Rex’s POV Standing between what looked like ordinary trees while Robin, barely clinging to consciousness chanted in the Banished tongue felt unreal.The enemy was close, far too close, yet here we were, waiting. Julian kept Robin upright while Rose stood close beside me, her hand brushing mine like she was ready to steady me if I faltered.Finally, Robin’s eyes fluttered open. “Do you… want to open the barrier?” he rasped, his tired gaze locking on mine.“What do I need to do?” I asked, desperate to get them all to safety.“A drop of your blood,” he said softly.I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed Julian’s blade and sliced my palm. The sting lasted only a second before the wound began to knit itself back together. “Now what?”“Place your hand… on the tree.” He nodded weakly.I stepped forward and pressed my bloody palm against the bark.Nothing.Panic flared in my chest. Was I not Banished enough? Was I not one of them? Doubt clawed at my mind, until the tree began to glow.Light bled from
Ron’s POV “What do you mean they disappeared?” I roared, sweeping everything off my desk in one violent motion. “I–I’m sorry, Alpha,” the warrior stammered, his voice trembling. “We were chasing them, and then… they just vanished from the forest.” In seconds, I was on him. My hand clamped around his throat, slamming him against the wall hard enough to rattle the shelves. “And you expect me to believe that?” I hissed. “Last I checked, Rex didn’t have disappearing powers. So unless she magically grew them overnight, I suggest you come up with something more believable.” “I–I’m telling the truth, Alpha,” he choked out. Pathetic. With one sharp twist, I snapped his neck. His body crumpled to the floor like discarded trash. I turned on the rest of the guards, who stumbled back as my gaze locked on them. “I suggest,” I growled, “that the next person who opens their mouth thinks very carefully about what they say. Otherwise, his body won’t be the only one on this floor.”
Aries' POV I didn’t know where I was heading, but I just walked. Past the fields where fires were still being put out, through the warriors gathering the bodies, and past everyone who stood aside silently watching me.I had let them take her away from me again.And this time, it wasn’t just her.If I hadn’t been so gullible… if I’d just thought to confirm the summit with the other Alphas, I never would’ve left the pack vulnerable to such a cheap, dirty trap.Was I even worthy of being called Alpha? The wrecked bodies, the smoke-stained skies, and the nearly destroyed pack house said otherwise. Loudly.I had sent Lilly out to search for them. As much as I wanted to run into that forest myself and tear it apart tree by tree, I couldn’t leave the pack behind. Not again. Not when they needed me more than ever.So all I could do… was wait. Wait for news. For a sign.“Aries,” my father called, approaching cautiously.“What is it, Dad?” I asked, finally coming to a stop.“The damage to the
Rex Pov I snapped the neck of the guard closest to me and spun, releasing a surge of energy that knocked out the one behind him.I was covered in sweat and blood, some mine, but mostly from others. We’d been running for nearly an hour, and they still hadn’t let up. Not for a single breath. Everyone was holding up so far, but exhaustion was nipping at our heels. It wouldn’t be long before it caught up.There was no destination in mind, only distance. Getting them far enough away from the pack was all that mattered."Julian, watch out!" I shouted as a fireball hurled toward him. I flung the warrior who cast it into a nearby tree with a sharp levitation push as Julian barely ducked out of the way."How long do we have to keep running?" Rose called, dodging another attacker.I couldn’t think, couldn’t answer. Another wave of warriors surged toward us, and the question was drowned in chaos."Let’s take care of this batch first, then we can think!" I yelled, already stepping into position.
Rex POVI couldn’t think.My body moved on instinct, tearing through the blazing field, shielding Rose behind me. Smoke choked the air, thick and suffocating, turning the world into a blur of fire and screams. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.I had to protect them,all of them.“Julian!” I yelled over the chaos, barely dodging a fireball. “Have the attackers been identified?”“No!” he shouted back. “There’s nobody here, at least not on the ground!”What? Fireballs were being hurled like rain, but no enemy was in sight. My eyes scanned wildly. Where the hell were they attacking from?Another fireball sliced through the smoke, aimed straight for us. I yanked Rose away, shielding her as we ducked just in time.“Rex,” she said, voice trembling, “my mom and dad are already moving people to the safe house. They’ll be done soon.”I didn’t even know we had a damn safe house, but thank the Moon we did.“You should go help them,” I told her, gripping her shoulders. “I’ll make sure you get there sa
Aries POV I wasn’t sure how I made it back to the accommodation. I wasn’t even sure how I packed. Everything moved in a blur, my heart pounding violently against my chest, threatening to crack open. But this wasn’t about me. It was about Rex. About our pack,our people who had been left behind and were now possibly in danger. By the time I stepped out of the house, rage burned through every vein in my body. A kind of fury I hadn’t known existed inside me. And I knew, without doubt there were only two people capable of pulling off such a cowardly stunt. Ron. And Regal. I stormed toward the exit of the pack, Lilly and our warriors close behind. My mind was a single chant: Let her be safe. Let Rex be safe. If anything happened to her again... I wouldn’t hold back. I would burn the entire Blue Crescent pack to ash. We were nearly at the edge of the territory when a wall of warriors rushed out, blocking our path, and of course, Regal stood at their center. I nearly laughed.