“We can look at the darkness and let it consume us, or we can recognize that it’s only temporary, trusting that once it passes, the light will return.” - Crestoria Vossendi Kildarion, The Prison Healer #3 The Blood Traitor.~ JOCELYN ~It’s nice meeting you in flesh, little Phoenix.”His words scrape down my spine like icy claws, his voice as deep as the grave, all too familiar just like in my dreams. Dreams he invaded with threats that made me wake up sweating and shaking. Hearing his voice now, in the flesh, on the battlefield where blood already paints the dirt black, makes my stomach twist.He is here, standing in front of me as though he owns this night, as though he owns me.But he doesn't.He is a curse to our world, and I won’t tremble before him. Not when Sarah, Elian, Caspian, and everyone else is out here fighting, bleeding, dying. Not when the fate of more than one pack hangs on the outcome of this battle.“You should have stayed in the dark where you belong!” I spit out,
“Pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent.” - Kahlan Amnell, Sword Of Truth #6 Faith Of The Fallen.~ JOCELYN ~The moment Caspian’s voice rips through the air, our world erupts into chaos.The creatures slam into us like a tidal wave of nightmares. Screams. Howls. Bombs and cannons going off and burning up large portions of the swarms. The thick smell of Wolfsbane gunpowder in the air nearly chokes me, but I know how to breathe through Wolfsbane during a war or a raid because the technique has always been one of the core lessons taught to every warrior in every pack and handed down to the next generations to come.For that, I'm deeply grateful.Right then, something inside me snaps wide open, like a dam bursting through invisible walls and intensifying the crackling light dancing around my hands and body. It starts when one of the beasts lunges at Sarah from behind.I don’t think. I just react.My hands flare with the blinding light exploding from my palms. It strikes the creat
“A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.” - Aragorn, The Lord Of The Rings #3 The Return Of The King.~ CASPIAN ~Night finally comes.The sun has long faded away, now replaced by a moon shining so brightly over the war fields just beyond the pack river. The fields separate the river from the boundary on the east side, and everyone—including Jocelyn—is already out here.This is where we make our stand.Everywhere I look, our warriors are lining up in their formations. The creature responsible for the attack on my pack that first bloody night—the one that murdered the boy by the river—must have seen these fields. We believe the attack will happen right here because there is no way we're going to let those monsters into the heart of our pack.The rest of the pack members, including everyone else who can't fight, have already been escorted earlier into underground bunkers built for times like thi
~ CASPIAN ~By afternoon, every living soul in my pack is getting ready for war.I'm in the armory, helping Callan ensure the weapons are properly distributed and arranged in order. Bombs. Grenades. Cannons. Wolfsbane gunpowder. Missile systems. Anything that can help defeat the enemy. The warriors around us are gearing up already, some loading more guns and explosives into different giant boxes.Sighing, I stop inspecting the gun in my hand, dropping it on top of the table before me. Looking out the window, I notice that the sun has dipped behind the hills, lower than it was a few minutes earlier. The clouds are also becoming purplish and a bit more orange.Evening is almost here. Fuck.Averting my eyes from the window, I nearly curse again to myself, hating how time seems to be moving so fast like it doesn't give a damn about us being prepared or not.“I hate unexpected shit,” Callan mutters under his breath as he inspects a box of grenades on another table beside me, and it doesn't
~ CASPIAN ~True to my words, the delegates are assembled already. Faster than I expected.Word travels quickly when fear and danger are involved. The atmosphere in the hall is tense, and everyone looks anxious as they stare at the delegates from the Moonclaw Rogue Pack.I enter and take my seat. Callan settles down too.The meeting begins.“Thank you all for gathering so quickly.” My voice is loud enough to silence the restless murmurs. “There’s a threat we must address before dawn tomorrow. Jocelyn Valdez of the Moonclaw Rogue Pack will now speak.”Gasps intensify the tension in the air. When Jocelyn stands, the atmosphere shifts. More whispers spread. I can see the way some of them are looking at her with suspicion, but more look at her with something else.Respect. Curiosity. Fear, maybe.After what happened this morning, I don't really blame any of them for acting the way they're acting now.“Ladies and gentlemen,” she starts, straightening her shoulders. “I'd like to apologize f
~ CASPIAN ~I can’t believe my ears.An attack. Tonight. From a monster called Thanox. And of all the times to pick, he chose exactly the worst time for us.“We have to inform the other delegates and prepare ourselves.” Jocelyn’s voice interrupts my thoughts, breaking the silence. “Another meeting has to be reconvened immediately.”She's right. When she was sharing the bad news with us, she didn't look like she was confused or guessing. She didn’t even look as if she cared whether I believed her or not. She looked like someone who already knew she's right, and she’d told us for our sake, not just hers.I believe her. I believe her with everything I am.Also, whatever we need to do, we need to be damn fast about it.I turn to Callan. “Callan, send word to the delegates and summon them back within the hour. No delays.”“Yes Alpha.” He bows slightly before leaving the room. Jocelyn sighs, her eyes telling me she's skeptical but relieved. She opens her mouth as if to say something, then t