THE CONFLICT #2

CHAPTER 30

AXEL

I’m not sure how long Ragnar and I stand in the early morning light, the droplets of drew clinging to the surface of the forest that surrounds us. We are still as death, our faces masked to protect our identity. We are wary of our location so close to the werewolves but unable to leave as we wait for the sound of six different sounding explosions, marking the success of each team. Soon I realise that only four locations have gone off, leaving the fates of the two groups undetermined.

“We better go quickly.” I warn fearful at our prolonged lingering.

Ragnar’s head is bent in sorrow, “He’s dead Axel, my father’s de-”

I see movement out the corner of my eye, a swirl of blackness – I hit the ground hard. The force knocking my sword from my hand. I scrambled at the ground for my gold sword, desperately trying to grab hold of something as the pain in my leg is accompanied by thrashing, tearing my flesh. The werewolf snarls as it drags me away from Ragnar. Ragnar eyes widen in shock before he’s on the move, grabbing at my outstretched hand and stabbing with his short sword at the beast’s face and neck. The werewolf snaps its head back, out of Ragnar’s sword’s reach, displaying its long white canines while its red tongue tastes at the mouthful of dripping blood. Ragnar lifts me with the hand I’m clutching, moments before the growling beast is launching its next attack. Ragnar braces himself, sword ready as the werewolf’s large body knocks into him, and its teeth snaps at Ragnar’s face as his sword sits at its throat, unable to do much else other than hold the werewolf back. Ragnar grits his teeth at the weight of keeping the beast away from his vitals. I am slow in retrieving my weapon – my wounded leg pulsing fresh blood over the yellow glass growing tall under the watchful towering trees. Gripping the red-ruby handle, I stagger towards the werewolf, its back to me foolishly as it attempts to maul Ragnar. His arms shaking with the strain as he kicks at its stomach. Standing firm – my leg holding for the time being – I raise my sword above my head, the gold catching in the pale sunlight streaming through the forest as I ring it down, slicing through the black coat and its soft flesh between its shoulder blazes. The wolf howls out in pain as Ragnar struggles beneath it, snatching at a blaze on his hip and slices at its chest. Suddenly the wolf shifts, leaving a naked slip of a woman – with black wavy hair – collapsed on top of Ragnar. He lets out a startled cry as he flings the young woman away from him. Springing to his feet, he backs away from the struggling woman. She snarls at us, an odd sound from her human lips. I point my sword at her uneasily. Ragnar breathes heavily at my side – flinging his black mask from his face, his own sword hanging loosely from his hand as he stares at the form of our attacker. I step toward –

“What are you doing?” Ragnar demands, rubbing at his face.

I give him a puzzled look, “Killing her.” I say – it should be obvious.

“You can’t kill her!” Even the werewolf seems confused.

Pointing at my torn leg, I grow angry, “She didn’t think twice about trying to kill us! Or can’t you see the chunk of flesh missing from my leg Ragnar!”

“Ragnar.” She sounds astonished, looking closer at Ragnar.

Then almost like she is in shock, she stares at me, her lips parted with a look of horror. She wraps her arms protectively around her draw-up legs. The nasty wounds lavishing her body in blood, forming a river of sorts, down her chest and behind her covering knees. A blurred memory sits at the outskirts of my mind, teasing. And yet just out of reach. Something that makes me think that I’ve seen her before… For some odd reason, I'm taken back to the arena. To the very last thing I remember as I lay dying after my opponent poisoned me. I had focused my eyes on one of the private boxes in my line of view, used primarily for the nobility. Long thick black hair waved over the side of the box like a flag. The woman’s face had been unclear but she had seemed like an omen. And maybe it is because her image was the last thing I had seen, but I had a strange feeling it won’t be the last time I saw her. She could be the same woman from the box but how absurd would it be? Realistically, no werewolf would have been able to attend such an event unbeknown.

“If you are the prince, then I should like to guess your soldier is Axel.” She says daringly searching my dark mask as if she could see beneath.

“Why would you assume that?” I ask suspiciously, yet still curious to hear her answer.

She smiles, her black hair dancing in the breeze, “It’s common knowledge that the prince and you are like glue.” She says with a knowing smile.

I give Ragnar a tired look, “Just kill her! She isn’t human, she has to die. If we leave her our chance of living becomes greatly halved and it’s already not looking great!” I move forward again to finish what I started – her hazel eye’s widening – when Ragnar lifts his hand to stop me.

I grit my teeth in anger as I watch Ragnar approach her warily, “Whats your name?"

She looks at me when she answers, "Moira."

"You are an Alpha, but not the leader, yes?” Ragnar questions again.

She narrows her brown eyes, “Oh, is this an interrogation now?”

“It would greatly benefit you to answer my question. My hand is not often stilled.” Ragnar threatens.

“Then you and the werewolf prince have something in common.” She laughs, “I am a Legatus – a black wolf.” She smiles arrogantly, raising her chin, “The leaders of packs hold the title Alpha, leaders of territories consisting of multiple of Alphas sare called Regulus.”

“What is the point of this Ragnar? What do we care what they are called?” I feel my irritation rising.

Ragnar smiles in satisfaction, “The closest community to us right now is the one we just bombed. I heard your Alpha speaking of my family. My dead father and imprisoned sister."

The werewolf Moira rolls her eyes, "I would hardly call her stay at the palace an imprisonment. Our prince massacred some of his people for daring to disrespect her. Trust me when I say. It isn't a hardship over there for her."

"Be that as it may, your alpha said I must not care about my family.” Ragnar says, “I want you to tell him that I do, and that your people are going to pay for taking them from me.” He says very calmly, “Tell him that I hope he enjoyed our little present.”

He steps forward – sinks his sword into her carve muscle, adding to the wounds already adorning her body, then steps back quickly. She cries out in pain, tears spring to her deep brown eyes.

“That’s not killing her Ragnar!" I snap.

“But it’ll keep her here for a while and hopefully too weak to turn back into a wolf to call for help. It gives us some time before they find her and start tracking your blood.” he says as he loops an arm around my back.

“Don’t bet on it Ragnar Mace!” She hisses through her teeth, breathing heavily as tears frame her face. Ragnar ignores her as he helps support my weight. I give the wolf girl a last glance, wondering how big of a mistake this is.

Her eyes meet mine, “You won’t make it back alive with that leg Axel, you will bleed out first.” Her voice unsettles me, it’s almost desperate – caring.

No.

I must be going mad.

“There’s a reward for the two of you. If you hand yourselves over, you could save Axel, Ragnar.” Her voice is pleading. "Or you could leave him with me. The prince would not want you dead of that I can assure you."

I cast eye’s at Ragnar before I burst out laughing. Looking back at the injured were-girl, I smile. “I would rather my life blood baths the soil than hand myself over to the likes of you.” I snap, “She’s wasting precious time, let’s move Ragnar.”

"Axel please listen, you can't die!" She pleads.

She calls my name and every time to sounds more desperate and pained than the last. We start off slow, leaving her there – alive. The thought of her bothers me. In war, there is no place for kindness, I would have killed her. But Ragnar is still my prince, his authority above my own. A constant black shadow of concern follows us as we make for the rendezvous point, eventually gathering speed through the evergreen forest as we place distance between us and the wolf girl.