282 The Ambush

    Lucian

    The fight dragged on-merciless and primal. One hour and forty-five minutes of blood, growls, and bone-deep pain. Neither man-neither wolf-was backing down.

    They were coated in each other’s blood. Both limping. Both heaving for air. Their movements had slowed, but the rage hadn’t dulled. If anything, it had sharpened with every wound.

    Then-finally-my father barreled into ric’s side with a burst of raw force, knocking him down with a

    vicious thud.

    Before ric could recover, my father mped his jaws around his hind leg and yanked. The crack of bone echoed through the field like a shot.

    My chest swelled. That sound-gods, that sound-I knew it had changed the tide.

    ric staggered to his feet, barely upright, his leg mangled. He could have tapped out. Should have. But he didn’t.

    He wanted to die.

    He growled a broken, defiant snarl-and lunged.

    My father was caught off guard and stumbled, falling backward onto his back. Belly up.

    My heart dropped.

    In wolf form, it was the most vulnerable position imaginable-exposed and defenseless. And he was weakened. Too slow to flip himself over in time.

    I saw ric rear back, building momentum. Then he leapt, teeth bared, aiming tond directly on my

    father’s midsection-crushing him, pinning him, finishing it. His throat was wide open, the perfect angle for a killing bite.

    I wanted to scream. My body tensed, frozen. I was seconds away from losing him.

    But my father-through the pain, through the exhaustion-moved.

    He rolled just enough, wincing with the effort, and ric missed his mark.

    Hended hard, the full weight of his body crashing onto the dirt. A sickening crack followed. ric yelped in pain-his leg had twisted beneath him, the same one my father had nearly torn apart moments before.

    He didn’t just miss. He hurt himself in the fall.

    I exhaled shakily, fists clenched. My father was still alive. Still in this.

    ric had made a critical mistake.

    And the end was finally within reach.

    282 The Ambush

    My father had barely gotten back on his feet, limping toward ric with a pained whimper, when the gunshot cracked through the air.

    Then everything exploded into chaos.

    Screams erupted from the crowd as panic set in. People scattered in every direction. A secondter, the sky split open with the shriek of a missile, and the helicopter was blown out of the air in a fireball-

    broadcast silenced.

    Then we saw them.

    Dozens-no, hundreds-of heavily armed men flooding the field from all sides.

    These weren’t ours.

    We shifted instantly. Fur and teeth and ws emerged from skin in a rush. We moved to defend ourselves,

    but the gunfire was already cutting through the field.

    I took three bullets to the side and shoulder before I got to cover. My body shuddered, then started forcing the rounds out. They weren’t silver. Thank the goddess.

    They wouldn’t kill us, but they’d slow us down-and that was all the enemy needed.

    The pain red sharp and hot, but I forced myself to my feet. The others were already inbat, some still shifting, others dodging gunfire. It was too fast. Too many.

    This wasn’t a rogue hit squad. This was an ambush.

    -They’re too many, I linked, panic threading through my thoughts. Our men won’t hold them. How the hell did ric sneak this many into Neev?

    My mark burned. I felt the same re through the bonds of my soldiers-agitation, anger, pain. They were holding the line, but the tide was overwhelming.

    My three hundred weren’t enough. I should’ve brought more. I should’ve known.

    Our soldiers returned fire with silver rounds-precision shots, efficient-but the flood of enemies didn’t stop. Eventually, they ran out of ammo and were forced to shift too, joining the fight tooth and w.

    The battlefield turned feral.

    Still, they came.

    Still, we were outnumbered.

    -The Alpha of Neev double-crossed us, my father’s voice cracked through the link, strained and low. The se aren’t mercenaries. Most of them… are Neevian soldiers.

    The betrayal hit harder than any bullet.

    That bastard. He smiled in our faces. Weed us with empty hands while his knife.was already aimed at

    our backs.

    282 The Ambush

    I saw red.

    +15 Points)

    -Hold the line, I linked to my soldiers. Do not let them reach the elders. Form a perimeter. Push them

    back.

    And then I dove into the fray, teeth bared, ready to kill.

