Rise of the Warrior Queen (Kaia and Silver) novel Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

KAIA’S POV

I have no idea how long it’s been, but nothing was working.

We’d tried everything we could, but all our efforts felt like watering stones–absolutely useless.

It didn’t help that I was practically on my own here at the moment. Mia wasn’t here, obviously. And like that wasn’t bad enough, both the leader and sub–leader of the male squad were also nowhere to be found. Elias,

the leader of the male warriors, has been MIA for days handling some “personal issues.” And Jordan, his

second–in–command and sub–leader, has been out of town with a few other warriors for the past two days doing goddess only knows what. Which meant that right now, I was here alone, leading both squads all by myself with no help whatsoever.

Mia was still in the hospital recovering from the attack–that I understood perfectly. But those two, Elias and

Jordan? Apparently, they’ve forgotten they have responsibilities to take care of. They’ve forgotten they have a squad to lead. And so help me, goddess, if lever set my eyes on either of them after this…

I looked around, my eyes taking in the scene in front of me, and I didn’t even know where to begin. Everything

was hopeless.

It was total chaos. Screams everywhere. The entire place had been turned upside down.

The once–beautiful clearing had become a battlefield, with people running and screaming all around, trying to

save themselves, while animals continued to troop out of the forest, attacking anyone they could find. And

the pack members who seemed to have been affected were growing even more violent by the second.

I weaved through the chaos barefoot, my dress torn and already stained as I ran, searching desperately. My

heart pounded so hard it hurt, and every breath burned my throat.

Everywhere was a mix of screams and madness. A young girl, no older than ten, cried as she stumbled away

from a rabid–looking fox snapping at her heels. My eyes widened as they landed on the scene. I dove forward,

scooped up a nearby chair, and slammed it into the creature with all my strength–so hard the chair broke

into pieces. The creature yelped and crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

“Quick! Run! Now!” I barked at the girl, who nodded tearfully as she scrambled to her feet and ran toward the

pack house. I stood there watching her until I was sure she’d made it into the building in one piece.

It was at this point I realized we owed the moon goddess a lot of thanks and appreciation that the mating

venue was close to the main pack house. There would have been no way of protecting these people otherwise. They would have been left out here to be devoured by possessed wild beasts and fellow pack

members.

The pack house had become the only safe place within seconds–a much–needed fortress.

My eyes moved up again, and I realized whatever it was that was happening was getting worse. The moon

was practically bleeding across the sky, and everywhere was slowly being enveloped by darkness.

All around me, warriors fought to protect the elders and children. Guests were screaming and scat g most too shocked to even think clearly, while others ran for the safety of the pack house. The music had long

died.

< CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

“Mom! Dad!” I yelled again, my eyes darting around as I searched for them in the chaos.

They were still nowhere to be found.

“Kaia!” someone shouted from behind me, and I turned to see Jace hurrying toward me. His tie and suit jacket were gone, and his white button–up shirt was rolled up to his elbows. He was sweating heavily, and I noticed his left eyebrow was bleeding. I met him halfway.

“Jace, where the hell are Jordan and Elias, for goodness‘ sake?! Why am I the only one present here at a time like this?!” I asked, my voice full of anger and frustration, even though I knew he wasn’t to blame for their absence.

Jace shook his head. “Believe me, Kala, I have no idea. This whole thing is totally beyond me.”

My eyes continued to search for my parents even as we spoke.

I spotted them near the front of the house, helping usher people inside. Relief crashed into me like a wave.

Oh goddess.

They were alive.

They were okay.

I turned to a young male warrior nearby. “Where the hell is your leader?! Where is Elias?!” I asked again.

He shook his head, fear and confusion in his eyes. “I don’t know, Ma’am! We’ve tried calling like a thousand times already, but there’s no response!”

Damn it!

“And Jordan? Has anyone seen Jordan?!” I called out to another male warrior.

He shook his head. “No, Ma’am. Haven’t seen him either.”

Oh goddess.

Of course. I cursed silently. That meant leadership still fell to me.

There’s something strange going on here, turning the entire pack into chaos, and for some reason, I’m the only leader present to work through it.

Goddess help me.

