Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Freya eluded me somehow. Da mn her and her magic!

Worse, Isla was not behind me. Once I was certain there was no hope of finding Freya, I retraced my steps. In wolf form, I sniffed the ground near our cabin but could not catch Isla’s scent. I supposed that was Freya’s doing as well.

I sat on my haunches and howled, hoping it somehow might call her to.mc. But I was greeted only by silence.

First Margot. Now Isla. What kind of father, husband, and protector was I? I’d promised to take care of them, to never let anything happen to them. Now, they were gone.

I sniffed around more, desperately. I was there for more than a day. Waiting. Hoping.

Nothing.

With a broken howl, I turned my steps toward Moonrose.

I was tired. I was hungry. I didn’t know how long or far I’d run to get from Ashbluff territory back to Moonrose, but I had not rested.

The castle came into view over a hilltop, and I dragged myself down the slope, surprised didn’t take a tumble.

“Your Majesty,” a familiar voice whispered as I came to rest by a stream at the bottom.

I lapped the water greedily, my eyes meeting Bennett’s. When I finished, I shifted, and he handed me some pants.. “Yes? What are you doing out here, Bennett?”

“Your Majesty, the council has staged an army outside the castle. We’ve been forced out,” Bennett said sadly. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I know it was my duty-”

“It was my duty,” I interrupted him. “Mine. And it seems I have failed that as well.”

Bennett looked around me, no doubt seeing that neither Isla nor Margot were with me. “I’m so sorry, Your Majesty.”

“How many do we have left?” I asked, resuming my mantle of Lycan King.

Bennett swallowed. “Not enough, Your Majesty,”

So, this was how I was going to fall. Me. The monarchy.

Without Isla and Margot, it took a lot to even care.

“I can’t ask you to die for me,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “If it is a losing battle, then take who is left and find somewhere safe.”

Bennett snorted. “You try telling the troops that.”

“I will. Take me to them.”

I followed Bennett into the woods. The troops were not far away, battered, bruised, and bitten. I’d let this happen. I’d abandoned my post, and now all was lost.

Attention!” Bennett called before I could say anything.

The whole group straightened up, even the wounded.

His Majesty has something he would like to say,” Bennett said.

I cleared my throat. “You have all fought valiantly. I could not ask for better soldiers. But I’ve been told we are woefully outnumbered. I.. have decided it is time for you to cease fighting and find peace as best you can. Disband and sca tter so you will not be punished. by the enemy. Be with your families-”

A loud grumbling went through the assembled.

One particularly young soldier with a wounded arm puffed up his chest and stared me down. “No, Your Majesty. I’ll not leave you.”

Murmurs of agreement came from all around.

I frowned. “I am ordering you-”

“No offense meant, Your Majesty,” an older soldier said, hobbling forward on a bad leg. “But you can take that order and shove it.”

“Excuse me?” I gaped at his insubordination.

“Yeah, shove it!” the young soldier agreed.

“You’re telling me, your king, to shove my orders?!” I bellowed.

The troops all nodded.

I looked to Bennett. He was standing next to me with his l*ps twitching.

“But… I gave an order…” I mumbled, frowning in consternation. What fresh hell was this, now?

“And we’ll follow any order you give, Your Majesty, just as long as it has to do with going down there and kicking the council’s a*ses,” the older soldier said.

-The troops bobbed their heads again.

“There aren’t enough of us, don’t you understand?!” I found myself pleading with them. “You will all die.”

“And they will sing our songs seven generations from now,” the older soldier said proudly.

I scrubbed my hands over my face.

“Your orders, Your Majesty?” Bennett asked, his l*ps still twitching.

“You are all ba stards, you know that, right?” I sighed, lowering myself onto a rock. “Fine, fine. Who has the enemy positions?”

A map was soon being drawn in the dirt, with scribblings of enemy positions. I stared down at it, shaking my head.

If I divided the troops, we would be decimated on all fronts. But if I kept us all together and attacked just one front…

Well, we wouldn’t last that much longer as the council’s reinforcements came, but as the

older soldier said, they’d be singing about this battle seven generations from now.

Wherever Margot and Isla were, I hoped they would know how we all died valiantly.

Istraightened up and began barking orders.

My men shifted, and so did I. I couldn’t say I’d ever been prouder of the Moonrose Pack than I was in this moment.

Then I moved right to the front, with my little army gathering behind me.

‘Move out!’ I roared over the mind-link.

I ran ahead of all of them, leading us all to our glorious end.

We tore into the enemy lines at their right flank at the edge of the castle. For many minutes, there was only the smell of blood, the ripping of flesh, and the breaking of bones.

I leaped on one wolf, then another, then another, tearing throats, clawing sides, leaving many of our enemy’s number incapacitated or dead. I saw the tide rising in the distance-council troops circling around to box us in and attack us from all sides.

Five wolves finally brought me down together, I felt a certain pride in that.

Just as I was readying myself to die, three wolves were knocked off of me, whimpering. surprise.

I made short work of the other two, looking around for the soldiers I had to thank for my momentary reprieve.

Only I recognized very few of the soldiers who were fighting on our side now.

You really couldn’t have waited another hour or two?’ an Alpha, a friend, said over the mind-link. Since we were both Alphas, we could talk to each other.

‘Craig!’ Joy and relief washed over me.

“At least now, we are more evenly matched,’ Craig chuckled. I caught sight of my brown

friend tearing through his own swathe of combatants.

We were indeed. Matched wolf for wolf, it looked like. Thank the Goddess, we actually had a chance.

‘I owe you, I said. I owe you so much.”

‘Your Majesty, you don’t owe me anything except getting your mind back in the game,” Craig replied.

I nodded and began tearing into our enemy again. Craig and I began making a game of it, seeing which one of us could take out more of them.

Still, the battle was bl oody and would be hard-won, if we won at all. I tried not to look at the tide around us, focusing only on the soldiers in front of me.

That was until one whole flank of the enemy’s army suddenly stopped fighting.

“What the hell?’ I asked, wondering if this was some new trick.

I don’t know. Some wolf came running up out of the woods, and they just… stopped, Craig responded, also confused.

Our enemy was quite confused. The other two flanks barked at the first, but still, they didn’t move.

A panting wolf ran up to me as we all froze in bemusement. I bared my teeth, prepared to attack, then stopped as the wolf bowed before me.

He shifted, still heaving in great gulps of air. “Your Majesty.”

I looked at Craig, who nodded. With great caution, I also shifted. “Yes?”

“Luna… Ashbluff…” He gulped some more.

I scowled. “Luna Ashbluff?”

“H-Has… has ordered… the Ashbluff Pack… to stand down… Your Majesty.” He bowed again. “We are… to follow… your will.”

What the hell was An alise Ashbluff thinking? “Are you serious?”

He nodded vigorously.

I supposed we’d be discussing the cost of this after the battling was over. In the meantime… “Fight for me.”

“Yes… Your Majesty,” the messenger said. He backed away and went back to what I now knew to be the Ashbluff contingent.

The troops did all, indeed, turn as one and growl at the other two flanks.

I smiled at Craig, though I was still confused as hell.

We’d just won this war.