Chapter 28 Ambushed
CHAPTER 28: Ambushed
Aric's POV
“Alpha! Alpha, are you hurt?” Caspian’s hands were on me, patting me down, his voice tight with panic.
I shoved his concern away with a grunt, already pushing myself up. Every muscle protested, but nothing was broken.
“I’m fine,” I growled, my voice already rougher, closer to the beast within.
The carriage was on its side. I kicked the cracked door open and hauled myself out into the chaos.
It was a nightmare scene. My Lycan guards, some still on two legs, others in full wolf form, were locked in a terrible dance with a pack of grimhowls. The monstrous wolves were all matted fur, dripping fangs, and pure, mindless fury. They fought without strategy, without fear...only a savage need to tear us apart.
With a roar that tore from my very soul, I let the change take me. My human form erupted, bones snapping and reforming, fur sprouting like a shadow across my skin. In seconds, I stood on four powerful paws, larger than any other wolf on the field, and I launched myself into the fray.
I fought alongside my soldiers, a united force of tooth and claw against the grimhowls’ madness. We were better fighters, smarter, but they had numbers and a deranged persistence. For a while, it was a stalemate of snapping jaws and pained yelps.
Then as suddenly as they had attacked, they began to fall back. A whistle, sharp and high, cut through the snarls, and the beasts disengaged, melting back toward the tree line.
A moment of relief washed over me. We’d held them off. I turned to check on Caspian, who was now in his own wolf form, shaking splinters from his dark fur.
That’s when I heard it. The soft crush of a paw behind me. I spun, but I was a fraction too slow.
A lone grimhowl, bigger than the others and somehow silent, had lunged from the shadow of the overturned carriage. Its jaws were wide open, aiming straight for my throat. A killing blow.
I braced, knowing I couldn’t fully avoid it.
Thwack.
A silver item shot past my head. A long sword, spinning end over end, buried itself deep in the grimhowl’s throat with a brutal, final sound. The force of the impact threw the beast sideways, its lethal lunge turning into a choked gurgle. I didn’t hesitate. I was on it in an instant, ending its miserable life.
I turned, my massive wolf head swinging toward where the sword had come from and I saw her.
Seraphine.
Standing there, her dress torn and smudged with dirt, her chest heaving. Her hand was still outstretched from the throw. What in the moon’s name was she doing here? I told her to stay! I told her it was safe!
A new kind of heat surged through me, one that had nothing to do with battle. In my wolf form, the mate bond was a physical ache, a primal drumbeat in my blood that screamed Mine. Protect. Claim. Her scent...fear, adrenaline, and her...was utterly intoxicating, scrambling my thoughts.
I needed to be Aric for this. Not the Alpha wolf but the man.
I shifted back, the change quicker this time, and stood before her naked and furious. I grabbed a discarded cloak from a nearby guard and wrapped it around my waist.
“Seraphine!” I barked, my voice raw. “What part of ‘stay at the pack’ was too complicated for you to understand?”
She didn’t even flinch. She just lifted her chin, those defiant eyes flashing. “The part where your stubborn hide gets ambushed and almost killed. You’re welcome, by the way.”
“You didn’t save anything!” I snapped, though we both knew it was a lie. The precision of that throw… it had been perfect. Deadly.
Caspian, back in human form and looking grim, walked up beside me. He was staring at Seraphine with a new, wary intensity. The other soldiers nearby were doing the same, their looks a mixture of awe and deep suspicion.
“Alpha,” Caspian muttered, his voice low so only I could hear. “That throw… that wasn’t luck. That was training. Military training.”
He’d seen it too. The truth I’d been trying to ignore. This was no mere noblewoman. She was a weapon. Probably sent to be one.
And if my men truly believed that, they’d demand her head before I could blink. The mate bond roared inside me, a possessive, blinding thing. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t.
I stepped forward, putting myself between Seraphine and Caspian’s suspicious gaze.
“It was a lucky shot, Caspian,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument. “She saw a weapon, she panicked, she threw it. Anyone would have.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth.
Seraphine’s eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. She looked furious that I’d defended her, that I’d diminished her skill. She wanted to shout the truth, I could feel it. But she held her tongue, giving me a look that promised we’d discuss this later.
Caspian wasn’t convinced. He shook his head, turning his attention to the scattered grimhowl bodies.
“Lucky or not, this is getting out of hand. They’re getting bolder. Attacking a royal escort in broad daylight…”
“I told you,” Seraphine said, her voice clear and steady, cutting through the tension. “They’re being directed. Someone is controlling them. Someone close.”
I opened my mouth to shut her down, to debunk her theory like I always did. But the words died in my throat. This ambush… its timing, its ferocity… it felt coordinated. It felt personal. For the first time, a cold trickle of doubt seeped into my mind. What if she was right?
“It’s a theory,” I said, but my usual conviction was gone.
Caspian rubbed his jaw, looking from the forest back to the ruined carriage.
“Alpha, the meeting. We should turn back. This is a clear sign. It’s not safe.”
“No,” I said, the decision solidifying as I spoke. “Turning back is what they want. It makes us look weak, scared. It ruins any chance of peace before it even begins.” I looked at the tree line, my mind racing. “We go on. But we go on my terms.”
I turned to my men.
“Shift. We travel the rest of the way in wolf form. It’s faster and we’ll be harder to track.” I looked back at Seraphine, a new problem presenting itself. She couldn’t keep up on foot.
A low grumble of agreement came from the warriors around me.
I walked over to Seraphine. The mate pull was still there, a live wire between us, but my anger and fear for her safety were louder.
“This doesn’t mean I’m happy you’re here,” I growled at her.
A ghost of a smile touched her lips.
“I didn’t do it for your happiness.”
I ignored that.
“The carriage is wrecked. You can’t run with us.” I shifted back into my giant wolf form, the change as natural as breathing. I lowered my massive body, looking at her over my shoulder. My voice was a low rumble in my mind that I knew she could sense. “Get on...”