All Chapters of Tribrid : Rejected By One, Claimed By Four: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

The mountain pass was locked down tight behind us. Soren sat on an upside-down equipment crate near the three granite pillars, resting his staff across his knees while thirty wolf archers lined the concrete barricades."Keep the purple barrier stable, Soren," I told him, checking the action on my handgun before slipping it into my tactical holster. "If Malakor sends scouts back up this hill, let the wall do the talking.""It's not going down," Soren said, looking up at me with clear, steady eyes. "I have the blood circuit locked. Focus on the precinct downtown.""We're moving out," Brecken said, throwing two spare rifle crates into the back of our lead black SUV. He slammed the trunk hatch shut with a heavy thud, the metallic latch clicking into place.Lucian and Cade were standing near the rear sedan with ten selected wolf archers. Each hunter wore dark street gear, quivers slung low across their backs, ready to split off into the lower transit routes."Lucian, you take the foot team

The wind off the river gorge screamed across the precinct roof, whipping ice-cold rainwater into a blinding haze. Fifty feet away, the massive black rotors of the military transport helicopter beat the air into a deafening thunder, spraying exhaust and rain straight into our faces."Cover her!" Brecken’s voice tore through the storm.Cade dropped instantly onto one knee on the wet gravel, locking his rifle stock into his shoulder. His breath came out in a short burst of white steam as he squeezed the trigger four times in rapid succession.*Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!*Four high-velocity rounds punched clean through the armor of the two shadow guards guarding the port side of the landing pad. The guards jerked violently backward, their rifles clattering off the rain-slicked concrete before their bodies slipped over the low roof edge into the dark void below.Lucian moved right beside me like a ghost in the dark, his rapier drawn, his eyes completely locked on the remaining four guards

The morning sun had barely crested the ragged, pine-covered peaks of the eastern ridge when the lead SUV hit the unpaved mountain access road.The city behind us was settling into a quiet, tense lull, but up here, the air was sharp, bitter, and thick with the smell of wet earth and pine resin. Mud sprayed in thick sheets from beneath our heavy off-road tires as Brecken hauled the steering wheel hard to the left, taking the four-ton vehicle around a blind hairpin turn that overlooked a five-hundred-foot drop into the canyon below."Road hasn't been maintained in a decade," Brecken muttered, his eyes darting between the rutted track ahead and the digital topography map glowing on the center console. "Overgrown roots, loose granite, fallen timber. A heavy transport truck couldn't make it up this incline without burning through its transmission.""They didn't haul heavy gear up this road," Lucian said from the back seat. He was leaning forward, a sleek tactical tablet resting on his knees

My blood dripped onto the cold iron face of the black box.Brecken didn't hesitate. He pulled his own knife, sliced his palm, and slammed his hand right beside mine. Lucian stepped up, made a clean cut across his hand, and pressed his palm flat against the iron."Soren! Do it now!" I said.Soren slammed his wooden staff onto the stone floor. Blue witch fire erupted from the wood, spreading across the table and straight into the iron box.The black box clicked open. Inside, a round golden stone began to glow with intense violet and blue light.A deep hum shook the whole room. I could feel the energy surging down into the bedrock, shooting through the old silver veins and running miles through the earth toward the ridge pass, the river bridge, and the city limits.Up on my vest radio, Cade’s voice came through, fast and excited."Aria! Look at the mountain ridge!" Cade shouted over the speaker. "The purple barrier from earlier just shot up five hundred feet into the air! It’s wrapping a

The Council of Elders left the pack house before midnight, their guards filing out behind them into the cool dark. By sunrise, the change in the city was everywhere. District checkpoints were stripped of Capital Court flags, replaced by our simple four-pack crest. Supply trucks moved freely between the river district and the northern ridge without paying court tithes, and fifty local pack fighters joined our perimeter posts along the valley line.In the war room downstairs, the large oak table was covered with fresh military maps, radio logs, and capital transport schedules we had pulled from Malakor’s truck.Cade stood near the map board, sticking four red pins along the main highway leading north toward the Capital Court. "The highway is eighty miles from our boundary line straight to the Capital gate," Cade said, tapping the first red pin. "Vane has three armored outposts along the route—at the old toll plaza, the high rail bridge, and the outer city gate.""How many men at the t