บท 6: Triumph

Suri held Raygan's neck in her claws while Raygan's body dangled freely in the air. "Isn't she such a precious little thing for you? Why don't you let go of Erald and I let go of your darling." Suri's eyes drooped cynically as one of her nails pressed against the arteries, which pumped blood to the brain.

Adelio looked at Raygan and hundreds of thoughts flashed through his head. Lycanthropes were cunning and there was no assurance that the girl in Suri's hand was going unscathed.

Raygan was already bleeding through the countless wounds she had received since she had run away from the castle on the other side of this dimension.

"You lycanthropes don't give me any reason to believe you," the king of werewolves telecommunicated. There were many possibilities and he did not even know what exactly to do.

Adelio wondered if the rare appearance of a human was what the prophecies had talked about. If this was that human, it would be foolish to hand them over to the lycanthropes. "Throw her to me and I will let your wolf here go," Adelio signalled at the black lycanthrope he had pinned to the ground.

"I can say the same," Suri exclaimed, "why would I trust you?"

Adelio looked around, his paws pinned to the black furred lycanthrope's chest. The tension in the air was building up and the silence seemed oddly deafening. The lycanthrope below him was not making any desperate attempts to flee. Atleast, not yet.

"Remember, this is our territory. Honour and Justice are the laws here. And we live by that code, unlike you disrespectful lycanthropes." Adelio telecommunicated.

Suri laughed. "Your honour is as good as dead. It means nothing to us, and it never will. All we care about is the way we live. And that's all that will ever matter." She looked at Adelio with cold, icy eyes as she pressed against Raygan's neck harder. "Make a choice. Her life, or your foolishness."

Adelio panicked momentarily, but regained his composure as quickly as he could. He had to stay calm and collected.

He looked around, keeping the lycanthrope beneath him in his peripheral vision, as he assessed the situation. He needed that girl alive. She was on his land, and he needed answers.

On the other hand, the lycanthrope wasn't really patient. She was not desperate and was remarkably calm. Perhaps she had trained well, but that meant he had to figure out her weakness, and fast.

"Tell me." Adelio telecommunicated. "Does this feel morally right to you? What you have there is a victim, and you are about to kill her."

Suri stared blankly at him, as she retorted, "you of all people have no right to talk to me about morals." She whimpered menacingly. "just let my companion go, and I will let go of the girl. It's as simple as that." But in her heart, Suri barely thought about keeping her part of this deal.

"Possibly." Adelio telecommunicated, with fierce determination in his eyes. "but tell me this, you are on my land. What makes you think that my subordinates are not here? Why would I be alone?"

Suri tensed. "if there were more of you, we would have smelled them. Right now, all I can smell is the ugly stench of your werewolf," she retorted.

Adelio knew she was beginning to panic. It was only a matter of time before he could convince her to drop her guard. However, the lycanthrope beneath him was beginning to regain his strength back, bit by bit. Adelio knew he had to act fast, else the unknown human girl would die from her injuries.

"If the smell was all it took, then you lycanthropes would have been on top of the food chain, in this world." Adelio retorted. "From the looks of it, the person you have hostage is bleeding out. It will only be a matter of time before she dies. And if that happens..." Adelio pressed harder against Erald's chest. "I will kill your partner here, too. The surrounding werewolves will quickly finish you off."

Adelio did not understand why he was so desperately trying to save that injured human but his gut feeling just told him to protect her.

As the gentle yet cold night breeze began to blow, the tensions rose higher and higher. Neither party was willing to make the exchange, and Adelio was running out of time.

Meanwhile, Suri looked around, visibly tensed. She had begun to consider the possibility that Adelio may be right. Werewolves were cunning creatures and were famed for their tactical and innovative hunting methods. Although Erald was slowly regaining his strength, she knew that the possibility of them making it out alive were beginning to slim, the longer they dragged this out.

But she could not show the werewolf king that she was afraid. She had to hold up her resolve. Otherwise, all this would be for nothing.

