Chapter 156 The Attack begins 2

Chapter 156: Chapter 156 The Attack begins 2

Talia’s POV

(Readers discretion are advised)

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest, but I did not slow down.

I could not slow down even if I wanted to. The wolves around me were counting on me, Kaelen was somehow counting on me, and the pack was counting on me.

But I had survived Vivienne, and I had survived the trials. So I would survive this too.

The battle was a blur of sound and fury.

Swords clashed, wolves snarled, and rogues screamed as they fell. The air smelled of blood and sweat and fear. Some wolves had shifted, their bodies cracking and reforming into their wolf forms, while others fought with swords and axes, their movements sharp and desperate.

I met the first rogue head-on.

He lunged at me, his claws aimed at my throat. I ducked under his swing and drove my fist into his ribs, and something cracked. He stumbled back, and I kicked his knee. He fell, but I did not stop.

Pain shot through my knuckles, but I welcomed it. It reminded me that I was alive, and it reminded me that I was still fighting. Every rogue I killed was one less wolf threatening my pack, and one less wolf who would hurt the people I loved.

I could not afford to feel sorry for them, because they had made their choice.

Behind him, dozens more were coming.

The gate partially splintered. The wood holding the gates cracked and groaned under the pressure. The iron hinges screamed in protest, and I could see the faces of the rogues on the other side, wild and hungry, pushing against the gate with all their strength.

I knew that it would not hold much longer.

Soon, rogues poured through the gap. Warriors met them, swords swinging, claws tearing. The boulders crashed down again, sending more rogues to the ground.

The ground shook beneath my feet. Dust and debris filled the air, and I coughed as I breathed it in. I could barely see through the haze, but I did not need to see. I could hear the rogues screaming, the warriors shouting, and the clash of metal against bone.

The battle was everywhere, and I was in the middle of it.

I saw Kaelen in the middle of it all.

His sword flashed, and another rogue fell. His face was covered in blood, and his gray eyes were hard. He was fighting like a wolf possessed.

He caught my eyes for just a moment.

In that brief moment, I saw everything in his eyes. The fear he was trying to hide, the love he felt for me, and the determination to protect our pack, no matter the cost.

And then he turned away, and the moment was gone.

"Keep fighting!" he shouted.

I smiled, nodded and turned back to the battle.

A rogue suddenly lunged at me from the side, but I spun around in time and blocked his claws with my arm. Pain shot through me, but I did not stop. I drove my knee into his stomach and slammed my elbow into his face, till he dropped.

Lyra was with me.

I could feel her strength flowing through me, her courage, and her fury. She was not afraid, and she was not hesitating, she was ready to shift, and fight until the very end.

And so was I.

Her presence was warm in my chest, guiding my movements, and making me faster, and stronger. She was no longer just a voice in my head, she was a part of me.

We moved together through the chaos, and rogue after rogue fell before me. I did not count them, and I did not stop.

I lost track of time, and I lost track of everything except the next enemy, the next swing, and the next breath. The world had narrowed to a single point of fight, survive, and protect at all cost. Nothing else mattered.

But the rogues kept coming.

The stronghold was surrounded. Every direction I looked, there were enemies. Warriors were falling, and the wounded were being dragged to the healers.

And still, they came.

A rogue came at me from the right. I turned around, and kicked his legs out from under him. He fell, and I stomped on his wrist, and he dropped his weapon. I grabbed it and drove it into his chest, and he stopped moving.

I stood over him, breathing hard. My arms were shaking, and my legs were trembling, but I was still standing.

I looked around the battlefield, and wolves were fighting everywhere.

The courtyard was a sea of chaos, as wolves and rogues clashed in every corner. Blood stained the stone, and the dead lay scattered like fallen leaves. I could not tell which wolves were ours and which were theirs.

I just kept fighting.

Some wolves were in wolf form, tearing into the rogues with their claws. Others were fighting with swords and axes, their movements sharp and desperate, and the boulders had stopped the first wave, but more were coming.

The rogues kept coming. They did not stop, and they did not retreat, they just kept coming.

Then I saw them.

An ugly looking huge wolf, who looked, and walked as if he owned all the power in the world, was in the midst of the rogue. I instantly knew that he was the rogue Alpha, Viktor.

Viktor was pushing through the chaos toward the main gate. He was larger than any wolf I had ever seen, with his fur dark as night, and his eyes cold.

His claws were slick with blood, and beside him was Vivienne.

Her face was twisted with hate. She was not fighting, she was watching, waiting, and smiling.

My blood ran cold, but I did not look away.

I shook my head at her, even though she could not see me.

“You will not win,” I thought. “I will not let you.”

I reached for Lyra. "We are ready," I said.

"Yes," she said. "We are."

I turned back to the battle and kept fighting.