Chapter 109 - 110

Chapter 109: Chapter 110

Chapter 110

Kai’s POV

Misery and damnation hatched in the wind, howling through the breeze as it whispered wickedly into my ears.

Of the reality occurring.

Of whatever was happening beyond the walls of the House of Steele.

All the countless times I’ve been intricately unnerved by that wretched place, and for a far more perilous reason, it had called me back to its stonewalls.

"Fuck, this place is hell..." Marcellan’s voice trailed out.

The tyres screeched to a stop as we arrived at the House, its gates left untethered and unwatched. The men of the House of Steele were nowhere to be found.

Nathan had successfully reduced the place to nothing but scraps of smoky dust, fallen dark clouds, a thunderstorm of a sky, and the complete absence of light.

It was as though night only existed here.

"That monstrous bastard must be stopped." I growled, stepping out of the car.

As I slammed the car door, a blast of pure energy struck the land. Electric in its strength, it lapsed from the sky at the very horizon of the Chamber building, driving its roots deep into the earth. Like a shield, it wrapped around the entire structure.

Impenetrable to the eye and deeply unsafe to approach. As though it would flay the skin off anyone who dared draw close.

Then, my gaze rolled down to a figure running for cover, fleeing from the growing, beastly surge of electricity.

Clawface.

"There...Clawface." I called out and ran forward.

Grabbing his arm, I pulled him clear just before he was caught in the surge of power and we both landed harshly upon the earth. Inches from impact.

"Phew, that was fucking insane." Clawface wiped beads of sweat from his forehead, his brown eyes wide and his lips quivering. "Remind me to cross the House of Steele off any vacation list."

My brows drew together, a crease forming across my forehead at the sight of Clawface. I had seen men harden in the face of death, but to turn comical?

Before I could speak, Marcellan approached and helped us both up.

"Alex," my eyes swept the surroundings, frantic. "Where’s Alex? He was with you, right?"

Time seemed to freeze as Clawface took his time, his eyes faltering as his face fell earthward. I shook my head, taking an unknowing step back when he finally spoke.

"I’m sorry, Sire. He was...captured by Nathan." He said. "I failed at my duty. I failed to protect the Luna."

My emotions surged to the surface. I stomped towards Clawface and grabbed him by his shirt. "What exactly happened? Where is he?"

"Nathan took him. I tried to save the Luna but Nathan’s forces were too much. I couldn’t fight them all," the poor man broke down, tears threatening to breach, "Leo’s dead. I saw the men drag his body away while Nathan carried Alex deep into the building."

My throat tightened, words deserting me. My lips parted but nothing escaped. My tongue froze, and the cold of the wind finally seeped beneath my skin. My wolf staggered, forged by despair.

But when clarity whirled back in, I stomped towards the energy shield, until a gleaming spark shimmered in my peripheral vision.

It was Clawface who spoke. "Oh, I forgot to mention. Nathan’s forces followed me."

"They did?" Marcellan squeaked.

"Why the fuck did you think I was running earlier?"

"Oh, I don’t know," he shrugged and then screamed, "maybe because there’s a motherfucking sparkling shield chasing behind you?!"

Following their exchange was the spurting of blood. It dressed the air, tainting it crimson and spattering against the earth in a metallic splash.

The knight before me dropped. His upper body to the left. His lower half to the right.

"So, you’re going to keep complaining or you’re going to help me?" My eyes blazed with rage, as did my tone.

My claws met the faces of the knights, scraping through their face armour as though it were nothing but paper. I tore through bone, ripped flesh from sinew, and dismantled the ability to move. Rage poured through the way I killed. Mercilessly. Their screams brought me solace. My wolf revelled in it, savouring every wail. The thirst for blood sated itself in the tearing of limbs, bodies split in half and reduced to no point of healing or recovery.

For my Luna.

For Alex.

In no time, the men were entirely down. I moved forward, but Marcellan stepped quickly in front of me, barely weaving out of the way when I slashed my claws through the air.

"Fuck, it’s me, Kai."

When I growled, the animal in me had completely taken hold, while I sat within the fur, plotting the next move. We both craved vengeance and neither of us would rest until we retrieved our Luna.

"You can’t charge into the shield. It’ll kill you," Marcellan shouted, forcing his voice to carry through the striking thunder.

Bolts of lightning struck the land beside us. The wind howled like a hurricane. The sky darkened further, more oppressive than before. Yet in the chaos, I found kinship with its outward state. It mirrored everything raging within me.

An entombing turmoil unleashed inside me, matching that of the world around us.

My sight reddened, tainted by hunger. Craving blood.

"It’s Alex. I won’t leave him with that monster."

Not even if I must die.

"Alex is stronger than you think, Kai. Trust that he can do this."

"He wasn’t himself." I countered, voice raised so the wind wouldn’t swallow it. "He wasn’t thinking, and I should have stopped him. He needs me!"

Marcellan’s face fell. "We don’t have enough armies to do this. Even if we were to penetrate, we’d likely get killed," then he grasped my shoulder, inspiration a lit of flames in his eyes, "but Alex is our friend too, and we are a fucking team."

"Smash and kill." Clawface muttered, barely audible even to my heightened senses.

"Hell yea. Let’s do this." Marcellan completed, and all three of us charged forward.

Just then, the fury of the energy receded towards the path. Fuelled by electric sparks, it writhed into rolling waves as a figure tore through, revealing himself as Nathan.

His dark blonde hair fell over his face, shadowing his features. His eyes bled a similar hue to mine, darker and more devious, and he stopped just behind the surge.

"I’ve come with news."

"Shove it up your ass." I snarled.

Without waiting a second more, my feet drove into the earth with such force it propelled me forward like a gust of wind. My wolf aimed for Nathan’s throat but the man’s eyes widened just in time, catching wind of my speed, and he slid out of reach. Like the air itself.

He simply faded out.

When he reappeared, he was midair and before me. He slammed his palm into my chest, stirring me off the sparkling shield and sending me crashing into the ground.

"You’d have charred into nothingness. I saved your life. Now, stand down and let me speak." He spat the words as I groaned. I tried to stand but failed miserably.

The magical power in him surpassed the fury coursing through my veins.