But could she trust him?

She began to tremble as she frantically sniffed the air, "I will fight to the death to protect myself." She exclaimed, "I will not die at your hands today!"

She was finally breaking. Adelio found solace in the possibility that now he could trick her.

"Is that really a good option?" Adelio telecommunicated. "you are badly outnumbered, and things are not looking too good for you. If the pack catches you, you are finished."

Suri looked around, her eyes darting frantically. She was finished.

And at the moment she averted her gaze, Adelio let out a resounding howl. It was the distress call of the werewolves, the ones they used only when they were in great danger. The howl echoed throughout the clearing, stunning Erald and Suri. It was magnificent and seemed to pierce the heavens. The king was capable of handling both the lycanthropes just like the one who laid dead on the floor. But this distress call was desperation on his end to save the injured human.

In one glance, the king of werewolves now knew he had total command. The situation was now under his control.

"You tricked me!!!" Suri growled with rage, boiling beneath her skin. "I will have your blood!"

Seizing the opportunity, Erald quickly slashed at Adelio, making the king of the werewolves jump back as a precaution.

Adelio realised that in that momentary lapse of judgement, he had vastly underestimated his opponent. Erald sliced his claws in the air as he looked towards Suri with a grin.

"Retreat!"

Suri grabbed Raygan as both the lycanthropes darted towards the forest. They had the human now.

However, Adelio was not the one to give up so easily. He had been in numerous battles, and he was not going to be deterred easily.

He darted forward quickly, giving chase, as resonant howls filled the air.

'My pack.' Adelio thought to himself.

They had heard the distress signal and were here to help their king.

Adelio leapt over the bushes and past the trees, his eyes focussed towards the sight of the retreating lycans. Taking Suri out was not an option, as engaging her in a battle, could lead to the hostage suffering more injuries.

Instead, he had to take out the leader. Erald was the one who initiated the fight. He needed to get him, either dead or alive. Erald was possibly a Beta of some lowly Lycan clan and Suri was one of the Omegas. A smart one for that.

"Circle the female." Adelio telecommunicated to his pack. "Make sure the human doesn't bleed out. Save her."

Adelio sensed the pack change the direction of approach. He smiled, knowing that the situation all played out in his favour. He knew how to command well and his pack always followed through.

He quickly jumped on Erald, pushing him towards the ground. Erald growled as he skidded towards the trees, banging his head on the trunk of a large tree.

On the other hand, Suri continued to run. She had to escape. She needed the prisoner more than the werewolves.

How desperate was the werewolf king for this human? Suri had to take her to the Lycan king.

Erald growled as he looked towards Adelio, almost grinning maniacally. The metallic scent of blood filled the air as the beasts collided, clawing and biting at each other.

"The girl is as good as dead!" Erald laughed. "Suri will have reached her destination by now. There is nothing you can do to save her," he pounced on Adelio, slashing at his neck.

Adelio dodged the attack as he jumped sideways. Using his body weight, he pummelled the lycanthrope towards the ground again.

"You speak too much." Adelio communicated, panting heavily. Although he had lots of stamina left, the fight was beginning to drain him out. It had been a long run for him when he had decided to check out the outskirts of his entire kingdom in one night. Not an easy task but he had got his doubts checked. Adelio understood now that the security around the borders had to be reinforced or at least he needed to have a chat with the Lycan king.

But right now, he needed to finish this fight quickly.

"Yes, yes, my liege." Erald mocked as he got up. And suddenly he was gone.

For a moment, Adelio saw crimson, as the razor-sharp claws of the lycanthrope tore into his skin. Yelping with surprise, he struggled to keep his balance at the sudden counterattack.

Blood seeped from his wound as Adelio struggled to keep his composure.

This was not a battle defined by logic. It was pure instinct and deceit.

Closing his eyes, Adelio felt the bright glow of the moon peeking in from behind the trees. For a second, he could feel everything and sense everything. Tapping into his basal instincts, Adelio attacked.

