Loving Young

Chapter XI

The weight of Darius's gaze lingered on me like a pulse under my skin, a steady distraction I couldn't afford. Yet, as my paws pounded against the dirt, tearing through rogue after rogue, that fleeting connection refused to dissipate, weaving itself into the chaos of the fight. I shook it off, focusing on the snarls and growls cutting through the sharp tang of blood saturating the air. Each breath burned in my chest as I pushed past my limits, but Nyx thrived in this storm of violence. She was an unyielding force, driving me forward with ruthless precision. 

Another rogue lunged from the side, jaws snapping toward my throat. Instinct took over before I could think, my body twisting just enough to avoid the teeth aimed for me. With a powerful shove, I slammed him into the ground, the impact reverberating through my limbs. He let out a weak yelp before I silenced him, my teeth closing around his neck in a swift, brutal snap. His body fell limp, and I moved on, not allowing myself even a second to catch my breath.

I surveyed the battlefield, my eyes sweeping across the chaos. We were holding them back—barely. But it was clear this wasn't over. The rogues kept coming, relentless in their assault, and it was only a matter of time before we reached our breaking point. My gaze flicked to Toran, his commanding presence standing out amid the frenzy. He was directing our warriors with the precision of someone who had been through countless battles, and despite the overwhelming odds, a sense of pride swelled in me. He wasn't just leading, he was fighting with everything he had, and it showed.

Then I saw it—a ripple in the rogue formation, too deliberate to be chance. They were shifting toward the pack house, where the vulnerable members were sheltering. Panic surged through me, a cold wave of dread that propelled me forward before I even registered the thought. I couldn't let them reach the pack house. My heart raced, each beat louder in my ears as I sprinted through the fray, weaving past the warriors locked in combat. 

At the edge of the battle, three rogues broke from the main group, their snarls slicing through the night as they zeroed in on the pack house. My pulse hammered as I launched myself at the nearest one. The collision sent us both tumbling through the dirt, but I didn't let him recover. Nyx surged within me, her fury igniting as I tore into the rogue, leaving it lifeless before it could strike again. 

The second rogue was on me in an instant, but before I could react, a blur of motion intercepted it. Darius. He moved with deadly grace, his wolf form a blur of motion as he tackled the rogue, slamming him to the ground with a brutal efficiency that sent a shiver down my spine. There was no hesitation in his movements, no mercy. He dispatched the rogue with a single, vicious bite, his fur matted with blood as he turned to face the third.

There was no time to dwell on the way our movements synced instinctively. Together, we turned on the third rogue, tearing it apart. The space around the pack house cleared, leaving a moment of eerie silence that muffled the distant sounds of battle. My eyes flicked to Darius as he shifted back into his human form. 

His chest rose and fell with exertion, sweat tracing paths through streaks of blood on his skin. Muscles coiled, tense and unrelenting, but it was his eyes that held me. The familiar deep green was now fractured by brilliant golden streaks, a clear sign that his wild had taken control. As his gaze tore away from the lifeless body and locked onto me, it moved over me like a physical force, drawing me in so completely that I forgot to breathe. For a fleeting heartbeat, the chaos around us vanished, the world narrowing to the raw, magnetic pull of his eyes. Then Toran's sharp shout shattered the moment, snapping me back to reality.

"More incoming!" 

I shifted back into my human form feeling the familiar stretch and pull of my bones. There was no time to think about whatever had passed between me and Darius. The fight wasn't over, and I could feel the exhaustion weighing on our warriors. The rogues were pushing harder, more coordinated than I'd ever seen them. My mind raced, trying to piece together what this attack was about. It wasn't random-it couldn't be.