Kyran
My paws hit the ground running, pounding into the earth toward the chaos in the woods. I see and smell blood all around me, the grassy field is coated in it from both vampires and wolves. I force myself not to look closely at the lifeless bodies around me, keeping my attention on the trees as I break through the edge of the woods, tearing into an oncoming vampire's neck and ripping his head off as I keep running.
Where is she? I demand through mindlink at all of my warriors around me.
The big pine tree, to the south, I hear amidst the cacophony of screaming, snarls, barks, and hissing.
I turn to my right and quickly come upon a swarming mass of fighting bodies, blood spattering and limbs flying through branches, either attached to bodies or severed from them. At a sharp whine from a warrior, I howl deeply and the wolves immediately separate themselves. They swiftly begin circling the large tree, corralling the vampires inside the swirling ring.
A cold body slams into my side and arms scramble to grasp my torso. Sharply whipping around, I fling the vampire off me and stomp on his chest as he hisses, baring his fangs at me. I snarl back viciously and as his eyes bulge in fear, I snap my jaws over his face, tearing the flesh from his skull before crushing the thick bone with another harsh bite.
Leaping off the dead body, I throw myself into the teeming mass of vampires and all the circling wolves dive in at once. We work as a unit, I latch onto an arm and tear it off, the vampire being thrown down with the force of my bite and another wolf appears to finish him off as I spring onto another one. Glancing around, I find some warriors in their human form trying to climb the base of the pine tree as vampires rip them away in defense. Snapping my attention upward, I search through the branches and find a pair of long, slender legs dangling from up high.
Kyrre! Kyrre, can you hear me? I mindlink her directly and the legs begin to flail vigorously.
Kyran! I can't—
Her scream pierces the air and I snarl, bounding toward the base of the pine tree and clamp my jaws around a cold leg, slamming the vampire against the wide trunk repeatedly. Tossing my head, I throw the limp body aside and pounce on the back of another one, crushing his skull in my jaws. I lope away from the tree and turn to sprint toward it, shifting as I leap and pulling myself up quickly onto a branch.
A cold hand latches onto my ankle but I kick out hard, hearing the satisfying crunch of bones breaking as the vampire falls back to the ground. Pushing off the branch, I jump to grasp another and make quick work climbing up the tree. When I get a few limbs away from Kyrre, four vampires drop around me hissing and scrambling forward. One lands on my branch and I wait for him to lunge. Grabbing his wrists, I whip his body sideways and use him to knock another out of the tree, the snapping of branches following him down. I release my hold and the vampire screeches as he is flung out into open air.
A burning scratch tears down my back and I yell in rage, snapping off a small branch before I turn. Swinging it like a baseball bat, I crack the vampire across his head and kick my foot out, sending his limp body down through the branches. Glaring sideways at the last vampire, he bares his fangs at me and hisses but takes a step backward. His red eyes dart around and when they land on me, I hurl the broken branch at him like a spear, piercing his heart.
Glancing up, I climb higher as the last body falls away and pull myself onto a wide limb, finding Kyrre thrashing against a large vampire. He has her arms pinned behind her and her neck in a chokehold as her legs kick uselessly. She isn't afraid though, she's pissed as hell and tries hard to land a blow on him, but he's too tall for her. When her eyes meet mine, her body goes still and the vampire holding her growls at me in warning. As I try to think of a way to get her out safely, a mocking laugh makes me bristle.
"Fancy meeting you here, dog. Do you come here often? The food is subpar at best, I'm afraid," Caedes cold voice calls out from the next tree over.
A limp body crashes through the branches below him as he appears with blood spilling over his chin and neck. Rage boils inside me at the sight of him here, on my lands, attacking my people. I quickly search my sister's body and seeing her torn, bloodstained shirt and shorts, my body tenses with fury. I am relieved to only find a few cuts and bruises though, thankfully not finding any bite marks. Meeting her gaze, I mindlink her fast before Caedes can notice. When I take my third step, I want you to bite his arm hard, okay? When he releases you, swing down to the branch below, and press yourself against the trunk.
