Profound Devotion

Prologue

January 07
Cassius

"Evacuate the village!" My voice carried over the shrill screams that echoed through the valley. The mountains that once offered protection on all sides now seeped with deadly wolves, allowing us no other place to escape.

Flurries of fangs tore through flesh, drawing blood that stained the few inches of snow that still blanketed the land tucked within the mountain range. My roar echoed through the frigid air as I snapped the neck of a charging wolf, only to be met with another seconds later.

Our village, the one I'd grown up in and learned to love and protect over anything and everything else, had only taken minutes for them to ravage.

My legs, now numb with rage and a trained adrenaline, carried me at an immense speed across the flattest section of land as I rushed to protect those that looked up to me as their leader. I was able to hurdle over the perished trees that had once outlived those that resided under their shade and now lay in masses of dead wood, my sorrow only deepening as I relived the many times I'd gotten lost within them as a young pup.

A heavy mass of dirty red fur collided with my side, forcing me to the ground with a grunt. Its sharp fangs snapped at my throat, narrowly missing my exposed skin as I wedged my legs between us and rolled out from underneath to avoid it, its snout burrowing into the dirt where I had once laid. In one swift motion, I managed to wrap my arms around its thick neck, dislodging its connection at the base of its skull and dropping the now limp body into a heap within the bloodied snow below.

These wolves were everywhere, destroying my home and taking from me what I would never be able to get back. With every one I killed, three more took its place.

One by one, as each member of my pack was brutally slaughtered like nothing more than mere rogues, their bonds that connected their Lycans with mine severed and left a gaping hole in my chest. I managed to help a few who thanked me graciously, narrowly escaping their own deaths.

I knew I could do more. I had to. I'd trained most of my life to protect those under my leadership, and as of that moment, I was failing.

"Cassius!" My brother's frantic shouts echoed from deep within the trees. Along with it came a symphony of painful howls and grunts that signaled a difficult fight and made my worry for him overpower any fear of my own.

My body was fueled on the need to protect my brother as I hunted him down, using his familiar scent that I'd gotten used to over the years to zero in on his exact location. My heart was pounding in my chest, the echoing sound pulsing within my eardrums, and I sent a prayer to anyone who'd listen for him to be okay.

Even as I grew closer, and I could hear the sound of his own heart still very much beating—though erratic—I needed to see for myself.

A smaller, murky brown wolf with straggly fur and murderous black eyes had him trapped against a large tree that had been fractured down the center, separating from the force used against my brother. Its tail flicked out a warning as he backed away and circled his frightened prey.

Deep within my chest, a murderous growl rumbled low enough to shake the branches of the trees that still stood. The wolf stopped his pacing, dropping his ears at the noise and power behind it. His muddy paws pressed into the earth and whipped his wiry figure around to face me, my brother now a long forgotten afterthought.

I expected him to charge, to try and fight his way out of the dangerous situation he found himself in. Unfortunately—or fortunately for me—he let out his own growl that was much weaker and darted off without a look back over his shoulder.

"Raian, are you hurt?" My eyes scanned over his body as I forced the fallen log off his lap. It was already staining with the blood that soaked through his thin pant leg from the gaping wound on his thigh. His shirt had also been torn and revealed the leveled scratches and bruises that marred his bare chest, but the rest of him seemed to be in good shape.

He nodded his head, his eyes still wide and glued to the trampled grass the wolf had once been standing. "Yeah, I-I think so." His throat cleared, and with a wave of my hand in front of his face, he managed to shake himself out of his daze and return to reality. "What are we going to do now?"

It was a question that should have been so simple to answer, but only seemed to make the intensity of reality sit heavier and heavier on my shoulders. There was only one thing I knew I needed to do: protect the members of the village, even if that meant risking myself in the process.

"We need to go help the others." Raian seemed concerned, though he knew he had no choice but to agree and stumble after me as I backtracked out of the woods towards the midst of the chaos.

We came to a stop at the edge of a small cliff that overlooked our bundles of houses. They were built to blend well with the nature around them, though now they were practically unrecognizable. What were once small huts, the roofs covered in bright green moss to help camouflage them from the bird's eye view, were now nothing more than burning ash and piles of rubble. Many were still engulfed in flames, the families that once resided within them frantically trying to salvage what they could before it was lost forever.

"I need to get down there." I snarled, stumbling over loose boulders that threatened to pry loose from the earth. Another wave of screams shook the air, and I cringed as we watched a young female fall to the jaws of a smoke grey beast, her head ripped clean from her shoulders and silencing her sorrowful wails.

Another wave of wolves invaded the dip in terrain, barreling into the bulldozed village to destroy what was left of my home. There were no living members left in sight, and the mutilated bodies of what once were mothers, children, indispensable Lycans were being dragged away to a pile near the base of the mountain.

"Brother, we need to get out of here." Raian glanced over his shoulder with a paranoid urgency, his hand reaching out to pull me back up as I clung to a loose root sticking out from the ground. My weight was balanced on one single foot that was pressed on a thin ledge, my only chance of making it down the steep ledge a horrific drop that I wasn't sure I would survive.

"Please." He continued. "They're going to look for you next once they notice you're missing."

I scoffed and shook my head, unable to look away from the gruesome sight. The orange flicker of the flames warmed my face, igniting the existing hatred and morphing it into its own, devastating forest fire. "I am not leaving my people."

My brother, the usual voice of reason, wrapped his long fingers around my bicep and used all his strength to urge me back up to the surface above. "I'm sorry, but you are my brother over everything else. I will not let you die, too."

His internal suffering was hard to ignore. I had a duty to my people, but I also owed it to him as his brother to make sure he wasn't left completely alone in this world. He didn't have my rigorous training, or the natural strength advantage that came with the Alpha blood that coursed through my veins. I glanced one last time at the place we'd known our entire lives as he tugged me again in the opposite direction. Hundreds of wolves were sniffing the air, searching for any other signs of life that they missed.

A large, muscular brown wolf let out a bone chilling howl to corral his warriors to his location. He then shifted, his joints popping out of place before morphing into a dominant Alpha male. Villainous dark eyes scanned the trails of destruction, his mouth stretching into a sickening smile of satisfaction.

"Cassius." Raian's voice dripped with fear, his tone low enough to avoid drawing attention. However, as if sensing our present stares, the Alpha's head snapped toward us, his hollow eyes locking onto mine.

His sickening smirk widened as if to taunt me; to boast his successful takeover. My anger mulled over to a sincere motivation.

As I stood on higher ground, my chin raised and my elongated fangs bared, I made a silent vow that, someday, I would find a way to make them regret trespassing within the Gurydia mountains and spilling the sacred blood of everyone I cared for.

They were going to pay, even if it took until my dying breath to make it so.