by J. K. Jones
“It will heal.” It won’t. A wound like that will leave him crippled for life.
“My bad leg.” Micah offers a small smile.
“I can fix it.” Ryu is frantic now. His lip trembles. “I can fight him and kill him, and then the war will be over.”
“No.” Micah shakes his head. “Stay with me, please. We’ve already lost…too many to count.” He looks over to the side, and Ryu chokes on a scream.
Marissa lies with her head to the side, hair splayed out on a soft white sheet. Almost as if she’s asleep, but the rise and fall of her chest are absent.
“She saved my life,” Micah says, his voice heavy with remorse. “I’m so sorry.”
Chapter 56
Rage blinds him. Ryu’s eyes darken as he grabs his weapon tightly. Marissa. The last hope for the Filthy Claws clan. Wolves stare down dejectedly, expressions of immense sorrow on their faces. He screams. They’ve done all this for nothing.
Ryu unsheathes Hikari.
“Wait.” Micah grabs his arm. “Don’t.”
“I’ll fucking gut him.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Stay here.” Ryu yanks his arm free and strides out of the building. He gets ten feet before Deryn blocks him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Get out of my way.”
“Micah is in distress.” Deryn looks down at him. “We need our Alpha sane.”
“Where is Trmon?”
Deryn cringes, and his blue eyes shimmer with unshed tears as he takes a step back. “I—I don’t know.” For the first time, he looks afraid, as if his worse fear is coming true. “I thought he was behind me in the encampment near the bunkers. After the explosion, we got separated.”
“We’ll find him.” Ryu barrels on. “Then help me kill the bastard.”
Deryn hesitates and looks back to the building. Then he nods. “There isn’t much time.”
The city is swarming with Lycans. Ryu and Deryn need to find a way through that keeps them hidden. The sewers. Ryu knows the area well. There’s a ravine nearby that can take them back inside the south part of the encampment. He needs a distraction, something large enough to draw the Lycans away and shift the bastards’ focus.
Ryu stares at Hikari, infusing it with spiritual energy. Power surges, and it gives off a fearsome glow. Why didn’t it work earlier? Did he find a way to somehow block his power? Hikari splits in two. Ryu sheathes one sword and grips the other in his hand.
“We need to break through the center. We use the sewers until we can get close enough to the encampment. Then we figure out a way to distract him so that you can get Trmon.”
“You know the way?”
“All Filthy Claws know the sewers. We bathe there, remember?” Ryu sneers, and Deryn looks ashamed.
“That’s all fine and dandy,” Deryn grunts. “But how are we going to do that?”
“With a few good men.”
-
“I don’t like it.”
“We don’t have a choice.” Ryu turns to look at the remaining Filthy Claws, then back at Micah. “We need to go back.”
Micah gives a solemn nod. “Fine, but we do it my way. General Sato?”
“Alpha.” He bows.
“How many men do we have available?”
“Sixteen hundred last time I checked. However, that doesn’t count the wolves returning from the Filthy Claw rebel base with General Miah.”
"Explosives?”
“Fourteen on personal,”
Micah looks at Ryu. “A few wolves can draw them out, but what happens when the Lycans catch up? The Filthy Claws know the sewers. Once inside, they can plant bombs to kill the Lycans before they can get close. The explosions underground should cause a large enough distraction for the Bloodhound Prince. Then you guys can slip inside the encampment and get the remaining wolves. We can split them up into two groups. General Hasegawa can take the Filthy Claws into the sewers to plant the bombs, and then General Sato can lure them in. We’ll be close enough to cause a big distraction. That way you guys can slip through easily.”
Brilliant. Ryu can find the time to focus on defeating the Bloodhound Prince and not worry too much about casualties. “Deryn and I will head straight to the encampment to find Trmon and any surviving wolves, then come back. What about General Miah?”
“He’s waiting for us outside the city walls,” General Sato says. “I’ve been in constant communication with him. They’re safe and ready to attack.”
“How many wolves are immunized?”
“Nearly everyone you see here,” General Sato replies. “We’ve gotten to half the wolves in the Silvercrest Howlers before we were attacked.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Ryu pecks Micah on the lips. “Don’t move unless you have to. We can’t speak through the link. He’s blocking my communication somehow.”
