Romans & histoires A Warrior's Heart

For in the heart of every warrior, there burned a light no darkness could extinguish. The ground beneath my feet quivered with the final cries of The Black Faes, their eerie wails fading into the night as we, the allied packs, stood firm. I drew in a sharp breath, feeling the rush of victory surge through my veins like wildfire. Around me, warriors roared their triumph, their voices lifting into the dark sky, intertwining with the howls of our kind.

I knew the feeling all too well from my time in training as a warrior to when I was given the position of captain to being given the mantle or general Commander. These women had no idea who they were dealing with. Edgar might be an unpredictable, ruthless insane bastard but I was strategic and spent my life as a warrior. I was not afraid to trample on anyone who thought for a second they were better than me. Not even Edgar even though he made me uneasy with his actions. “Move.” I said, my voice low but sharp enough to shock them into moving. I walked past them without soaring a glance and I felt their eyes follow me, boring holes inside my flesh.

Laura’s heart dropped the second she heard the name. “Garrick.” A warrior stepped forward from the crowd, and everything about him screamed danger. He moved with deliberate slowness, boots crunching against the packed dirt. His shoulders rolled back lazily, showing off muscle layered over more muscle. Scars crossed his chest and arms—not random marks from accidents, but clean lines that spoke of countless battles. Battles he’d won. This wasn’t some random fighter. This was a veteran and an actual killer.

My hands worked away as I began to massage the almost-cold heart. Lyra released some vitality into the heart, all the while pretending that she was only massaging it. If she had been directing me to do this, the warrior would have been long dead. It was a good thing she took over when she did. We nearly lost him. “I need a thread and a needle. Also get me…” I listed everything I needed to stitch the warrior up after the heart seemed to have returned to good condition. To my utter dismay, both Madam Zorah and her girls just stood there and watched me like I was crazy.

I grabbed it, then tossed it onto the ground as the wooden blade landed with a loud thud. "You don't understand." I dropped onto the grass, hugging my knees. "Everyone in this pack hates me." "My father, my sister, the Alpha. Why should I become a warrior to protect people who'd rather see me dead? I don't want to protect them." My hands clenched. "I want revenge. I want every single one of them to regret what they've done to me." Kael didn't speak immediately. Instead… he slowly sat beside me. "I understand." His voice was unexpectedly gentle. "My mate rejected me too."

My feet felt nailed to the floor. In the end, I ran. I hated myself for it. I was too much of a coward even to confront them. I wandered the streets alone. Everywhere around me, people walked in pairs or groups. Couples held hands. Families laughed together. Friends huddled beneath umbrellas. Everyone seemed to belong somewhere. I did not. The sky darkened overhead. Then the rain came without warning. Heavy drops pounded against my skin, sharp enough to hurt. I curled up on a street corner, letting the rain soak me through while my tears blurred the world into streaks of light and shadow.

That was the sentence that finally broke through. Veyra lowered her head as tears quietly slipped down her cheeks. "I know..." She closed her eyes. "I just don't know how to tell a man I broke his heart... that he's about to become a father." Elsewhere in the packhouse, Damien stood on the balcony outside his office, watching the warriors train below. The steady rhythm of clashing swords echoed across the courtyard as Shadowfang prepared for the battle everyone knew was coming. The balcony door opened behind him. "You've been hiding up here all afternoon."

Everything around him seemed to turn down its volume. 4! His heart rate started to increase by the tension created by this chaotic event. 3! He called her out as loud as he could, that it would break his vocal chords. 2! He’s getting close to the fields, still hollering his soul out for her to hear. 1! Nevertheless, she never heard it. *explosion* Huge beams of light flashed before their eyes. Zhackary was thrown away by the massive flare up from the minefields. It wasn’t just blood that gushed from him, also the salty river from his eyes called tears after realizing that it was too late for him to save her.

My voice shimmered with hope, my heart fluttered with the thought of a future filled with love. Sunrise laughed, her voice was light and teasing, "Dreaming big, aren't we?" We all burst out laughing, our laughter echoed through the forest, Just as we were lost in our girlish fantasies, a patrol of Warriors emerged from the shadows of the forest. At the front was Stone-heart, a young wolf whose arrogance matched his strength, his stoic, handsome face carved with responsibility far beyond his years. He was just 22. He signaled his men to move forward, his gaze fixed steadfastly on me. I felt my heart skip a beat.

I scoffed, shaking my head. "I'm serious, Penelope. I'm not just saying this cause I fucking hate her. You are good, and you managed to take her down not once but twice. It just shows how skilled you really are. It's not where or how someone grows up that makes them a warrior, Penelope. It's how much of their heart and soul they put into everything they do that makes them a warrior. One is only as strong as their heart, and you have a heart of a dragon." I swallowed hard, not sure what to say in response to that. Thankfully I didn't have to say anything as Hunter intercepted Lira and me. His voice was still as cold and void of emotion as ever. I was starting to wonder if it would kill the gu