Page 39 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)

His attack is faster than I expect but so predictable that I deflect him easily, raking my claws down his arm as I do so. I hear him hiss as my claws draw blood.

As I would expect of him, he looks for an escape route, and finding none, he shifts to his wolf and growls viciously.

Knight bursts forth and stands a head taller than Bellamy’s Czar.

They circle slowly, and Knight seems in no hurry to kill Czar, though it would be plain for anyone to see that Knight could end this quickly if he chose to.

Czar stiffens momentarily, and that is all the warning Knight needs.

Czar launches his attack, but his snapping teeth find only empty air.

When he walks slowly to the right to circle Knight, there is blood on the ground, and it drips from Czar’s neck.

Anger shows in his eyes and he attacks again, only to find more empty air, and more blood dripping from his neck.

Fear replaces the anger now, and Knight makes several attacks of his own, each time skipping away unharmed but leaving more cuts on Czar.

The blood is dripping considerably now, and Czar knows it is all but over, I’m sure.

He takes a lunge at one of Knight's forelegs. There is a loud crunching sound only it isn’t Knight's foreleg that makes the sound. Knight has a hold on the back of Czar’s neck and with a quick shake and a loud snap, it is all over.

Bellamy is dead, and I feel no sorrow for my or Knight's actions.

LYLE

Seeing Number Seven making his sneak attack on Connell, it is easy to step in and stop it.

When I let him know that I know what he is, a warrior of the Shadow Clan, he is surprised.

Leaving Bellamy to his fight, I concentrate on my own.

Keeping him off balance will probably be the key to my success.

“So Shadow Clan, do they give you proper names or are you just a number to them?” I’ll try taunting him and see if that gets a response.

“Lyle of the Spirit Walker Pack, I’m disappointed that your intelligence network couldn’t find that piece of information.” Laughing because he feels I am at a disadvantage, I respond quickly.

“You were never a high enough priority for us to bother with such things. Besides which, we already had a name for you.” Knowing he won’t be able to resist, I wait for him to ask.

“Oh? And what might that have been?”

“We just called you ‘Number Seven.’ It was enough that we knew about you, and it suited at the time.” I can see he doesn’t like this.

“Where would such an outlandish name come from?” Yes! I have him now. I can see the annoyance, so all I have to do is turn it to anger and he’ll make the mistake I need to kill him.

“Remember when you were sneaking around my pack lands? Checking up on Arric’s little encampments?” Pausing for a little dramatic effect, I continue, “You remember sneaking up to the little camp of those insignificant spies or whatever you’d call them.”

“Assassins. They were sent as assassins to kill any of your pack they came across.”

“Assassins? Would we really call them that, Number Seven? They weren’t trained or even experienced.

Cannon fodder, more like. Anyway, you killed one at the riverbank, then waltzed over and toyed briefly with the other five.

You even tasted their cooking before you left, as I recall the report saying.

Was it my rabbit or my trout that you enjoyed?

” I smile at him and then laugh, loudly.

The fighting around us has almost ended. There are a few scuffles going on, but it’s mostly over. There is still a battle raging with the Blood Pearl Pack warriors.

“I vaguely recall it, but as you say, it was insignificant.” He is impatient now. There isn’t much happening for him to use as a diversion and slip away.

“Then you will recall that you killed one at the river and five in their camp. My scouts had already counted the six before you showed up and simply became Number Seven. So, you see, you were just as insignificant yourself. Just another number, and not even a good one. Not even number one. That privilege went to the shifter by the riverbank. You seemed to think you were being watched, too, as one of my scouts told me,” I say, tipping my head to one side just to add insult to injury.

“They were in the oak tree. I thought so, but again, the whole incident was so insignificant.” I can see he is ready to leave and that, as we now have an audience, he is going to need a quick victory so he can escape in the shock of it.

Remembering how he so quickly dispatched of those at the camp, I’m sure he’ll gamble on that speedy method again.

“Well, Number Seven, I can’t say it’s been a pleasure, but it has been entertaining…”

“It’s Levi! My name is Levi,” he snarls and this time I’m sure I have him.

I see him start to extend his claws, and he is preparing to sweep that right hand across my throat.

I send my right hand crashing forward in a straight-arm jab.

As my hand closes around his throat, I see confusion in his eyes, then fear as he realizes I have only to extend my claws and his throat will be ripped out as effectively as he was going to do to me.

Smiling, I extend my claws, feel the warm blood run through my fingers and hear his last sharp gasp of breath. Levi, Number Seven, is gone. Now to find Arric and put an end to him and his dream of being a king.