    Because now, this wasn’t just a fight.

    It was war.

    -Darian, Rowan. Get Father out. Now! I linked, voice sharp with urgency.

    They didn’t argue. They didn’t have to. They moved, nking our father, shielding him as best they could. He resisted at first-I saw it-but even he knew this wasn’t about pride anymore. It was survival.

    I turned back to the battlefield and let go.

    I fought like a rabid wolf.

    My body tore through the enemy like instinct had taken over. I didn’t think-I couldn’t. There was no room for doubt. Only rage. Controlled fury.

    There was a very real chance I wouldn’t survive. That I’d die here with my men. That my blood would soak into Neev’s dirt-betrayed, cornered, and outnumbered.

    But I wasn’t going down alone.

    I was angry. Furious that I hadn’t seen the signs. That I’d trusted Neev for even a second. That I might never see Mara again. Never hold our unborn child. Never speak to Richard.

    We were dead men.

    And I was going to make every one of these traitors bleed for it.

    Then, out of nowhere, a massive wolf mmed into me-full force-knocking the wind out of my chest and sending me sprawling across the dirt.

    I scrambled to my feet, blood rushing in my ears. I turned-ready to kill-and froze for a second.

    Ighor.

    -Why? I linked, my voice a snarl.

    He growled in response, his fury matching mine.

    -You think we’re fools, Nighthorn? His voice came through the link, venomous and sharp. My father may be weak enough to forgive, but I’m not. Your father nearly destroyed our territory for a crime we didn’tmit, and now you want peace? You refuse to fund our military, you cut off our weapons, while Mooncrest stockpiles like a war ising.

    He circled me, muscles tense.

     282 The Ambush

    -You and that b***h Luna of yours are selfish. You don’t deserve to lead this ind. I don’t care for

    ric, but we have amon enemy-you.

    15 Fonts2

    -Today, the Nighthorn line ends. I know your son carries no Alpha mark. Your b***h, and your brother’s b***h-they’ll be easy kills.

    The second he said it-b***h-my blood snapped.

    He’d crossed a line he couldn’t walk back from.

    My growl erupted from deep in my chest, and I lunged at him with everything I had.

    Our wolves collided in mid-air, fangs bared, ws shing.

    This wasn’t a fight anymore.

    It was personal. It was war.

    THREE HOURS INTO THE BATTLE

    The ground was soaked in blood-ours and theirs. The air thick with smoke, sweat, and gunpowder.

    Ighor and I had been torn apart by others-thrown back into therger chaos. It didn’t matter anymore. The

    tide had turned.

    And we were losing.

    ric and Ighor had the upper hand. No matter how many we brought down, more kepting. Most of

    my men were either dead or badly wounded. We’d left a mark on them-broken bones, spilled blood-but it

    wasn’t enough. They still outnumbered us. Still pressed forward with merciless precision.

    I kept fighting. ws tearing, jaws ripping, fury guiding me through the pain. I became nothing but instinct

    and destruction. But even as I shredded my enemies apart, something inside me cracked.

    I started praying. Not for myself. It was already toote for that.

    Gods… Please take care of my family.

    Please heal Mara’s heart when she finds out. Please give her the courage to love again. Let her remember

    the best of me-not the monster they say I was on the battlefield.

    Let her forgive me for breaking my promise. For noting home.

    Let someone else find her, someone who will love her more than I ever could-even though that feels

    impossible.

    Let her be happy.

    Images of her flooded my mind-herugh, her hands on my chest, her sleepy smile in the morning. I saw the way her eyes lit up when we talked about the future. Our baby. Our family.

    And now… I would never see any of it.

    282 The Ambush

    The heartbreak cut deeper than any w or bullet.

    I fought through the tears clouding my vision. My body was a blur of pain and motion, but inside I was breaking.

    This was supposed to be our beginning. Instead, it was my end.

    ric had yed his hand perfectly. He’d outmaneuvered us at every turn. Betrayal from within. Strength in numbers. Precise, brutal timing.

    And as much as it hurt to admit it… he had won.