Claimed By The Rival Alpha

Chapter 87: Chapter 87

Kael

A male servant placed a steaming cup of tea in front of me before stepping back respectfully.

I barely noticed him as my attention remained fixed on the battlement outside the window, where warriors stood in their assigned positions.

The southern border had become unnaturally quiet. The usual movement of merchants, travelers, and pack members had disappeared, leaving only the occasional sound of armor shifting as our warriors waited.

Beyond the walls, the forest remained still. Way too still.

Garrick sat across from me, his fingers wrapped around his cup. Beside us, Arden’s voice could be heard from the battlement as he barked orders at the warriors.

"Move those men farther to the eastern wall!"

"Keep the spears ready!"

"Don’t leave your positions unless the Alpha commands it!"

His voice carried across the courtyard.

Two hours had passed and the vampires still hadn’t shown themselves.

I lifted my cup and took a slow sip. The tea was warm, but it did little to ease the tension in my body.

Garrick finally broke the silence. "Alpha, do you realize how strange this is?"

I glanced at him. "What?"

He gave a quiet laugh. "A werewolf pack preparing to fight vampires."

His eyes wandered toward the walls. "Not an invasion from another pack. Not a territorial dispute. Not a rebellion from within. Vampires."

I said nothing as Garrick shook his head slowly. "I never thought I’d see the day."

"I did."

His eyes snapped back to me. "You did?"

I placed the cup down. "I’ve always known this day would come."

His expression changed as he asked, "What do you mean?"

I leaned back in my chair. "I’ve been working toward it."

Garrick stared at me and for several seconds, he didn’t say anything. Then he finally asked. "You mean you’ve actually been preparing for an uprising?"

"Yes."

His mouth opened slightly. "Against the vampires?"

"Who else?"

He looked toward the window again, then back at me. "Alpha, I thought you were preparing for a possible attack because of the rumors surrounding them."

"I was."

"Then what exactly are you saying?"

I folded my hands together. "That preparation didn’t begin when the vampires entered my territory. It began long before that."

Garrick looked almost daunted. "Why?"

I frowned before speaking, "Did you honestly think someone like me would willingly spend the rest of his life under the laws of creatures who believe they own us?"

He remained silent as I continued. "They take our daughters. They demand our obedience. They threaten entire packs whenever an Alpha questions them. They decide which families receive protection and which ones suffer. And every generation is expected to accept it because that is how things have always been."

I leaned forward. "I refuse to believe that because something has existed for centuries, it must exist forever."

Garrick swallowed. "Then how do you expect to win?"

I looked at him as he gestured toward the walls.

"They have ruled this realm for centuries. They have superior strength, superior speed and powers we barely understand. They have kept their grip around the throats of our leaders for generations. How do you expect one pack to stand against an entire race?"

Before I could answer, a voice suddenly rang from the watchtower.

"HORSES!"

Every muscle in my body tightened as the servant immediately rushed away with the empty tray.

Garrick stood while Arden appeared from the battlement.

"How many?" he shouted.

The watchman leaned farther over the tower. "Three!"

I walked toward the window and found three figures were approaching through the distance.

My eyes narrowed on seeing the vampires had arrived.

The gates remained closed and then seeing their coachman was gone... they didn’t need anything else to understand the message.

We had chosen violence!

I walked onto the battlement while Garrick followed.

"Alpha, what formation should the lower warriors use?"

I pointed toward the center of the wall. "Keep them divided into three groups. The first group remains directly beneath the battlement. The second moves toward the western side. The third stays behind the gates."

"And the spears?"

"Don’t waste them until I give the order."

I barely finished speaking when something shot toward me.

A spear slammed into the stone beside my head and I ducked just in the nick of time.

The impact sent fragments of stone across my cheek then my eyes immediately locked onto the figure below.

Vandal... he smiled a knowing smile. Then together, the three vampires moved.

They launched themselves against the wall. Even from above, their speed was almost impossible to follow.

One second they were standing below and the next, they were halfway up the battlement.

"Rocks!" Garrick shouted.

Warriors immediately grabbed the large stones prepared beside the wall and threw them downward.

The vampires twisted through the air, avoiding most of them but the stones achieved exactly what I wanted.

Their movements became unstable.

One vampire lost his grip. Another slammed against the wall. All three dropped back toward the ground.

"Now." I mindlinked Arden as he released three feral wolves.

The enormous wolves were released immediately. They burst through the gates and raced toward the vampires.

Two of them reached Vandal at once then their jaws closed around his arms. The third attacked another vampire.

For a moment, it appeared to work... then the grumpy vampire grabbed one feral by the neck and with one violent movement, he tore its head from its body.

