Dusk was upon the mountains. Burgundy splattered across the sky before the clouds closed in like curtains over a stage. Hundreds of lycans gathered on the rocks of the steep mountain slope.

Perimone must have expected our attack. Perhaps he anticipated we would come at dawn. If he was clever, he would be prepared for a night raid. But I would strike sooner than that, while they made preparations for their rest and the dying light allowed my lycans to see much better than the soldiers.

It was a special time between darkness and light when their torches were not yet lit. The only fires in the whole camp were in the two wooden guard towers they directed to look over the short cliff, constructed roughly a thousand feet apart. I suppose the army foresaw its camp's visual disadvantage and sought to remedy their error. It wouldn't matter, though. The sentries couldn't possibly warn the men bedded in their tents in time for the soldiers to prepare themselves for battle.

Nearly a thousand lycans stood ready to charge over the cliff and send the camp into chaos. Another six hundred waited for the fleeing men to come their way.

Meanwhile, Cerberus and I were positioned to the side of the camp, hidden in the dense trees, but still able to clearly see the battlefield before us. We would charge only when the commotion reached its peak. When the men's panic outweighed their advantage in numbers, we would find Lord Perimone and kill him.

I would cut this snake's head off before it had the chance to bite again. The Asken army would march no further into lycan territory.

A cold wind blew through the trees, tearing the heat from my limbs. For once, it wasn't raining. It had stopped earlier that morning, giving the noon sun a chance to dry the area. The crisp leaves cracked under Cerberus's weight.

"You shouldn't have come," he said, a slight growl tinting his voice. "You're too weak."

"I'm fine," I snapped, irritation coloring mine. "I told you I feel better."

I sat up straight. I felt the pain. It hurt worse than ever. Every joint in my body protested with each breath. Yet, at the same time, I didn't feel it. I was completely disconnected, aware but not influenced by my aches. I knew only rage and determination. It coursed through my veins like blood.

Why had I sent Red into the enemy's camp? Why not someone else, someone I didn't know?

"You have," he huffed. Something about the albino lycan's tone made me suspect he wanted to say more, or perhaps I simply felt the need to explain myself.

"I want to see him die."

His neck arched slightly as he bowed his head. "As my lady wishes."

My fingers clenched together, twisting his thick fur around them. I had ridden Cerberus while he killed before. I had felt the flexing of his shoulders as his claws tore into flesh, the way his neck muscles tensed beneath my palms as his jaws clamped around an adversary's throat, spraying my face with blood spurted from a punctured jugular. I had even watched their life drain from their eyes as they bled out.

During my childhood, the sight was as familiar to me as the passing of seasons. Now it seemed more akin to the passing of days.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I wouldn't grieve for Perimone's death. The loss of what little power I held over Askance was of no consequence to me. I wanted to see him die. I wanted to hear his screams as Cerberus ripped his limbs from his body. I wanted to sever his head from his shoulders and send it back to Obria in a wooden box.

I hated him.

There was no verbal signal. We couldn't afford to alert the Askan army to our attack. However, the movements of the lycans atop the cliff were clear to see. The group was led by Blackbear. They charged forward, galloping towards the cliff's edge.

Only once Blackbear's fastest warriors had leapt to the highest of ledges was the alarm sounded. Shouts could be heard from the guard towers. The camp below exploded into chaos. Men leapt from their tents, scrambling for their weapons in the dying light. Some attempted to light torches, but only a few succeeded before the first lycans reached the cliff's foot.

The ground gave way beneath their paws.

The entire section between the towers collapsed, sending the lycans tumbling into the pit below. The others who hadn't reached the bottom tried to stop themselves, but their momentum and the steep slope prevented it. Those yet to start their descent eagerly leapt over the cliff's edge, unaware of the turmoil.

"I can't see!" I screamed. I had to know if there were pikes in the pit. From my current position, I couldn't even see how deep it was. Thankfully, Cerberus understood my meaning and bounded forward onto an open ledge.

From there, we could clearly make out the area. The pit was no more than ten feet deep, hardly enough to kill a lycan. Still, there were several dead, perhaps from broken necks or crushed beneath their falling pack mates. Many more howled and cried in pain from injuries. Yet the vast majority seemed unharmed and quickly untangled themselves. No sooner had they recovered from their fall than they began to wade through the thick black substance coating the bottom and climb up the walls. I realized what it was a moment before I saw the tower archers dip their arrows in fire.

"No-"

The pit exploded into flames. Even some warriors who managed to cling to the cliff rock were caught in the roaring inferno. Those high-pitched screams I hated so much filled the air. They rose in an inhuman crescendo of pure suffering.

Cold spread through me like ice water in my veins. My eyes were wide, despite the black smoke that stung them. I could no longer see them, but I could imagine them writhing in agony as the flesh melted from their bones, burning them a thousand times more than the heat which bit at my own skin. I could taste the oil’s foul stench in the air. Somehow I was crying, but my eyes were dry. The fire burned my tears before they had a chance to fall. Then I found my voice.

"No!" I screeched. "Stop it! Stop it!" I wasn't sure who I was screaming at. It hardly mattered, my voice was so cracked and hoarse my words were unrecognizable. "Stop it! Stop!!!"

"Hush!" Cerberus barked.

"No! We have to save them!"

"We cannot save the dead."

"We can't leave them!"

"We must!"

"But-"

"Quiet!"

My jaw clamped shut as my eyes continued to water without producing tears. My stomach turned. Cerberus never snapped at me, not like that.

The albino alpha stared me in the eye, blood red irises searching mine. He held my gaze only a moment before turning away from the flames. I twisted around to look back to the Asken camp.

"Look away, my lady."

I didn't heed his words.

"Desire, you don't want to see them when the smoke clears."

He was right. I didn't want to see what I already had. I tore my eyes from the massacre and buried my face in his fur. His strong shoulder blades rolled under my thighs as he bounded up the mountainside.