Got it, she responds immediately, keeping her body still.
I take a step forward and the vampire holding my sister tightens his hold on her. I pretend not to pay him attention, speaking to Caedes instead. "You realize you've lost most of your subjects, right? Was it worth it, bringing them here to slaughter? Maybe they misbehaved and you wanted to punish them, teach your people a lesson, no?" I taunt him dryly.
"Tch. I got what I wanted, I don't care who gets killed in the process," he grins wickedly as he nods toward my sister.
I step forward again and laugh humorously. "You don't have anything, Caedes."
"Oh, I have more than you know, dog," his cold voice cuts me and I take my third step with a snarl.
Kyrre bites down, tearing flesh from the vampire holding her as he bellows in pain and she drops her body, sliding down off the branch quickly. I lunge forward, grabbing his bloody arm and pull him toward me. Gripping the back of his neck, I slam him against the tree as he kicks out and I narrowly avoid his foot. I try to throw him off the branch but he lands a blow to my stomach, knocking me off balance. I block a second and third punch, jabbing out and cracking his jaw as blood flies from his mouth. I follow up quickly with a kick to his gut and grab the back of his head to slam his face into my knee. His body slumps forward before he lashes out, his fangs going for my leg and I kick hard against the side of his face. I crouch and grab ahold of his head, twisting my hands sharply and his neck snaps before I shove him over the edge.
Whipping around, I stalk toward the end of the branch as far as I can go and glare at Caedes. His face is wary and he takes a small step backward, glancing down briefly then looks back up at me before he darts away over the branches. My instinct tells me to chase him but I keep myself still, trying to regain control of my breathing as my mind flashes back to my mother. Seeing my sister held captive reminds me too easily of the day I lost half of my family, how Kyrre looks just like our mother, and how I was almost too late again. I grip the sides of my head as a roar of rage escapes me. I feel the branch beneath my feet shudder and my eyes snap open, finding my sister walking carefully toward me.
"Kyran, I'm okay. I didn't get bit, I'm healed now, I'm fine," she reassures me, reaching her hand out toward me.
I drop my hand into hers and step forward, pulling her into a tight hug. Taking a deep breath, I look into her bright green eyes and ask, "What the fuck happened? How did you end up here?"
Before she can respond, a loud commotion rises up from below and my sister pulls my hand urgently as she starts to descend the tree. We make quick work dropping from the branches and as my feet land on the ground beside her, a warrior runs up to us breathing heavily. "Treyvar, by the lodge," he says breathlessly. "Traitor," he gasps, placing his hands on his knees.
Kyrre bursts into her small honeyed wolf and takes off toward home with a few wolves following her quickly. I clap my hand to my warrior's shoulder and raise my voice above the others, "Hybrids, gather the vampires and burn the bodies. Take your time with our fallen and bring them home when you can, I'll have a pyre prepared. Warriors, with me!"
I shift and sprint westward, the ground rumbling behind me as dozens of wolves run with me and the air fills with growls and low howls. We catch up with my sister and she falls in behind me with the rest of the wolves melding into one group. A few minutes pass until I see a cluster of wolves out near the prison cells and I push my legs faster with my anger fueling me.
The crowd parts at my arrival and I find my brother on top of someone as he pounds his fists into their face mercilessly. I pause for a moment, realizing I've never really seen him be violent, not truly. The only time he has lashed out aggressively was when our family was torn in half by the loss of our mother and siblings. Even then, Trey just broke a bunch of things and screamed at people, he didn't brutalize them or take his pain out on anyone. He’s the opposite of our father, unlike me. Shaking my head, I stalk over to him and listen to the way he spits his words out while he beats the man beneath him.
