Chapter 41 A Chance at Revenge
Chapter 41 A Chance at Revenge
Lyra
The Running River castle looms ahead, slate stone against the black sky, lights glowing through the windows from the celebration inside. Nearly fifty wolves crouch with me at the edge of the treeline, silver coats shining in the night.
Serena has already shifted to human form. She moves silently toward the servants’ entrance. A handful of our allies follow her, carrying satchels of dried wolfsbane leaves. The scent of the toxins drifts faintly in the air, promising the smoke that will soon render everyone inside unconscious.
Serena and her team move silently back out into the courtyard to wait until the bane takes effect. Moments later, I move forward, leading the warriors along the perimeter. The first tendrils of smoke curl from the servants’ entrance, pale against the warm night air.
Serena and the scouts slip back in, dragging people away. Wives, and servants, their faces pale, are pulled from the hall and into the courtyard.
“Almost done,” Serena threads through the mind-link. “We have the last few.”
I wait patiently next to Bram until I hear, “Lyra?” Serena’s voice is clear. “Do you want me to drag Tessa out–or leave her?”
The decision claws at me, sharper than any fangs, hotter than any fire. My mind flashes with images of our childhood. Leaving her would mean death. Yet, every instinct screams revenge! Justice! But I can’t let her die.
“Drag her out,” I say at last. “Get her out of there, Serena. Now.”
“Understood.”
I watch from the shadows as Serena drags Tessa’s body out of the castle. “All clear.”
That’s my signal to lead. “Song Pack, charge!”
We rush the great doors, leaping into the hall just as the smoke thins and clears out. The floor is littered with limp bodies, Running River warriors, still in human form, begin to stir. I ignore them. Every ounce of my focus narrows to the figure at the center.
Kaelen lies on the floor, unconscious. My teeth ache to close on him, my claws twitch. His eyes slowly open, groggy at first. Then, as he takes in my wolf form towering over him, fear flares in his gaze, and he freezes for the briefest moment, realizing the gravity of what he faces.
Through the mind-link, I speak. My voice is sharp. “Alpha Kaelen, you can have a head start to shift, or I can rip your throat out right now. It’s totally up to you.”
He doesn’t hesitate. He jumps, and his body twists, bones and sinew cracking. Fur erupts across him as he shifts.
The brawl ignites. I launch myself at Kaelen. My jaws lock onto his shoulder. Pain lances through me as he snaps back, teeth clashing against mine. He’s strong, but every drop of blood makes me push him harder.
Kaelen’s legs buckle as he tries to push away, but I close the distance with a single leap. My jaws snap toward his throat, forcing him back.
A crash to my left draws my attention for a split second. Bram and Jorin are locked in their own battles, brown fur flashing against black and brown of Running River warriors. They hold their ground, snapping and biting.
Kaelen thrashes beneath me, swinging his neck side to side, gnashing his teeth, but I am relentless. My claws rake across his sides, teeth grazing his neck. He fights with everything he has, and I meet him blow for blow, each movement a test of endurance and will.
I pin him to the floor with a powerful thrust, my weight holding him down, my fangs hovering over his throat. My muscles burn, my lungs ache. Yet, I can’t stop. I feel the pulse of my personal vendetta and a blind rage coursing through me.
Then, finally, he falters. His chest is heaving, and his eyes are filled with terror.. Through the mind-link, his voice comes, raw, trembling. “Lyra… mercy… please…”
I bare my teeth, closing my jaw.
Then a sudden, crushing force hits me from the side. My body flips through the air, and I crash into the floor, several feet away, stunned.
Before I can even fully rise, someone slams me back down. A flash of silver fur presses against me. I realize this is a stranger, not from Song or River. My teeth snap instinctively, my claws raking, but I can’t shake her off.
She twists, forcing me against the floor. Every move I make, she counters, driving me down again and again. Pain lances through my flank, but I refuse to yield.
I struggle to leverage myself, rolling, slashing, snapping. The fight is brutal, exhausting, and relentless. Every muscle in my body screams. My focus narrows entirely on the stranger attacking me. She moves with a precision I’ve never encountered before. She’s faster, smarter, stronger than any warrior, including the Alpha, that I’ve ever faced. Every counter I try is anticipated, every attack deflected. She reads my movements before I make them, strikes at angles I didn’t even know to protect, and forces me to dig deeper than ever before just to stay on my feet.
Each movement is a test of skill, strength, and instinct, pushing me to my limits. When the she-wolf flips me again, sending me flying through the air for a second time, my vantage point changes, and through a sliver of vision and movement out of the corner of my eye, I notice Kaelen staggering toward the doorway. My blood boils. He’s slipping past us, battered but alive.
“Jorin! Kaelen’s leaving! Follow him!” I shout in my mind, my teeth gritted. “Bram! Help me with this bitch!”
The stranger snarls, her claws slicing, but Bram crashes into her from the side. She’s forced back for a fraction of a second, and I seize it to roll free, panting. My fur is matted, and my lungs are on fire.
I leap to my feet, shaking off the last of the impact. The stranger hesitates, assessing me, but I’m ready. My eyes dart to Kaelen again. He’s moving closer to the exit. I won’t let him escape. Every movement is precise, every claw and tooth aimed to gain control.
The fight is unrelenting. The silver stranger presses, but Bram keeps her at bay, and I force my attention forward. Kaelen is moving, and I can’t afford to lose him now.