Chapter 11 — The King’s Rage
1196 Words
The sky bled red.
Not the soft crimson of sunset… but the violent, churning red of war.
Alara felt it before she saw it.
A tremor beneath her feet.
A howl carried by the wind.
And deep inside her chest — the Beast stirred.
She stood on the highest balcony of the Obsidian Fortress, her silver hair whipping wildly around her face as the storm gathered. Below, the Beast King’s army moved like a dark tide — thousands of wolves shifting, arming, preparing.
Waiting.
For him.
A pair of strong arms slid around her waist from behind.
The moment Kael touched her, the chaos in her chest steadied — but the heat between them burned hotter than ever.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” he murmured against her ear. “The air smells of blood.”
Alara didn’t turn.
“I know.”
Her eyes remained fixed on the distant forest — the same forest where the rogue king, Morvath, had vanished after their last battle.
“He’s coming,” she whispered.
Kael’s arms tightened.
“Yes.”
Silence fell between them — but it wasn’t peaceful.
It was heavy.
Dangerous.
Alive.
Suddenly —
A horn blasted from the eastern wall.
One long note.
Then another.
And another.
The signal of invasion.
Below them, warriors erupted into motion. Wolves howled. Armor clashed. War cries split the air.
Alara’s heart slammed.
“He’s here already?”
Kael’s eyes glowed molten gold as he scanned the horizon.
Then he saw it.
A black wave pouring from the forest — rogues, thousands of them, their eyes burning with unnatural crimson light.
But at the front…
Something worse.
A massive wolf, larger than any beast alive, its fur black as tar, veins glowing sickly red beneath its skin.
Morvath.
But he had changed.
Dark energy coiled around him like living smoke.
Alara’s breath caught.
“He’s… stronger.”
Kael’s jaw clenched.
“He’s been feeding on forbidden blood magic.”
As if hearing them, Morvath lifted his monstrous head and howled.
The sound shattered windows across the fortress.
Alara staggered — pain ripping through her skull.
Visions exploded behind her eyes —
Fire.
Fallen wolves.
Kael bleeding.
Herself… chained in darkness.
She gasped.
Kael caught her before she fell.
“Alara!”
“I saw it…” she whispered, shaking. “If he reaches the fortress… everyone dies.”
Kael’s gaze darkened into something primal.
“Then he won’t reach it.”
The war began at the gates.
Steel met fang.
Magic met claw.
The battlefield roared.
Kael shifted mid-leap from the fortress wall — his massive black wolf crashing into the front lines like a falling mountain.
Rogues scattered beneath him.
He tore through them with terrifying precision — a king born for slaughter.
But Morvath didn’t move.
He watched.
Waiting.
Alara stood frozen on the balcony, every instinct screaming to join the fight — but Kael’s command echoed in her mind:
Stay inside.
Her nails dug into the stone railing.
“I’m not weak anymore…”
The Beast inside her growled in agreement.
Then —
A scream split the battlefield.
Kael’s.
Her head snapped up.
Morvath had moved.
The rogue king slammed into Kael with explosive force, sending the Beast King skidding across the blood-soaked ground.
They clashed like titans — claws, teeth, raw power shaking the earth.
But Morvath was faster than before.
Stronger.
Dark magic pulsed from his body, corroding everything it touched.
Kael lunged — but Morvath’s jaws clamped onto his shoulder, ripping flesh.
Alara’s vision went red.
The mate bond snapped tight in her chest — pain, fury, terror flooding her veins at once.
“He’s hurting him…”
Her wolf howled.
And this time —
She didn’t hold it back.
Alara leapt from the balcony.
Mid-fall, her body shifted — bones cracking, power exploding outward in a blinding flash of silver light.
She hit the battlefield like a comet.
Warriors froze.
Because the wolf that rose from the dust…
Was no ordinary wolf.
Her fur shimmered silver-white, glowing like moonlight. Her eyes burned violet — ancient, lethal.
The True Luna.
Morvath saw her — and smiled.
“So… the prophecy walks willingly into my jaws.”
He released Kael and turned toward her.
Kael roared in rage, trying to rise — but the dark magic poisoning his wound slowed him.
“Alara, run!”
She didn’t.
She stepped forward instead.
Each pawprint left glowing marks in the dirt.
“You want me?” her voice echoed inside Morvath’s mind. “Come take me.”
He lunged.
Faster than lightning.
But this time —
Alara was ready.
Their collision sent a shockwave across the battlefield, flattening wolves on both sides.
Morvath’s jaws snapped inches from her throat — but silver energy erupted from her body, blasting him backward.
He skidded, stunned.
Confusion flashed in his red eyes.
“That power… impossible…”
Alara advanced slowly, moonlight gathering around her like armor.
“I am not the broken girl you rejected,” she said, her voice layered with her wolf’s. “I am the Queen of Beasts.”
Behind her, Kael forced himself upright — pride and fury blazing in his gaze.
Morvath rose again, laughing darkly.
“Good. Fight me. Grow stronger.”
His smile twisted.
“Because when I devour you… your power will make me a god.”
The battlefield went still.
Cold dread slithered down Alara’s spine.
Before she could react —
Morvath slammed his paw into the ground.
Dark sigils erupted beneath her feet.
Chains of blood magic shot upward, wrapping around her limbs before she could dodge.
She roared, struggling — but the chains burned, draining her strength.
“ALARA!” Kael charged forward —
But Morvath intercepted him, slamming him back with brutal force.
The rogue king leaned close to her trapped form, voice dripping with triumph.
“The prophecy never said I had to kill you in battle.”
His claws pressed lightly over her heart.
“It only said your power would decide the war.”
Kael’s enraged roar shook the mountains as he fought to reach her — cutting through rogues like a storm of death.
But he was too far.
Too slow.
Morvath’s jaws began to open.
Dark energy spiraled inward toward Alara’s chest.
Her power was being pulled out.
Drained.
She screamed — silver light bursting wildly as her wolf fought back.
Kael’s eyes flared blinding gold.
And then —
Something inside the Beast King snapped.
Not anger.
Not rage.
Something far older.
Far more terrifying.
The ground beneath him cracked as his power detonated outward in a violent explosion of black fire.
Wolves — ally and enemy alike — fell back in fear.
Because the creature rising from the flames…
Was no longer just a wolf.
It was a primordial beast of legend.
Ancient.
Crowned in shadow and flame.
The true form of the Beast King.
Morvath’s confident grin faltered for the first time.
Kael’s voice rolled across the battlefield like thunder:
“Release. My. Mate.”
The chains around Alara trembled.
Morvath snarled — tightening his grip.
“Too late—”
He never finished the sentence.
To Be Continued…
- Writer
