[ The Outer Gates of the Bloodfang Pack]
Velor walked out slowly, casually, like he was showing up for a picnic and not stepping into a potential bloodbath.
His hands were in his pockets, shoulders rolled back, not a care in the fucking world.
Bloodfang guards lined up like dominoes behind him...around him...ready to strike if needed. The air shimmered faintly with magic shields waiting to be activated.
He spotted Kieran’s figure pacing at the edge of the courtyard...furious,overbearing, practically vibrating with rage.
Velor raised a single hand in greeting. "Ah, Kieran..."
But he never got to finish.
Kieran slammed into him like a goddamn meteor.
Both bodies flew back several feet, crashing into ornamental stones and ripping through a row of blood orchids. The air exploded in a loud ’thud’ as their bodies collided with the earth.
Bloodfang guards immediately took their positions, their hands flying to their weapons.
But Velor grunted and threw his arm out, signaling them to stand down.
But Kieran didn’t care at all...he was already on top of him.
Velor’s head snapped sideways, blood splattering across the polished courtyard stones.
"You motherfucker!" Kieran roared, fist driving into Velor’s jawbone again and again."You twisted, lying son of a cunt!"
Velor didn’t fight back at first. He just...smirked (did he think Kieran was giving him a parlor message?!)
Even with blood gushing from his nose and a deep cut above his cheekbone, he laughed.Silly idiot!
"You done?" he rasped, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a chipped tooth. "Because I don’t think you are."
"I should have gutted you years ago!" Kieran growled, grabbing Velor by the collar and yanking him off the ground only to slam him back down."You made my pack suffer. You conspired with those council fucks. You fed them lies. And I let it go. I let it fucking slide!"
The fury in Kieran’s voice cracked like explosions.
"I thought...fine! Politics is a game. It’s all a fucking game. But you..."
Another heavy punch!! "You crossed the line."
Another punch. This time, even his own knuckles cracked."Motherfucker, you crossed the bloody line! "
Velor’s head plopped like he was a ’Bop bag’.
"You kidnapped my mate." Kieran bellowed.
Velor’s smile dimmed slightly.
"You made me betray her, Velor." Kieran’s voice was guttural, heavier than a mountain."I did the Ritual. I marked Lyla...you made me do it,you bloody moron.All the while you kept Autumn hidden. You fucking bastard.I am going to send you to bloody hell!! Deepest hell you fucking scoundrel..."
The hurt in his voice was like glass dragged across skin... too sharp...too piercing. "I don’t get to undo that. I won’t ever get to take that back..." More punches... slower... then faster again! "How dare you, Bloodfang! How dare you take her from me?! "
Suddenly, Velor’s hand shot up and he caught Kieran’s wrist mid swing. The smugness in his eyes returned, though they were now thoroughly swollen. He twisted hard, forcing Kieran’s punch to halt inches from his face.
Then softly, deliberately... he uttered. "Correction, Blackmoon...your mate came crawling to me!!"
Utter silence... like the pause before a storm!
Kieran’s face twisted...and changed.
Velor’s smirk widened. "I didn’t kidnap anyone,buddy. She was broken. Scared. Weak. She ran from you...came to me.I protected her...made her feel safe!!!I did her a favour, Blackmoon...and you! "
Not total lies. But wrong words.Very very wrong.
His fist didn’t just land this time...he didn’t just hit this time...he lunged...
" Velor Bloodfang! This is the last day of your fucking life... "
The next punch sent Velor skidding back into one of the stone pillars of the outer hall of Velor’s castle. They had no idea where they were eventually taking their fight. They pounded through the entire complex.
The stone pillar now cracked clean through.Shards rained all around them.
Velor wiped more blood off his lips and finally bared his fangs. "Alright then. You wanna dance, pretty boy?"
They collided again like thunder!!!
Fist met fist. Magic sparked in the air. They barreled through the garden walls, shattered benches, ripped through several posts. The ground trembled beneath them.
The maids gathered to watch... the soldiers stood at a distance in staunch silence, ready to intervene at the slightest nod from their Alpha.
