Defying the Lycan King

Chapter 189: Fighting Like a Demon

Back in Dravengard, the estate grounds were still a chaotic madhouse. Jessica’s wolf was locked jaw to jaw with the Umbra.

A short distance away, Kai was sitting exactly where he had landed after Jessica had aggressively shoved him out of harm’s way.

The sudden movement had completely undone all Dr Lorenzo’s hard work; his nasty wound had ripped wide open, and dark red blood was currently soaking through his clothes.

"Bloody hell," Kai grunted, wincing as he pressed his palm hard against the gushing tear in his side.

He looked around the battlefield, hoping for a bit of assistance, but he quickly realised he was entirely on his own.

The Umbras were simply too many. The sheer number of shadow shifters flooding the area meant that everyone was fighting for their literal lives.

Not his mother, not his Nana, nor any of the elite gammas could spare a single second to give him any attention without being taken down. If he wanted to survive this night, he had to think and move.

Groaning under his breath, Kai began to crawl across the dirt, dragging his heavy legs behind him. His eyes were locked on his knife, which had bounced a few feet away during the push.

He reached out with a trembling, blood-covered hand, until his knuckles finally closed around the hilt.

Once he had his weapon, he paused to catch his breath, his eyes darting over to Jessica. She was currently holding her own against two massive Umbras, and honestly, Kai was thoroughly impressed by her agility.

For a girl who had been scared completely out of her wits just a few minutes ago, she was fighting like a demon.

Fortunately for Jessica, her wolf form was significantly smaller than the two bulky, oversized monsters attacking her. In this situation, her smaller size was actually an advantage.

She was darting low, twisting fast, and slipping under their heavier swings.

Still, smaller meant fragile. Kai’s chest tightened. He had to do something.

Jessica’s jaws snapped shut on the flank of the nearer Umbra. She braced her paws against the floor and shook her head with everything she had, completely ripping open the monster’s flank.

A second later, the creature’s slimy intestines spilled out onto the cobblestone floor.

But her small victory was cut short.

While she was distracted with the first beast, the second Umbra lunged from her blind spot. Its powerful jaws clamped shut right onto Jessica’s hind thigh. The monster shook its head brutally from side to side, tearing a large chunk of flesh right off her leg.

Jessica let out a high-pitched, agonising howl. The sheer force of the pain made her legs give out, and she crashed heavily to the ground, whimpering as the dark wolf closed in for the kill.

"Oh no, you don’t," Kai muttered through grit teeth.

Instinct took over. Raising his arm, Kai carefully aimed his silver knife at the attacking beast and threw it with every ounce of strength left in his body. The blade sliced through the night air, flying perfectly straight until it buried itself deep into the Umbra’s chest.

The creature shrieked, releasing its grip on Jessica’s bloody thigh as it stumbled backward, trying to claw the silver out of its chest.

Seeing her opening, Jessica scrambled up from the floor, completely ignoring the excruciating pain throbbing in her leg.

She pounced on the wounded Umbra from behind and dug her teeth into its neck, tearing and ripping into the creature again and again, until at last the thing stopped moving and lay still in a spreading black pool.

Just as Jessica collapsed next to the carcass, panting heavily, a sudden wave of howls echoed into the dark night sky.

It started as a single, deep roar, but within seconds, it multiplied into what sounded like a thousand powerful howls from powerful Lycans.

These were not cries of distress; they were loud, booming, victorious howls that made the very ground vibrate.

For a surreal moment, the entire battlefield seemed to come to a complete standstill. Both the defending Dravengard lycans and the remaining Umbras paused, turning their heads toward the tree lines.

Then troops of Lycans came pouring into the estate, dozens of them, throwing themselves into the fray, falling upon the remaining Umbras from every direction.

From where he sat in his own blood, Kai started to laugh.

It was a helpless, relieved laugh, shaking his whole battered body as the realisation washed over him.

"Good old Tan," Kai muttered to himself, wincing as the laughter flared the pain in his side. "The clever bastard actually did it."

It was perfectly clear what had happened. Tan must have secretly sent word back to their own pack for immediate backup the moment things had started looking grim.

But Tan hadn’t just called his own people; looking at the different crests and fur colours flooding the estate grounds, it was obvious that warriors from at least three different alpha packs in the West had ridden out to join the fight.

Dravengard was no longer fighting alone.

And now, at last, it was the Umbras who were outnumbered.

***

Meanwhile, far away from the blood and chaos of the courtyard, Crane was currently hiding inside his dark bedroom closet, sweating through his expensive shirt.

He was seething with rage, his mind racing so fast he could barely breathe. He simply could not bring himself to accept the humiliating truth: Rolf and his wretched Luna, Lydia, had played him like a cheap fiddle.

It had been Lydia who came to him first, all those months ago, dripping with promises.

They would help him overthrow Derek, she had said, if only he would cooperate. Open a door here. Look the other way there. Feed them what they needed.

He had never once suspected their true aim. That they had never meant to hand him anything at all. Their entire plan had been to burrow themselves into Dravengard and seize it whole, for themselves.

They hadn’t helped him; they had simply beat him to his own bloody game.

"Stupid, arrogant bastards," Crane hissed into the darkness.

This was exactly why he had never trusted that Moonfang Alpha. Even years ago, Crane had known the man was cunning, slippery and dangerous in the way that snakes were dangerous.

Rolf had not been the one to orchestrate that old massacre, no. But Crane had known he was just the sort of creature people would believe capable of it. That was precisely why pinning it on him had been so easy, and so very satisfying.

But now, the reality of his blunder was staring him right in the face. Rolf had never intended to work with him.

The man had simply used Crane as a key, turned him in the lock, and thrown the gates of Dravengard wide open for his own forces to pour through.

He would get back at that Moonfang bastard if it was the last thing he did, Crane swore to himself, his eyes flashing in the dark closet.

But first, he needed to handle the immediate threat. He needed to throw his nephew completely off the radar first and make sure the king didn’t find out about his treason.

Outside, the snarls and growls were fading now, dying away one by one, replaced by the swell of triumphant Lycan howls.

Hearing the shift in the battle, Crane carefully pushed the closet door open. He crept out into his dark bedroom, staying low to the floor, and sneaked towards his large window. He peeked over the sill, looking down at the moonlit estate below.

The Umbras were gone. Scattered, slain, and routed. And in their place, dozens of Lycan warriors were walking around the courtyard, clapping each other on the back and celebrating their hard-won victory under the bright moonlight.

Crane let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. The immediate danger to his own skin had passed.

Then, slowly, the relief vanished from his face, and his lips curled into a sinister, dark smile.

If Rolf and his shadow shifters could not do what he wanted, then he would simply have to do it himself.