Chapter 2

Kestrel’s POV

Across the clearing, Reid fights like a storm, his twin blades glinting silver beneath the slowly rising sun. He spins, ducks, and strikes. He’s clearly not wasting time on hesitation. Not weak like me. I grit my teeth. I can’t afford to admire him right now.

One of the beasts charges at me, hulking and snarling. I immediately duck his swing and drive the edge of my blade into his knee. He crumples, but reaches for me with vicious claws as his wound begins to heal almost instantly.

“Fuck! This is a suicide mission,” I breathe, now on the defensive. From the corner of my eye, I notice one of our men getting his neck snapped by a wolf. Then another woman falls.

“Are they even alive?” I snarl, slamming my sword across the side of another’s face. “Or just monsters in human skin?”

They don’t answer. They don’t speak. They only growl, bite, and claw. It almost feels as though they are mocking us. Eventually, we’ll grow exhausted. Then what?

It seems others on my team have already reached a conclusion, as I spot about five of them fleeing the clearing, retreating the way we came. Weaklings.

I thrust the end of my blade into the throat of a wolf faced man, satisfied that I hit the right spot when he collapses with a wet choke. I swing again but miss, forcing me to duck before driving my elbow into his ribs. I feel his bone crack.

With pain throbbing through my hand, I’m no longer certain whose bone actually broke. Heck.

That’s when I hear a softer footstep. Without wasting a second, I spin towards it, but then I freeze.

He’s young. Barely taller than my chest. His golden eyes are wide with fear. He hesitates. He doesn’t even snarl or attempt to strike me.

Who brings a kid to battle?

My grip tightens around my sword, but of course, I don’t raise it. He doesn’t belong here. So, on instinct, I kick him in the chest, sending him sprawling backward into the dirt.

He grimaces and coughs against the dust.

“Get the hell out of here, ki…”

My words remain lodged in my throat when, suddenly, in a blur of movement, a blade strikes him squarely in the chest. My hands tremble as his frightened eyes lift to meet mine.

I look behind me to find Reid’s disapproving gaze. The boy’s body twitches once before he falls completely still. Tears prick my eyes at the exact moment Reid’s voice reaches my ears.

“He would’ve gotten up again,” he seethes.

“He… was just a kid,” I stammer, struggling to speak through the frantic pounding of my heart.

“They don’t care,” he snaps. “They don’t age. You think that was innocence? They pretend to be human, but we all know they’re beasts.”

I swallow, wiping away my tears, hoping Garrett didn’t notice. “You’re right,” I whisper.

“You’re right,” I repeat, if only to convince myself that my words are true.

Another howl pierces the air.

“Positions!” Garrett barks. “Now!”

But it’s too late.

The werewolves instantly shift into beast mode. It seems they’ve grown weary of their own game. This time, every single one of them assumes a strategic position, some even leaping into the trees.

They emerge from every direction, confirming my suspicion that they are far more than what I’d initially perceived. Clearly, we had underestimated this pack. For the first time, these creatures don’t look like wild, scattered, irrational beasts. No, right now, they resemble trained warriors, far more prepared than we are.

The moment they move, we charge.

“Kestrel!” Reid’s desperate voice reaches my ears. I swiftly turn around.

“Reid’s down!” I yell for my father, sprinting towards him. He’s bleeding from his side, one of his legs twisted at an unnatural angle beneath him. Three animals surround him, but that doesn’t deter me.

I run, ignoring the burning pain in my heels. Suddenly, a body slams into me, sending me sprawling into the dirt. My sword flies out of reach, and I scramble desperately after it.

My fingers barely close around the hilt when someone grabs my ankle and yanks me backward. I scream, twisting and driving my heel into their face with all the strength I can muster. But I fail to break free.

I try to rise, but a boot collides with my head, instantly blurring my vision.

“STOP!” I hear Reid scream, but even his desperate cry ends in a painful groan.

My world tilts as the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.

“Kestrel…?”

“Pa,” I cough in response.

I can see him now. He pulls his swords from a wolf’s throat. He’s only a few feet away. He can reach us.

But his eyes fill with irritation as he takes a step backward.

No. He wouldn’t leave us.

“Pa!” I scream, tears finally streaming down my face because, although I desperately want to deny it in this moment, I already know what’s happening.

Father looks at me. Then his gaze shifts to Reid, who’s already unconscious.

In a heartbeat, he turns and runs.

Heavy footsteps soon overwhelm my hearing, becoming the only sound I can distinguish. I wince in agony when a polished black boot presses down on my neck, but I suppress my cry.

“How many did you get?” a deep, smooth voice asks, seemingly undisturbed by the chaos surrounding him.

“Five, Alpha Knox.”

A brief silence follows before he speaks again.

“Leave these two. Kill the rest,” he commands, his voice as composed as before.

Then his foot lifts from my neck. But before I can catch a glimpse of his face, a heavy object crashes into my head, plunging me into darkness.