MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA
Chapter 195: The Sacrifice

Chapter 195: The Sacrifice

Back at the wasteland...

Yaz’s body ached with every breath, his golden runes flickering dimmer with each pulse. The great beast before him – part shadow, part bone – lurched with a guttural snarl. Its giant antlers scraped the low-hanging mist with fresh blood trailing down from its tip.

No, it wasn’t its blood. It was Yaz’s.

Yaz, on the other hand, remained standing, but broken. Blood oozed from his stomach and different parts of his body. His face was contorted with pain, yet with trembling hands, he conjured another wave of light. The ball of light pulsated as it grew larger and larger.

But the creature didn’t give him time to finish growing the ball and lurched forward, its antlers positioned, ready to ram into Yaz with them once more.

Seeing this, Yaz flung the incomplete ball forward and it landed on the creature.

The monster screeched, its malformed body flared with searing marks and tears, but it kept moving, limbs dragging across the bridge, mouth open in a grotesque grin. It was weakening. But so was Yaz.

After the throw, Yaz doubled over, coughing blood. He dropped to his knees with a thud, and the warriors behind him screamed his name, frantic with worry. Some rushed forward, but the barrier pulsed with electricity, putting them out.

Suddenly, a sound came from the barrier...

Crack!

A crack sound, then a line, thin and gleaming like a thread of broken starlight.

The warriors were stunned. They didn’t understand what was happening, but Yaz whipped his head back, eyes wide with horror as he watched the thin lines run across the barrier with cracking sounds.

Yaz gritted his teeth. "No—" But his voice faded with the light.

Boom!

The barrier exploded in a boom of golden dust and thunder, throwing Yaz across the bridge and the warriors across the bridge.

Yaz rolled, a low groan vibrated in his chest. His strength was nearly gone now.

The creature’s body was hunched, leaking dark sludge from deep gashes. One of its eyes had been burned out. But its remaining one gleamed with twisted joy.

It began to cackle.

A hideous sound, more beast than voice. It stepped forward, its long, dagger-like nails dragging along the planks – destroying what’s left of the bridge with every difficult step it took.

Yaz lay there, unmoving, blood seeping from his side, golden symbols flickering weakly on his arms.

"No..." Karl rasped, crawling forward until someone yanked him back. "Let me go! Let me—"

The creature raised its naturally long and twisted hand above Yaz’s face.

"No!!!" Karl roared, busting away from the grip that held him. He howled with rage as bones snapped and muscles surged. Black and white fur rippled over his form like a wildfire, swallowing the man and leaving behind the monstrous shape of a wolf, blue eyes blazing with primal fury.

Then, it sprung forward, paws founding the bridge, as a furious cry tore through its chest.

Everyone was stunned. They didn’t expect the coward to finally make a move. As if the light bulb in their heads had finally been lit, the warriors shifted.

Wolf howls filled the night sky as they rushed towards the creature.

The creature turned, startled for a brief heartbeat, and then snarled. It extended its many hands toward the charging wolves, but Karl was faster. He opened his jaw wide, revealing rows of sharp fangs. Seeing the hand shooting towards him, he leaped into the air and came down on the arm, sinking his fangs into, so much so that the creature shrieked in pain, a bone-chilling sound that echoed off the darkness of the night and pierced the hearts of those nearby. Blood – thick, black, and foul-smelling – spurted from the wound as Karl tore into the limb with savage force, shaking his head like a beast possessed.

It reeled back, its other limbs flailing, trying to knock Karl off. But he clung tighter, digging his claws into the flesh, refusing to let go. The others reached the bridge now—snarling, snapping wolves with fury in their eyes.

Yaz lay still, pale and barely breathing, but alive.

The warriors swarmed the monster, biting, slashing, forcing it to retreat step by step. Yet Karl didn’t fall back. He was a blur of fury and teeth, his blue eyes locked on the abomination like it was the embodiment of every nightmare he had ever faced.

He was no longer a coward. He was the spearhead now. The alpha of vengeance.

With a final roar, Karl ripped the mangled arm from the creature’s body, flinging it over the edge of the bridge. The creature screamed, its voice breaking into a thousand echoes as it staggered, giving the wolves – all of them, the chance to pounce on it.

In no time, they tore it apart like vultures on a carcass.

Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, the bridge cracked. They stilled. Stunned.

