Jace
The rowdy guards come back inside without Amy. I briefly sigh with relief knowing that they haven't been able to find her. I hope Sophia managed to get her out of this place. Now all I have to worry about is Jose, Patrick and Jordan. Ellen is in the great hall with me. She looks very strong. She is must be more determined than I thought.
"Tell me!" Dwayne orders the guards who look very breathless. They must have done a lot of running around.
"Sir. We searched around the castle but we couldn't find her," one of them responds.
"Damn it!" he roars and throws a decorative flowerpot off the windowsill infront of him. It lands on the floor with a deafening sound as it cracks into pieces. I could have laughed at seeing Dwayne throwing a fist because he has lost.
"Quit it, Dwayne. You are never going to have Amy. She is too smart for your idiotic pranks," I tell him with a smirk. The look on his face now is something I would pay a fortune to see.
"You," if eyes would throw daggers, the way he is looking at me right now would definitely be the end of me.
"You pathetic fool, dare to mock me with your stupid rescue plan. You know that there are many warriors surrounding this territory. I wouldn't be celebrating victory yet. Your entire family is still in my territory and I am in no mood to let anyone close to you survive tonight," he threatens in my eyes, but I don't flinch.
"We are also in no mood to let anyone close to you, or yourself, survive tonight," I say in an equally threatening tone.
"Are you threatening me, Jace Dolason?" he asks with an amused look.
"You can take it the way you want it," I respond in a calm tone showing him that I am not damn scared of him for a single bit.
"You never stop to amuse me, Jace. You know, you have got your father's wits. That smart mouth talk all leads to one thing that we all know very well," he says and cocks his head to one side to see if his words have caused the desired effect on me.
"You should know very well that I am not my father. I am Jace and not Cole. My father's weakness was his system of government but I am a different individual. I have better things to fight for. I have very trusted friends who are there for me whenever I need them. There is no way you can defeat me when I have the determination," I tell him in a confident tone. His lips lift into a coy smile and he shakes his head.
"Are you trying to say that the circus of your family is what you are going to use against me?" he shrieks into laughter but no one else finds that amusing. The annoying sound echoes through the large hall causing it to double the volume.
"Why don't we just end this whole chitchat talk and do the real action. Fight me, Dwayne. Like a real man that you have alway claimed to be. What don't you get my family out of this and let this end with the most powerful one holding the victory."
If I ever, at some point, thought Dwayne had laughed the most pathetic way, then I was wrong. The way he opens his mouth and bursts into the loudest laugh ever makes me want to close his mouth hole with a punch of my fists so that he can swallow his teeth.
"You want to fight me?"
"What? Are you afraid that I will kick your ass?"
"Is this a joke?"
"Does it look like I have time for comedy to you?"
"I don't think you would last a few minutes with me in the field."
" Why would you say that? Are you afraid that you will be down the first few seconds?"
"Oh, you are quite the overshooter."
"I bet you would whine and call your pathetic guards to fight for you.'
"You sound very confident. Has the greasy human junk you have been feeding on been giving you some excess energy. You think you can beat me?"
"Why don't you stop being so verbose and try me. Let my wolf face your wolf, if you even trust that he can stand firm on his legs."
"Fine. It is your funeral, but trust me, I will tear you apart. I will slay off the heads of your entire family and I will also hunt down your little human girlfriend. I will make sure to breed her until she can't even remember you existed."
"Don't count your chicks before they hatch," I warn him, trying to keep my wolf at bay.
"I have never started something that I know I won't be able to finish."
"You better pray your luck isn't stained today."
"I don't believe in luck. I trust my own strength to fight my own battles."
"Let's go end this once and for all," I conclude.
I look at Ellen who nods at me. I think she is also ready to end this damn back and forth. I haven't heard from the boys. We had planned that they were going to come in and help me out if things got out of hand between me and Dwayne, but we surprisingly managed to control ourselves though I gifted some blows on his face.
We all get out of the castle with Dwayne's guards behind him. Most of the men close to Dwayne are not of the Redclaw pack. They have always been with him even before he took over the position of Alpha of this pack. That is why they are as ruthless as him. Dwayne was banished from his pack with them because of their evil intentions of blood thirst and always causing trouble. He then programmed his mind to take over the Redclaw pack by killing my father.
The night has taken over outside. The moon is full and shinning brightly, just like the way it was when I escaped from this place on the night my parents were killed. Maybe this is a sign. A good sign that I will be able to avenge my parents' unfair death.
I never lived for revenge but maybe it is high time I did something for my parents so that they can finally rest in peace knowing that Dwayne will nolonger torment me or the entire pack of the Redclaws.
The front of the castle is cleared from trees giving enough space for two wolves to shred themselves apart. The guards start transforming into their wolves one by one. I take one look at Ellen who is standing bside a tree. She disappears behind it for a moment and then comes out in her wolf form. The way she looks at me says that she will be there when I need her, even though we cannot communicate through the pack mind.
I give her a reassuring nod and remove my shirt. I look around me and everyone else is in their wolf forms. I take a deep breath and tell my wolf that we are going to do this for our father and mother. We are going to get what rightfully belongs to us. We are doing this for our family and our mate. My wolf finally surfaces with a growl. The night breeze blowing through his black fur making him stretch and feel better after all that time of forcing him to stay calm at the peak of his fury.
A big gray wolf walks through the spectating wolf carrying an aura of pride, and I immediately know that he is Dwayne. My wolf growls in disgust, almost pouncing on him but he keeps calm. They gray wolf walks towards me and makes a very loud howl lifting his head up to the full moon. The rest of the wolves howl in response but mine remains silent. I notice that Ellen just looks at them unmoving.
This is it!
This is the what my whole life has been leading to.
I know that Dwayne can communicate through the pack mind and order one of his followers to attack me but I hope he will stick to his word. Ellen keeps watching and waiting for the right time to intervene.
The gray wolf stares into my eyes with devilish almond eyes. In a split second, he pounces on me with a roar and scratches my front leg with his sharp claws. I sprint forward and bite his back making him growl and stagger backwards. I look into the yellow eyes which only communicate death.