Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1194 - 105 : The Battle for Thorn Forest

Chapter 1194: Chapter 105 : The Battle for Thorn Forest

*Rion*

It only took one look for me to confirm that Alpha Gareth went back on the treaty and was mounting an attack. Apparently, the bastard thought I’d let my guard down if I thought we were safe from non-aggression.

He was sorely mistaken.

I had Jasper gather the Thorn Forest warriors. The plan was to head Gareth’s forces off before they even set foot in Thorn Forest territory.

I met with Jasper and the warriors at the designated location. From what I could tell, Gareth’s forces were still a couple of days away.

While the warriors made camp, Jasper and I met at the edge of the clearing where our battle would take place.

“Gareth has mobilized all his warriors,” I reported.

Jasper frowned. “There are more of them than there are of us.”

“I know. We’ll catch them by surprise, though. They won’t be expecting resistance. Besides, I have a few surprises planned.” I grinned.

Jasper smirked. “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“I want to dig a few trenches that are too wide for the average wolf to leap across. It will slow down their attack, and we can even the odds by picking off their first few waves,” I explained. I pointed across the clearing where I wanted the trenches dug.

“I’ll make it happen.” Jasper clapped my shoulder and headed off to recruit volunteers for trench digging.

By the next morning, the trenches were dug, and my warriors stood in position. Half of them shifted to wolf form with Jasper. The other half, and myself, held swords and spears, ready to face whatever force came into the clearing.

Clouds of breath steamed up the clearing as we waited. A soft morning mist clung to the trees no matter how hard the morning sun tried to push through.

The entire forest was quiet. No birds, no insects, nothing made a sound, except for the soft, padding thump of Gareth’s approaching warriors.

I held my breath, ears prickling for the slightest sound of attack

The trees around the clearing erupted with shouts as Gareth’s warriors flooded in. Metal clashed against metal as the battle began.

“Jasper, lead the wolves around the perimeter!” I ordered through the mind-link. “Cover us.”

Jasper howled and the wolves fell in line. They pounced on anyone in their way, ripping flesh from bone and splattering blood on the field.

Screams of pain and anguish filled the forest, shattering the peaceful quiet.

I swung my sword, the blade landing heavily on an enemy’s shoulder. It easily severed the bone and he groaned and wailed, crumpling to the ground.

“Follow me!” I ordered my warriors. I held my sword forward and we charged into the battle.

They definitely outnumbered us, but the trenches slowed down their advance, giving us an early advantage.

Jasper took his wolves to the trenches, and they picked off as many incoming warriors as possible.

My armed men and I kept those that made it across from overwhelming us.

I sliced through armor, intestines, and bone as I battled anyone who approached. My ears filled the sound of grinding metal. I couldn’t tell what was a clash of weapons or what was cries of pain as warriors fell around me, lifeless.

The ground got slick with blood, and I could barely hold my footing as I kept attacking.

Soon, more and more warriors made it over the trenches, and we were in danger of being overwhelmed.

I saw several of my warriors lying motionless on the ground in pools of their own blood. Gareth’s warriors kept coming and coming, and we no longer had the advantage.

“Jasper, pull back to the tree line!” I ordered. “Reform the line and hold a steady, impenetrable wall!”

He howled again and the wolves pulled back. I ordered my warriors to follow.

At the tree line, we turned and fell into formation. The wolves stood in front of all of us in human form. They were the more vicious force, and their teeth and claws could hold back more of Gareth’s army.

I hated pulling back, even to the tree line. It felt like a retreat and if I ordered it once, Gareth and his warriors knew I’d do it again the moment our numbers were overwhelmed.

I couldn’t give any more ground.

***

After the first day of battle, we sent for healers back in Thorn Forest. Eva arrived with them and began settling up a hospital tent for the injured. The healers got right to work, carrying the wounded into the tent and tending to the direst injuries first.

Sadly, we hadn’t been able to retrieve the dead from the battlefield. And there were more of them than I wanted to admit.

“Eva, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be protecting Daphne and the girls.”

“I am protecting them. If I’m here with you, I can do more to protect them from this massive force,” she insisted.

Jasper joined us, a bloody gash on his forehead. “Eva, you shouldn’t be here.”

She scoffed and slapped an alcohol gauze pad on his forehead. Jasper winced and ground his teeth together.

“When you called for emergency healers, I knew it was bad. Trust me Rion, Jasper—I can help you out here. You’ve already lost enough warriors, haven’t you?”

I sighed, my eyes drifting to the darkened battlefield. I couldn’t see anything more discerning than shadowy lumps all over the place—bodies.

How many had I lost? How many had Gareth lost? In the end, did it matter? They were all losses.

“Alright, fine. I want you to stay at the back of the line when we go into battle tomorrow,” I hissed.

“Rion, you can’t be serious,” Jasper protested.

“You know what I can do, Jasper. I’m here to help.” She finished cleaning Jasper’s wound and put a bandage on him. “Now, you need to rest and heal that head wound before charging into battle tomorrow.

