Page 41 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)
Staying well back in the forest we listen and wait as the rogue force marches ever closer to the packhouse grounds.
When I receive the message that Falan has his force in position we move in on all four fronts.
The first rogues that see us, throw up their hands and literally rush forward to be taken prisoner!
At least a third of their force has surrendered before there’s any sort of fight from them. I’m amazed that they bothered to march into our lands if all they can do is surrender at the sight of our warriors.
One particular group to my right and just short of Glen’s warriors are putting up a spirited battle. I do a double-take when I see one of them with a crown on his head. Oh! This is so good. I can capture the king himself!
Taking Sloane and my protection team, I work my way toward this group. When I’m close enough, I call for their surrender. The king turns in my direction and demands to know who is asking this.
“I, Fenya Walker, Luna of the Spirit Walker Pack demand your unconditional surrender before you all fall to my warriors.”
“Ha! One of the ones I came to this horrendous backwater to find. Surrender yourself to me, Luna, and I will spare your pack.” I gaze at him for a full thirty seconds as I take in his statement, then burst out laughing.
“I demand that honor be satisfied.” What is he talking about now, I ask myself?
“What? What honor? What are you talking about? You want to fight me for laughing at you?” I’m astounded by this complete idiot.
He is surrounded, half his force, or more, has already surrendered and the majority that are left have no real fight in them.
There’s just a nucleus around this fool who would be king that shows any genuine resistance.
“Our champions shall meet in combat. I wouldn’t want to damage the prize I came all this way to claim.” He looks at his warriors for a champion, and I have to say, not one of them jumps forward to claim that honor.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, you fool.
You have the wrong hat on. You should be a jester, not a king.
What possessed you to think I would ever go with you?
” I see he is getting angry, and it isn’t just my words that are causing it.
No one wants to step up as his champion.
Why would they? They all know that they are defeated. Nothing will change that.
“What’s his problem?” Taria asks as she joins me.
“I am baffled. Apparently, he came to get a Luna. Now he said I was ‘one of the ones he came for’, so I have to assume that you were the other. He’s after a ready-made Luna, by the sounds of it.”
“Oh! Of course. He tried to get my mother, Aurora, to fight other female warriors for the honor of being his queen. I forgot about that. Bronze told me the story. It was how Gerry and Aurora got together, if I remember correctly,” Taria giggles as she recalls it.
“It seems, Arric, that you don’t have much luck with getting yourself a Luna? Aurora turned you down too?” His eyes flare, and he shouts a stream of insults at the ‘little whore from the Eclipse Pack.’
Something flashes by my head, sails through the air and hits Arric squarely on the crown. It must stun him as he drops to the ground.
“Don’t use such language or insult my Luna, you pompous ass,” Ember shouts as she strides past and collects her bat. The rogues open a wider path for her, directly to their king. Hoping to see their King do something worthwhile, I’m sure, but alas he is no real King, he is a coward at best.
Ember arrives at a time when this fight is nearing its end. I’m ready, and so is everyone else at this point in time for it to be done. Arric can shout his mouth off as much as he likes, but everyone including his rogue army can see he’s not fighting alongside them but has been hiding behind.
Arric is holding his crown to his head, but it’s no longer round. It is oval in shape, and it doesn’t sit on his head anymore.
“You stupid bitch! You bent my crown. Now it doesn’t fit my head!”
“Only people who stand with their army and do not hide are worth calling themselves king. You’ve shown everyone that you are not worthy.
Killing all your own men for your own gain, even your son!
It makes you a coward. You don’t deserve to wear any crown,” I shout, and hang onto Ember’s arm because she’s vibrating with rage at this point.
Arric shifts into his wolf and lunges at Ember, taking us all by surprise. Nobody expected him to shift, but as we are ready for anything, I and those around me shift, too.
Ember shifts fast and lunges in front of me.
She is a warrior after all, and everyone would expect her to protect.
Ember meets him head-on, and they snarl, snap and take a few chunks out of each other.
For a supposed alpha, Arric’s wolf is actually not that large.
He is now only in defensive mode as Ember’s wolf, River, takes the offensive, pushing him back, away from myself and the others standing with me.
Sloane passes me before I can stop her as she joins in the fight. It is impossible for Arric to defeat these two, and when he is slammed to the ground with Ember’s wolf’s mouth around his throat he stills.
Sloane shifts back to her human side, and snarls. “Shift!”
Everyone, and that includes his rogue army sees the weak rogue king defeated by two she-wolves. He stands with his head down, neck dripping with blood, we all can see he is done for and has nothing left to give.
Taking the crown from where it had fallen to the ground, Ember briefly studies the shape and then drops it to the ground once more.
As Arric looks she swings her bat twice, once to each side of his head.
He falls to the ground, dead, with a misshapen skull.
Taking the crown, she puts it over his cracked skull.
“It fits now, you arrogant prick!” There is a stunned silence all around her until one of the rogues lets out a cheer. Before you can say, ‘the king is dead, long live the king,’ the rogues are giving three cheers for the bat warrior.
As Ember walks back toward us, she gets handshakes and pats on the back from both our warriors and rogues alike. Looking at Taria she shrugs and smiles. “Well, he wanted his crown to fit, and I’m no jeweler!”