Chapter 18 The Howl Of War
1536 Words
I barely slept that night.
The image of Liam collapsing in my arms replayed in my mind over and over, refusing to fade. His earlier burst of strength haunted me—unnatural, powerful, something no untrained wolf should possess. Whoever he was… whoever he had been before losing his memory… it wasn’t simple.
And I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Between that and the way he whispered my name, fragile and frightened, something inside me had cracked open. I hated the feeling. Vulnerability. Softness. Care.
Alphas weren’t supposed to care.
But as I stood outside the infirmary window, watching him breathe deeply in sleep, chest slowly rising and falling under the moonlight… I couldn’t deny it.
He mattered.
More than I wanted him to.
A deep rumble of thunder rolled across the sky, dragging my attention away. The wind shifted direction sharply—cold, sharp, carrying a scent I recognized instantly.
Blood.
Enemy wolves.
My hackles rose, my wolf snarling with instinctive fury.
The enemy pack—the same bastards who wounded Liam—had crossed into my territory.
And they weren’t hiding it.
A piercing howl split through the night, distant yet unmistakably aggressive. Warriors on patrol howled back, signaling danger. The alarm bells began ringing through the pack grounds.
I had seconds before chaos erupted.
I turned one last time toward Liam. He slept through the noise, exhausted beyond waking. Good. He was in no condition to fight—and the Moon help me, I didn’t want him out there.
“Stay safe,” I whispered, then immediately hated how soft my voice sounded.
I pivoted sharply and shifted mid-stride, bones snapping, fur bursting through my skin, claws digging into the earth as I transformed. My wolf—powerful, obsidian-black, larger than any in the region—took over with a roar.
The Alpha was awake.
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I arrived at the eastern border within minutes, warriors assembling around me. Ciaran and Kael flanked my sides, their wolves standing tall and ready. The tension thickened as dark shapes emerged from the shadows—thirty, maybe forty wolves. Their eyes glowed viciously under the moonlight.
They weren’t hunting.
They were invading.
The crowd parted, and a massive gray wolf stepped forward, shifting into his human form with arrogance dripping from every movement.
Alpha Darius.
I’d known he was reckless.
I didn’t know he was stupid.
He smirked, folding his arms. “Selene of the Bloodmoon Pack. It seems you’ve grown soft.”
My wolf snarled, the growl vibrating deep in my throat. I shifted into human form only because fighting him in my wolf body would end too quickly—and I wanted him to suffer.
“You’re trespassing,” I said coldly. “Turn around before I dismember you and use your skull for a drinking bowl.”
Darius grinned wider. “Charming as ever. But I’m not here for pleasantries.” His eyes slid behind me, scanning my warriors. “I’m here for him.”
My stomach tightened. “Him who?”
“You know who.”
His grin sharpened. “The outsider. The lost wolf. The one you’re hiding.”
Liam.
So he was important.
I stepped forward slowly, every muscle tensing. “You have five seconds to run before I rip your pack to pieces.”
Darius laughed—an ugly, grating sound. “You think I came unprepared?”
He raised his hand.
A second wave of wolves emerged from the trees—larger, scarred, battle-hungry. Not ordinary fighters. Elite warriors. Killers.
My wolves stiffened.
The air vibrated with growls and rage.
I let my power rise inside me—burning, electric, unmistakably dominant. The ground itself seemed to tremble as I embraced my Alpha aura fully. Warriors behind me straightened unconsciously, strengthened by my presence.
“You step foot on my land,” I said, voice low and deadly, “and you declare war.”
Darius lifted his chin. “Then war it is.”
He shifted.
And the night exploded.
***
The moment Darius’s wolf form landed on the dirt, wolves from both sides collided, snarling, biting, tearing into each other. The battlefield erupted into chaos—fur and claws and blood flying with every strike.
My wolf roared as I shifted back, launching myself into the fray. I crashed into a massive brown wolf, sending him tumbling backward with a violent snap of his spine. Another lunged from the side—fast, but not fast enough. I tore into his shoulder, feeling bone c***k beneath my jaws.
Two more circled me.
Cowards.
