Chapter 142 We Adapt
Kevan's POV
The Kings don't gamble. Caden and Coban never has. That's why I'm here, why we're here.
Dark Forest isn't a pack you test with half measures. Alpha Sylvester is way too smart for that. He's too calculated. He doesn't rely on brute strength alone. He relies on preparation. He relies on traps and on tech. On chaos layered so thick it makes good warriors hesitate.
The Kings want certainty. They want victory. So they send me with twenty of our best Lycan warriors at my back.
We rendezvous just before the tree line where Shining Star pack territory meets Dark Clouds.
Alpha Morice is already there. His men are restless. They are shifting back-and-forth between human and wolf forms. Alpha Draven arrives minutes later. His eyes are sharp and posture tight.
"This won't be fast. Boys are you ready for a long night." Draven says without preamble. "No, this won't be. We will be tested. That's for sure. I guess we're ready as we will ever be." I inhale a deep breath and exhale slowly.
"The borders feel wrong." Draven mutters as he scans the forest.
"It's way too quiet. I bet that sick fuck is up to something." Morice agrees.
I nod once. "Listen up! We move clean. We don't rush. No breaking formation." Neither Alpha argues. We cross the borders at dusk.
Dark Forest lives up to its name. Dense canopy, twisted roots, and uneven ground. The visibility is poor. The force thick enough to swallow sound.
Then our world erupts.
Blinding white lights slams into us from every direction. It's not fire, not torches. It's fucking floodlights.
They snap on all at once. They are mounted in trees, embedded in rocks, hidden low to the ground. The sudden glare burns the eyes. Shadows whipping violently as the beams swing.
"What the hell?" Morice shouts.
Smoke detonates before anyone can finish a thought. Thick chemical clouds roll low and fast. They're choking, blinding, and disorientating. Then the sound follows. It's deep, vibrating pulses that rattle the chest and scrambled balance.
This is definitely not natural. This is deliberate.
Dark Forest hits. They don't charge at us. They maneuver around us, straight for us.
Wolves surge in and out of smoke. They strike at our ankles, flanks, and backs. They never stay long enough to be countered. They withdrawal instantly when pressure mounts. This is way too smart to be a coincidence.
"HOLD THE LINE!" I roar. "Don't chase them, that's what they want." My Lycans don't hesitate. We tighten our formation immediately. Our spacing is precise. Our backs are covered.
More lights flicker violently. Then the smoke thickens.
Shining Star reacts faster, but not controlled.
"EYES! EYES!" Morice yells as strobing lights cut visibility to nothing.
That's when Dark Forest exploits it.
Two Shining Star wolves go down almost instantly. They are dragged into the smoke. Their screams are cut short. A third collapses as claws rake down his spine.
"THREE DOWN!" Morice roars. Rage is bleeding into his voice.
Dark Clouds Pack surges forward to reinforce. The ground explodes just enough to throw bodies and break momentum. A Dark Cloud warrior is slammed into a tree, hard enough to crack his bones. Another is hit mid recovery. His throat torn out before he can shift fully.
"TWO DOWN!" Draven snarls.
My eyes sweep the fields. Lights. Smoke. Sounds. Explosions. They are all layered. Their not random.
"Someone's controlling this." I snapped through the link. "This is a set up."
My Lycans adjust instantly.
"Advance three steps!" I command. "Rotate left now." We move as one.
A Dark Forest wolf lunges at me. I crushed its throat. Another comes low, I decapitate it with a single clawed strike. They do bleed. They just planned better.
The distractions intensify. Alarms scream from hidden speakers. The lights drove harder. The smoke becomes so thick it burns our lungs. They are trying to fracture our command.
Two of mine take hits. One of my men's shoulder is torn wide open. Another took a long deep cut along the ribs. "Haul them out. Get them to safety!" I order immediately. They're extracted cleanly.
This battle drags on.
Wave after wave of Dark Forest wolves rotate in fresh. They fight like highly trained soldiers. Every one of their retreats is covered. Every advance timed with another distraction.
A minute stretches into an hour. Everyone is slowing down. Breaths become heavier. Blood slicks the ground. The mud is black beneath our feet. Shining Star loses another warrior. And then another.
Dark Cloud bleeds too. They lose three total by the time we get the line stabilized.
Then he steps forward. Alpha Sylvester. The stupid fucker is smiling. The lights dim slightly around him.
"Well" he calls casually as he claps once.
"This has been uh, I guess u can say educational and quite entertaining." he laughs.
My jaw tightens as I stare at this stupid fucker. He gestures lightly and the lights respond.
"Impressive discipline." he continues. "Most packs panic once their senses are stripped away." He looks straight at me. "But you" He smirks. "You're predictable."
I step forward. "Your finished Sylvester. Today you will die."
He laughs as he taps a small device at his waist.
"I prefer prepared." The lights flare again, but brighter this time. The smoke thickens. Sound pulses hammer the air. I don't slow. I shift.
The ground cracks beneath me as my Lycan form surges forward. He triggers everything at once. Every distraction he has left. I tear through it. Shock flashes across his face as I close the distance faster than he expects me to.
"Impossible!" he screams out.
I hit him hard. My fist drives straight through his chest. His bones explode. Breath leaves him in a wet gasp as my arm disappears into his torso.
I lean in close, "All that planning." I growl. "And you forgot one thing."
His eyes shake. "What" he wheezes.
I grip his heart. "WE ADAPT!" I rip it free. Blood sprays across my chest as his body collapses. Without Sylvester, the distractions stop. Sound cuts out, lights die, the smoke thins.
Dark Forest Breaks! They flee, they fall, or they surrender or die, where they stand.
I stand in the wreckage, his heart still beating in my hand. My chest is heaving.
This battle ends in exhaustion. In ruin.