Chapter 3 - Blood on the Iron Gates
The courtyard of the Eclipse Citadel was a killing floor waiting to happen.
Torches flared against the midnight sky, casting long, bloody shadows across the cobblestones. Standing before the massive iron portcullis was Lord Viktor of the Northern Packs, flanked by a dozen heavily armed elite guards and sneering lesser alphas.
"Hand over the girl, Cassian!" Viktor roared, his voice echoing off the stone ramparts. "She carries the tainted blood of the outcast line! Keeping her violates the ancient pacts of the Council!"
High above on the stone balcony, Eloin stood wrapped in a dark cloak, her heart hammering against her ribs as she watched the confrontation below. Cassian stood alone in the center of the courtyard, his posture completely relaxed, yet terrifyingly lethal.
"Pacts?" Cassian’s voice cut through the cold night air like a razor blade. "You talk of pacts, Viktor, while your assassins hunted a child through human towns for sixteen years?"
"She is an abomination!" Viktor sneered, raising his heavy broadsword. "A wolfless half-blood who has no right to draw breath in the royal domain! If you will not execute her, the Council will take her head!"
Cassian let out a low, humorless chuckle. It was a sound that made even the northern guards step back in involuntary dread.
"You forget whose blood runs through these veins," Cassian said softly, though every word carried across the silent courtyard.
With a blinding flash of silver light, Cassian shifted.
The transformation was instantaneous, violent, and magnificent. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished, replaced by an enormous, midnight-black beast standing twice the size of any ordinary wolf. Silver runes flared across its powerful black fur, burning with celestial fire.
Viktor’s face drained of color. He raised his sword, but it was already too late.
The Alpha King charged.
The battle was over before it truly began. Cassian moved like a shadow of death, tearing through the elite northern guards with terrifying efficiency. Claws met steel, shattering blades into a thousand shards. Blood painted the pristine white snow crimson.
From the balcony, Eloin watched in stunned awe. The silver pendant beneath her cloak pulsed in time with her racing heart, sending waves of raw power surging through her veins. She wasn't just watching a battle; she felt every strike, every heartbeat, every surge of primal dominance echoing from the beast below.
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Viktor fell to his knees, his sword clattering against the stones as Cassian pinned him to the ground with a massive, black-furred paw. The great beast towered over the trembling traitor, its molten-gold eyes burning with executioner’s fire.
"Tell the Council," Cassian’s voice reverberated telepathically through the minds of everyone in the courtyard, "that my mate has returned. And the next time they step foot in my territory, I will burn their packs to ash."