Another crack followed, and then, the entire structure groaned beneath them like a dying beast.

"The bridge is collapsing!" someone barked from behind.

Chaos!

The wolves bolted, whimpering as their paws thundered against wood.

Karl stood there, frozen. Seemed like his adrenaline rush had finally burned out.

"Go, Karl," Yaz’s rasped. His voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through Karl’s mind.

Karl’s ears twitched. His head snapped down at Yaz.

"I can’t... move," Yaz coughed, blood bubbling on his lips. "Don’t be a fool. Go."

Karl shook his head, backing up a step, eyes wild. The bridge groaned louder, trembling under the weight of death.

’I’m not leaving you!’ Karl snarled in his mindlink.

"You have to," Yaz wheezed, "You—"

A deafening crack. The left side of the bridge dipped violently, and one of the wolves behind them tumbled into the abyss with a startled yelp.

"Karl, run!" someone shouted from the safer side.

But Karl didn’t move. His fearful eyes darted back and forth between the shattering bridge and Yaz.

Then, his gaze hardened as he made up his mind... He shifted.

Karl shifted back to his human form with a flash of agony. His skin tore, bones snapped, and breath knocked out of him. And then he dropped to his knees and dragged Yaz on his back.

He gritted his teeth from the man’s weight, but Karl was determined. As he walked, his legs wobbled, his muscles tensed, and his jaw dipped, but he refused to let go. He refused to slow down.

Plank by plank collapsed behind them.

"You can’t make it," Yaz said weakly. He was too weak to move a muscle. His inside was burning.

His Alpha warned him not to use his powers for too long, and on a large scale.

Karl’s jaw clenched. "Then we die together."

"No!" Yaz coughed hard. "Luna Reana wanted you back alive."

Karl paused for a brief moment before walking again. "Why? She hates me. She sent me here to die. She–"

Snap!

Karl’s hair stood on ends. He didn’t need to look back. So he ran. The weight on his back wouldn’t let him run faster.

Yaz pushed but Karl refused to let go. The man sighed and closed his eyes. Perhaps, dying on an assignment from his Alpha’s woman wasn’t so bad...

...snapped.

Time slowed.

For a breathless second, all Karl saw beneath him was darkness. Pitch darkness. Then, gravity claimed them and they plunged.

"AHHH!"

"Karl!"

"Commander!"

Suddenly, time froze.

Everything froze.

Time. Wind. The snowflakes. They halted.

The falling Karl and Yaz, those outstretched hands, the wide mouth and fearful eyes, the running, leaping wolves. They froze.

A hush descended so heavy, it rang like silence before a storm.

Suddenly, he appeared.

Tall. Impossibly tall. Clad in a black cloak that trailed behind him even though the air was still. His long red hair flowed like flame made silk. His boots made no sound on the snow as he walked, his expression was unreadable, posture like that of an Alpha unchallenged.

He was.

The freezing snow didn’t freeze him. The crawling creatures didn’t come near him.

The creatures that were crawling up the edges of the ravine, which none of the survivors saw coming, didn’t even breathe.

Meanwhile, mere inches below Karl and Yaz, a long hand with knife-like claws had reached up, aiming for them.

The man stopped by the edge of the ravine and suddenly, Karl and Yaz began to float towards his direction.

Then they hit the snow, it didn’t freeze them to death.

"Take them to safety until help comes." He said, and the space beside him rippled.

"As you command." Shadow One stepped out.

Snow stood at the cliff, staring into the darkness below him. And the darkness stared back.

After every single one of the warriors, traders, and carts had been evacuated and protected with a dome, Snow breathed and time returned.

Simultaneously, the creatures below rose to the surface, but this time, they came protecting their queen.

Alpha Snow didn’t let them touch the surface before, suddenly, the Queen exploded.

The creatures shrieked, panic and chaos erupted beneath him, but none of them climbed out. Instead, they went further down.

"You’ve broken your promise," Shadow One murmured beside him, a flicker of concern in his ever-emotionless voice.

"What’s the consequences?" He asked.

"There’s no oath binding them anymore. When winter grows stronger, they’ll break into the world and destroy everything."

Snow exhaled. "If she didn’t die, none of them would return. Even the rescue team would die."

Shadow One didn’t speak for a long time. They listened to the chaos in the ravine.

"Was it worth it?"

Snow turned to leave. "Everything I do for her is worth it."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.