THE RACINE OF blood - draven pov

Dawn hadn't come yet. There was only darkness.

Thick darkness. The kind that made my eyes ache from forcing them to stay open.

I stood at the edge of the ravine. Wind rose from below, carrying the smell of wet dirt and... wolves.

A lot of them.

Behind me, 12 tiger warriors crouched behind rocks. Weapons in hand. Holding their breath.

Next to me, Alina.

She wasn’t wearing armor. Just a plain black shirt, cloth pants, and a dagger at her waist.

I’d changed the bandage on her shoulder 2 hours ago. White. Tight. But I knew the wound underneath was still throbbing with every breath she took.

"Ready?" I whispered.

She didn’t look at me. Her eyes were locked straight ahead, into the dark forest.

"Been ready for 3 days," she answered. Her voice was cold. No tremor.

Bayu was on my left. He held up 3 fingers.

The signal. 3 more minutes.

I closed my eyes. Just once. To gather everything. The rage. The pain. The emptiness of the last 3 nights.

When I opened them again, there was only calculation left.

---

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Footsteps. A lot. Messy. Not like soldiers. Like a starving pack.

They came out of the fog.

Wolves. Over 40. Matted fur. Ribs showing. Red eyes.

In front, the biggest one. Black fur, with a long claw scar across his cheek. That was the Wolf King.

And at the very back, forced to walk with a spear at his back...

Raka.

My chest burned.

Alina saw him too. Her jaw clenched. Her hand went straight to the dagger at her hip.

The Wolf King stopped 15 meters from the ravine. He grinned. Tongue hanging out.

"Draven!" he howled. His voice cracked. "Finally brave enough to come out of your den?"

I didn’t answer. I just stepped forward half a step. Out of the shadow of the rock.

So he could see me. So he could see Alina behind me.

The moment the Wolf King’s eyes landed on Alina, he laughed.

"OH. Your Queen came too? Good! Let her watch how I slaughter every last one of your pack!"

"You’re the one slaughtering your own pack," I said flatly. "Sending pups as bait. That’s not how a king acts. That’s how a coward acts."

A furious howl. All 40 wolves went on alert. Their fur stood up.

"ATTACK!" the Wolf King commanded.

And the war began.

No warnings. No bullshit.

The first to move was Bayu. Arrows.

_Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh._

Three wolves in front dropped instantly. Throat, eye, chest.

Then they charged. All of them.

I leapt. The first one at me was a skinny brown wolf. Going for my leg.

I slammed my dagger down. _Crack._ His skull shattered.

Blood splattered across my face. Warm. Salty.

Left. Right. Front.

Claws. Fangs. Roars.

The ground that was muddy from rain was now muddy from blood.

I glanced back. Alina.

She wasn’t moving forward. Like we agreed. Her back was against the rock.

But her hands weren’t idle. Every time a wolf tried to sneak through, her dagger flashed. _Snikt._ Right across the throat.

Fast. Cold. Efficient.

That was the Alina I knew.

"Come here!"

A loud roar. The Wolf King lunged. Straight at me.

He was twice the size of a normal wolf. Muscle. Fangs as long as fingers.

He snapped at me. I dodged. My shoulder slammed into the rock. It hurt.

"Where’s your Queen from before?" he laughed as he swiped. "The weak one? The one who begged you for help?"

I didn’t answer. I stabbed. Into his ribs.

He rolled. The wound was shallow. But enough to make him even crazier.

In the middle of the chaos, I looked for Raka.

He was in the corner. Not attacking. Not running.

The spear in his hand was shaking. His eyes were locked on Alina with pure hatred.

Alina saw him too. For 1 second. Their eyes met.

No words. Just that. A look.

Then Alina turned back forward. Slicing the throat of another wolf trying to attack from behind.

"WOLVES! SURROUND THEM!" the Wolf King yelled.

Shit. They knew our formation. They started circling, trying to attack from the top of the cliff.

"Bayu! Up top!" I shouted.

5 warriors broke off. To hold them up there.

There were still too many. 40 against 25. And they were hungrier. More desperate.

I was starting to get overwhelmed. Small cuts on my arm. Claw marks. Not deep, but slowing me down.

Then...

"DRAVEN!"

Alina’s voice. Not a scream. Hoarse.

I turned.

2 wolves had broken through. Charging at Alina. She was still in place. Her leg held her back because of the wound.

She’d already raised her dagger. But she knew she wouldn’t be fast enough.

Time stopped.

I didn’t think.

I ran. Shoved through 3 wolves. Took a bite to the thigh just to get past.

It hurt. But not as much as seeing Alina about to be touched again.

_Thump._

I slammed into the first wolf. Snapped its neck with my bare hands.

My other dagger went straight into the second wolf’s eye.

All in 2 seconds.

I stood in front of Alina. Breathing hard. Blood dripping from my chin. Mine or theirs, I didn’t know.

Alina looked at me. Her chest rising and falling.

For the first time in 3 days, she wasn’t angry at me.

She... was relieved.

"Didn’t you say not to move a step ahead?" she whispered.

"Didn’t you also say not to be late?" I answered.

Behind us, the Wolf King saw all of it. His expression changed.

From anger... to understanding.

"So that’s why," he growled. "You’re fighting this hard for that female."

He grinned. Then pointed at Raka. "RAKA! ATTACK!"

Raka flinched. "M-My Lord..."

*"IF YOU DON'T KILL THEM, YOU'RE DEAD!" the Wolf King barked.*

Raka looked at me. At Alina. His hand trembling around the spear. Then, when Alina was distracted, Raka ran. Into the wolf forest. He didn’t look back. Didn’t care about the corpses of his own pack.

1 second of silence.

The Wolf King roared in fury. *"TRAITOR, RAKA!"* he screamed.

I moved faster. I blocked. We collided.

My body lifted off the ground. Slammed into the dirt. Felt like my ribs were gonna break.

The Wolf King was on top of me. His fangs right at my throat. Drool dripping.

"DIE!"

_Crack._

Something hit the Wolf King’s shoulder.

He yelped. Turned.

Alina. Standing. Breathing hard. Her hand trembling around a dagger.

*The dagger she had sworn was meant for Raka—but she had chosen to save me instead of chasing him.*

Her dagger was lodged right in the Wolf King’s shoulder.

The Wolf King snarled. He ripped the dagger out and threw it. Then he lunged at Alina again.

I tried to get up. Too late.

Alina dodged. Limping. But she dodged.

And with the last of her strength, she spun. One slash.

_*Squelch.*_

Her dagger went in. Right. In the Wolf King’s throat.

Blood sprayed. A lot. Raining down on the ground, on Alina’s feet, on mine.

The Wolf King’s eyes bulged. He tried to swipe one last time. But his strength was gone.

_Thud._

That huge body fell. Dead.

Silence.

All that was left was the sound of rain. And our breathing.

The other wolves saw their king dead. They stopped howling.

They ran. Scattered. Leaving behind corpses and fear.

The war was over. In 7 minutes.

---

*TO BE CONTINUED*