“I’ll try to get my messages to you another way,” Micah says seriously. “Be safe.”
“I will.”
-
Unburied corpses litter the streets.
Ryu crouches behind a building, with Deryn right beside him. They zigzag through the streets. Mayhem and destruction lie before them: absolute disarray. Wolves run screaming and crying as Lycans tear them to shreds. Ryu flinches, and his stomach turns as they are all slaughtered. Kenyon would never have wanted this. Why would the Bloodhound Prince destroy his home clan? It’s not adding up.
Ryu snakes along the dark alleyways and corridors, blending into the shadows. A storm rages. Wild and tumultuous winds pulverize the concrete beneath their feet. The Bloodhound Prince remains eerily still, levitating above the ground as lightning and thunder crackle around him. White hair flaps unceasingly in the winds as his eyes gleam piercing red. He needs to act. They can’t wait to regroup and then mount another attack against the Bloodhound Prince. The bastard will find them again and destroy their armies. No, he needs to do this alone. Once inside the encampment, Ryu can climb to the top and meet the bastard head-on. The balcony. If he can climb there, then he can take Arima Kihei by surprise. Ryu checks out the road to make sure the coast is clear. He freezes. Wolves stand in loose formation, four rows, all of them with their eyes trained on the road. Ryu gasps, gripping his sword tightly. What the hell are they thinking? The Filthy Claws look haggard, their fur matted and covered in blood. Lycans crawl in droves from the abyss, snarling at them. No.
“Don’t,” Deryn utters. “There are too many.”
Ryu needs to do something; he can’t let them die. Deryn yanks him back until they’re hidden behind a building.
“Get off me.” Ryu turns back just in time to see the wolves’ step forward. Hope blossoms in his chest. He unsheathes Hikari, but Deryn pulls him back.
“It’s too late.”
The Lycans attack, their forces like a thick wave, flooding the wolves in a sea of carnage. Ryu watches in horror, his heart nearly beating out of his chest as the Filthy Claws are eaten alive. Fuck—no.
“We need to move.” Deryn grabs his arm and leads him back into the alleyway. Off in the distance, he hears a faint sound. They duck quickly just as the ground begins to quake. General Sato must have started. They don’t have much time. Ryu dashes through the alley, weaving in and out until they reach their destination. “Where to?”
“There.” Deryn points to two metal doors. They barrel through and swiftly close them before sprinting upstairs. Large pillars and concrete rocks lie before them, but Ryu doesn’t slow down, not even for an instant, he runs through the open area, sidestepping anything in his way. Ryu stops, sniffing the air for any signs of life or movement.
“Over here,” Deryn shouts. Underneath a pillar, a wolve wheezes, its large paw crushed by the weight of it. “It’s Trmon.”
Chapter 57
Bitterness sweeps over him. They can’t win. Not like this. Dread and fear coil in his chest as they struggle to lift the pillar off Trmon’s paw. It’s no use. Frustration boils inside him. Ryu clenches
his jaw as he looks around the room. He grabs a metal pole, and uses it as a lever to lift the stone high enough so that Trmon can slither free.
“Let me.” Deryn pushes down hard with a grunt, and Trmon slips free. They both sigh in relief, and Trmon changes back into human form.
“Deryn,” he says hoarsely and then laughs when Deryn sweeps him up in a bone-crushing hug. “You left me, you bastard.”
“You’re the bastard who can’t keep up,” Deryn grits out, but his hands are shaking. “Fuck, I was so scared.”
“Don’t tell me you actually have feelings in that blackened heart?” Trmon says lightheartedly, but he coughs, making the joke fall flat. Deryn blushes and looks away, but his hand remains clasped around Trmon’s. His smooth skin is covered with soot, and his left eye is bruised, but otherwise, he would heal. “Thank you.”
“Shut up,” Deryn mumbles. “Don’t ever thank me. I’m allergic.”
Trmon gazes at him fondly but doesn’t respond. Ryu’s eyes dart between the two of them. Are they a thing? Judging by Deryn’s body language, he looks uneasy but at the same time relaxed. Like wolves get around their mates. Interesting. Does Micah know about this? Guess he can find out later.
