To Live Among Wolves (Legends of Arcadia Book 1)

Chapter 47

It happened so fast that I had no time to register before my legs launched me from the river’s shore after Nyx.

He’s going to kill her.

My head broke the surface, and somewhere she gasped for breath. Lightning crackled nearby.

“Eden!” I paddled with the current, praying for speed.

Aubrey, Ransom, Elder Macon, Kane, and two other Guardians sprinted past me on the opposite bank, baying and barking. Ransom hesitated for a moment before launching himself into the fray in the river.

Coughing cut through growls and snarls.

If I could see her.

Aubrey paced along the left bank, watching the water.

“Where is she?” I barked.

She glanced at me. “Under.”

I dove into the murky waters, swimming with the current. Sticks and debris from the storm scratched against my fur. I pulled myself out of the water, aggressive snarling assaulting my ears.

A third wolf had joined the fight, though I couldn’t tell who from my position in the river. They dipped under the surface, bumped into stones, and tumbled over each other while they fought.

“Silas!” Aubrey threw herself into the water several feet down the river.

She emerged holding the back of Eden’s robe between her teeth. Eden sputtered as Aubrey struggled to keep them both above the water. I ducked under, supporting Eden’s full weight on my shoulders. As soon as Aubrey noticed the shift in weight, she released Eden.

I pushed out of the water onto the bank, rolling Eden onto the earth. I glanced back at the fight in the water, spilling over the rapids. The other Guardians were swimming now, paddling around the fight, joining in when they saw the chance.

Aubrey pulled herself out of the river, shaking the water from her fur as another crack of lightning sounded nearby.

Rolling my shoulders, I phased back into my skin, cupping my hand over Eden’s cheek. “Are you hurt?”

Eden, still coughing, shook her head. “I think– I think I’m all right.”

“What were you thinking?” I hated how angry I sounded, but I was furious and terrified.

She shook her head, body shaking from the chill of the water. “C-couldn’t let you do anything stupid.” Her lips were tinted blue.

A laugh escaped me. I leaned over, kissing her forehead. “Aubrey, stay with her. Keep her warm.”

The Seer nodded, curling herself next to Eden.

With a growl from my core, I bolted down the river and past the fight, phasing as I went. I watched the tussle for a moment before Nyx pulled away, clawing himself onto the bank near me. A low, rumbling snarl rippled through my body, causing him to turn my way.

“Little king.” He huffed, shaking out his soaked fur.

“Menace,” I snapped.

He had old scars, but someone had landed quite the blow to his face, one eye mangled and blind and a tear through one of his ears.

“You look terrible.” I bared my teeth.

“You look like a wet field mouse.”His ears flattened, and he lowered his head. “But I’m glad you’re talking to me yourself instead of being a coward and allowing the human to handle it.”

I snapped at the air. “Enough. This is between you and me now.”

“You want to play, little king?” Nyx growled. “Let’s play.”

And then it was teeth and claws, ground and sky, river and thunder.

I had trained my whole life for this moment. I pictured all the times Nash had bested me, the times he’d kicked up the dirt around me while celebrating his victories. He wasn’t a terrible brother, but he had always fought like we were enemies.

This would be no different.

Only Nyx aimed to kill.

My teeth met Nyx’s shoulder first and he tried to sling me off. We tumbled over each other, a pile of gray and black on the bank of the river. I released Nyx’s shoulder when he bit at my ears and neck.

The nervous whining yaps from the Guardians pulled my attention away, causing me to lose my footing on the uneven bank. Scrambling for purchase, I clawed back up until I had sure footing for my backfeet.

Sharp pain rippled through my body as Nyx’s teeth clamped onto my throat. It burned as he threw my body at his feet, knocking all the air from my lungs.

“Weak and worthless.”He snarled.

Gasping for air, I lifted my head from my tangled position on the ground to see him turning his head and one good eye to my people.

I failed them.

“Gather around to watch the death of your king.”He laughed. “May his spirit find peace among trees.”

He bent closer to me, lip quivering over bared teeth. I could smell his rusty breath.

This is when I die.

“Wait,” an old voice croaked.

Turning my head, I spotted Elder Macon limping towards us. His limp seemed more pronounced than usual. He must have been injured from the fight in the river.

“What sort of mutt is this?” Nyx snapped.

Elder Macon lowered his head, unusual for him. “Macon, sir.”

Nyx’s tongue ran over his teeth. “I appreciate your respect, Macon. But I’m in the middle of something here.”

I shifted my weight, pushing up on my front legs, which turned out to be a mistake. Shockwaves of pain radiated from below the joint. I had been injured, and I ground my teeth together to keep my groaning at bay.

Elder Macon shifted on his feet, staring Nyx down. “No matter what you say or do in this moment, you will never be King of Arcadia. And you will never be more than smoke, a vapor in the stretching history of time.”

Anger rippled over Nyx’s shoulders. “You dare–”His whole body began to shake with rage. He stepped over my body towards the Elder.

With a growl of pain, I pushed myself to my haunches.

“No!” I screamed, forcing myself up.

But my voice drowned in the howling sound of wind, roaring of water, and rumbling of thunder. Leaves ripped off trees with the force that circled around Elder Macon. He braced his back feet against the earth before throwing his head back in a haunting howl.

