Vaarin roared as the arrow lodged itself deep in his back, but like the wolf he was, he lifted his sword and unleashed himself on the line of soldiers who raised weapons in front of him. Kaizan lunged on his left with a guttural snarl and Ileus on the right flung beams of white and gold over the rebels.

A sneaky archer rebel who was in the midst of all the other rebels, had drawn a string and fired the arrow. His shot was precise towards Vaarin. All he wanted was some distraction on what was going on so that Luke could be given some vantage. And his strategy worked. 

Vaarin spotted the archer through the army of rebels. "You!" he yelled. He rushed through the dense network of bodies to reach the archer. No sooner did he reach there, a sword came whooshing down in his direction. He stopped it with his sword and stabbed the rebel in his throat after kicking him away. Then Vaarin whirled and brought down his sword upon the archer. He saw a flash of teeth as the archer smiled, and then the glint of his sword as he raised to fight with him. But even with that arrow inside his back, Vaarin was too strong. He attacked the archer and slashed his sword, a blow that could have cleaved the rogue in half had he not darted back fast enough. But the slash managed to rip his tunic and make a sizable cut on his torso. It took no more than five minutes for Vaarin to kill the archer. He whirled around to kill more of them. The wizards in the air aided him as he moved through the crowd this time. It was not long before he came face to face with Luke. Luke had a dagger in his hand. 

"Vaarin!" Kaizan with his sword that was crimson and dripping with blood, stepped right beside him and was about to charge at Luke, but Vaarin halted him by his hand. 

"Stay back," he growled, panting hard, as he faced Luke, who was bent forward with the dagger in his right hand, ready to attack. "He is mine, and I will do this the ancient way—slow and painful." All at once whatever little love he had for his son, vanished. Now Luke was just like any other rebel for him—a prized rebel. The more you loved a person, the more you hated them if the time comes. 

Kaizan stopped and glanced at the arrow on his back. Blood dripped down. He shuddered to think that if it was even an inch closer, it could have pierced through his heart. 

He wanted to offer to fight Luke, instead Kaizan said, "Then let me cut its shaft." 

Vaarin gave him a tight nod. Used to this type of a situation before, Kaizan snapped the shaft of the arrow, leaving just enough that it jutted out of his back so that the blood didn't spurt out like a fountain. 

His fangs lengthened and his claws became sharp as they rolled out. "Let's see how good you still are Luke," Vaarin hissed and attacked. 

Luke had always seen his father when he was fighting the rebels. He had trained with him a number of times. He lunged at Vaarin with his dagger but he couldn't move fast enough to avoid the claws ripping into his face, his neck and torso. Luke screamed with pain and fury. 

His dagger struck Vaarin on his upper arm, gashing through his flesh. Next, he charged at his chest, but Vaarin blocked the attack with his elbow which slammed right into Luke's elbow hard enough to send him two steps back. Luke barked as pain cruised through him. Vaarin whirled around and struck his side down hard. His claws gashed the side of Luke's torso. Crying with pain, Luke stumbled away a few steps. 

"It is not easy to kill me, is it Luke?" Vaarin said as he surveyed his son and his son surveyed him. The rebels around them were dropping like corn plants felled by a farmer with his knife. Those who watched them move, dared not move. "And that dagger—I remember it," he seethed. "Murtagh killed his father to become the Alpha of the pack. And he has gifted it to you to kill your father so that you return the pack to him once again." Varrin's loath for Murtagh had no end, but his dislike for his son… it rose to the next level. 

They charged each other again, some fundamental part fracturing inside Vaarin with every strike and slice. When they separated again, Vaarin spat, "You are just as pathetic as the man who made you the monster."

"Fuck off!" Luke growled. "You are nothing like him!" 

And at that point of time Vaarin knew that Luke had gone too far from him. So far that he would never come back. It broke the last thread that tied him to his son. "Then you will die today—with my teeth at your throat!" 

"Or you will die at my hands," Luke retorted. He had removed his family's weakness out of him and now he was a rebel, a freedom fighter. He charged at Vaarin with his dagger. 

His father moved back and then swirled around him to come at his back. He went for Luke's throat and slashed it. Luke barked in a lot of pain, as Vaarin's claws shredded the flesh between his shoulders. Blood and flesh clung to his claws. Luke staggered as he saw stars in his vision. But the next moment Luke turned fast on his heels. Vaarin saw the blow coming but couldn't stop it. Luke's dagger slashed across his stomach. Armor, cloth and his skin, slashed. He growled in pain. As if he had had enough of it, Vaarin just attacked Luke and the next he knew was that his fangs were on Luke's throat, and Luke's dagger planted somewhere in his body. Vaarin pierced his fangs deeper and deeper in Luke's neck until it hung from his body on a piece of flesh and skin. Luke's body stumbled and fell on the ground. Vaarin too looked at his son for the last time. Numbed, he heard distant roars and someone cried his name, but he was far too gone, his mind wondering whether he felt the loss of his son, whether he should tell Kaia about it. Darkness swept over him like a warm, inviting blanket. 

Every other rebel was sliced or burned. Ileus's wrath had no limit. Along with his army of wizards, he killed every one of them in no more than twenty minutes. Chest heaving with anger in his lungs, he surveyed the carnage around him. The Mozias were now on the ground, helping the werewolves to pile the bodies of the rebels on the side. In this whole mayhem, there was something that was missing. He snapped his head to the right and then left. Where was Tasha? He remembered that Kaizan had rushed his father-in-law out of here. 

--- 

Taking advantage of the chaos, Tasha had got out of the fighting zone and darted towards the castle.. If she couldn't kill Vaarin, then at least she could kill Kaia and do some damage on her own before leaving the pack and giving some good news to Murtagh. 

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