His teeth connected with the lycanthrope's jugular, as the werewolf king bit into Erald's neck with all his might. Erald gasped as blood spurted from his wound.

Erald grunted as he retreated towards the base of the nearest tree in agony.

Adelio hobbled towards the trunk, as the two opponents stared at each other, their eyes focused. It was not a battle anymore. It was a macabre show, a dance of death. Blood oozed out from both the canines as they stood facing each other, on the precipice of death, their lives hanging by literal threads with the black lycanthrope having suffered major injuries.

"You fight well for a measly werewolf." Erald telecommunicated. "But I have killed many of your kin. If anyone wins today, it's going to be me."

"Again. You talk too much." Adelio replied.

With a resounding howl, the two canines lunged at each other baring their teeth. This battle would have only one victor.

Meanwhile, Suri continued to run, holding the female tightly between her teeth, but gentle enough not to harm her. She needed the captive alive, at least till she reached her territory.

"Stop!!!" a voice echoed in her mind as Suri continued to run. She had to make it out alive. She had to-

She felt a heavy weight on her body as the distance between the ground and her started to reduce. Two werewolves quickly pounced at her, pushing her to the ground. The sound of howls echoed loudly as the pack slowly appeared.

'They were not chasing me!' Suri thought to herself. 'They knew I would be here. It was an ambush.'

"Drop the captive." A grey-furred werewolf announced. "Immediately."

Suri obliged. She was not in a situation to compromise. Though she could harm the human girl, Suri was not allowed to bite into Raygan's neck by the grey werewolf.

One of the werewolves quickly dragged Raygan away carefully, as Suri looked towards the pack. They were unified, and not a single one of them had their eyes averted. Everyone stared at Suri, trying to predict her next move.

"Don't move." The grey-furred werewolf announced. "You can try, but there is no way out."

"Are you always this hospitable?" Suri looked towards her as several werewolves growled in anger.

"Watch your tone, mongrel!" one of the werewolves announced. "You will do well to respect the fact that we are not harming you!"

"Of course." Suri looked at them. "After all, you must be ordered not to."

Several werewolves growled as they tensed, ready to attack Suri. But they had to wait for their king, in order to make a judgement. The king wanted a captive from the lycanthropes, a leverage to stop the inhumane attacks of the Lycans on their lands. Suri would be perfect to get out the secrets and operating of the Lycans.

Meanwhile, the fight between the king of werewolves and the lycanthropes had intensified. They moved as if puppeteers were controlling them, using threads to make them fight. Both the canines were considerably drained, and they needed victory fast.

Adelio quickly spun around, grabbing Erald's hind leg, sinking his teeth into it. Erald struck back, slashing Adelio's underbelly.

As both of them retreated, Adelio heard the howls of his pack.

'She has been captured.' Adelio thought to himself. 'The female must be safe.'

Erald perked up his ears at the howls, as blood dripped from his body. He stumbled and fell as he looked at Adelio, his vision slowly fading into the abyss.

"Looks like you won... a punny liege," His words dripped with sarcasm.

Adelio stood over Erald as he stared down at him. "Even in death, you are bitter and filled with hatred." He telecommunicated. "Rest easy now, knowing that you have lost."

And with a final war-torn howl, Adelio bit into the lycanthrope's neck, ripping his head from his body. For a minute, the body convulsed, and slowly became still.

Stepping away from the corpse, he made his way towards the pack, hobbling in pain. He was losing too much blood.

Finally, stepping into the clearing, Adelio looked towards a cornered Suri as he dropped Erald's head to the floor. The werewolves immediately broke into howls and grunts of cheers as they celebrated their king's triumph.

"Where is the victim?" Adelio looked towards his kin.

"She is being carried back to the castle safely," One of them announced.

Adelio nodded as he felt peace. Suddenly, the world around him began to spin as he drifted into unconsciousness. It was a desperate situation for the werewolves where they had to decide between capturing Suri or bring back their king home safely.