Chapter 239 His Sacrifice
TESSA
I assessed the situation before saying those words. Kyle was still shaking, his fingers twitching with every fine movement.
For a moment, I thought it was an act, but looking at him more closely, I knew I wasn’t mistaken. His breathing was uneven, the slight tremor in his hands too natural to fake. He appeared to be powerful, but that power came at a cost, and I could see it gnawing at him even as he stood there smirking. My eyes flicked to the one beside him-the girl who had conjured mes without hesitation. That was the reason why he asked her to show off her power instead.
I studied the others behind him, cloaked in ck. Even with the hoods shadowing their faces, I could read the hesitance in their posture. They didn’t look united. They looked… conflicted. A few even seemed regretful. That was my leverage, I realized. Kyle might have recruited them with promises, but not all of them had the stomach for this.
Still, hesitation or not, they had magic.
“Very well,” Kyle said finally. He didn’t bother to mask the exhaustion in his voice. His hand lifted. “Take them.”
At hismand, chaos broke loose once again.
The women and children were quickly ushered back. I watched Sol carry Ca, shielding her with his broad frame as he retreated toward the safe zone. My chest ached seeing the fear in Ca’s eyes. I couldn’t let her grow up in a world where people like Kyle held power over her.
The warriors surged forward, teeth bared, ws unsheathed. They were ready, more than ready, fueled by both fury and desperation. I ran with them, cing myself at the front despite Winston’s order.
“Tessa, stay back!” hemanded.
But I shook my head. “No.”
I wasn’t going to cower.
I darted toward the me wielder, weaving between the shing bodies. Already, warriors were struggling to hold their ground as bursts of fire scared the air, forcing them back. The smell of burnt fur and flesh filled the clearing, and I gagged, pushing harder, faster. One of our strongest was thrown to the ground, his arm scorched, and the scream that followed made my blood boil.
Chapter 239 His Sacrifice
I had to stop her.
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I lunged, wing her arm just as she tried to summon another fireball. She hissed, stumbling back, but she was fast. She twisted her wrist, the mes shifting direction, nearly grazing my side as I dodged. The heat singed the hairs on my arm, and pain licked at my skin, but I didn’t
stop.
All around us, the pack was losing ground. Every time one of ours lunged forward, a st of magic forced them back. Our numbers meant nothing against fire and spells that disoriented our instincts. Even Winston and Edith, strong as they were, struggled to break the circle that had formed around us.
“Tessa!” Noelle shouted from somewhere behind me, her voice breaking. “Don’t-”
However, I didn’t listen. I pushed forward, w meeting me, my instincts screaming at me that I was dancing on the edge of something deadly. The woman grinned, her fire burning brighter as though feeding off my defiance. Each swing I made was met with heat and light. My lungs burned, my body trembling from the effort of keeping up.
A scream tore through the air-—one of ours, another warrior copsing under a barrage of mes. I felt the despair ripple through us, the way our line faltered. My heart clenched, but I bared my teeth, refusing to let that be the end.
Just then, a growl pierced through the clearing.
It was deep, fierce, and familiar.
It cut through the battlefield, and the moment I heard it, my blood ran cold.
I turned, my eyes widening.
Rowan stood at the edge of the clearing, his chest heaving, his skin flushed with fever. Even with his furious eyes, I could see the strain in his body and the faint tremble in his stance. He shouldn’t be here. He was supposed to be resting.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered, though my voice was drowned in the chaos.
With a guttural snarl, he shifted, his body snapping and reshaping into his wolf form. The sound of bone and muscle echoed through the air, followed by the earth-shaking thud of his paws hitting the ground.
And then he ran straight toward them.
Rowan was strong. Very, very strong.
Chapter 239 His Sacrifice
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The kind of strength that made even seasoned warriors pause in awe. The kind of strength that could change the flow of battle in the span of mere minutes. He charged forward with no hesitation, his massive wolf form tearing through cloaked figures as though they were nothing more than shadows in his path.
Screams filled the clearing as he took them down one by one. Some tried to fight back, but their magic faltered against his force. A sh of fire streaked toward him, but Rowan dodged it with agility. Another cloaked figure shed at him, de gleaming, but Rowan’s ws were faster-deadly and merciless. Within seconds, the man was thrown aside, groaning in pain.
I stood frozen for a moment. Relief swelled inside me. He was here. He was fighting for us. He was protecting us. For the first time since Kyle’s group had arrived, I felt the tides shifting. The fear that had gripped our people began to fade, reced by something far stronger-hope.
Even the warriors fighting beside him seemed invigorated by his presence. They rallied to his side, emboldened, their snarls louder and strikes harder than before. Rowan’s strength was contagious, like fire spreading through dry grass.
But relief came with a price.
Every time mes licked at his fur, every time a spell struck him, every time a de found its mark, I felt my heart clench. He fought as if he had no regard for his own body. His sickness already weakened him, but he poured everyst drop of strength into this fight, holding nothing back.
I wanted to scream and tell him to stop. But I knew it was useless. Rowan didn’t know how to fight halfway. He only knew how to give everything.
Kyle noticed it too. I could see the way his eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched, as Rowan cut through his men. Fear flickered across his face, quickly masked by rage.
“Back!” Kyle’s voice thundered across the battlefield. His men hesitated, but he snapped again, louder this time. “Back, I say!”
The air thickened as Kyle raised his hands, the tremor in his fingers disappearing as new magic pulsed through him. A surge of energy erupted, a spell unlike anything we’d seen before. It cracked through the clearing, and suddenly the cloaked figures were thrown back, their bodies lifted and hurled as though invisible hands had swept them away.
Some crashed into the dirt, groaning. Others staggered to their feet, dazed. Rowan snarled, ready to lunge again, but the spell created distance between them, forcing our warriors to halt.
Kyle’s chest heaved, sweat dripping down his brow, but his eyes gleamed with malice.
“This isn’t over,” he spat. His gaze lingered on Rowan, then to me. “Not by far.”
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Chapter 239 His Sacrifice
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Then, with a flick of his wrist, the remaining figures obeyed. They retreated swiftly, disappearing into the trees, leaving behind the bodies of their fallen. The clearing slowly quieted, the chaos reced by the ragged breaths of my people.
A heavy silence followed.
We had survived. For now.
But all I could see was Rowan.
My heart stopped when his body swayed. He stood there for only a second longer, his chest rising and falling rapidly, eyes burning with that same feral determination. And then-
He copsed.
“Rowan!” The scream tore from my throat before I even realized it, my feet already moving.
He hit the ground with a sickening thud, his wolf form covered in shes, his fur matted with blood. Angry burns marred his side, still smoldering faintly where the fire had kissed his skin.
I dropped to my knees beside him, my hands hovering helplessly over his wounds. The relief I’d felt moments ago shattered, reced with terror.
“Rowan!” I cried again.