HARLAN
I was gone. The person I knew myself to be had sunken back into the depths of my heartache and vanished. The wolfâthe voiceâhad taken over me. I was running through the forest, the moon calling to me like a siren.
Erick was on one side, and behind me, an army of lycans I had no idea where they came from. Erick had called them, howled into the night, luring out the creatures that looked like me, but they didnât think like me.
They were savage, unhinged. Loyal to a king that no longer exist.
âYouâre their king,â my wolf said.
But I wasnât. I didnât feel like it, but I was too weak to say. I was too weak to fight against the unruly personality inside of me.
Weâd run for so long that I knew we were close to the university. I could smell the wolves. The alphas circling the place. It had been my home away from home for so long that I couldnât deny knowing where we were.
But yet, I couldnât stop it.
We weaved around the university, through brush and overturned trees. My wolf was almost giddy with excitement. He wanted to kill the wolves. He wanted to kill Rage. My fear was that he wouldnât stop if we saw Everlee.
He didnât stop behind.
~Why now?~
Erick crisscrossed in front of me, interweaving a path that would take a wolf around the world to track. He was attempting to make them dizzy, make them furious at the track to find us.
When the tree line began to dwindle and the field surrounding the cafeteria came into view, Erick slid to a stop. He stood tall on his back legs, staring out at the guards circling the perimeter of the campus.
His gaze shifted toward mine and I heard his voice in my head.
âTheyâre surrounding us. I can sense they are close. We need to strike now before they get here.â
âIâm ready,â my wolf answered.
Fighting against the restraints of my mind, I attempted to push him out of control, but he didnât budge. Iâd given him the opportunity to lead, and he wasnât going to give it up easily.
The lycan pack swarmed the field. Sirens rang deep around us, signaling to the university to take cover. I prayed Everlee was safe. That they had her protected, because I couldnât fight him.
And if I hurt her like last time, I might as well die along with everyone else.
Alphas emerged from the hill leading toward the alpha house, and the university guards met me at the courtyard. The thrashing of teeth and paws against the earth felt like a battle cry.
A cry for us to stop.
None of us did. We fought for a battle won when Alpha Allaire got us into a university of werewolves. Where we now tried to kill them. They accepted us, and now weâre ruining our allegiance because of what?
Because Erick told us to? Because of an age-old fight that had been put to bed? The wolves hit us straight on. The war cry of the lycans, that I did not know, was loud. It rang in my ears as I fought against wolves I sat in class with.
Wolves that never bothered me.
I hated myself for doing this to them. Had my dad secretly hated himself too? Everlee and Daxton seemed to think he enjoyed it. Perhaps these wolves thought so too. I was sure my lycan looked pleased to tear at wolvesâ flesh and fight them to no avail.
I pressed against the cage I was boxed inside of.
My lycan didnât seem to notice. He fought, tore at a wolfâs shoulder until he howled in pain. I tasted his blood in my mouth as I tore into his neck.
It tasted bittersweet.
Not like something I was used to, but it fueled my wolf. It fueled the deranged lycan inside of me.
The scent that hit me felt hard against my skin. Iâd smelled it every time I left my mate alone. Rage Hunt stood several yards away, ripping a lycanâs arm from his shoulder. When he spit to the earth and turned to face me, my lycanâs anger took over.
It was the first night at the alpha party all over again.
He dipped his head and walked slowly toward me. Blood dripped from his mouth, falling to the ground, leaving traces of a lycan no one would ever come looking for.
âBecause no one cares about lycans,â my wolf whispered.
I knew it wasnât true, but the lycanâs truth felt so real at the moment. ~Everlee cares about me.~
âShe doesnât,â my wolf answered.
Rage stopped several feet from me, taunting me, growling and snarling like some caged animal. But he wasnât caged. Heâd never been caged. Heâd lived a life of royalty as the alpha kingâs son.
The soon-to-be alpha king.
âHe wonât be the alpha king,â my wolf said. âHeâll be the fallen alpha kingâs son.â
A memory. A distant memory for Everlee to mourn. In that moment, I knew even if we did kill Rage, she wouldnât have enough love in her heart for me.
Heâs marked her. His blood was linked to hers in a way that mine never would.
In my lycanâs mind, it didnât matter. If we werenât happy, no one would be. He launched forward and knocked Rage onto his back.
He swiftly rolled over and nipped at the back of my ankles. Being a lycan, standing tall, had its advantages, but wolves from solid packs were taught how to take us down.
Rage was one of them.
I felt the pinch of my Achilles heel and my lycan yelped out in pain. Turning slowly, I bared my teeth, showcasing what I wanted to do to him. Rage only lifted higher, daring me to come at him.
