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Chapter 28
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Rise of the cardinal Chapter 29
“Are you sure we need to look for a marked tree? What exactly does that even mean?” I called to Xander, who was a few yards away, inspecting his side of the woods. We had been at it for the better part of the day. I had hoped we would immediately find what we were looking for, but the task seemed more daunting than I had initially thought. And by the look on Xander’s face, I figured my sentiment was shared. He looked discouraged. The sun was beating on our heads, and sweat was pouring from every inch of our skin. I thought the only reason Denis, Nimu, Gideon and Leo didn’t mind it was because they had been stuck in the cabin for a month and were finally happy to be out and about. “We just need to look for a mark, something that stands out but is still inconspicuous. Something humans would not think twice about. Maybe look for claw marks or a bark that has been removed?” He answered a little curtly. “That could be anything.” I let out, feeling my shoulders sag. This was going to be i
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 30
Otis and I readied ourselves, walking protectively in a circle around Nimu, Denis and Leo, who all stood in between both of us. We were surrounded by at least fifty beasts, each bigger than the other. I saw Otis shoot me a look, and I nodded, wiggling my fingers when I felt the tingle of magical energy flow through them. He was letting me know to prepare for an imminent attack. Xander and Gideon were nowhere in sight, but I could still hear jaws snapping and furious growls and whelps coming from inside the forest. Whoever attacked me was probably still fighting off Xander. One of the smaller Lycans lunged at me, and I moved just in time to dodge it, swirling my wrists and sending it flying through the air with an energy blast. It landed on its side, close to the edge of the forest. Otis did the same with another attacker. One by one, they tried to breach our perimeter, snapping their giant maws at our limbs in an attempt to make us fall or fatally wound us. We had been able to parry
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 31
Xander POV I followed the old lady to the Lycans’ den. The den was a small village. They made houses of tree logs with roofs that had wooden shingles. They seemed well constructed and comfortable to house multiple people in them. Looking around the village, I must have counted at least a hundred, if not more, Lycans. They must not all have been Lycans; I was reasonably confident that some were human mates who had moved there when they found their partners. However, as Ida had pointed out to me earlier when we arrived, a few of them had spousal marks, which explained the lack of pups running around. I made sure Ida stayed close. I held her near, often inhaling her scent, ensuring she smelled of me. I still didn’t know if they would become hostile, and I noticed that most of the pack was comprised of males. I didn’t want any of them trying something on my mate. The rest of our group followed closely behind, and Gideon was the last one, protecting our rear and surveying the area. We c
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 32
I took to the woods and ran. I needed to think, to get away for a bit. I thought it rather pointless to run away from Xander. He could smell and find me wherever I went. I just wanted to breathe, and the night air that filled my lungs awoke in me something that I hadn't felt in a long while: freedom. Hot tears streamed down my face. I swiped my shirt sleeve over it and kept running. I was in flight mode—screw the fight approach. Panic swelled inside my chest when I heard Xander calling out my name not too far behind. It would be a matter of seconds before he would reach me. I didn’t want to see him just yet. Not with what I had just heard. I needed to find somewhere to think about all of this, calm myself down and quell all this building anxiety, but I knew my legs would never allow me to outrun a Lycan, even if Xander was in human form. I felt something cool and tingling on my back. When I jumped over a fallen log, I was projected into the air. I let out a surprised scream as I took
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 33
I had tried for hours to bring back my wings but to no avail. I had no idea what I did the day before to bring them forward; it just happened. Xander brought me back to the Lycans’ den on his back. That, too, had been a strange feeling, riding on a Lycan. I thought it was like riding a horse, except this one was the size of a giant bear. He was quick and agile and didn’t seem to mind the extra weight. He never lost speed. When we arrived in the village, the community shot us queer looks, enough to make me uneasy. “Why are they staring at us like that?” I asked in a hushed tone close to Xander’s gigantic wolf's head. He shook his shaggy mane and growled at whoever dared to look in our direction until we reached Una’s log house. When we arrived, Gideon strolled out to meet with us, and he scrunched his nose, giving us the same look everyone else had. “What! Why are you looking at me like that? Everyone we’ve encountered has done the same.” I said exasperatingly. I furrowed my brows an
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 34
We had to wait until the moon ceremony before Xander could challenge Jordan for the right to become Alpha and King of the last Lycan pack. We didn’t have to wait long because the ceremony came the next day when the moon was at its apogee in the night sky. It also coincided with Jordan’s wedding with the girl from the Birchwood wolf pack. I was a little nervous about the full moon. Young shifters had issues controlling their shifts, which made them extremely dangerous. Leo kept resurfacing in the back of my mind, remembering all too well when he tried to attack me when I had opened the forbidden room in Xander’s quarters back in High Hill Estate. He had started to get better at controlling it, but Xander and Gideon always took him away when it was the full moon, returning only when the sun started rising again. “Are you ready for what is about to come?” Asked Una to Xander. “Once you challenge, there is no going back.” “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s just hope everything will go smooth
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 35
I took to the sky as another detonation happened. I needed to find the catapult or cannon responsible for inflicting so much damage. If we wanted a chance to survive, I would need to destroy it. I didn’t hear two sets of explosions, which meant that there was most likely only one. Before leaving, I turned around and shouted to Xander. I didn’t want to leave him behind while I went on my quest. To reply, he simply brandished his hand and shooed me away while he morphed into his Lycan form and crashed into the swarm of knights. From above, I could see that many Lycans had also transformed to assist their Alpha. Jordan was heading toward Kestrel with big angry snarls and barrelled like a crazed animal through the crowd. I caught sight of Gideon and hailed to him. He seemed to have stayed behind to help Xander and me. “We need to find the contraption that’s making explosions. I’ll try to find its position, but I’ll need help from the ground. It’s too dark for me to see clearly.” Gideo
Rise of the cardinal Chapter 36
Xander POV The chaos which had been raining all around us halted. I assumed Ida had found whatever was causing the explosions that killed Lycans and soldiers alike. I had lost track of Jordan when he pushed through the mob, trying to get to my father. I suspected he was most likely dead. This had been a fool’s deal, I thought as I tried to claw at one soldier’s jugular. The Alpha had given a golden opportunity to one of this country’s most dangerous men. How did he not think that Duke Kestrel would not waste this chance? I howled in rage and jumped on the next available victim. The ground was starting to be slippery, and I had to work extra hard not to land on my haunches. One wrong move to the ground, and I could get slashed by a sword. The weapons they had brought had been dipped in silver. One jab and the Lycans would go down, writhing and transforming back into a human where they did not stand a chance against the well-trained Kestrel troops. The screams and sound of sliced f
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