Chapter 210 The queens Gambit
Chapter 210: The Queen's Gambit
Milo pov
The courtyard became a slaughterhouse within seconds.
My warriors surged forward to meet the assault, but we were outnumbered five to one. Now we faced not just the unrighteous packs, but the Queen's army with their advanced weapons and engineered ferals.
A crossbow bolt whistled past my head, and I barely dodged in time. The mechanical weapon reloaded itself instantly, firing again before I could recover, but my extreme fast reflex saved me this time.
James fought beside me, his sword moving in deadly arcs. "Where are the shadow assassins?" he shouted over the sounds of battle.
I hesitated, but James was looking at me, his face covered in blood, but his stare held mine, refusing to let go.
“Do it”
I sighed, pulling the signal horn from my belt and blew three sharp blasts. Within seconds, figures in black emerged from hidden positions throughout the compound.
Thirty of my most elite warriors. The shadow assassins, the strongest fighting force, in the werewolf world.
They moved like ghosts through the battlefield, each strike precise and lethal. One assassin was worth ten regular warriors, and they proved it now.
But even with their arrival, we were still desperately outnumbered. But the pressure was greatly reduced.
"Fall back to the main hall!" James ordered our warriors. "Form defensive positions!"
I tried to focus, tried to call on the Alpha power that had once made me feared. But the curse burned through my veins like acid, and every movement felt like pushing through mud.
A warrior from Kael's pack came at me with a spear. I sidestepped clumsily, my reactions far too slow than my normal speed reaction. The spear grazed my ribs, drawing blood immediately.
"The great Alpha Damon," the warrior mocked. "You cannot even dodge properly anymore."
He raised his spear for a killing blow.
But Rosalie appeared, her sword cutting through his neck before he could strike. The warrior dropped, blood pooling on the stones.
"I thought you left," I managed to say, not hiding the surprise in my voice.
"I came back," she said shortly. "Someone has to keep you alive long enough to rescue your mate."
Her warriors formed a protective ring around me, fighting with desperate intensity. But I could see the truth in their eyes… we were losing.
The Queen's forces pressed forward with mechanical efficiency. Their weapons gave them an unfair advantage. A single soldier with one of those rapid-fire crossbows could take down three of my warriors before they got close enough to strike.
"This is not a battle," James spat, blocking a blow meant for my head. "This is an execution."
He was right. The Queen was not taking chances. She wanted me dead and buried, and she had brought enough force to guarantee it.
Alpha Kael pushed through the fighting, his eyes fixed on me with predatory hunger. "I am going to enjoy this, Damon. Killing a true Alpha will make me legendary."
"Get in line," James shouted from across the courtyard. "I have my first claim."
They were circling me like vultures, waiting for the right moment to strike. My shadow assassins tried to intervene, but they were fighting their own desperate battles.
One assassin went down, then another. The Queen's soldiers were trained specifically to counter their techniques.
We were being pushed back steadily, forced into a tighter and tighter circle. Blood soaked the courtyard stones. Bodies littered the ground. The sounds of dying wolves filled the air.
"We cannot hold," one of my warriors gasped. "There are too many."
"We hold until we cannot hold anymore," James snarled back. "No one runs."
But I could see the end approaching. We were going to die here, all of us, because I had been too weak to prevent this… I have failed them all.
I clenched my jaws so tight it hurt. “I am sorry milo” I thought, calling forth my wolf, even though I knew that I might turn into a monster.
But before I could cross through the land of no return, another horn blew across the field. I snapped my eyes open with force.
A majestic massive armored vehicle rolled forward from the Queen's lines. It looked like a war tank, covered in metal plates and magical symbols that glowed with power.
All the fighting on the warfield seemed to stop, as everyone turned to watch this monstrosity approach. It was easily meters high, and from where I stood. It looked like a moving mountain rather than a war tank. Even the Queen's soldiers seemed uncertain, parting to let it through.
The vehicle stopped at the center of the courtyard with a loud screeched sound. The latch opened with a hiss of steam, coming out from the inside.
Before a figure stepped out.
I froze in shock.
My whole body turned to lead. My silent wolf roared inside my head for the first time in weeks. Killing intent leaked from my pores when the face of the so-called commander came into view.
My sister Selene!!
Someone I had searched for in different packs and even neighboring packs all to no avail. As if she vanished into thin air.
She looked different than I remembered. Harder. Her eyes held a coldness that made my blood boil with revenge. She wore the uniform of the Queen's commander.
"Hello, brother," she said, her voice carrying across the sudden silence. "Surprised to see me?"
I stared at her, my brain was in uproar. My wolf was becoming agitated, clawing to be let free.
"Selene? You dare show your face…”
"Dare?" She laughed, and the sound was as bitter as poison. "No, Damon. I didn’t hide, I was just waiting for the right moment to come back. And that moment is now."
She drew her sword slowly, the blade catching the morning light. "The Queen sends her regards. She says she does not need to dirty her hands fighting you. I am more than enough to finish this."
"I will make sure I kill you with my bare hands" I growled like a caged animal. The curse flared with my anger, my claws burst through my fingers.
"The feeling is mutual dear brother" She pointed her sword at me, her hand steady. "I challenge you, Damon. Right here, right now. Brother against sister. Let us finish what our father started all those years ago."
The warriors on both sides backed away, forming a circle around us. Even James started to retreat, though his sharp eyes were trained on my sister, his hands on his swords hilt.
"I will kill you!!”
I lunged, all traces of reasoning consumed by the anger running through my veins.
“Damon!” Rosalie screamed from the back, but I was long gone to hear her.
"Then you will die." Selene smiled, and it was the cruelest thing I had ever seen. She moved forward, her gleaming blade raised catching the sunlight.
The morning sun rose higher, casting long shadows across the bloodied courtyard.
Selene's first strike came faster than I anticipated
Blade against claws.