Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Chapter 99

Chapter 99

KAI’S POV

The young night bore witness to a chitchat between my wolf and I, more like a confrontation rooted in our differences.

"Frederick is a nuisance. You made us trust him. He’s a narcissist. He cares nothing for our achievements, even if it is for the good of all," I snapped at the aura of my wolf before me.

My body remained in contact with the earth. The wetness of the grass from the earlier downpour and the subtle scent that followed the rain lingered in my senses.

"This is no time to hesitate. Information to Nathan must be with one of his men. This is the best approach," my wolf snarled.

"Or we could have simply involved Alex in our plans and had him help us. We both saw his ability. He is ten thousand soldiers in one body."

"Surely, turning our mate into a weapon would be befitting," my wolf mocked.

It came out nonsensical. The beast lacked humor. He was created for war, blood, undying loyalty, but definitely not humor.

"That’s not what I meant," I shrugged, steering my gaze toward the campsite below. "Alex wants to be part of this. He hates us because we excluded him from the plan."

"We have failed to protect the ones we loved once. We are not doing that again."

Talk about your wolf having PTSD...

But truly, he was right. The past still haunted us.

I rose from the earth. My wolf’s essence hovered overhead like a shadow cast from a black cape before sinking back into my body through my spine.

Below us was the campsite where Nathan’s men had settled. My ears caught the rustle of movement before Marcellan’s scent arrived, followed shortly by his figure.

"This is the fourth camp we are raiding this week. You don’t think if Nathan was easy to capture, we would have found him by now?"

I was positioned on the cliff like a spider, my claws latched against the hard surface, my eyes fixed on the target below.

My fangs were bared, my lips parted, and my breathing steadied before my sight.

"Every time he sends them out, he seems to erase their memories of his exact location or even any detail about his plans or plots," Marcellan continued.

He made absolute sense.

"You’re right," I affirmed, and he sighed in response.

"So why are we still doing this? Why aren’t you with your pregnant wife?"

That question weighed more than I wanted to answer. The campsite had finally gone completely silent. The men were asleep, and those who were not were on watch.

Easier prey.

"One more death means fewer men on Nathan’s side. I am doing the Lord’s work," I smirked right before I dropped.

Air pierced my skin and invaded my sight, but my wolf restrained. As we landed, we dashed toward the site. Behind me, Marcellan’s footsteps followed, along with a few of my men who had been trailing us on the mission.

I did not even remember my first victim. Within minutes, bodies fell to the ground, bones broken under the impact of crushing collisions, and flesh torn into the earth like chopped meat.

The view was exhilarating, my wolf enjoying it too much, convinced this would be how we would ruin Nathan when we finally found him again.

First, I had defeated him. Then he defeated me. The third rematch would be the final blow and the end.

"The Alpha of this pack is mine," I stated through the mind-link as I headed toward the edge of the campsite.

The tent standing alone at the end confirmed my suspicion. I flipped into the air, landing above it, my claw piercing the material and tearing it from one end to the other.

The tent split apart, exposing the Alpha. His commanders stood beside him.

"Loyal to the end. Perfect," I growled right before I lunged.

The first struck open my chest as he deflected my attack. I raised a brow as I slid off the ground, hitting the floor with a hard bump to my head.

Wow. Unexpected.

The second rushed forward, his leg raised to crush my face, but I twisted off the floor, moving so inhumanly fast he could not track me. As I stood, I slammed his head against the table where maps were laid.

The wood shattered on impact. Focusing on the first commander, I caught movement in my peripheral vision, the Alpha was running.

My nostrils flared in irritation as I turned back to the commanders. This time, I was done playing.

He clawed at my chest again.

"You missed the artery. Now you are fucked."

My fangs sank into his neck in a deep bite, tearing away half of it. His spine snapped, unable to support the weight of his head, and I shifted my attention to the second.

He had barely recovered when I used his momentum against him, wrenching his spine from behind until the entire bone structure was in my grip.

Then I turned toward the forest. The Alpha’s escape was cut short when he met the spiked end of the spine in my hand, driven into his skin, and I dragged him back.

I landed on top of him, grabbing both legs and crushing them apart. The pain was enough to suppress his wolf.

"Where is Nathan?"

"I... I don’t know."

"You do!" I seethed, rage dripping as I latched my claw to the back of his neck.

Like every other leader Nathan had sent out, this one too had no useful memory.

"Please, don’t kill me," the man pleaded, tears filling his eyes. "I only wanted to survive. It was either we work for him or die."

"You betrayed your house. You betrayed your master. You already died when you made that choice," I finalized and drove my claws into his neck.

I kept digging until his head detached from his body. I breathed heavily as I dropped beside him, my face turned toward the night sky.

Marcellan approached me then. "There is a report from Clawface. He says it concerns Alex."

Marcellan’s face carried a heavy judgment as he took in the scene before me, that familiar look of irritation settling in his eyes.

"What did he say about Alex?"

"The usual. He does not trust Alex’s movements. He thinks he is hiding something, probably planning behind you. Yada yada yada," he said, walking off.

I rose to my feet and walked past Marcellan. He trailed after me.

"Get the car ready. We are going to the House of Michaelson."

"And what about this plan of finding Nathan?"

"We put it on hold. Everyone wants me back with my wife, don’t they? Well, that is what I am doing."