she thought.
Then, Ludwig suddenly threw back his head and let out a guttural howl.
The trees shifted, and the surrounding shadows moved. From the depths of the forest, another wave of Abyssal warriors emerged. Twice as many as before.
Ludwig smirked, blood staining his teeth. "Did you really think it would be that easy?"
Magnus and Xavier staggered to her side, their fur streaked with blood. Their chests heaved rapidly. They were tired. They were outnumbered.
And Ludwig knew it.
"This isn't over." Ludwig's voice rumbled through the battlefield. "You'll see. No matter how much you fight, the Abyssal Pack always wins."
The next wave of wolves began to charge, and Meredith braced herself. They wouldn't last another round. Not like this.
But then, from the distance, a lone, haunting howl echoed through the night. It sent shivers down Meredith's spine.
Because it wasn't just any howl. It was a call to war.
Ludwig's eyes snapped toward the sound. "What's that?"
A moment later, the trees trembled as more shadows emerged. And leading them, was none other than Damien Ravenscroft.