I clenched my fists as I commanded. "More!!!"

Arden obeyed as three more feral wolves were released but the vampires slaughtered them.

More were sent and again, the vampires killed them. The battlement became a scene of chaos.

Feral wolves charged. Vampires tore through them... bodies fell while more wolves were released.

Garrick looked at me. "How many can they kill?"

"As many as we send if we keep fighting them like this."

He frowned as he asked, "Then what do we do?"

I stared at the battlefield in silence. The vampires were powerful, but they were not invincible. That was the difference.

My gaze fell on the dead ferals then on the dry ground around them and an idea formed.

"Arden."

He turned. "Yes, Alpha?"

"Pour peat and dried dung over the next ferals."

His eyes widened. "What?"

"You heard me."

He hesitated. "Why Alpha?"

"Do it and quit asking unnecessary questions!!!"

He immediately obeyed. The next group of ferals was covered with the materials.

I turned toward the archers. "Get into position."

Several archers moved along the battlements. "Light your arrows, but don’t fire until I command it."

They nodded as the vampires were still fighting, still killing and still believing themselves untouchable.

I waited for a while before commanding. "Send them now!"

Arden opened the gates and this time, numerous ferals charged out together.

The vampires were immediately overwhelmed. They slashed. Kicked. Bit. Threw bodies aside but there were too many.

The ferals surrounded them from every direction.

"More!" Another wave rushed forward and the vampires were forced closer together.

That was what I had been waiting for!

"Archers." They raised their flaming arrows. "Fire."

The first arrows flew... Two struck the ferals and the effect was immediate.

Fire erupted across their bodies. The dried material ignited violently, spreading from wolf to wolf.

The flames reached the vampires almost instantly as their screams pierced the air.

I stood motionless and so did everyone else. For the first time in my life, I heard vampires scream in agony.

Vandal staggered backward, flames crawling across his clothes and skin.

One of the others fell to his knees while another clawed desperately at his burning body.

Garrick stared in disbelief. "Gods..."

The vampires had always seemed untouchable and invincible. But now they were burning.

One of them managed to escape the flames. He rolled across the ground, desperately putting out the fire before stumbling toward the abandoned horse and mounted it.

An archer immediately drew his bow. "Don’t." I immediately stopped him.

The warrior looked at me. "Alpha?"

"Let him go."

"But..."

"Let him go." I said while the vampire looked back at us before he rode into the forest.

I watched until he disappeared. I wanted him to tell the story. I wanted the vampires to hear what had happened here.

I wanted them to know that werewolves had finally discovered how to hurt them.

Garrick suddenly laughed. Not from humor but from pure excitement. "We did it."

Arden looked at the burning battlefield. "We actually did it."

I walked down the stairs. "We aren’t finished."

The gates opened then Garrick and Arden followed me outside.

We approached the bodies. The remains of the ferals lay scattered across the ground while the vampires were charred almost beyond recognition.

Garrick stared at them. "How did you know, Alpha?"

I looked at him. "Know what?"

"That fire would kill them."

I gave him a knowing look. "I told you."

"You’ve been preparing..." he said while nodding his head.

"Exactly."

Arden shook his head. "You knew they had weaknesses."

"I knew enough."

Garrick stared at the bodies while I added. "And fire is just one of their weaknesses. Only one!"

They both looked at me but I didn’t elaborate.

We started walking back toward the pack. I had barely taken several steps when I heard a scream.

"ALPHA!"

I turned immediately and saw Garrick was pointing behind me. "Help!"

My heart dropped on seeing Arden was no longer standing beside us.

One of the charred bodies had moved. It had risen from the ground and Its hand was wrapped around Arden’s throat.

"Arden!" I rushed toward them.

The vampire lifted Arden from the ground, the general’s face was turning pale so I unsheathed the Vaelthorn spike from my belt.

The vampire turned toward me and for one brief second, I saw his face clearly.

The charred skin was already regaining some of its color as his veins bulged beneath his skin while his eyes burned with fury.

It was Vandal. He had taken enough blood from Arden to revive himself.

I charged at him immediately.

The vampire barely had time to turn before I drove the Vaelthorn spike straight through his heart.

His body jerked while a horrible screech tore from his throat before his grip loosened and Arden dropped to the ground.

Vandal staggered backward, his eyes widened before he finally collapsed.

I stood over him, breathing heavily.

The vampire was dead but Arden wasn’t moving. I looked down at my general and his face was pale. Too pale.

He’d sucked enough blood from Arden to revive himself but the spike had killed him, just as he had killed my general.

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