CHAPTER 46

Kael's POV

My instincts have never been wrong, Lucius was able to attack me because he had help. And not only ordinary help in this regard. Some close acquaintances of mine spied on me. His attack was not rough or improvised. Rather, it was calculated concise and precise. He couldn't have done that without having sensitive information about me.

The first suspects were my guards, they were in the best position to disclose sensitive information about my warfare and security. I wanted to suspect the cooks, but they would rather poison me and put an easy end to the war than assist Lucius with green wolfsbane and the truth about the fence.

The walls fell flat, the stones crumbling and disintegrating from the chemicals and the bullets. I only escaped death by a hair's breadth. It was easy to have the stone mason get to work rebuilding the wall, but my peace has been stolen since then. I could no longer sleep with my eyes open, and my mind was filled with re-echoing blasts and battle cries.

"Your grace. Information has been found on the soldiers."

I stood from my throne immediately, my eyes widened with expectant surprise.

"Have you found them? Do you know where they are?"

The chief of guards shook his head somberly.

"Turns out, you were right after all Alpha. Those soldiers were not part of us. They are rogues. They've been pretending to be part of us the whole time while delivering information to Alpha Lucius. I'm sorry, Your Grace. I should have been more vigilant and observant."

"That was a foolish fault on your end, but I don't have time to pass blame around. We need to find them and do with them accordingly."

"Yes, your grace." He fell flat on his face, trembling. "We have found them. The two of them have a clique of other soldiers and they all stay on No Man's Land. Information also reached us that some of them have collected money to hand over to Alpha Lucius. You don't need to give the other this time, I will find..."

I sprang off my throne before he could finish the statements.

"Arrange 20 men and lead the way, I want to deal with these men myself."

An hour later, I was in the swampy, dense and dark forest of the small island just outside the borders of the two packs.

"The men have built a colony of shacks near a pond. They have no idea we are coming."

My eyebrows fell into a tight line.

"We can't be so sure anymore. Anybody could be a spy and a traitor."

The man kept silent and we proceeded to the location. But a few minutes into our movements, arrows suddenly flew from all sides hitting the men and killing them straight on the spot.

"Take cover! We are under attack."

Immediately, my men and I got into position, and we were totally ambushed. The men were just as the chief of guards had described, but they were more than 20. Fuck! I drew out my sword, covered my face with my armour and slashed the first attacker into pieces. Before I knew it, the entire space was filled with metals clanging, loud cries and painful grunts.

My men were winning; the deserters were no match for them. My plan was to take one of them alive and have him tell me Lucius' location. But my nightmare soon fell upon me. It started with more arrows flying from the skies. Some of the arrows had flames at the tip, and the forest soon caught on fire.

"Take cover!" I screamed. "Stay away from the fire!"

And as we were scattering about taking covers I saw another group of armies approaching, a cloud of dust following them. And suddenly, the loudest thunderous roar I have ever heard in my life. It was the devil himself, Lucius!

"Shift! Now!"

Immediately, my let out a scream, mutating into their wolf forms, leaving behind their shredded clothes. Lucius and his men followed suit and God, I have never seen a wolf as a giant and strong Lucius. The battle went on, but this time my men had begun to lose. I had planned to hide and sleep away but Lucius found me before I could make the move.

The moment my eyes met his, I saw the flash of hatred in them. We stayed that way for some seconds, gazing at each other, breathing heavily. He was my arch nemesis, nothing could deny his bloodlust, or my aversion for him. I made the first attack, bouncing into the air and scraping at his face. Lucian stumbled backwards, but he bounced back quicker than I expected. I got into position, making to pounce on him again, but a strike from his claws sent me flying on my back.

I was no match for Lucian. I never have, and as long as he's alive I will never be. A few hours later, I shifted back into human form and reached for my sword. I didn't find any traces of weakness in Lucian, who instantly shifted and also drew his sword. My men had been vanquished, my eyes roaming the chief of guards' dead body. It was a fight to finish, my life or Lucius' demise.

"We could have been brothers," he breathed. "My kind and your people would have lived in harmony. But your evil heart and your desire for tyranny would not allow this. I do not wish for you to die Kael."

I managed a confident chuckle.

"It's been ages and counting, Lucius, and you are still all bark, no bite. You couldn't even take me on by yourself. You had to rely on puny spies."

"I am warning you Kael. I will give you the chance to abdicate and go into exile."

In that instant, I suspected that he was going to launch at me but I had a trick up my sleeve. I pretended to fall and then I scooped a handful of sand. Lucius was apparently distracted by my antics, and that gave me the chance to throw it in his face. The sword fell to the ground, his hand flying to his face. I took that as a chance and escaped.