“Can you walk?” Ryu asks, breaking up their reunion.
“I think so.”
“Get him back to where Micah is.”
Deryn frowns. “What about you?”
“The Bloodhound Prince is up there.” He points to the ceiling. “If I can climb high enough, I can catch him by surprise.”
“And then what?”
“Kill him.” Ryu snorts and stands up. “Tell Micah I’ll be back.”
“No, the plan was we all come back together. You couldn’t defeat him the last time. What makes you think you can this time?” Deryn says stubbornly.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“Fuck off with that shit.”
“We’re out of time,” Ryu exclaims. “He’s getting too powerful. I don’t know what he wants, and I can’t win if I don’t try to defeat him.”
“All the more reason to wait.” Deryn looks back at Trmon. “Micah will kill me if I come back without you.”
Ryu regards him for a moment. “Fine,” he lies. There’s no way he’s leaving without taking a piece of the bastard with him. Not after everything he’s done. Not after Marissa and Kenyon risked their lives to see the Filthy Claws prosper. “Where are the other wolves?”
“Back there.” Trmon gestures to another room. “I locked them inside when the fighting became too thick. They’re mostly soldiers and some civilians.”
Deryn helps Ryu open the door. Inside are nearly half a dozen frightened wolves, most are pups, newly recruited to the regiment with hardly any skills on the battlefield.
Deryn slips his arm around Trmon’s waist and helps him stand. They walk out the double doors they came in. Ryu hangs back, making sure all the wolves go through safely. Once the last wolf walks out the door, Ryu slams it shut and bolts it with a metal pole.
“You fuck.” Deryn bangs on the door ruthlessly.
“Get them to safety.”
He’s got a Bloodhound to catch.
-
Scaling the walls, Ryu hangs on tightly. His sword is sheathed as he jumps from one broken pillar to the next. He needs to climb high enough to get the drop on Arima Kihei. The building is blown to pieces. The ceiling is caved in with hazardous wires debris, and pillars everywhere. Ryu climbs to what used to be the ridge. The war room looks terrifyingly depilated. At last, he reaches the balcony. The entire railing is peeled off with large holes in the midst of it.
From up here, it’s galactically tragic. The Filthy Claws clan is reduced to nothing but earth and rubble. Buildings that were erected centuries ago are crumbled to dust and stone. How did they let this happen? Ryu chokes back his pain, unsheathing his sword quickly. It ends now.
The Bloodhound Prince is a few feet away. Lightning sparks violently across the sky. Taking several steps back, Ryu grips Hikari tightly and then flings himself off the balcony. Light erupts around them; his katana’s luminosity burns as he drives his sword straight through the Bloodhound Prince.
Only it doesn’t. Arima Kihei smirks, then rotates, his cape flying around him. A hand clamps around Ryu’s neck, knocking the wind out of him. “Gotcha.”
Arima Kihei lifts him high in the air, his hands crushing his windpipe. Struggling ferociously, Ryu rises Hikari and stabs him in the shoulder.
“Bastard,” Arima Kihei snarls. “Let’s do this the hard way.”
The Bloodhound Prince whirls, sending them both into a spinning vortex before plummeting straight through the building. Ryu’s bones crack. He convulses violently as Arima Kihei uses him as a human shield through each floor. A sonic boom rings out as he lands and grinds Ryu’s neck into the concrete. Unimaginable pain tears through him, and he strives to breathe. His vision fades in and out. No! He won’t succumb. Ryu kicks Arima Kihei in the stomach, then uses his free hand to punch him in the face.
The Bloodhound Prince spits blood but grins back at him wickedly. “Is that all you got?”
Ryu screams, swinging Hikari with vehemence. Everything is gone because of him. There’s nothing left. Ryu slashes and cuts like mad, dodging and blocking each blow furiously.
“Yes.” Arima Kihei hisses gleefully. “Give it all to me.”
“What the hell do you want,” Ryu cries, mercilessly hacking at him. “What the hell are you?”
“You.”
Ryu’s breath catches. He freezes as ice fills his veins. Arima Kihei laughs, then punches him in the face. Ryu staggers, his mind reeling from what he said. What kind of response is that? It curls within his stomach like cancer. A silver chain around the neck glints in the light. Micah gave him that necklace. How the fuck has the Bloodhound Prince gotten hold of it?