"You fucking piece of shit! I knew it! After everything we've done for you, given to you, this is how you repay us?" His tenor voice is thick with anger as he yells close to the guy's smashed-in face and Trey’s hands grip his neck forcefully.
Treyvar, what is going on? Explain to me, I mindlink since I don't think he realizes I'm standing beside him.
Whipping his head around, my brother's bloody face falls as he slumps backward onto his heels and slowly rises to his feet. He's breathing heavy, they must have had an intense fight for him to be bleeding and weary. I watch as Trey shoves his hand into his pocket before angrily tossing something to the ground in front of me. Peering down, I scratch my paw across the grass and find an old key, immediately recognizing it as one of the oubliette keys. Snarling, I glare at my brother and wait for his explanation, though I have an idea of what has happened now.
"Vala is gone. A group of vamps and a witch showed up suddenly, moments before the warriors mindlinked me about a swarm attacking in the east. I think that attack was a diversion, Caedes showed up here by the lodge as I was running to the cells and tore Kyrre from the house. The bastard disappeared before I had a chance to do anything about it. By the time I got to Vala, she was being carried away unconscious and the group vanished with her and the witch.
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“That's when I saw him trying to sneak away through the woods. I intercepted him before he threw that key into the woods and I knew he released Vala. He's been the one, this entire time, letting the vampires onto our lands. Fucking traitor!" Trey seethes and kicks the laughing man in the side, earning a groaning snarl in return.
I push past my brother and with one sniff I know who has betrayed me, my family, my entire pack. I should have done something before, should have pushed him when my brother warned me. Stepping on top of his body with my full weight, I stand on the man I had felt was one of my closest friends and who I trusted to hold the security and safety of my pack. Snarling, I gnash my teeth above his mangled face and his entire body twitches in response.
Sigurd, I mindlink not just to him, but to everyone surrounding us as well, heal yourself and speak to me, to the pack. You have this one chance to clarify your actions.
I hear disagreements voiced out from the group, shouts to kill him or torture him for his betrayal. I want to fulfill these demands myself but know I must give this opportunity, showing that I won't act rashly in retaliation.
I don't move as I watch the wounds mend on his face and he tries to take a deep breath. Grimacing with his face slick from fresh blood, Sigurd turns his head and spits to the ground before glaring up at me. I lower my head and bare my teeth, silently waiting for him to speak.
"I had to. I had to do what he demanded of me, he has my mate," Sigurd mumbles, not meeting my gaze.
Why not come to me immediately? Because of you, he had my sister, she could have died! We lost lives, unnecessarily! You—
You don't have a mate! Valdr seethes at him and a collective gasp rolls around us.
Taking control, Valdr stomps down on Sigurd's chest and his ribs crack loudly as an agonized groan leaves his mouth. Growling viciously, he quickly reaches up and grasps my throat, shoving upward. Slipping out from beneath me, Sigurd throws a knee into my side with a fast punch to my throat before he shifts into his wolf and hurries a few feet away.
I lunge at him as he turns to face me and we collide in a snarling tangle of gnashing teeth, tearing claws and dripping blood. I sink my teeth into his shoulder and rip downward, gouging a large chunk of his flesh off his body. He whines loudly but moves to bite my throat and I duck my head, his jaws snapping the air above me. Twisting, I latch on to the base of his throat firmly but not hard enough to puncture deeply. Sigurd goes still, his chest rumbling deeply with a long growl.
Shift, I use my alpha command and his body blurs immediately. I shift back as well and throw him to the ground hard, his head bouncing with the impact.
"I trusted you, for over a century, I trusted the safety of my pack with you in charge," I grit out between my clenched teeth.
He laughs humorlessly and sneers at me, "Your father was a better Alpha than you, and he was a shitty man. At least he had the balls to execute those who betrayed him. You just exile people, too weak to do what you should. Why do you think we sided with the vampires against you? Your brother was supposed to be Alpha, not you, but you weren't there that day and he died instead of you. Our intentions were to wipe your bloodline out and we'd create an unbeatable pack, combining wolves and vampires together. Nobody would’ve stood a chance against us with Einarr and Caedes in charge, especially if we’d captured the white wolf. Her power is untouchable and with her in our control, we would be invincible," Sigurd spits again and smiles haughtily at me.