I leapt at them, claws slashing, muscles burning with raw adrenaline. My wolf loved this—the chaos, the dominance, the power. We were built for war, sculpted for violence.
A gray wolf lunged at my throat.
I slammed him into the ground and crushed his windpipe.
Blood sprayed across my fur.
Another tried to blindside me.
I spun and ripped out his flank before he could land a hit. The scent of iron filled the air, thick and choking.
“ALPHA, LEFT SIDE!” Ciaran’s voice boomed through the link.
I twisted just as a wolf twice normal size barreled toward me. His fangs snapped inches from my neck—but I caught his muzzle mid-strike, twisted sharply, and threw him into a tree hard enough to snap his spine.
My warriors fought fiercely, but the enemy came in endless waves.
Why so many?
Why here?
Why now?
Unless…
They want Liam.
And if they wanted him this badly, it meant he was more important than even I had suspected.
I broke free from a fresh attack and sent a blast of Alpha aura across the field. Weak wolves crumpled, whimpering under the pressure. Even some strong ones staggered.
But Darius…
Darius charged at me head-on, unfazed.
We collided like two storms meeting in the sky. His jaw clamped onto my shoulder, but I dug my claws into his ribs, forcing a howl out of him. We rolled through the dirt, a snarl of limbs and teeth.
I slammed him onto his back.
He kicked me off.
I lunged again.
He met me halfway.
Our wolves tore into each other in a blur of black and gray.
He slashed my side.
I bit into his throat.
He threw me off with brute force.
I tackled him again, dragging him across the dirt, blood splattering in thick streaks.
“YOU CAN’T PROTECT HIM!” he barked through the link.
“WATCH ME,” I snarled back.
He lunged, catching my foreleg and twisting it. Pain exploded up my limb, but I didn’t let him finish. I clamped down on his shoulder and rolled him across the ground, pinning him under my full weight.
But before I could tear into him, a strange pulse ripped through the air.
A shudder.
A vibration.
A wave of energy so sharp my wolf froze mid-kill.
Darius froze too, eyes widening.
“What was—”
A scream cut through the link.
“Liam is awake!”
And then—
Another pulse.
Strong enough to shake the trees. Strong enough to silence the battlefield for a split second.
My heart lurched.
No.
No, he shouldn’t be awake. He shouldn’t be walking. He shouldn’t even be able to stand after what happened earlier.
Unless his power was awakening.
Darius shoved me off and sprinted toward the pack grounds.
I lunged after him, fury exploding through me. I slammed into his side, sending him rolling, but he scrambled up, completely frantic now.
He wasn’t running from me.
He was running to Liam.
“DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY!” I roared mentally.
Warriors broke from the fight, leaping after Darius. Ciaran caught him for a moment, but Darius struck him hard across the face and kept running, desperation fueling him.
I chased him relentlessly, tearing through trees, leaping over boulders, refusing to let him reach the weakened wolf I had sworn—silently, secretly—to protect.
But halfway through the forest, I froze.
Because standing in the center of the path was Liam.
Awake.
Barefoot.
Clothes torn.
Eyes glowing with a strange, unfamiliar light.
And the earth around him pulsed with the same energy that had shaken the battlefield.
His voice was quiet. Shaky.
“Selene… they’re here for me. Aren’t they?”
My breath hitched.
Darius slowed behind me, trembling in awe.
Even he could feel it.
Liam wasn’t normal.
Liam wasn’t weak.
Liam wasn’t an outsider.
He was something else entirely.
Something powerful.
Maybe even dangerous.
I shifted back into human form, blood dripping from my arm, chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Liam,” I said carefully, “go back inside. Now.”
He shook his head, eyes never meeting mine. “I can’t. They won’t stop until they take me.”
Darius stepped forward slowly, shifting back into human form. His voice trembled—not with fear… but reverence.
“We were sent to retrieve you, heir,” he said.
Liam’s eyes widened.
I stiffened.
Heir?
To who?
To what?
Darius bowed his head.
“Your father demands your return… Prince.”
The world spun around me.
Prince.
Liam was a prince.
And I…
I had bonded with royalty.
- Writer
