Battle ceased on both sides as all of the wolves turned their heads toward the grizzly scene.
Queen Stella was the first to howl. Her broken heart could be felt in the way she would raise and lower her voice in mourning of her lost husband. The rest of the pack was quick to join her.
King Alistair stood tall and proud over King Ruben's body. He shifted back to human and began to speak.
"We all know now who is the most powerful king. Let this fighting cease and surrender. You've all lost."
A small smirk played at the corner of his lips and I saw red as rage began to fester once again in my body; it's hot flames spreading from my stomach and throughout my limbs.
I sprinted toward him, shifting as he had done so I could speak.
"You are a worthless king," I said with venom lacing my tone.
The blizzard had stopped raging. Everything was still as the surrounding packs watched what was about to unfold.
"Quite the contrary, dear. I'd say I've proven my worth today."
He was full blown smirking at me now. He placed his foot on King Ruben's lifeless body.
I ground my teeth and fought my body for control.
The darkness was trying to eat it's way into me, like a cancer that slowly spread and infected every cell in my body.
My hands shook and I clutched my head as another piercing headache came on.
"Fight it," I heard Selene's melodious voice tell me.
"Indigo, you are stronger than this. If you surrender now, the whole world will fall."
My vision was blurry and the pain in my head increased ten fold. I dropped to my knees and looked to the sky as I let out a feral scream.
I could vaguely hear multiple sets of footsteps approaching me.
Valen's calloused hands caressed my face.
"It's okay, baby. I'm here. You can fight it, I know you can."
I opened my eyes and glimpsed his face one last time before I fell unconscious.
***
Valen's POV
I watched as my beautiful girl closed her eyes and drifted away. I knew within my soul that Selene had beckoned her away to help her fight what I could not.
I was terrified that she was lying unconscious in the middle of a battlefield, but a feeling a peace also spread through me.
I lowered her down and kissed her forehead, a silent promise that I would take care of things until she came back to me.
I turned to my brother and his mate and nodded my head. Von instantly knew I what I was conveying. His eyes glazed over as he relayed my message to Artemis.
She looked to me with those fiery eyes that used to annoy the shit out of me. I'd never tell her, but I was so glad that we had gotten her back.
I'd begun to see her as a sister in the short time she'd been with us.
I turned to Indigo's father next, hatred blazing in my gut. The pain I'd felt when my father's life was ended was still there, but I had always been much better at dealing with the anger instead.
Right now, that felt like a blessing as I lifted my lip and snarled at Alistair.
"By law, you have to defeat us to take over our pack. Did you really think we would just hand it over to you?"
He quirked a smug eyebrow and talked to me as if I was just a child.
"Come now Valen, everyone here knows that you aren't ready to rule. Your temper and your complete disregard of any political know-how don't exactly make you a strong candidate. And your brother over there?" he tipped his chin toward Von.
"He doesn't even want the throne. He's been secretly plotting his escape from the royal life for years."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I knew that Celia and Seraphine had spied on us, but how did he manage to get a hold of such information?
I glanced back toward Von and saw that he was tense and his fists were curled up. His expression gave nothing away.
"Our pack's loyalty is unrivaled. They are loyal to are family, regardless of who is in power. They will not bow down to a filthy low life, like you."
Yips of agreement could be heard behind me, but I tuned them out.
I could see that Alistair was slowly repositioning himself into a more defensive stance. His right arm was slowly drawing behind his back.
I wasn't sure what he was hiding back there, but I didn't want the chance to find out.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Alexander approaching us. He was slow and calculating with his movements, his body angled toward Von, Artemis, and I.
"I've got eyes on it," Von mind-linked me.
Sometimes this twin-link thing was weird as shit, but I was so grateful for it right now.
"If you want our pack, you're going to have to fight for it. A good old fashioned man to man fight is how we settle things in our Kingdom. You'll have to defeat my brother and I. What do you say?" I asked him.
He pretended to ponder it for a moment, but I could see the gears chugging along in his rotten brain as he schemed.
"Fine, we'll do it your way," he finally answered.
I grinned in response and shifted my stance, cracking my neck as I prepared for an easy battle.
"I'm ready whenever you are, old man."
He growled at my choice of words and slunk low to the ground. I was impressed someone of his age could move like that.
I adjusted as I watched him and we slowly circled each other. My gaze never dropped from his.
"Come on now, we don't have all day," I goaded him once again.
Suddenly, he pounced. He threw a fist much faster than I had anticipated and landed his curled hand directly into my sternum.
There wasn't as much force as I was used to, but my breath left my lungs anyway.
I gasped for air and felt the pain radiate my torso. I snarled at him and faked a punch with my left arm, before landing a blow to his ribcage with my right.
He staggered back and his eyes flashed. I took my opportunity to hit him once again. This time, my fist connected with his upper thigh and I watched as the muscle began to seize up.
He put a little weight on it and grunted. I knew I wouldn't have much time before he was able to use it fully again, so I tried once more to land a hit.
He moved out of the way blindingly fast and avoided a broken nose. Before I could recover myself, I was being tackled from behind.
I knocked hard into the ground and quickly flipped myself over so I could see my attacker. Alexander was on top of me, pinning my body to the dirt with his weight.
I squirmed and kicked, trying to throw him off, but his grip only tightened.
Holy hell, it's like his hands were miniature vices.
I heard a snarl come from Von and he ran into the action. He landed a kick to Alexander's side and I heard the satisfying crack of his ribs breaking.
Von helped me to my feet, but just as I got up he let out a roar of pain. I could hear Artemis gasp behind me.
I pulled him to me before he could hit the ground, his full weight barreling against my chest.
I wrapped an arm around his back to try and support him but a quickly widening pool of hot liquid stopped me in my tracks.
I looked down at his back and realized he had been stabbed. My eyes flashed as I met the gaze of his attacker.
Alistair was wiping Von's blood off of the dagger Celia had used previously. My eyes widened in horror.
"Artemis! Take him, now! Get Aislinn! The venom needs to be removed immediately or he'll die!"
Alistair smirked once again and I could finally see the darkness behind his cold eyes.
"You're a dead man," I promised.
Author's Note:
Who likes the Valen POV? If you didn't, it'll switch back next chapter don't worry. And if you did, great! But it's still switching. Sorry not sorry.
ANYWAY. What's going to happen next? Will Indigo awaken in time to help them, or will she be too late? WE ARE SO CLOSE YOU GUYS.
Comment and Vote to let me know how you think things will end!
Xoxo,
CrimsynIris