“Ryu,” Arima Kihei licks his bloodstain lips. “Have you ever considered that I am the good guy and that you are the bad guy?”
“What do you mean?”
Arima Kihei's eyes pierce him with bleak malevolence. It’s so thick and saturated it causes him to reel back. He’s seen that look before. In his own likeness. “We are part of the same evil, with only a thin line between us. All I need is the missing piece, the missing half. A choice. One the gods themselves are trying to prevent you from making. Once I have it we will rebuild, transform and bring the Age of the Lycans into fruition.”
“Over my dead body,” Ryu spat.
The Bloodhound Prince’s hair turns pitch black, and his eyes flicker into storm clouds. His face transforms symmetrical, anchored precisely down the middle by a tall, proud nose and bulbous chin.
Ryu stares back in revulsion.
He looks like me. It’s like he’s gazing at a scroll painting or a reflection in the mirror.
Chapter 58
Ryu vomits. The room spins as he tries to keep his legs from folding. No, it’s impossible. But it is possible. Reincarnation. Transmigration. For all he knows, the Bloodhound Prince is him, from a different dimension. What if, in an alternate reality, he gave in to Oslene?
Ryu reels back as if stung. Did he somehow cause this? Thinking back, he recalls Marissa’s words. Arima Kihei is a Filthy Claw, born in the slums, but he fell in love with a Silvercrest Alpha Shiroi ōkami. After he was caught dabbling in dark magic, Shiroi ōkami exiled him from the clan and drove him into the mountains. Oh, gods. He’s so incredibly stupid. Shiroi ōkami translates into “white wolf,” which is Micah. How has he not realized how intertwined their stories were?
Then his best friend, Kin no kami, which translates to “white hair” or “golden hair,” which is Kenyon’s name. Are they the same person, just born in alternate realities? Or did the Bloodhound Prince become a timewalker, transmigrating into a new body with similar experiences? But what about Miyamoto Musashi? How does he fit into this story? If the Bloodhound is from another dimension or a different time, how did he come to this one? A large part of him can�
��t believe it. Necromancer. Shapeshifter. Arima Kihei can take on any form he likes.
If it’s true, that means they are twin souls.
Arima Kihei grins, then abruptly changes back. “I need to thank you for gathering everyone in one place.” The Bloodhound Prince swings his sword. “It makes them all easier to kill.”
Swords clash in a deafening explosion that shatters the walls.
The air sizzles around them. Desperation grows every moment. Why can’t he focus? The disturbing images from earlier make him sick with despair. By calling on the gods, did he disrupt the natural flow of reality? Did he cause this? It’s fucking with his head, ruining his concentration. Doubt creeps into him, and Hikari dims.
“We are of the same darkness Ryu.” Arima Kihei senses his weakness and tries to pierce through his guard. “Let us be one.”
“Never,” Ryu grits out.
Arima Kihei’s expression changes. His eyes glow fiercer than before. “Have it your way.” He smacks Hikari away, then, using the blunt end of his sword, smashes it against Ryu’s head. The impact forces him back. Blood bursts from his nose as he scrambles to pick up his sword. It’s sloppy, unsophisticated—a careless oversight. Ryu can’t think straight like this. He’s too distracted. Nothing makes sense. Hikari’s light keeps dimming as fear takes over again. Ryu is genuinely afraid.
“As you should be, wolf.” Arima Kihei grins wickedly, his long fangs protruding from his lips. “What a stunning Omega you are. I wonder how Micah will feel when I take you for the first time,” he taunts, then punches him in the stomach. Ryu reacts too late and missing the block. Pain shoots up his stomach as he crumbles forward.
“Should we make him watch? I’ll give you three seconds to change your mind.” Arima Kihei’s wrath is smothering, flaring hotter every time they inch closer. He moves with swift agility, kicking Ryu in the face. Falling back against the wall, Ryu cries out. Pain tears up to his ankle and head. Fuck. He’s going to lose again. There’s nothing left to fight for. Everything is already gone. Hikari clatters to the ground, and before he can pick it up, the Bloodhound Prince snatches it.
