Karis sank her canines into the knight’s ankle, pulling the knight’s legs out from underneath the knight. The knight fell face into another fallen knight whose guts were drawn about the grass like an animal's chew toy. Karis didn’t give the knight a second to recover as Karis drug the knight across the meadow, making the knight hit each dead body and stone in Karis’ path. The knight grabbed an ax on the ground and swung at Karis, causing her to let go of the knight. Before Karis could retaliate, the elf queen reappeared, and Karis was overwhelmed by the guild master’s command to attack the queen. She darted toward the queen when she sawAlpha Enoch’s orc form guarding the queen. Karis knew she would have to face Enoch in battle, and she was dreading every minute of it.
Her paws bounded across the meadow as she charged for the queen. Karis dodged the battling shifters and soldiers as well as the reeking dead bodies in the meadow. How the battle had continued this long, Karis wasn’t sure. This meadow was filled with trained knights and royal guards against starved, untrained shifters. The whole battle should have been over by now. What was going on? How were the shifters still fighting? Suddenly, Karis got her answer, and she immediately regretted it.
A dark pulse of magic swept through the meadow, empowering the shifters to continue fighting. Pink glowing eyes flashed through her mind, and she felt chills run through her body. Karis knew this dark magic. The same magic she had felt for months through torture. The Grim Guild Master was here, empowering his shifter army to create havoc on the battlefield. Karis ran faster as the guild master’s commands rang through her head. Was there no limit to his power?
Karis sped toward the elf queen, and just as Alpha Enoch noticed her coming, someone knocked her away. Her head hit a large stone causing her head to pound like a drum. Her vision was dizzy as she tried to stand up. She was thankful to whoever knocked her out of the way, but she hated them for the headache they gave her. Karis stood, looking for her attacker. What brave soul had challenged her? Karis locked eyes with the last person that she wanted to see.
“It’s you, isn't it?” Dax spat at the dusty gray wolf in front of him. “You’re the wolf that I thought I killed a few years ago.”
Karis growled at the ice blue eyes of the man with electricity sparking off his blade. Why did this man have to be here? He nearly killed Karis because he misunderstood that day. Stupid human! Karis would feel no remorse for this man’s death. She dreamed of ripping this killer to pieces over and over. Stupid, little human!
Karis made the first move, charging at Dax. Dax evaded her charge at the last second, receiving a scratch from her claws in the process. His foot knocked into a fallen guard’s shield along the ground, and Dax decided to pick it up just as Karis bounded toward him. He braced himself for her attack, using the shield to block her from tackling him. Dax managed to push her off with the shield, and he took the opportunity to go on the offensive. He swung his blade at her, giving her a nice gash on her shoulder. Karis whimpered for only a moment before she and Dax began to dance through their battle. Dax would swing and Karis would evade it. Karis would snap and claw at him only for him to block it with the shield or his blade. Both Karis and Dax were becoming frustrated from the repetitive battle, but neither one of them would relent.
Another wave of dark magic washed over the bloody meadow, boosting Karis’s power again. Dax cursed under his breath as Karis became more fierce in her advances. He was torn on how aggressive he should be because he knew this dusty gray wolf was a shifter like Aura, which made him falter in his decision to kill her. He thought he had killed her once before, and he had been wrong to leave the wolf to die. If he was going to kill her this time, he would be sure that the wolf was dead. Still, something was off for him about this wolf this time. When he had faced the wolf last time, she had been more strategic in her moves, but this time the wolf was acting more animalistic in their fight. What's wrong with this she-wolf? What was wrong with all of these shifters that were here?
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While Dax had been lost in thought, Karis changed the rhythm of the battle. Karis was able to get a clean bite into his thigh, sinking her canines in as deep as she could. Dax hit Karis clear in the snout by slamming the shield down onto her face. Blood spurted out from the impact, causing Karis to release her grip on Dax’s thigh. He backed away from the whimpering wolf to examine his bleeding thigh. The skin and cloth on his leg were shreds and drenched in his blood. Dax tore his shirt and tried his best to bandage his wounded thigh. The wolf was preoccupied with her gash on her snout, trying to lick away the blood and paw at the wound. He slowly approached the angry she-wolf. They needed to finish their unfinished battle from years ago.
Karis noticed the human coming into view again. He limped toward her, unwavering in his resolve to finish their battle for good. She had to leave her wound alone and allow blood to run down her face as she turned to face her opponent again. An angry growl erupted from her as she ran at him again. Karis didn’t want to fight this battle for Shadow, the guild master, but now she truly wanted to rip this human to shreds. He started firing off bolts of electricity, forcing Karis to keep her paws light on the ground and constantly moving. If she stopped for a moment, then she would have become a charred wolf. Dax kept up a barrage of magical attacks trying to either hit the wolf or tire her out with his magic. The wolf started to act more strategically instead of on pure instinct in their fight. It was as if Dax had finally awakened the shifter inside the wolf.
Karis felt more in control of her body for the first time today. Her desires were overriding the horrid commands that Shadow had given her. Who knew the key to beating his commands would be her murderous desire? She broke through the magical attack and closed in on the male. The dark magic that had empowered her began to fade from her body. Karis tackled him to the ground, snapping at his limbs and face. Karis felt normal again, only powered by her anger at this man and her desire to survive this battle. Dax pushed her back with his sword, sending out another burst of magic. Karis shook off the electric bolt that struck her. She chomped onto his shoulder drawing blood. Shaking her head, she made the man scream in pain. Finally, she felt some satisfaction for getting back at this human. The only person to bring her to death’s doorstep and leave her there. This would be revenge at its finest for Karis.
“Enjoy it, mutt. It’s the last taste of blood you’ll get out of me,” Dax retorted to Karis’growls before he shoved his blade into the she-wolf’s side.
“Dax! No!” Jalen shouted as he ran over to the two of them. “You idiot!” He yelled at Dax as he pulled Karis off Dax. Karis had gone limp in Jalen’s arms. Her breath became labored and shallow.
Rhys came to help Dax. His shoulder and thigh were shredded remains of the she-wolf’s chew toy. Rhys doused his wounds in water from her water pouch and wrapped up his shoulder and fixed the bandage around his thigh. He cursed under his breath as Rhys tended to his wounds. How had they both gotten away so quickly? Dax looked around the meadow and saw the battle had stopped. Shifters, guards, and knights laid about the redden meadow. “What happened? Why did the battle stop?”
Karis heard the male’s words and her eyes shot open. She looked around to see everything and everyone laying askew in the meadow. She thought hard, searching for any remaining influence of Shadow, but she came up empty. What happened to Shadow? Had she freed herself from Shadow or had he released her from his command? What changed? Karis looked up at Jalen with a thousand questions swirling in her eyes. Her mind drifted to Jenro, her beloved mate. Would she see him again?
“Karis, stay with me, okay?” Jalen spoke softly to his friend that was dying in his arms. He did his best to bandage her up, but Dax had done a number on her and vice versa. Their fight was only one to continue after the dark magic faded from the meadow. He looked at Karis, trying to encourage her to stay awake. “Karis, please stay with me. I know you have questions. We all do, but right now, you need to focus on staying with me. Jenro is waiting for you.”
Karis tried to keep her eyes open. Her body had reached its breaking point when the male had stabbed her side. She had lived through hell just to reach her breaking point against this stupid human again. Would she ever get her revenge on him? Darkness flooded her vision before she could get her answer.
