The Princess's Revenge Chapter 93

Valencia’s POV

"How many?" I asked, having to shout over the wind.

"We don't know yet," Logan called back.

We slowed as we approached the gate. Warriors were already positioned on the walls, bows drawn. The massive wooden doors were barred shut.

Logan dismounted and helped me down. The torn silk dress caught on the saddle, ripping further. I didn't care anymore.

"Report," Logan commanded the nearest guard.

The guard's face was pale in the torchlight. "Alpha, there's at least five hundred of them. Maybe more. They're staying just outside bow range."

Five hundred? My stomach dropped. We barely had a hundred warriors left after the last attack.

"Who leads them?" Logan asked.

"We can't tell. They're keeping their distance."

Logan nodded and started toward the stairs that led up to the wall. I followed, lifting my torn dress to avoid tripping. My legs shook, but I forced myself to keep moving.

We reached the top, and I gasped. The field beyond our walls was filled with figures. They stood in perfect formation, torches creating a sea of fire in the darkness.

The guard who'd given the report followed us up. His voice sounded familiar. I looked closer and recognized him – Leif.

"Luna," Leif said, bowing his head respectfully when he noticed me looking.

I nodded, my eyes scanning the enemy lines. That's when I saw them. The siege weapons. A massive battering ram on wheels. A siege tower that stood almost as tall as our walls. Dozens of scaling ladders.

"Logan," I whispered, grabbing his arm. "Those are—"

"I see them," he said grimly.

Fear crawled up my spine like ice. They wanted to destroy us completely.

A figure in the enemy ranks stood up, raising a torch high. Then a sharp male voice cut through the night air, amplified somehow to reach us clearly.

"I am Alpha Elton of Emerald Grove Pack!"

My blood went cold. Elton. The name alone made me want to vomit.

"Your Alpha Logan is accused of murdering my Beta Zephyr!" Elton's voice continued. "Hand over your Alpha to face trial in my pack, or I will breach these walls and kill every last person until I find my Beta's body!"

My stomach churned as every face on the wall turned to stare at Logan. Their faces showed shock, confusion.

The image of Elton's cruel smile flashed in my mind, making bile rise in my throat. Was this his plan? Trade Zephyr's life for Logan's.

Logan's Alpha presence exploded outward. The air itself seemed to thicken, pressing down on everyone on the wall. Even the howling wind stopped, as if nature itself bowed to his fury.

I felt it too, but differently through our bond. Not oppressive, but protective. Wrapping around me like armor.

"Zephyr attacked me on my territory!" Logan's voice carried across the field with deadly calm. "He ambushed my warriors. Killed my men. I defended myself and my pack!"

"That's not what my sources say," Elton replied. "I received intelligence that Aldermere was planning to bypass Ironwatch Border and attack Eagle's Beak. I sent Zephyr with reinforcements to help you!"

My heart hammered against my ribs. The lying bastard. He was twisting everything, trying to claim the moral high ground. Even if his story was complete bullshit, it gave him an excuse to attack.

"You sent no word!" Logan roared. "No messenger! No warning! Anyone who enters pack territory unannounced can be dealt with as I see fit! That's pack law!"

"Pack law," Elton repeated mockingly. "How convenient."

"He killed my warriors!" Logan's voice shook the stones beneath our feet. "Their blood is on your Beta's hands!"

Silence stretched across the field. Only the wind dared to make noise, whistling through the battlements. Everyone gripped their weapons tighter. I swallowed hard, my throat dry as sand.

Elton's voice returned, impatient now. "I have a witness who says otherwise."

My heart was racing, could it be... him?

"Dorian!" Elton called out. "Tell them what you saw!"

My blood turned to ice.

A figure stepped forward from the enemy ranks, torch in hand. Even from this distance, I recognized that silhouette. That walk. I felt rage burning in my chest. This fucking ass. I wanted to tear his body limb from limb.

I heard the warriors muttering. Word had spread fast through the pack about what Dorian had done. Every face on the wall twisted with fury as they stared at him.

"You bastard!" someone shouted from further down the wall.

"Traitor!" another voice called out.

"I am Dorian, former Beta of Cliffwatch Pack." He stood there with enemies like he hadn't destroyed everything.

"Alpha Logan sent me with false information," Dorian continued, his voice steady and clear. "He told me to spread word that Aldermere would bypass Ironwatch Border to attack Eagle's Beak. He wanted Alpha Elton to send reinforcements. It was a trap to lure Beta Zephyr and his warriors into Cliffwatch territory so he could slaughter them."

"You lying piece of shit!" The words tore from my throat before I could stop them. "You poisoned our well! You killed Xander! You set the fires!"