"You made her think I abandoned her!" Kieran yelled, his fist connecting with Velor’s ribs in an upper cut. A sickening crunch followed the blow. "You tricked me into marking someone else while she was right here... in your pack... with my babies... " Kieran shook his head as if dislodging the image. " You hid her!!! You hid her while I was going insane, combing every single inch of the goddamn earth, looking for her!!! "
" Well.. Well... It could only mean one thing , Blackmoon, that you didn’t comb enough! You didn’t search hard enough!! "
They held each other’s gaze!!! Time stopped.
And then it shattered!
Kieran’s pupils dilated to slits.
Velor’s jaw clenched.
Their breaths came ragged,rage wrapped.
The garden around them had turned into a wreckage.Walls fractured. Trees uprooted. Blood speckled the stone like spray paint.
And then both Alphas shifted.
Kieran’s back arched, a monstrous growl ripping from deep within his chest...a sound not heard in decades!!!
Bones cracked, muscles snapped, skin tore...until the beast emerged.
Massive. Furious. Gold gone! Orange eyes burning like wild fire!!!
Kieran’s wolf was now taller than most battle horses, fur black as night, fangs out and dripping.
Velor shifted right after!!
His bones tore louder. He howled towards the sky ascertaining his dominance as well.
His transformation was slower... cockier. Like he wasn’t reacting...you know...just accepting the challenge.
Velor’s wolf had silver highlights! It was gleaming, polished, but brutal in all rights. He was leaner but coiled with lethal strength as Kieran’s wolf charged head on.
Velor knew very well how Kieran’s wolf was. The flaws, the unique traits, the glitches, the advantage he had over most... he knew it all.
The tips of Velor’s fur shimmered red from the blood still clinging to his face as he pried closer.
And then they lunged.
A shockwave rippled through the entire castle grounds.
Nearby guards staggered. Horses in the distance neighed and bucked in panic.
Kieran was faster...blinded by fury.
He tackled Velor to the ground and raked his claws across his chest.
Velor snapped his jaws and managed to clamp down on Kieran’s shoulder...blood gushed out. But Kieran didn’t even flinch.
He howled like a fucking demon and flung Velor into a stone archway. The entire structure collapsed on top of him.
But no one moved.No one dared,
Velor emerged from the rubble, limping a little...but grinning. The silver in his fur was now streaked with blood, dust and debris. One eye partially closed.
And still...he laughed.
Because he knew no blow, no hurt would equal the damage he had already dealt to Kieran. He already had the upper hand in their decades long war.
Kieran’s wolf snarled so loud it rattled the damn sky. Then he charged again...
This time, there were no holds barred.
Absolutely savage! Primal!!!
Velor tackled Kieran snout-first and slammed him into the courtyard wall...it cracked clean down the middle.
Kieran responded with a lunge, sinking his fangs into Velor’s side and ripping a chunk of flesh off.
Velor howled in pain, his body twisting violently as he retaliated...his claws digging deep into Kieran’s back, shredding muscle.
It was blood on blood.
And then...Kieran did something no one expected.
He jumped over Velor, flipped mid-air, and landed on his back...driving Velor into the ground with full force and weight, burying his snout into the dirt.
He bit down into the back of Velor’s neck...just enough to break skin. Not enough to kill.
Not yet!! Oh no! He wasn’t going to give Velor an easy death.
Velor writhed under him, legs kicking, fur matted with blood, growling like a trapped wild beast...but...he couldn’t break free.
Kieran’s orange eyes glowed like twin infernos as he stood atop him, chest heaving.
He stood over Velor, dominance bleeding from his stance, tail raised, blood dripping from his fangs.
And Velor knew it... maybe he gave that to his old friend... maybe he was actually over powered. Who knows!
The Bloodfang guards looked on...stunned. No one moved.
Velor’s wives had gathered on the balcony. They too watched .
A long silence followed, only broken by the sound of blood dripping and ragged breaths.
Kieran’s wolf leaned down,slow... and released a growl...so deep, it didn’t sound like it belonged to a wolf at all.
And then all of a sudden, all heads snapped up at the sky.
There was a loud fluttering noise, following by screeching... too much of that.
Suddenly,the sky was covered with the flapping of black wings. It looked like a blanket of hovering ravens.