My lycanâs pride was too much to back down.
No matter the damage I could see happening to the lycans I came in with, the ones I didnât know, my lycan wanted Rageâs blood on his tongue.
I leaped forward; slashing across Rageâs back making him howl out in pain. I watched the blood drip from his fur and mix with my lycan brotherâs on the ground.
It was wrong.
âItâs justice,â my wolf whispered.
His voice was soft like the wind and lifted my brokenhearted spirit. I felt his ways seeping into me like poison. He was poisoning me like the devil himself held the cup. I stepped over him, watching him gather his wits and sink his teeth into my thigh.
I called out, my mouth stretched high toward the sky and cried out in pain. Everleeâs face flashed in my eyes. The pain I knew she was feeling from hurting her mate.
My lycan wanted to see it. See her fall in front of the man she thought was a better choice than me.
I could feel it. Even though I wasnât her mate, she didnât choose me, I felt her inside. Her ache. Her need to get to Rage.
Something sharp pierced my side, and I backed away from Rageâs body as he stood on strong legs. Alpha AllaireâIâd never forget his wolfâit was strong. Determined. He was a fierce warrior, and always had been.
He was bent down, circling me like a vulture.
âAs he did to your father,â my wolf whispered.
Rage joined in beside him when I felt something snap inside of me. My lycanâs need for vengeance soared. I leaped over them back, turned swiftly and slashed them both across the back.
Rage doubled over in pain from being swiped twice, and Alpha Allaire jolted around to grab my arm. The piercing ache traveled along my arm but was numb when it hit my brain.
I didnât feel the pain.
My lycan blinded me from it.
The battle around me hit me like a brick. The noise, the cries, the hurt. It was suffocating what sanity I had left, while it fed my wolf. I attacked Alpha Allaire while Rage stood again, refusing to give up on hurting me.
Or maybe he wasnât attempting to kill me. Alpha Allaire had a good heart.
âHe doesnât,â my wolf said. âThey want you dead.â
And when I looked over at his eyes, I almost saw it. I saw the anger he had for me. Maybe I reminded him of my father? Or maybe the chaos I was causing hurt him more.
He jumped at me, tackling me to the ground and began to attempt to drag me across the blood-soaked field. My lycan bent his legs and kicked him in the head, while scurrying away from him.
He was disoriented for moments. Shaking his head while trying to regain his balance. Wolves and lycans fought beside me, while I zeroed in on my prey like a beast.
Rageâs scent neared, but I was too close to little Daxton Allaire. I briefly wondered if I looked like my father. Did he have flashbacks?
Maybe. Perhaps.
But when he looked up a final time, I felt the sadness on his face. It jolted me in the chest, distracting me, while Rage caught my shoulder in his mouth and began to drag me.
I fought. My lycan shrieked, and slashed out at anything he could touch. Then Rage was hit in the back, and he released me. Erick stood on the opposite side, Rageâs blood dripping from his mouth, while Rage attempted to stand.
Heâd been through a lot.
I could tell he was a fighter. Probably better than I would ever be, but Erick couldnât stand a loss. He hated defeat. Rageâs legs were bloody and wobbly, but he stood and held his head high.
It wasnât until a flash of white caught my eye that I realized whoâd joined the fight.
Everlee jumped over several fighting wolves and landed in front of me. Her teeth snarled, her honey-colored eyes intently on me.
Erick loved the challenge, while I felt the need to run. Her dominance for a she-wolf, her strength from being mated was hitting me in the chest like a sledgehammer.
âKill her,â Erick whispered.
Everlee was as tall as I was standing up. Sheâd always been strong, but I sensed her strength even now. Bending down, he snarled at me, and dared me to touch her father or Rage again.
âI canât,â I whispered back.
Erick scoffed and leaped forward, but she easily rolled and kicked him several feet away. Her voice slid into my mind. It felt like someone twisted the dagger in my chest. âLast chance, Harlan. Bow down or Iâm going to rip you to shreds. Let us save you or Iâll end you right now.â
My mouth watered at her scent. But her wolf no longer called to me. It sent me into a panic. I cowered away, allowing my lycan to launch forward in a defiant leap that ended with her hind legs to my head.
I swirled backward, the sky and stars whooshed around me. My breath caught in my throat and leaked from me like a pierced balloon.
Erickâs battle cry rung loudly in my ears.
I couldnât focus on him. I only sensed her fighting him, smelling his blood and hearing his heart thump loudly in his ribs. Soon after, wolves joined and I heard the lycans retreating, while I lay like a damsel in distress in the grass.
Everlee stepped over me and nudged me to see if I was alive. The emotionless look on her face said it all. She was there to save me, but not love me.