Chapter 158 The battle for the Stronghold 2

Chapter 158: Chapter 158 The battle for the Stronghold 2

Talia’s POV

(Readers discretion are advised)

He moved like a warrior, and like someone who had been fighting his whole life.

I watched him take down a rogue with a clean strike, and I felt a surge of pride.

He had survived, fully healed and recovered, and now, he was strong.

The young wolf I had saved from the rogue attack was fighting. He was not the scared boy I had carried to the healers, he was a strong warrior. His sword moved with precision again, and he took down another rogue with a clean strike.

He saw me watching, and his face broke into a smile. Then he nodded, turned and kept fighting.

I smiled too, then I turned back to the battle.

But the battle was far from over, because the rogues seemed to be multiplying. The rogues kept coming, wave after wave, like water against a crumbling dam. I could feel the exhaustion creeping into my bones, with the weight of every punch, every kick, and every scream. But I could not stop.

No, I would not stop.

The rogues kept coming, but they were dying faster now.

Shadowfang wolves fought with everything they had. They had stopped retreating when the first flaming boulder took out half of the rogues on one side. They were now pushing forward, and driving the rogues back with speed. The bodies of the fallen lay scattered across the field, but more of them were rogues than Shadowfang.

I allowed myself a moment of hope at that time, but it was cut off when I saw her.

Vivienne was standing near the edge of the battlefield.

She looked different from the polished woman I had known in Cresswood. Her hair was wild, and her dress was torn. There was blood on her hands, blood that I knew was not her own. She looked like a wolf who had lost everything and was desperate to take something back.

But I did not feel sorry for her, because she had made her choice.

Her arms were crossed, and her face was twisted with hate. She was not fighting, she was watching, and waiting, and there were rogues surrounding her, like her body guards.

Then our eyes met, and the world seemed to pause.

I saw her smile with her usual cold, cruel, and triumphant smile.

She did not look away from me, and I did not look away from her either.

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

Then I turned back to the battle.

But something was wrong, and I felt it before I saw it. There was a shift in the air, and a change in the rhythm of the battle.

I looked up, and saw that Viktor, who was previously a bit far away, was now pushing through the chaos toward the main gate.

He was a monster, not just in size, but in the way he moved, and the way he killed. He cut through wolves like they were nothing, and like they were obstacles in his path. I watched him tear through a Shadowfang warrior, and I felt the rage building inside me.

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 his gaze was fixed on one wolf.

He was targeting Kaelen, and that made my blood run cold.

I saw Viktor’s eyes lock onto my mate. I saw the hunger in his gaze, the promise of death.

"No," I whispered. “He would not touch Kaelen. I would not let him.”

Kaelen had not seen him yet. He was focused on the rogues in front of him, cutting them down one by one.

Viktor was getting closer, and closer with every step he took.

I opened my mouth to shout a warning.

The words were right there, on the tip of my tongue. "Kaelen! Behind you!" But at that moment, the east wall groaned, and the world shifted. The sound was so loud it drowned out everything else. I felt the ground tremble beneath my feet, and I knew that something terrible was about to happen.

But before I could even process what was happening, the east wall shook, wood splintered, stones crumbled, and rogues poured through the breach like a flood.

Warriors screamed, and the battle shifted.

Suddenly, everything was more chaotic. Wolves were running in every direction, trying to hold the breach, the rogues were pouring through the gap like a flood, and I could see the fear in the eyes of our warriors. But I could not let fear win, and I could not let it take me.

I looked at Kaelen, who still had not seen Viktor coming.

I looked at the wall, and it was collapsing.

Then I looked at Viktor, and he was still matching forward.

He was getting more closer. I could see the hunger in his eyes, the promise of death in his every step.

I could see that he wanted Kaelen dead.

He wanted to destroy everything we had built. And I knew, in that moment, that I would rather die than let him succeed.

My heart pounded, and my hands shook. But I did not run.

I would not run from any of this.

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

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

I turned back to the battle, ready to shift, as I kept fighting.