The ground trembled under my feet, and everyone tried to regain their balance. The torrent ripped up loose sticks and stones, causing a grayish cloud of dirt and dust to circle us. Elder Macon had somehow harnessed the earth.

“Silas!” Eden’s voice called, but I couldn’t see her through the chaos.

Nyx let out a terrible bark, spinning towards me. Behind him, the Elder met my gaze.

It was all or nothing.

With a growl, I placed myself in front of the beast. His eyes were filled with such rage.

This was history in the making.

The birth of a Legend.

With as much warning as it began, the torrent disappeared, and the Elder launched himself at Nyx’s back legs, pushing our enemy right towards me.

“Now!” Ransom led the charge with four Guardians he’d brought along, Elder Macon already fighting, tooth and claw.

A frenzy of fur encapsulated my vision. Seven to one with Nyx holding his ground in the center of the skirmish.

I aimed for his neck this time, gripping with all the strength I had left in me. Nyx swung his head, trying to turn around to fight the attacker behind him. The Guardians in the back pulled at his legs. His teeth snapped near my eyes, and I ducked to avoid the blow.

Ransom shoved into the throng near me, biting into Nyx’s jaw. I followed his lead, biting down hard on the opposite side. Nyx howled in pain, attempting to back up towards the river. The others herded him back up the bank towards the treeline with Ransom and I still attached.

I pulled away, backing out of the cluster of wolves. I watched as Nyx shook his head, throwing Ransom’s body against a tree.

The Seer didn’t stir.

Nyx spun around and bit Elder Macon’s flank, tossing his head back and forth.

One of the Guardians leapt over the others, taking hold of Nyx’s hackles and sending both of them tumbling to the right. Nyx released the Elder in surprise.

The other Guardians were on the enemy in seconds, snarls and barks filling the air. I watched from a few paces behind, struggling to see beyond the wall of gray fur.

I caught sight of Nyx’s tail spinning as he tried to force his way to the top again, but it was no use. He whined and whimpered while the yaps and barks continued from the Guardians.

We outnumbered him.

He had been bested.

I moved forward gingerly, leaning my weight to the right. The Guardians held Nyx down.

Nyx snarled and licked blood away from his jaw, tongue lolling to the side. “Come to offer me mercy?”

“You had your chance once. Your own brother gave that to you and you squandered it.”

Nyx’s body jerked as he attempted to attack, but the Guardians handled him well, holding him down once more.

I stepped forward, gazing down at his prone form. “I am the King of Arcadia. My job is to uphold our laws and keep my people safe.”

“You will never fill his tracks. You will never be enough.”

His words were poison in my thoughts, but I’d already come to terms with it. “I will never be Iain. But at least I get the chance to be Silas.”

I launched myself at him, teeth sinking into flesh. The scent of iron filled my senses, and I felt Nyx squirm under me. The Guardians backed off, leaving Nyx in my grasp. He cried out, trying to pull himself away, but he had lost too much blood. I pulled on his throat until I severed the artery.

My jaw locked until Nyx’s body went still. The beast wouldn’t breathe again.

I stepped back, his blood lingering on my fur and under my tongue. The Guardians and Aubrey crowded me, licking my fur and nudging me in celebration. But not everyone had joined me.

Panting, I limped over to Ransom’s form. I could still hear his heartbeat.

“Aubrey,” I whimpered.

In a moment, Aubrey and Eden joined me. The former sat at her husband’s side, nudging and licking his muzzle.

He lifted his nose, offering a small whine.

“We need to carry him within Arcadia’s border.” I turned to the three Guardians. “Can you carry him?”

Phasing from fur to skin, the Guardians bowed their heads. “Of course, je kunan.”

With careful movements, they hoisted Ransom’s lanky wolf body into their arms, beginning the trek back to Arcadia.

“Go.” I nodded to Aubrey. “Be with him.”

After a bow, Aubrey took off straight after the Guardians, tail disappearing into the undergrowth.

“Where’s the Elder?” Eden turned on the spot, watching the forest for his shape, the fog dissipating. “Did you see where he went?”

I turned around, staring at Nyx’s body for a breath before scouring the treeline.

I howled. The sky met my howl with its own softening rumble.

“There!” Eden breathed.

I could hear a faint cry not far off. With eyes peeled, I limped forward up the river where I’d come from, Eden following behind me. We found him upstream.

He dragged his back foot behind him, hanging crookedly now, paw turned to the side. He stumbled, phasing between man and wolf while he regained his balance. His breath came in short wheezes as he turned to face us, his ears folding back and tail tucked between his legs.

“Do not worry. I am old, je kunan.” He took labored breaths between sentences. “I am not afraid to die.”

“Elder.” I circled him, rubbing my head along his shoulder. “I can carry you back to Arcadia. Asa will–”

“–already be tending to Ransom who needs it more than I do. Ransom has a longer life ahead of him.”

“Edler Macon.” Eden rested a hand on the side of his face. “What can we do?”

He whined again before glancing up at the river and the Great Mountain beyond it. “I think I am in good company.Time shifts, and life moves on. Tell Markus he will make a wonderful Elder. It’s all there for him to discover.”

With a whimper, he dragged himself to the base of a tree, curling up into a broken ball.

“Please don’t leave me,” I begged.

The Elder lifted his head. “I’ll see you again soon. When you stack my stones, face me east. I always loved the sun in the morning.”