My body begins to shake with rage at the mention of Selene, but I restrain myself from showing how his words affect me. It's obvious they still don't know who she is or where to find her since they tried taking Kyrre earlier. Focusing only on one thing he'd said, I glare down at the traitorous bastard and demand, "Who are we? Who else has been involved with the vampires from this pack?"
He just laughs in response so I snag his wounded arm and whip him across the grass, watching as his body slams into a nearby tree. Blood seeps from his torn shoulder and he slowly heals his wound as I stalk toward him. With a yell, he dives for my legs and I jump above him, planting a foot on the ground and kick into his side. Grabbing my ankle, Sigurd rolls and tries to drag me to the ground but I move with his force, landing on my knees beside him. I strike him hard in the back of his head and push to my feet as he rolls onto his back, baring his teeth at me.
"Fight me honestly, if you think I'm not enough to be Alpha. Challenge me for my position if I'm so weak," I growl at him and clench my fists at my sides.
He heals for a moment and rises to face me, raising his chin as he declares, "I, Sigurd, challenge you Kyran, for your position and power as Alpha of this pack."
"Challenge accepted," I grit between my teeth as my chest rumbles loudly.
I know Sigurd, I know how he thinks and how he moves. I rely on my instinct and experience and allow him to make the first move. I watch as he crouches into a fighting stance and sidesteps around me, following his movements carefully. Keeping my back away from him, I turn in place slowly as I notice the way his eyes shift focus from my face to parts of my body. He's assessing where to strike first and I never remove my eyes from his, seeing how he lingered briefly on my left knee before flicking his eyes up to mine.
I narrow my gaze at him an instant before he strikes his left leg out and I step back on my right foot as I dodge his kick. Sweeping my foot outward, I pull him off balance and throw a quick succession of punches to his throat and gut before stepping back out of his reach. He growls lowly and feints to his right while jabbing his left fist toward my face. I throw my arm up to block him and wrap my hand around his wrist, pulling him hard toward me. I slam my fist into his face twice before he stumbles a bit and I use this moment to lash my arm out, snapping a thick branch off of a nearby tree. I discard the broken limb and step back a few paces, positioning myself across from the sharp protrusion and baiting Sigurd in front of me.
He stalks toward me angrily, throwing his weight behind a punch as I dodge him and turn to grip the back of his neck. He grasps my arm and twists around, the force of it turning me away from him. I wait for a breath, feeling for the moment he puts pressure on my arm behind me. Quickly reaching behind me with my free hand, I grip onto his wrists and throw myself forward with a yell, dragging him over me and slamming him against the ground. The muscles around my shoulders tear from the strain and I heal as fast as I can, growling through the pain as I bend down to wrap my hands harshly around his throat.
Rising to my full height, I lift Sigurd off the ground as his feet kick me and run forward, impaling him on the sharp branch. Sigurd roars as I shove him back, the jagged wood emerging just below his sternum in a gush of dark blood. Squeezing his throat tightly, I watch with sick satisfaction as his face begins to discolor, his eyes widen in fear and he gapes his mouth silently like a fish out of water.
“Tell me who else from this pack is involved with you,” I command savagely, pushing my hands harder and glaring at him from inches away.
I hear names whisper through his mindlink and tally a dozen of my warriors, relaying their names to the pack through a command and the men and women begin to emerge. Some are shoved from the crowd and some fight loudly against the alpha command but unwillingly drag themselves forward. Releasing Sigurd just as he is about to lose consciousness, I let his body drop onto the broken branch and he howls out his pain and rage.
“Hold him,” I demand as I turn away, seeing Trey and Jeger rush over to pin Sigurd to the tree.