Dorian didn't even look at me. He just stood there, holding his torch high, waiting.

"How dare you stand there and lie!" I screamed. "You murdered your own pack members!"

Still nothing. He kept his eyes fixed on Logan, ignoring me completely.

"Dorian is a traitor to this pack! He orchestrated the rogue attacks that killed thirty-nine of our people! His words mean nothing!" Logan's voice cut through the night like thunder.

"Interesting," Elton called back. "My trusted source says otherwise."

"Your source is a murderer and a liar!"

"Perhaps. But I have his testimony and a dead Beta. That's enough for me." Elton's voice turned cold. "I gave you a chance to surrender peacefully, Logan. You refused."

"I'll come with you," Logan said.

I looked at him in horror, "What are you doing?" I asked him anxiously through the mind link.

"I'll submit to your trial," Logan continued. "But only if you guarantee my pack's safety."

NO NO NO, DON’T DO THIS, I roared through the link.

Elton laughed. A cruel, vicious sound that made my skin crawl. "Too late for that, Logan. You had your chance. Now I want blood."

Logan's face darkened. I could feel his anger.

"ATTACK!" he growled.

The enemy army surged forward. Their war cries filled the air. The ground shook from hundreds of boots marching in unison.

"Archers!" someone screamed.

"They're bringing the ram!"

The warriors on the wall started panicking. Fear spread through them like wildfire.

"SILENCE!" Logan roared. His Alpha voice crashed over everyone, forcing instant obedience. "Every warrior stays at their post! No one runs! No one surrenders!"

The panic stopped, but I could still see the terror in their eyes. Five hundred enemies against our hundred. Those siege weapons. We all knew what this meant.

Logan turned to Leif. "Open the gate."

"Alpha?" Leif's face went white.

"Open it."

"Logan, no!" I grabbed his arm, my fingers digging into his skin. "You can't go out there alone!"

He looked down at me, and for a second, his stone-cold expression cracked. His hand came up to cup my face, thumb brushing my cheek.

"Open the gate, Leif," he said again, never taking his eyes off mine.

"Please," I begged. "Don't do this. We can fight together. All of us."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. The kiss was soft, gentle. When he pulled back, his gray eyes held something desperation.

"I love you," he whispered.

My heart shattered. "Logan—"

He pulled his hand from mine slowly, finger by finger. Each separation felt like a knife to my chest. I tried to hold on, but he was stronger.

"No," I said. "No, Logan, please—"

He turned and walked toward the stairs. Every step he took away from me felt wrong. Warriors moved aside to let him pass, their faces grim.

I followed him down, stumbling on my torn dress. "Logan, stop! This is insane!"

He didn't stop. He walked straight to his white stallion and swung up into the saddle. The horse pranced nervously, sensing the tension.

"My lance," Logan commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos.

A nearby warrior struggled forward, carrying Logan's massive silver war lance. The weapon was enormous - nearly twelve feet long with a gleaming steel tip that could punch through armor like paper.

The warrior staggered under its weight, needing both hands just to lift it.

"Alpha," the warrior grunted, hefting the lance upward.

Logan reached down and grasped the weapon with one hand, lifting it as easily as if it were a riding crop. He settled the lance against his stirrup.

"Alpha," Elias said, his voice thick. "Let us come with you."

"No. Protect the pack. Protect her." Logan's eyes found mine one last time. "That's an order."

He rode toward the gate. Leif stood there, hands shaking as he gripped the heavy bar that kept it locked.

"Leif, don't!" I shouted.

Leif's face crumpled with grief, but he lifted the bar. The gate groaned as it started to open. Just wide enough for one horse to pass through.

Logan urged his stallion forward. The white horse stepped through the opening, and Logan sat tall in the saddle, facing five hundred enemies alone.

The gate slammed shut behind him with a bang that echoed in my chest like a death knell. My heart was shattered. I pressed my palms against the rough stone of the battlements, my legs threatening to give out beneath me. All I could feel was the crushing weight of despair, the certainty that I was watching the man I loved ride to his death.

Logan was riding slowly toward the enemy army, the lance gripped firmly in his right hand. His white stallion stood out in the darkness, a lone figure against hundreds.

The enemy had stopped their advance, probably confused by this single warrior riding out to meet them.

Through our bond, I felt Logan's emotions. Not fear. Not regret. Just cold, deadly determination.

Logan, I called through the mind link. Come back. Please.

Take care of them, Val. If something happens—

Nothing's going to happen because you're coming back!

But he'd already closed the link. I couldn't feel him anymore.

The enemy army started moving again, weapons raised, ready to swallow him whole.