Chapter 19: WHEN ALPHA CALLS
1082 Words
The royal pack house had become a battlefield.
Blood stained the ancient stone corridors.
Bodies of Midnight warriors lay where they had fallen, their last breaths spent defending the very home they had sworn to protect. Their wolves still trembled, refusing to surrender even in death.
The invading Red Claw warriors pushed deeper.
Behind them walked the disguised shaman, hidden beneath the flawless appearance of Omega Dawn.
Every step carried purpose.
Every step carried death.
She smiled.
Everything was unfolding exactly as Alpha Darius had foreseen.
Inside the royal chamber...
Alpha Kael stood with one hand gripping a carved stone pillar.
His breathing had become uneven.
The poison coursed through his veins like molten iron, gnawing at his wolf from within.
The rare mixture of enchanted wolfsbane and Bloodroot Essence had done exactly what it was created to do.
It could not kill him immediately.
It was never meant to.
Its purpose was far worse.
It weakened and distracted
It forced the mighty Alpha to wage war against his own body while enemies marched toward his home.
Across the pack house, the protective aura that had blanketed Midnight for years flickered.
Warriors staggered.
Some instinctively grabbed their chests.
Others froze where they stood.
Even the omegas looked toward the royal quarters with frightened eyes.
Something was wrong.
Their Alpha… Their shield...
...was weakening.
The massive doors exploded open.
Alpha Darius stepped inside.
Behind him followed ….. Gideon...
and nearly twenty elite Red Claw warriors.
Rogan was already placed at the entrance sealed against outsiders to war against commander Megan.
Silence settled over the chamber.
Kael slowly lifted his head.
Golden eyes met crimson ones.
Two Alphas.
Face to face.
Neither bowed.
Neither looked away.
For several heartbeats...
Only their overwhelming wolf auras collided.
The air itself seemed too heavy to breathe.
Then...
Darius smiled.
"So..."
"The invincible Alpha finally bleeds."
Kael's lips curled.
"You needed poison to stand before me."
A faint chuckle escaped Darius.
"I needed wisdom."
"You relied on strength."
"And tonight..."
"My wisdom defeated your strength."
Kael's claws extended.
His wolf roared inside him.
The chamber shook.
Even weakened...
His Alpha presence remained terrifying.
Several Red Claw warriors instinctively stepped backward.
Only Rogan remained firm.
Only Darius remained smiling.
"Stand."
The command echoed through the chamber.
Kael's knees trembled.
The poison surged again.
His vision blurred.
For the first time in years...
His own body felt foreign.
His muscles screamed.
His wolf fought desperately against the corruption spreading through his blood.
Still...
He planted both feet firmly on the floor.
His claws dug grooves into the ancient stone.
His breathing grew heavier.
"I… won't let you destroy my legacy."
He coughed.
Dark blood stained the corner of his lips.
Darius slowly walked closer.
"Yet you already are."
Kael growled.
The sound alone shook nearby walls.
But beneath the growl...
His wolf refused to surrender.
Even while fighting the poison...
His Alpha instincts reached outward.
Searching…… Calling.
Across blood-soaked corridors...
Beyond the dying warriors...
Beyond the chaos consuming the royal pack house...
His spirit found the one wolf he trusted above all others.
Commander Megan.
Midnight Blade.
Miles away...
Megan sprinted through the royal corridors.
His sword was stained with the blood of the three warriors who had delayed him.
His chest rose violently.
His heart pounded with growing dread.
Something felt wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Then...
His mind suddenly froze.
A familiar presence entered the sacred Alpha bond.
A voice.
Weak…… Strained.
Barely recognizable.
"Midnight Blade..."
Megan stopped instantly.
"My Alpha?"
Silence.
Then came another breath.
Painful.. .. Heavy.
"Where... are you?
"I'm almost at the royal pack house."
Another pause.
The voice grew weaker.
"I need you..."
Megan's eyes widened.
His entire body froze.
Never……. Not once.
Had Alpha Kael ever uttered those words.
He was the Alpha everyone relied upon.
The mountain that never bent.
Yet now...
He was asking for help.
Kael's voice echoed again.
Broken.
But unwavering.
"The royal pack house... needs you..."
A long silence followed.
Then...
Almost like a fading whisper…
"Midnight... needs you... now."
The bond shattered.
Gone.
Megan's breathing stopped.
"My Alpha..."
His wolf exploded with terrifying fury.
The stone beneath his feet cracked.
Without another thought...
Commander Megan launched forward.
Every stride became faster.
Every heartbeat louder.
Nothing mattered anymore.
Not wounds….. Not fear.
Only one thing remained.
Reach his Alpha.
Back inside the royal chamber...
Seraphine stood protectively before the newborn heir.
One arm wrapped around the infant.
The other reached toward Kael.
Tears filled her eyes.
"Kael..."
"You don't have to fight alone."
Kael forced himself to look at her.
Pain clouded his vision.
"I'm sorry..."
His voice broke.
"I don't want to fail you."
Seraphine shook her head violently.
"No."
"You have never failed us."
"You have never failed Midnight."
She reached for his trembling hand.
"You are still our Alpha."
Kael squeezed her fingers weakly.
Then slowly...
He remembered the cradle where his son laid.
The newborn slept peacefully.
Completely unaware of the storm surrounding his birth.
For a fleeting second...
Kael smiled.
"My son… Kaelen he shall be called….The heir after me"
Darius noticed the smile.
His expression hardened.
So...
The heir truly carried extraordinary blood.
Even poisoned...
Even surrounded...
Kael's first thought remained his family.
That made him dangerous.
But the child...
The child would become worse.
Much worse.
For the first time that night...
A flicker of genuine concern crossed Darius's eyes.
Only for an instant.
Then it vanished beneath the cold mask of an Alpha.
His voice became steel.
"No more delays."
"End the Blackthorne bloodline."
The command echoed through the chamber.
Every Red Claw warrior unsheathed their weapons.
Steel flashed beneath the moonlight.
Rogan stepped forward.
Gideon followed.
The disguised shaman quietly sealed the chamber doors behind them.
There would be no escape.
Outside...
Commander Megan raced toward the royal quarters with terrifying speed.
Ahead...
He could already smell blood.
Too much blood.
His grip tightened around his sword.
His instincts screamed.
He was late.
Within the royal chamber, Alpha Kael staggered one final step forward, placing himself between his family and the army before him.
Behind him stood his Luna.
His newborn heir.
The future of the Midnight Pack.
Before him stood Alpha Darius and the deadliest warriors of Red Claw.
One poisoned Alpha.
One invading army.
One unborn future now sleeping in a cradle.
And racing through blood-soaked corridors, Commander Megan had only one desperate prayer left in his heart.
Please... let me reach them before the first blade falls.
- Writer