Facing the line of traitors, I glare into each of their eyes with contempt and slowly pace back and forth. “Whoever has betrayed me willingly, step forward,” I command, clenching my jaw.
Watching as eight out of the twelve betraying warriors grudgingly move out of line, I circle behind the group and cross in front of the last four. They each look afraid, whereas the people in front of them looked angry. Now that I have discerned who has had direct involvement in working against me, I know death is not a justifiable punishment for these people.
“Although you did not outright defy me, you have held the awareness and knowledge of this betrayal, choosing to withhold it from your Alpha and therefore are deemed traitorous wolves,” I speak gravely to them all, holding their gazes individually. “I exile you from my pack, branding you as untrustworthy and sentence you to a rogue life, never to be part of a true pack again,” I seethe, baring my teeth as a thunderous growl rips through my chest.
I press my palm to each of their foreheads, my alpha magic severing our ties, marking their souls and I feel the loss of each pack bond as I go. When I remove my hand from the last in line, I step away from them and nod my head once. A few people come forward and grab hold of each traitor, removing them to escort them off our lands. Two of the four are females and I can hear their shrieking sobs as they are dragged away, feeling pity for them but not guilt, not when they deserve the exile.
“Tch. Weak, like I said,” Sigurd’s voice drifts over to me as he mumbles beneath his breath.
Ignoring him, I face the wide gathering of my pack members and address them loudly, “who here has been affected by the vampire attacks directly? Either your mate or a family member has been stolen from you, or you’ve suffered loss through berserker disease as a result of our attacks? Please come forward.”
My heart clenches at the large amount of people moving toward me, how so many people have endured loss in my charge because of Sigurd. I sweep my gaze across this group and feel the pain I find in their eyes through my bonds with them. I hold and release a slow breath before speaking to them.
“I offer any of you the opportunity to seek vengeance from those who’ve brought you unforgivable pain and suffering this past century. I only ask that their torture be fatal, their death is the price they must pay for being part of something so harrowing for our kind. Their evil has no place on this earth, and they should feel the pain they’ve brought upon us before departing this realm,” I glare at the closest traitor to me and receive a snarl in response.
I turn toward the line of traitors and command, “You will remain where you stand,” nodding my head at the growling pack beside me. Stalking back toward Sigurd, I grin viciously at him as the gruesome cacophony behind me rises and his eyes widen as he stares over my shoulder. Blood seeps from his chest and mouth since he cannot heal himself while impaled and he spits at my feet before meeting my gaze.
My grin morphs into a snarl and I snap my fist out, his cheek crunching on impact. My brother and Jeger release his arms as I grab his shoulders and tear him forcefully off of the tree. Before Sigurd has a chance to heal, I slam him to the ground by his throat and shove my hand into the gaping hole in his chest. Clawing upward as Sigurd screams in agony, I grip my fingers around his heart, feeling the rapid beating intensify when he looks into my eyes. Holding his wild gaze, I release a roar of rage and clench my fist, crushing his heart and tearing it free from his body.
My chest heaves as I open my hand, a wet thud hitting the ground as I turn away and shift. Howling long and low, I throw my head back and many of my pack join me as songs of anger, pain, and sorrow fill the air. Rage thrashes inside me and I catch Jeger’s gaze, mindlinking him directly, give me the location of the nest you found Vala at.
I recognize the address he gives me, knowing where I need to go and bound away from my pack into the woods. Jeger and Trey shift, quickly loping after me and I let them. I might need their backup if the place is heavily occupied. As I run, I think of Selene and wonder how she would react to this side of me. It has been a long while since I lost my control, but part of me thrives in brutality, as if a switch flips off and I don’t think or feel anything about it. I become unhinged. I am a monster.
Tugging on the bond I feel connected with her, I hope she can understand it means I’m sorry and whisper, Please forgive me, sweetheart, before closing off my mind completely.