Captive Of The Alpha
Chapter 80

Nebraska put her hand to her chest. Though her face remained calm as she had been taught, even if the world fell in on her, she had an anguish that took her breath away. When she had been queen, this attitude had been masterfully reformed.

-What is it, my queen,” Hades’ voice came into her head and she cursed herself, that was what she wanted to avoid.

-Nothing,” she replied, suppressing her emotions.

-I can feel you because of our bond, you’re worried,” she said.

-Hades, I’m fine,” she tried to smile mentally but it was impossible, she was nervous, she had never had so many people important to her with their lives in danger, “It’s normal for me to be a little uneasy given our situation, but I can deal with it,” she said.

Hades was slow to respond but when he did his voice was full of warmth.

-Calm my queen, I will return to your side.

This time she was able to smile.

-Hades, I have something important to tell you,” she said.

-That you have something to tell me means it’s more than important, I’m not running there now because our enemy is almost in front of us.

Sure enough, the scent of Liam and the rest of the iron band was felt a little less than two kilometres away, they were moving at great speed and it wasn’t long before they stopped just metres away from Hades’ troops. Nebraska clenched her fists in a snarl. She, with half of the wolves guarding her were still in human form and Layan beta and Saisen were standing in front, Everyone, from their position, could see the huge wolf’s body in the distance.

Liam must have completed his transformation. His size was twice that of even Hades or Layan and they were already quite considerable. His fur had darkened to the point of looking like charcoal. His eyes had turned red, as if he were in madness but Nebraska knew perfectly well that he was quite sane.

Behind him almost crawled the bodies of several wolves. Their eyes were white and moved by inertia. Their mouths bubbled. They came in all sizes and even the pups had not escaped his control.

Liam raised his head and gave a loud howl that splintered the wood of the distant trees. The wolves behind him tensed and stretched their paws like pawns. Hades’ side, on the other hand, did not flinch. Were it not for the mental connection of protection Nebraska had woven, they would be puppets now. Instead, she staggered and Saisen had to grab her arm.

Without being able to foresee it, Nebraska vomited up a mouthful of b***d. She severed her connection with her husband for a few seconds so he wouldn’t detect her condition even though he would know from the bond that something was wrong. The control shockwave might not have affected her troops but it was because she was absorbing it. And it had been really strong. She could have the b***d of all five alphas in her body and she wasn’t weak but she had to spread her strength across almost 2000 wolves, that was her weak point. Straightening up she closed her eyes and concentrated, she couldn’t let this get to her, she had to think for two.

Liam raised his head and realised that his howl had had no effect and growled. He clawed at the earth and looked up shaking his head. There was only someone who could do something like that.

In the distance, at the end of the pack, he saw her. The she-wolf that had escaped from under his nose and he thought dead, in her condition she could not have survived. But there she stood, straight, magnificent and beautiful, facing him. That’s why he always loved her. No one was better to be at his side, to submit to him.

He growled loudly and the hair on his back stood on end. He glared aggressively at all those who stood in his way, especially that wolf who had soiled his beautiful body. He took a step, two, in a rage. He would kill them, he would tear them apart, and then he would rip the mark from the omega’s neck and make it his own. And without another thought he charged at Hades.

His puppets followed, running towards the wolves. Hades and Layan braced themselves and ran. They were aware that a two-on-one fight was unethical, but this war had long since lost its protocols. The two groups clashed. As they had planned, they were to seek the least amount of casualties, but that was becoming complicated.

The enemy wolves, even the cubs, were closing their jaws tightly around the necks of their opponents, turning them into killing machines. It wasn’t long before it became a field of b***d. The pack of the alpha union had no choice but to fight back, leaving their enemies severely crippled and some on the verge of death.

Hades and Layan confronted Liam, blocking his way to where the queen was and their wolves fought those who tried to reach her. Liam, for his part, spared no effort in attacking them. He used his great strength to grab the alphas’ necks, but they managed to slip away and wounded his body with bites that only closed after a few seconds. Layan managed to get to its neck and bite it but the wolf flailed, crashing to the ground, almost crushing the alpha.

Hades moved quickly to tug at his ear to get him up or he could choke him. Only when the hundreds of pounds separated Layan was able to pull away with several wounds on his torso and limping on one leg. He was by far the strongest enemy they had ever fought in their entire lives. Not even in the Great War, when he was also on the front lines on Saisen’s side, had he ended up like this. Thanks to his power, the wounds healed quickly. That was why he was considered the strongest. With that ability, his heart would have to be ripped out for him to die for good.

Hades on his side avoided Liam’s attack and moved to Layan’s side.

-That wolf is taking you hard,” Layan joked, panting.

-I don’t want to hear that from the one who almost got crushed,” Hades growled at him and watched out of the corner of his eye as the situation unfolded near his wife.

-Hey, use your thing, it’s time,” the alpha told him.

-But don’t tell anyone,” Hades mentally exchanged, after giving him orders over the bridge Nebraska had created that no one was to come near where they were.

He closed his eyes as his friend backed away, he knew that if he was close the alpha’s concentration would be disturbed. Liam, seeing them almost still, lunged at them. Hades opened his eyes and disappeared from sight. Liam stopped in his tracks somewhat confused when he felt fangs on the back of his neck with force that ripped and tore at the skin. He shook his back but the assailant disappeared again. Hades landed on the bark of a nearby tree and took it as an impulse reaching for his paw, breaking it with his teeth. He disappeared, dodging the oncoming bite. It appeared against its eye and buried its paw in it, disappeared. Layan watched from a distance as the body of the huge wolf was attacked by practically a shadow, violently and aggressively.

That was Hades’ power and he never spoke of it. He was the fastest alpha of them all. His movements could not be tracked and when he hit his target he only left a torn piece of flesh behind. The only flaw in his ability was that he had to have a point of reference, he was guided by instinct, not sight and anyone within ten metres of him could be affected. Still, it was a complicated scene to watch.

Nebraska’s body was bathed in sweat. He was keeping the bridge active, the net so Liam’s control wouldn’t affect the wolf allies, but he had noticed that the real problem was that if they didn’t exterminate the source of it all, the war wouldn’t end. He knew that Layan and Hades were fighting him while the other alphas were leading the fight, but they were losing ground. He had even caught a glimpse of Siran with some injuries. When Sara saw him she would collapse.

He had to do something urgent, he had to try to regain control of the puppets before they created more deaths in their ranks. He felt a hot breath near his neck and dodged it to see Saisen, now a wolf, attack the pup that had gone for his neck. The former alpha didn’t kill him but had to hit his head hard to knock him unconscious.

Nebraska gritted his teeth. Even puppies had a kill order. A cub wasn’t supposed to know what that was so young.

-Saisen, I will enter the mind of the invading wolves, my body will be defenceless, cover me,” he said.

-Queen, please be careful,” he said guardedly.

The omega this time closed her eyes tightly and plunged deep into the subconscious, weaving a larger web, moving it like silver threads into the minds of the victims. Saisen from the outside could see her hair begin to wave and her body was surrounded by a faint glow and g*****d softly.

Nebraska probed deeper, reinforcing the barrier and pushing hard into the minds she was to retrieve. It was not as difficult as she imagined. Slowly the wolves closest to her stiffened and fell unconscious on the ground. She managed to retrieve 5, 10, 15 wolves until….

-I found you my beautiful one,” a voice echoed in her mind.

-Liam-