CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & SEVENTY FOUR
Nolan’s POV
“That’s the last one,” Solon said as I snapped the rogue’s neck and his body collapsed to the ground.
I counted over a hundred in total by the time it was done. They had come in waves. The first wave hit before we had fully organized. The second arrived when we were already stretched thin.
Solon had taken the left flank. I had taken the right. We held both, but not without cost. Fifteen of Silverfang’s warriors were severely wounded and five were dead.
“Where did they come from?” Solon asked.
“The Rogue King….Jason must’ve sent them,” I answered.
“We need to check in on the other areas,” Solon stated.
We found Marco and Derek near the southern gate. As Solon’s Beta, Derek was directing two of his men to secure the gate latch where a rogue had damaged the mechanism during the fight. Marco was checking on the wounded warriors. He had a cut above his brow that had bled down the side of his face and dried there.
“Marco, Derek,” I greeted.
“Good to see that you two are not injured,” Marco stated.
“We are sending the wounded to the hospital and working on repairs as quickly as we can,” Derek advised.
“Clear the bodies,” Solon instructed. “I want the ground clean before nightfall and a full count of how many we faced.”
“Understood,” Marco confirmed.
Solon and I began walking down the length of the wall, making our way back to the hospital. The rogues had not been disorganized. They had a clear direction and target. Three sections of the city wall had taken hits that would require reconstruction before they could be considered secure again.
“They are deliberately targeting the construction,” I added.
Solon stopped to assess a large hole in the wall and frowned. “At this rate the walls will not be complete before winter due to repairing the damage that has been done. And if more rogues attack, it will take longer.”
“I’ll send reinforcements. Construction crews and additional fighters. We can accelerate your build and strengthen the patrol rotations along the sections that have already been hit,” I suggested.
“What if they attack Bloodmoon?” Solon asked.
“I doubt it and even if they do, Bloodmoon is more secure than Silverfang right now. Our wall is complete and Walden has the border under control. We can spare the warriors for this,” I answered.
“How many can you spare?” Solon asked.
I waved him off. “Let me worry about that, Solon. I will have reinforcements here within three days.”
Solon nodded and said, “Thank you. You know, I would not have accepted that offer six months ago,” he said.
“And I would not have offered my help then.”
“I misread you, for a long time. I assumed the worst about you. I thought you were using Talia for political advantage. I thought your anger toward my father would make you unstable and that being near you would put her in danger.”
“You were not entirely wrong about the anger,” I admitted. I have been blinded by my rage that I had not thought things through. I had made things hard for everyone involved for such a long time. It was one of things I regretted.
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“That doesn’t excuse my behavior,” Solon said and I turned to look at him, shocked by what he was saying. “I was too proud, hypocritical maybe.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t expect to hear Solon admit this. I was fine with just letting bygones be bygones.
‘We have fought at his side and protected each other. It only makes sense that he wants to clear the air,’ my wolf advised. ‘There may not be a chance to do it later.’ That thought shook me. If we were heading to war, my wolf was right. There was a chance that one of us or both could perish before all was said and done.
“You have fought for this family at every step. You have stood beside Talia through everything she has faced since returning from Shadowclaw,” Solon explained. “I am sorry for misjudging you.”
“And I am sorry for assuming that the Alpha King was my father’s murderer and intended to hurt him before. I know now that it was not him,” I responded.
“Water under the bridge. You don’t have to apologize,” Solon said.
“Yes, I do. I had misplaced anger for years. Michael was responsible for my father’s death. I killed him. I avenged my father and now I will do everything in my power to do what I could not back then for my father, which is to save yours,” I told him.
Solon turned away to look at the wall before letting out a bitter laugh. “I would have liked to kill Michael with my own hands for all the pain and suffering he has caused, but you deserved that kill more than me.” He looked back at me. “So, we will deal with Jason together.”
Before I could respond the pain hit me square in the chest. I gripped my chest and groaned as I doubled over.
“Nolan? Nolan, are you okay?” Solon asked.
The pain had come out of nowhere. I had no chest wound, so there was no reason for it to be there. Another wave hit me and Solon had to keep me from falling.
‘Our mate…she’s in pain,’ my wolf whined.
Then, a second later, through the mate bond, Talia’s emotions hit me in a wave. I felt her grief. It was heavy, uncontrolled, and even brought me to tears. Beneath it, something worse. I felt chaotic and unstable as if I wanted to tear down everything around me including myself.
“It is Talia. Something is wrong with Talia!”
“Nolan, tell me what is going on,” Solon pressed as I was now able to stand on my own.
“Stay calm,” I ordered. “We need to get to the hospital right now.”
I said nothing else and ran.
Solon was right behind me.
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