Cassian's POV
“Ryder!”
“Cass! Fuck!” Ryder groaned as he pushed a knife into the chest of a hunter. “These fuckers burned the whole village down!”
I heard him shout as the blood from the hunter I had just killed spattered my face and made my eyelids jerk shut. I spat on the ground in disgust before catching another one to take down. “What about the members?”
“They're safe. Most of them are. We evacuated as much as we could. The fire made us shorthanded in the fight,” Ryder rubbed his face, clearing the blood and sweat.
“I knew they would attack but I didn't think they’d be cowardly like this to attack at the dead of the night,” my anger made my head hotter than the fire swallowing the village. I will feed all these bastards to the very fire they created.
Wait…
"Ryder, stop trying to kill them. Toss them into the flames. The southern territory must also be defended. We're running out of time to amuse these fucktards,” I said, surveying the area. Most of the hunters are slow and inexperienced unlike the insane ones I've encountered in the past. It's like they're here just for the sake of keeping us occupied. Why else would they target a tiny town located at the northernmost point of our territory? The best place for them to take revenge or cause damage would be a village located well inside the region.
“Cassian, what do you mean?”
“Someone is playing from the dark, Ry. They're using these idiots as ploys. We can't fall right into their trap,”
“What do you propose then?”
“Thin out the number of enemies here by feeding them to the fire as much as you can. In thirty minutes, we'll be leaving for the South.”
Ryder looked at me for a moment as he thought, he looked around and took a deep breath. “Yes, alpha!” he shouted before dashing off, taking down hunters as he moved. I watched as he gave orders to other warriors.
My hand clenched around the knife I was holding. I pushed it into the chest of a young hunter who tried to sneak up at me before throwing him into a burning house.
Where did I go wrong? I was on edge all these days? We were prepared to fight at any time but how did they manage to surprise us like this? How many lives did we lose?
I raked my blood covered hand through my hair while spitting out a curse. “I got too occupied with my mate and pup and now I have to answer to those who lost their mates and pups because of my lack of planning,”
Anger is what I felt first. Then guilt. Then rage. I won't let history repeat again. There won't be another mass massacre in this pack as long as I'm alive and breathing.
Moving through the crowd and throwing the hunters into the fire felt easy as picking up rocks and throwing them in the river. I'm far more experienced, faster, and stronger. And that's what worried me the most too.
I know that hunters aren't this weak or inexperienced. They're calculating, unpredictable, and insane. They would never launch an attack with inexperienced younglings and no plan.
This is an obvious set up. Sacrificing the weak ones while the strong ones took a step back. I just know they're somewhere else, causing more damage than what I'd like to imagine. I need to get to them before it's all too late.
“Ryder!” I shouted, twisting the leg of the hunter in my hands before throwing him into the fire. Ryder's eyes met mine in a second. “We move!” He gave me a nod in reply and that's all it took for us to dash into the forest and run straight to where the next attack was happening.
____
“Cassian! Fuck! Are you alright?” Ryder’s panicked voice reached me right after the knife grazed me.
I let out a groan and huffed. “I'm fine. It's just a scratch. Keep your eye out when fighting. I think the trained ones are here,”
“Got it!” Ryder gave me a nod before running straight towards where the hunters are. I braced myself and dashed through the trees, expertly dodging the knives being thrown my way from somewhere up in the trees.
I was about to reach the clearing when something suddenly jumped on top of me, sending me tumbling down. I groaned and quickly got on my feet, snarling at the thing that took me down.
A young wolf sneered back, causing me to pause in surprise. This one looked the same age as Ivy, probably nineteen or twenty and I frowned at the amount of hatred it seemed to harbor in its eyes for me.
“Move,” I growled, ascertaining my dominance. How dare such a wolf come to my territory and challenge me straight to my face? “Move or I'll kill you,” I warned.
“You should try,” he growled back, fist curled up in front of him as he took calculated steps.
“You're young. Don't be foolish,” I didn't even know why I was wasting my time warning the guy. I should just kill and move on. Talking to him will be no good.
“Wow…so compassionate, aren't you?” The wolf mocked with a fake laugh. “Why weren't you this kind when you killed my parents?!” He screamed, anger taking over his nonchalant voice.
“Parents?” my brows furrowed.
“What? The so-called “predator” suddenly forgot how he used to terrorize rouges in the past?” He spat out, hatred heavy in his words. I was taken aback for a second.
Is this what it's all about? Is this the reason why the attack is happening?
“Did you really think we would let you live peacefully after destroying our lives?!” He sneered. “Your whole pack will suffer for your actions!”
“I haven't killed anyone who didn't deserve it,” I narrowed my eyes, watching the guy closely.
“Fucking liar!” He screamed before lunging at me. I dodged his advance and kicked him to the ground.
“My hunt was purely targeted on the people who attacked my pack and killed my mate. If I killed your parents, they were in on it,” I snarled.
“My parents were trying to protect me!” He screamed, vulnerable and emotional as he stared at me with streaming hatred. “You attacked our camp! We were only with them for two days!”
“Listen kid, I only attacked to take down the rogues who destroyed my pack. I was feral and I took down every fucking one I deemed were in on the plans. Your parents losing their lives was an unfortunate incident but it's not my fault that they joined the group of rogues who took hundreds of lives from my pack,” I was losing my patience with each moment. I don't have the time to waste chit chatting with this guy. I needed to find their leader and put an end to this damn fight before the pack suffered more damage.
“You’re a damn monster! I won't let you live your life peacefully after what you've done to my parents!” He screamed before throwing a knife my way. I reacted in time and managed to dodge it but it still grazed my bicep pretty well.
That was it. It was time to end it.
I dashed with a growl and launched myself onto the guy, knocking him down on the ground. He was inexperienced so it wasn't hard to take him down. He tried to fight me but I was obviously stronger.
“Where is the one leading you?” I questioned as the guy started to squirm and writhe under me while I choked him. He glared at me with red eyes and I flinched when I felt a blade piercing my thigh.
“Fuck,” I cursed and pinned his hands on the ground as anger clouded my mind. I've wasted enough time here and I needed to go. “Tell me,” I used my alpha voice but the rogue kept fighting it. “Tell me you fucker!” I dug my nails into his throat, drawing blood before I loosened my grip to let him breathe. The rogue gasped for a few moments before he laughed.
“Y-You'll know,” he croaked out while looking at me, a sinister smile on his face. “You'll know who he is and w-where he is….when it's time,”
“What?” I gritted my teeth. This motherfucker is about to die but he's still speaking in code. “What the fuck are you saying?!”
“Y-You'll know…You'll know when it's too late,” he grinned, teeth bloody and eyes red as he stared at me. “You'll know when you feel it,”
Feel it?
Feel what?
What the hell is he—Wait!
Does he mean the bond?
Ivy!
Realization hit me like an avalanche. My mate and my pup. They're targeting my mate and my pup.
I clenched my jaw and wrapped a hand around the blade the rogue had stabbed on my thigh. I closed my eyes and pulled on it, grinding my teeth as I felt it slice my flesh. I didn't have any more time to waste conversing so I just pushed the blade against the neck of the man under me and sliced it, not looking at his face as I did so.
My priority was only one thing. I need to get to my mate and pup before he did.