Chapter Seventy One
CADE
The moon cast its ethereal glow over the rogue pack. My determination as the hour approached flooded my being, my armies were weapon-ready against the hallowed manes. Though a bit disappointed at my son, Nathan for disappointing me and walking away from the one thing I always wished for, to fight by his side against the hallowed manes pack.
All of this was Lucy’s fault, she had brainwashed my son into believing that I was the evil one. I never was, I was only reclaiming my position as the alpha of the hallowed manes, and I knew I would get my son back once I reclaimed the throne.
With determination, I and my army marched to the hallowed manes, our steps resonated with confidence, every stride echoing the burning desire to conquer.
As we got close to the hallowed manes pack, I noticed an unusual quietness that raised a concern to me. The unexpected hush settled in, unnerving everyone including me. Something felt amiss but I couldn’t place what it was, the ominous quietness bothered me.
“Be on alert! There’s something wrong here, it could be a trap,” I instructed.
We entered the pack and no single soul was found lurking around the pack. Where could everyone have gone? Of course, they weren’t aware of our sudden attack, were they? Lucy had gone into exile after she escaped from my cell and there was no way she had gone to inform Chris to inform him of the attack in his absence. My senses heightened as we approached the palace, my eyes scanning the environment for any possible danger.
The palace loomed before us, a symbol of power that I chose to claim. As we got closer, some figures emerged from the shadows. It was Chris, Lucy, and Lothar, my renowned enemy, armed and defiant with tension hanging in the air.
“Good to see you again, Uther,” Lothar smirked.
Lothar had always been my enemy for years even before the death of my brother, Chris’ father. After Lucy’s father was blamed for Chris’ father’s death, he visited him in the rogue pack without my consent. He and Lucy’s father were planning to expose my hideout to the hallowed manes which led to the murder of her father.
Seeing him again brought memories I thought I had forgotten. Lucy stood by his side which got on my nerves.
“Look at the weakling, finding solace in the arms of her lover,” I mocked Lucy with a predatory grin, taunting her for seeking sanctuary with Chris, underestimating the strength within her.
“You are the weakling here, trying to reap where you didn’t sow,” Chris fired back. “You will meet your doom as you’ve stepped into my territory.”
I growled in fury. “Watch as I send your mate to his early grave,” I said to Lucy, then turning to Chris I said again, “I swear by the night sky and the ever-moving moon: Before dusk runs out, I will slit you open and splash around like a child in a muddy puddle. I’ll string a fiddle with your cores and make you play it while I dance. You know there are no such things as ghouls. There is only my kind. You are not wise enough to fear me as I should be feared. You do not know who you are dealing with yet.”
“You underestimated the power of unity, Cade. Your cruelty won’t prevail here,” Chris sneered.
The confrontation escalated and unknown to us, warriors of the hallowed manes had surrounded me and my army. Then the realization dawned on me – we had been outsmarted by Chris’ pack which I sought to conquer, we had walked into a meticulously laid trap.
“It’s a trap, everyone, be on guard,” I yelled.
Chris cried out, his voice echoing through the night initiating the beginning of the battle. “FOR THE HALLOWED MANES!!”
The battle cry echoed as the army began to attack. I surgery forward towards Chris in a ferocious assault, slaughtering every warrior that crossed my path, a force of destruction leaving chaos in my wake. My singular focus remained on Chris, once I could kill him, the battle would be over for sure.
Amidst the uproar, my roar pierced through the air. “The throne is mine!”
The more I tried to get close to Chris, the more his warriors surrounded him, protecting him from my assault.
“Stay close, we need to protect the alpha at all costs,” one of the warriors yelled.
The warriors drew their swords and charged forward. The clashing of steel filled the air as the warriors engaged in combat. As a skilled swordsman, I deftly parried every attack thrown my way.
Lucy lunged at me in a determined counterattack. “Your reign is over, Cade. You are not taking him.”
I scoffed. “This pack is weak! I’ll rip through all of you to get what I want.”
Lucy’s riposte was so swift and precise that I could barely have time to recover from her parry. She had grown better than I thought she used to be, and her skills with the sword were better than before. But I wasn’t going to let that distract me, she wasn’t my main target, Chris was.
I left her with my warriors to deal with and began to charge towards Chris again, but the more I tried to get close, the more they shielded him from me.
“The alpha is mine,” I thought as I continued to press forward.
Chris stepped forward, blade swinging in a mock offense, an experimental probe into motion. I launched straight into the attack. Left, right–I twisted away, jumped back, closed in for the attack again, and then reversed once more. Simply avoiding Chris’ quick parry, I slipped in on his other side for a feint, and as he dodged the attack and responded I took his downswing on my angled blade, sending it skidding away.
First engagement, first flurry of blows, and we both played it relatively safe. This fight would go on until one of us drew the first blood–at this rate, it would last until sunset.
Chris prowled sideways and attacked, pounding at my guards. I warded him off with tight defenses, went on the counter-offensive the moment I had an opening, then disengaged and backed off. He was shifting around me, forwards and backward and sideways, always in motion, his sword weaving in a near-random pattern and his shifting gaze scanning for openings as I turned in place to match his orbit.
“Prepare to be outmatched, Cade. I’m not as weak as you think I am,” Chris snickered.Property © NôvelDrama.Org.
His words made me furious the more, I lunged at him again aiming at his legs. His sword drove into my left leg and I trapped his sword hand between my side and my arm, wrenching it in sideways and hacking at his neck. He ducked and rolled into me before I could land a good blow, sending us both to the ground.