388- The Beast at the Gates
POV Viktor Averwyn:
“My father said Seraphine is getting along well with the weapons,” Cezar commented a few days later, when we finished a meeting.
“She’s a good shot, learns fast,” I said.
I took a sip of the strong drink in front of me, somewhat uneasy about the calmness in the forest. The entire day had been like that, without any major invasions. Before storms, everything always seemed fine.
“She asked him to teach her how to use explosive weapons too. If they come up here, she might end up fighting beside us.”
“If they come up here, she’ll be protected in the castle or in some secret passage. I don’t want her taking risks.”
“Hmm… someone’s getting more and more in love,” he teased.
I ignored it, setting the empty glass aside as if it were nonsense. But something deep inside warned me of the truth in those words.
Fuck, I was getting crazier about her every single day! The need to see her, have her, feel her scent on me was like an addiction. Always demanding to be satisfied.
Impulses and thoughts disturbed my judgment in a constant warning: mark her!
Seraphine was strong and healthy. She wasn’t like the others, fragile and falling ill. And even after she stopped asking me to do that madness, she still wanted it. She practically begged me with her eyes, rubbed her pulse against my mouth whenever I took her, offered herself like prey to a starving beast.
It was me who always held the desire back by a thread, for her sake.
Someone knocked on the door and I told them to come in. The moment I saw the messenger holding an envelope, my heart raced and my stomach suddenly turned cold. I jumped to my feet, already snatching the paper. He left quietly, respectfully.
Cezar watched me in silence while I read. And my despair only grew:
“I saw her yesterday after weeks without news. I found a way to go to the house because there was a lunch gathering there for several wolves who had arrived, and I volunteered to help. Only when it was almost time for me to leave did she appear in the kitchen.
She wasn’t well. No smile, no joy. She looked sick, worn down. She tried to avoid me, but I followed her into a hallway. I asked if Lucian had been hurting her or abusing her, and she denied it, but I didn’t believe her. The bruises may have disappeared because of our rapid healing, and I confronted her about it.
She kept denying everything. According to her, she’s upset about this war. It makes Lucian nervous, constantly hiring new packs, focused on strategy, distant. Adelina feels trapped, divided between loyalty and love for both of you. She asked me to tell you to reconsider, to put an end to this.
I insisted that we run away. She absolutely refused. She’s going to stay and marry him as soon as things settle down. She’s still stubborn, and I’m truly worried.
I didn’t want to create false alarms, but I need to tell the truth. I’ll keep watching, and if I find out he’s mistreating her, I’ll find a way to get her out of here.
In a week, I hope to return with better news.
Regards to everyone.
Keep taking care of us like you always have, Viktor.”
I saw the catastrophe approaching. And with it, my rage, filled with pain and anxiety.
I crushed the paper between my fingers, my beast desperate to run, tear apart, slaughter the bastard. I roared, ready to transform, nearly out of my mind.
“Viktor… Viktor!” Cezar stood up in alarm. “Calm down!”
My claws came out, the uncontrollable wolf urging me to go and end everything, to get my daughter back. Pain devoured me, and he stepped in front of me, raising his hands in a calming gesture, speaking slowly:
“That’s exactly what they want, for you to act on emotion and expose yourself. They’re all down there waiting to get you. That’ll be the end of us!”
My fangs bared, breathing heavy, fur thickening across my body. Muscles tense. I couldn’t think, my mind flooded with images of that damned alpha beating Adelina, making her suffer.
“Talk to me!” Cezar quickly moved in front of the door when I rushed toward it.
He was a muscular alpha, well-trained. But there was nothing he could do when I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall, enraged that he was standing in my way, the desire to kill Lucian corrupting me beyond what I could endure.
“She’s your daughter, but she doesn’t want to come back! We need you here!” He didn’t try to fight, choking as he gripped my wrists. “There are children… my mother… innocent people… they could… kill… Seraphine…”
I froze, her name piercing my mind, shaking me. Cezar gasped, and I suddenly released him, a hopeless battle raging inside me, everything he had said finally hitting its mark.
Cezar rubbed his throat and coughed, throwing nervous glances at me.
I didn’t move, torn apart, shaken.
I thought about the seven children in the village, always cheerful and happy, being slaughtered without my protection. The fortress could be left vulnerable, different packs invading, slaughtering and raping, killing.
Daciana, whom I considered a mother, being disrespected. Wolves destroyed, enslaved. And Seraphine… dead, torn apart. The pain ripped through me and I turned back toward the table, as though I were caged.
“She’s my daughter…” I growled.
“I know. But there’s nothing we can do right now. Adelina had every chance to come back with Katarina, and she didn’t want to. Unfortunately, that’s the truth, Viktor. She’s the one who needs to make a decision!”
“She has no idea what’s going on, fuck! She’s deluded!”
He sighed. My mind remained restless, filled with scenes of death and terror. It was as if I were being shaken between two worlds, images and memories flashing before my eyes: lives being taken, fire consuming everything, my mother’s screams. What the fuck was happening?
I forced my claws and fangs back in, ran my fingers through my hair, doing everything I could to focus on reality.
I stopped in front of the monitors, my heart pounding hard, breathing heavily.
“We’re going to destroy them,” I murmured.
“I have no doubt about that. We’ve destroyed everyone who’s tried, and we’ll keep going until there’s none left!”
“Katarina said wolves keep arriving in Lucian’s territory. He’s recruiting more.”
“We’ll kill them all!”
“We can’t stay here forever, Cezar. Eventually our supplies and weapons will run out, the traps won’t be enough anymore. We need to change tactics.”
“How?” He stepped closer cautiously.
“We strike first.”
“There are three alphas against one, all with their armies, Viktor. Even with explosives, we’re vastly outnumbered. Leaving the den is suicide.”
“Not if Aldren and Edric side with me. Or stay out of it.”
“But is that even possible? And the Elders?”
I needed to think, to regain my balance.
I sat down at the table, purging my rage, suffering for my daughter. It wouldn’t be something quick; it demanded planning and strategy. Otherwise, I’d put everyone in danger.
I pulled the map closer and, with it, began weighing every possible outcome.