The Cursed Fang of Silverwood

Rain hammered the earth of Silverwood. The ground turned into a slick brown sludge smelling of iron. The scent of blood. Kai choked. Mud filled his throat. It tasted salty and foul. His vision blurred, pulsing in time with his slowing heartbeat. A pair of black boots stood firmly in front of him. Spotless. "Is this all?" The voice was cold. Sharp. Kai tried to lift his head. Alpha Ronan stood there, his eyes filled with disdain. There wasn't a single scratch on the man's face—a stark contrast to Kai, who was completely broken. "I’m... not... done yet," Kai growled. His voice was hoarse, sounding more like an animal's whimper than human speech. "You were done ten minutes ago, Kai. You’re just too stupid to realize you’ve already lost." Ronan swung his leg. The heel of his boot slammed into Kai’s chest. Crack! A rib snapped. The jagged edge pierced his lung. Kai choked on his own blood. The pain was excruciating, but his mind suddenly became razor-sharp. He took note of the agony. He filed away the laughter of Ronan’s men in the background as a debt that had to be repaid. "Let him go, you bastard!" Victor lunged from the left. The Beta leaped in the form of a massive gray wolf, his fangs aiming for Ronan’s throat. Ronan simply shifted slightly—an efficient movement that sent Victor crashing into the oak tree behind him. Thud! "Victor!" Kai croaked. He tried to summon his Alpha strength. He needed that heat. He needed the fire that usually scorched his veins when he shifted. The result was zero. Emptiness. Cold. It was as if the battery inside his body had been forcibly ripped out. "What’s wrong, Kai? Where’s your wolf?" Ronan knelt, his face only inches from Kai’s. "Your emotions are garbage. You’re so angry you’ve forgotten how to breathe. An Alpha who can’t maintain focus is nothing but a stray dog waiting to be executed." "Bullshit..." Kai spat on Ronan’s boot. Thick blood clung to the leather. Ronan didn't get angry. He offered a thin smile—the kind that made skin crawl. "This land belongs to me now. One kilometer of the Silverwood border officially belongs to Shadowclaw. And that’s just the beginning." "This is just about territory? You attacked my people just for this goddamn land?" Kai panted, his chest heaving irregularly. "To you, it’s territory. To me, it is a long-delayed birthright." Ronan stood back up. He looked toward the forest, which was beginning to burn despite the heavy downpour. "Search the area in Sector Four. Don't miss a thing!" he barked at his men. "Sector Four? There’s nothing there but a swamp, Ronan! Are you insane?" Kai shouted in frustration. Ronan didn't answer. He signaled to two of his men. "Deal with this puppy. Dump him at the border. I want him to see what it feels like to lose his home." "Yes, Alpha!" Two Shadowclaw wolves approached, leering with dripping saliva. Kai tried to stand, but his legs felt like jelly. His Alpha strength was completely depleted. He was now just a severely injured human in the middle of a battlefield. "Hey, you mangy mutts! Get away from my Alpha!" Victor ran toward them. He was in human form now, clutching a military dagger with a snapped tip. His face was covered in gashes, but his eyes burned bright. "Vic, get out of here... take the others and go," Kai whispered. "Not a chance I’m leaving you, Boss! We come together, we will go home together, or we will die together!" Victor swung the dagger blindly, fending off the two approaching Shadowclaw warriors. "Do you hear that? Your people are dying back there, Kai," Ronan said, pointing toward the valley. Piercing screams cut through the sound of the rain in the distance. Those weren't the voices of soldiers. They were Omegas—the voices of women and children trying to flee from the Shadowclaw forces. "You bastard! They have nothing to do with this fight!" Kai screamed. Tears of rage mingled with the rain on his cheeks. "In war, everyone is involved if they happen to be in the wrong place," Ronan replied coldly. "Finish them all. Leave no witnesses." "Ronan! I swear... I will rip your heart out!" Kai tried to lunge, but he immediately collapsed again. The pain in his abdomen was unbearable. "Save your strength to mourn your father, Kai. Oh, I forgot, he’s already dusted, isn't he? Just like you’ll be soon." Ronan turned around, walking away effortlessly as if Kai were no longer a threat. Victor managed to