Attack (The Aurora Marelup Saga Book 4)
Attack: Chapter 23

Up in the tallest tower, I watch from the most stable part of the castle and wait to see what that white-haired bitch throws at me. I keep getting mixed reports—most confirmed my brothers managed to kill her off in the cavern. Other reports say she lived but is dying.

My hands slide over the map on my desk; I know every hill and stone for five miles from here. There’s only a handful of places they can attempt to breach the castle, and well, I have a backup plan for that.

I switch maps, pulling out the one with the courtyard with the tombs for the Strigoi. Just shy of twelve hundred buried between the courtyard and the catacombs just above the castle’s flooded portion. I’m so focused on the map I barely notice the battling dragons buzzing the tower.

“Vladimir?” Tomas says as he leans in the doorframe looking at me.

“Spit it out, leech.” I’m so over having these vermin in my castle—look at it, it’s in ruins.

“The water is being disturbed in the lower chambers as we speak,” Tomas says slowly, stepping into my space.

“Either handle it or ignore it. Don’t you see I have a war to win?” I say, practically growling.

*** Tomas

I roll my eyes, make my way out of the office, and start down the spiraling stone stairs. I stand at the opening to the stone wall of the castle. My black eyes scan the forest, looking at all the gathered species battling. Hundreds of my people will die this day, and Vladimir in his ivory tower doesn’t care. Hell, several hundred or so Lycans will die today also. Again, the head honcho still doesn’t care as long as the usurpers are killed off. I head back inside and down the stairs into the bowels of the tower. I gather some of my people’s oldest and leave through a tunnel that we made for ourselves.

**** Vladimir

I stand at the window, looking out over the carnage around me. My visage gives nothing away, my deepest thoughts a mystery to those around me.

“M’Lord? The Elder Dame has fallen,” the young Lycan male says as he lowers his head.

“Really now? Who was strong enough to kill my sister?” I narrow my eyes as I stare at the young man before me.

The young man breathes in deeply and lets his breath out slowly. “It smelled like a bear, a dragon, and a wolf, M’Lord.”

“All the Great Bears are dead!! I saw to their extinction myself!” I roar as I flip the nearby table over.

The young male throws himself back against the closest wall, then points out the window. “There, M’Lord… I believe that’s the type of bear I scented.”

I move quickly to the window and look out. Suddenly the anger fades from me as I stand there in shock. “How? I slaughtered hundreds of them…” I look back to the young Lycan then back out the window. I feel as though I have seen a ghost.

Calmly, the young male Lycan addresses me. “M’lord, what are your orders?”

I roughly run my hands through my hair then look back to the young man. “Everything must die. Send more Wyvern, tell them to burn them to ash. I am king! No one will take that from me!” My level of insanity becomes frightfully apparent to the young Lycan male. He bows deeply then backs out of the office space, leaving his leader to his maniacal ramblings.

The young male makes it to the castle wall and jumps into the courtyard. He walks up to the closest Wyvern and passes along my orders. A Wyvern roars the orders to his nestmates, and they answer him swiftly. The sky darkens as the Wyvern takes to the air and starts their assault on the invaders. The young Lycan disappears into the castle shortly after passing along the orders.

I watch the second group of Wyverns take to the air before I return to my desk. Still no signs of that ghost-white bitch on my land. Good, her mother was a fucking whore. Anca was meant to carry my pups then die by my sword. Rage burns through my blood as I look over the maps again. I stare blankly over the lands that, once upon a time, were beautiful and coveted by all those who ever saw it.

Roughly, I shove my hand into my pocket and pull out a single braided piece of cloth. Once upon a time, it held Aurora’s scent; once upon a time, I dreamt of my little girl in a strange land. Grief fills me as I think about having lost the daughter I imagined was mine. My canines descend as my grief turns back to anger over the fact I have been lied to all these years. The daughter I yearned for is the spawn of my now-mortal enemy. It’s moments like this that I wonder if my ally Lucian enjoyed killing Nicodeamus off like he claimed he did.

I return to my desk and remove the white scales that were sent to me as proof of his demise. I flip the scales end over end in my hands, studying them closely. What I wouldn’t give to have plunged my sword deep into his chest myself. Nonetheless, I am victorious; the last Marelup died because of the toxin of my design. I smile to myself, thinking about what I have accomplished. Have I gone a bit insane in the last two hundred years? Yeah, I think it may have happened. I drink Wyvern blood to extend my lifespan and do blood transfusions with an Earth Dragon every two months.

Slowly, I raise my right hand and flex my fingers, shifting my nails to claws. Hmm, still deadly and sharp, just the way I like it. I move back to my desk to ponder my next move in the war. The invaders simply don’t have the numbers to keep up their attacks. Give it a day or two, and they will either give up or be dead. Maybe tomorrow I’ll head downstairs and jump into the fray. It’s been quite some time since I’ve gone to battle for real. That’s settled, tomorrow I’ll descend the stairs and shift. I will fight alongside my pack and kill off the invaders. Victory will be mine once again.