Eva led Jasper away. I didn’t want my sister there in the line of fire, but she seemed convinced she could help.

At this point, we needed all the help we could get. My trench trick hadn’t given us enough of an advantage, and I worried defeat was imminent.

I looked around at all the wounded warriors. Many of them were moaning and groaning, writhing in pain as they were tended to.

Bloody towels and gauze littered the tent floor, and all the healers were running around trying to manage the chaos.

How many more days like this could my warriors survive?

I found my way to my tent and tried to get some sleep.

When we marched onto the battlefield the next morning, my force was noticeably smaller.

Gareth’s warriors were lined up waiting for us. It wasn’t much of a consolation, but I noticed his force was smaller, too. He’d taken more losses than us.

With a round of howls and battle cries, the battle ensued again. When both sides met in the middle of the clearing, a sickening crunch filled my ears.

Suddenly, Eva rose up into the air like she had wings. Her arms spread wide. I could see the white-hot anger and power crackling in her eyes. Her hair whipped around, and she looked terrifyingly beautiful.

Rolling clouds filled the sky over Gareth’s men, and lightning bolts crackled to the ground around them. A gale force wind pushed them back to the edge of the clearing, where the trees came alive with vines that grabbed and throttled Gareth’s warriors.

“After them! Push them back!” I ordered as Gareth’s warriors began to retreat.

Eva continued her attack, pushing them back more and my warriors gained the upper hand. They chased Gareth’s retreating forces deeper into the woods and further from Thorn Forest territory.

“If anyone surrenders, take them alive,” I shouted after my warriors. I didn’t want more people to die than necessary.

I saw Gareth pause at the edge of the forest, his eyes wide, face pale. He glared at Eva.

“No!” he screamed, his rage erupting from his throat. “No! No! No!” He stamped a foot like a child throwing a tantrum.

Had I really expected anything else from him? In the face of losing his ambitions and dreams, he was nothing but an immature child.

I knew Jasper could handle the retreat. He’d make sure there weren’t enough left to mount a counterattack and take prisoners.

There were only a few Thorn Forest warriors injured on the battlefield and most were able to get themselves back to camp. I motioned to one of them who just had a little cut.

“Get the healers to recover Gareth’s injured warriors. I want them treated.”

“Yes, Alpha,” he nodded and ran off.

I looked around for Eva and noticed that she wasn’t levitating anymore. She was on the ground, curled in a little ball. I rushed over and grabbed her in my arms.

“Eva!” I shook her slightly.

She moaned and turned in my arms. I looked to see tears of blood spill from her eyes, and I gasped in horror. She must have used too much power, I thought, and I hurried and carried her to the healer’s tent.

He gave me a grave look and asked Eva a series of questions. He administered eye drops and that seemed to help, but he gave me a grave look.

“I suggest she refrain from using her powers for a while.”

“How long is a while?” she asked.

“At least a month to give your blood vessels time to recover.” He paused, but there was a look he gave her that concerned me. “And I suggest you refrain from using that kind of energy ever again. This time, it was the small blood vessels in your eyes. The next time, the power can affect the blood flow to your vital organs or even your heart.”

“It could kill her?” I asked.

He nodded. “I haven’t seen this much, but it usually happens when a body contains more power than it should naturally have... and when using dark magic.”

I saw Eva swallow and took her hand.

Thanks to Eva, Thorn Forest was saved. She turned her eyes to me.

“No more magic,” I said softly, but when she just lowered her head, I knew that would be impossible for her.

After she was resting comfortably, I helped the healers tend to the others wounded and thought about what to do with Gareth’s pack members. When Jasper returned, he brought several of Gareth’s warriors that had surrendered.

“Most of them opposed defying the non-aggression treaty. A lot of them have asked for amnesty and a place in Thorn Forest,” he told me as I collected fresh bandages.

“Well, anyone who wants amnesty can have it. Those who don’t... they can remain in Gareth’s pack, but I want to appoint an Alpha so we can avoid this kind of confrontation again.”

“I’ll let them know. I doubt they’ll argue, given the disaster Gareth just led them into.”

It took a few days to get all the wounded well enough to transport back to Thorn Forest. In that time, I managed to find an eligible, trustworthy pack leader to replace Gareth.

None of his pack members protested, and many of them still elected to join Thorn Forest. It was a big win for my pack, making us stronger than ever and bringing a new era of peace.

Eva, Jasper, and I rode back to the village once everyone else had already returned.

The car ride back to Thorn Forest jostled quite a bit. I noticed every time that Eva grimaced and leaned heavily on Jasper, which let me know that more than her eyes had been hurt and she wasn’t fully recovered yet.

I looked her over and realized how vulnerable she was, and I could understand how the thought of not using her magic might be scary. I wanted to hope that we would never face a force like Alpha Gareth again, but I knew that fight was just the start.

The Lycaon extremists still needed to be dealt with.

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