push back one opponent and immediately threw Kai’s arm over his shoulder. "We have to get out of here, Kai! Now! There are too many of them!" "I have to kill him, Vic... he’s attacking our people..." "You’ll just die, and then there’ll be no one left for revenge! Use your brain for once, damn it!" Victor dragged Kai away roughly. They stumbled through the deepening mud. Kai saw sights that would haunt him along the way. An elderly Omega lay slumped in the bushes, her throat torn open. Nearby, a small child cried beside the motionless body of his mother. "Help... Alpha..." The weak voice came from a village youth whose stomach had been ripped open. Kai stopped. He wanted to help. His hands trembled. "Vic, we have to help him..." "We can’t, Kai! The enemy is only ten meters behind us! If we stop, we all die!" Victor forcibly pulled Kai’s arm. "But he’s one of mine, Vic! I’m his Alpha!" "What kind of Alpha dies in the mud because he’s stubborn? Run, Kai!" They ran through the darkness of the forest. The laughter of the Shadowclaw soldiers echoed behind them, mocking their escape. Kai looked back one last time before disappearing into the thick trees. The Silverwood flag, bearing the image of a silver wolf’s head, was being trampled into the mud by Ronan’s troops. "I failed, Vic..." Kai whispered once they reached a temporary hiding cave. "You haven't failed as long as you’re still breathing," Victor replied, leaning Kai against the cold cave wall. "But honestly, Boss, that was pretty pathetic." Kai coughed up blood. He leaned his throbbing head back. "I couldn't focus. My wolf... he just vanished. I feel empty." "Your stamina is shot, Kai. You used too much emotion at the start. You think being an Alpha is just about who can scream the loudest?" Victor tore his shirt and began to bandage the wound on Kai’s thigh. "My old man was never like this. He was always calm," Kai muttered, his eyes staring blankly at the cave ceiling. "Yeah, and your dad is dead. You’re the one in control now, whether you like it or not," Victor pressed down hard on Kai’s wound. Kai groaned in pain. "Does it hurt? Good. Let it remind you of this pain the next time you face Ronan." Thunder roared outside, drowning out the cries of the remaining refugees who had managed to escape. Kai clenched his fists. Mud was still caked under his fingernails—a permanent reminder of his defeat today. "Ronan is looking for something, Vic. He doesn't just want territory," Kai said suddenly. "What do you mean?" "He told his men to sweep Sector Four. That swamp is useless for territorial expansion. He’s hiding something." Victor wiped his wet face. "Maybe he just wants to burn everything to the ground. He’s a psycho." "No. The way he spoke... it was like he was looking for treasure. And he called it a 'delayed right.'" Kai closed his eyes. An image of his father’s face flashed by. What were you hiding from me, Dad? "Forget it, don't overthink things yet. Right now, your only focus is one thing: don't die from an infection or from shame," Victor said. He sat down beside Kai, guarding the cave entrance with his broken dagger. Kai didn't answer. He felt the cold of the night seeping into his bones. Deep within his chest, a small spark of his power began to return. It was incredibly slow, like embers that had nearly gone out. "I’m going back there, Vic," Kai whispered into the darkness. "I know." "And this time, I won’t lose because of my emotions." "I’ll hold you to that, Boss. But for now, sleep. You smell like mud and a loser. I can’t stand it." Kai closed his eyes. The screams of the Omegas and Ronan’s cold laughter still echoed in his ears. Today, Silverwood had fallen. He was the Alpha who had let it happen. Over the blood-stained mud, Kai made a vow. The land Ronan had taken would be paid for with his life. Doubt stirred deep within his heart. If Ronan really was looking for something more than just land, was Kai strong enough to stop him? Or was he merely a fading shadow of his father’s greatness? The rain continued to fall. It washed away their footprints, but it could not erase the black stain on the young Alpha’s dignity. The war had only just begun. The price was far higher than a single kilometer of border land. Kai gripped the damp earth of the cave floor. His wolf side stirred weakly. He needed more than just courage. He needed a plan. And he needed the answers buried in Sector Four. *