Chapter 194
Alpha Kane
My muscles were tense, my body was frozen, and I fought the urge to reclaim what was mine. As much as I hated it, Zara was right. The pack needed their Alpha fighting by their side. I wouldn’t make the same decision as Marcus.
If my pack died, I would stay with them until the end, and I knew Zara would do the same. Heeding her words, I sent a group of my most talented warriors to her aid. I also sent Ryan and Mason, giving her some familiar faces.
I wasn’t sure what she’d endured during her time with Father, but I could only hope Ryan and Mason would remind her of what awaited her.
As the sun began to set, most of the warriors headed to the northern part of the city. There was a small grassy clearing there beyond the tree line, and I hoped we could focus the bulk of the fight there. The less damage the city suffered, the better.
Beyond the whispers, an oppressive sense of foreboding hung in the air. It seemed the entire Sterling Empire, my empire, was holding its breath.
Every empty house, school, and store waited, waiting to see if they would be standing by the morning. I sent a small group of scouts into the forest, ordering them to remain hidden at all costs. Their sole purpose was to warn us when the King’s forces began advancing through the forest.
An hour after arriving at the battlefield, Ryan and Mason established a mental link with me.
“We got her, Alpha,” Ryan said through the mental link, and I breathed a sigh of relief, unaware I’d been holding it. The tension of the week lifted from my shoulders, and I felt lighter. However, the feeling was short-lived, as Mason intervened, his voice filled with suspicion and irritation.
“Changed plans,” Mason grumbled. “She’s forcing us to take Marcus and some girl she calls her sister p>
A wave of anger shot through me at the mention of his name. Marcus was always trying to get into her heart and into her pants while working for her Father. I might not have deserved Zara, but he was far from ever being worthy of her.
“If we can’t trust our chosen one, who can trust?” my wolf interjected. My wolf was usually hot-tempered,
But the trust he felt in Zara was incredible. Fragile. No matter how much he hated Marcus, he believed she had made the right decision.
Grinding my teeth until my jaw hurt, I suppressed the anger seething within me. A million questions swirled in my head, none of which I could answer right now. If we survived, I would get answers.
I had a sneaking suspicion that her information had come from Marcus, and I wondered whose side he had ultimately sided with. If the information he’d given Zara was wrong, and this whole thing had been a setup, I would make it my goal to take his life first.
“Trust Zara, Mason.” I hardened my voice, but refrained from using the Alpha command. I’d never had to use it before, and I had no intention of doing so now. Taking away someone’s free will was a good way to lose their loyalty.
Before I could say anything else, I felt the connection tremble in my mind. Zara’s presence was faint, but I could feel it. After a week of feeling nothing from her, I could detect even the faintest trace of her in my mind.
The memory of her scent enveloped me, displacing all emotion except a grim resolve. We would see each other again after this battle was won.
“Zara! Zara, are you there?” I called to her, trying to strengthen the connection and heal her of the silver that blocked our bond. “I can feel you. The connection… It’s faint, but I can feel it p>
Another voice echoed in my head, causing my muscles to tense and the wolf to growl. The scouts I’d sent into the forest had reported news. They were approaching, moving from the north, just as Zara had predicted.
“We see them, Alpha.” The voice of one of the warriors filled my head, pushing aside her. “A three-minute walk p>
The small group of warriors I’d dispatched to the city confirmed this. The King’s forces were moving forward, advancing through the city and heading north. What intrigued me most was that one of the warriors swore he’d seen the King among his own troops.
The warrior wasn’t sure, having never seen him in person before, but he noticed how the other seemed to have formed a barrier around him, considering him important.
“Go around it and come back here. I don’t want any of you stuck behind them,” I told the warrior, breaking the mental connection.
“I’m here! Kane, I’m here!” she called after a few moments of silence. Her voice was quiet, as if she were shouting from a long corridor, but it still made my stomach clench, and my heart flutter. “Did something happen?” What happened?
“Everyone was safely evacuated,” I told her. “Wherever you got that information, it was correct. Your father’s men came from the north. The rest are moving through the empire, trying to ambush us. They’re here, Zara. The war is beginning p>
I’d seen many battles as a teenager and as an Alpha, but I’d never seen war. The moment the brown wolves emerged from the tree line, all hell broke loose.
I had only a split second to see realization dawn in their eyes before they all rushed forward, a sea of dark clothing and the cunning glint of silver blades.
The sound of ripping clothes filled the air as many warriors transformed into wolves. Some chose to remain human until the last moment, while others transformed and charged the brown wolves. As brown wolves and our clash on the battlefield, the sound echoed through the night.
I met Zeke’s gaze, usually carefree and playful, but this time, a similar look of determination appeared on his face. I called my wolf, and within seconds, he was standing on all fours.