“Everyone!” I shouted, clapping my hands loudly to get their attention. “All warriors, form a perimeter around the pack house! Do NOT let anyone or anything inside unless you know they’re not affected! We need to keep everyone as safe as we can!”

Some heads turned toward me, but most were too overwhelmed by the strange situation to respond.

I screamed louder. “NOW! That’s an order!”

The command in my voice seemed to cut through the panic. Slowly, warriors began to move, dragging people toward the house and securing the area. The unpossessed were herded inside. Children were carried, elders supported.

I turned around and sprinted toward a wounded warrior being helped by two others.

“Animal or person?” I asked, wanting to know what she had been injured by.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

“Animal. A deer,” she replied, and I nodded.

“That means you were in close range with it. You saw it closely. Any clue what this is? A spell? Possession?

“I don’t know!” one of them cried. “We were watching the ceremony, and then people just started… changing. Their eyes went white. Animals too! But this deer–there was something strange about it. It didn’t act like an animal at all. It acted like a person. Like it was aware of itself. Too aware.”

I shook my head. Something was wrong. Very wrong. This wasn’t just a coincidence. Whatever this is, it started right after the strange eclipse that came literally out of nowhere. Whatever this was, it spelled dark magic. Old magic.

I looked toward the blood–red sky again and shivered slightly.

What the hell was going on?

I waited until I was sure everyone who wasn’t affected had made it into the pack house safely before I left to join them.

Inside the house, we slammed the doors shut and locked them. The windows had been reinforced with steel mesh years ago for emergencies. I never thought we’d need them, but now I couldn’t be more grateful to whoever came up with the idea.

From the safety of the pack house, we could see through the tall windows. It was like watching a nightmare

unfold in real time.

Some of the possessed animals kept ramming the door, trying to force their way in. A deer with dark, glowing eyes kept bashing into the window until blood dripped down its face. A raccoon with glowing white eyes clawed at the mesh, teeth bared and foaming.

And worst of all–some of our own.

I pressed a hand to the glass as I watched one of the female warriors, Tasha, stumble past, her head jerking unnaturally. Her eyes were clouded, and blood dripped from her mouth.

“Moon above,” I whispered, feeling my heart breaking. “What is this?”

“Kaia.” I turned just as Silver came up behind me, Everett close beside him. “What’s going on out there?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “It started with an eclipse. Then everything went to hell.”

Silver reached over and touched my arm gently. “You’re doing good. You’re holding it together.”

I nodded, even though inside I felt like shattering. But I couldn’t afford to fall apart. Not now.

Another crash hit the window, followed by people screaming again. I turned away, pulling my hair in

frustration.

How am I supposed to tackle this one? And where the hell is Gareth when you need him, for goodness‘ sake?!

Why isn’t anyone showing up?!

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm myself before turning to face the warriors.

“We need to organize,” I said quickly. “These windows will hold for now. But we need to assume is isn’t over. You can see it yourselves–they’re trying to break in.”

A group of warriors came rushing into the room through the back door, panting, bleeding, some even shaking as they joined the meeting.

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

“We need guards on each side of the house. Rotate them every twenty minutes. No one leaves without permission. We need to contain this as much as we can. Alright?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from

shaking too much.

These people were looking up to me, and the last thing I wanted to do was let them down.

No one argued. Everyone nodded in understanding.

“Has anyone seen Alpha Gareth?” I asked. Everyone looked at each other as if hoping someone could provide

information on his whereabouts. But when everyone remained silent, they all turned back to me and shook

their heads no.

“Kaia!” a voice called out from near the door, and I turned to see Dax.

“Dax, what’s the matter?” I asked.

“Jordan is on his way!” he said. “He just called. He’s trying to get to us, but he’s stuck on the ridge. Some of

his men are affected.”

I frowned at the last part. Why would some of his men be affected by what was happening when they weren’t

even on pack lands when it started? Or were they?….

“What about Elias?” I asked Dax.

Dax’s face fell. “I couldn’t reach him. Neither could Jordan.”

I slammed my palm on my forehead. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Despite the situation, Silver actually let out a soft chuckle. “It’s okay, Kaia. If they can’t get here right now, then we’ll hold without them. We’ve got this.”

I nodded. “Right.”

Except I didn’t. They may have this, like he said–but not me. I haven’t had anything under control in a long

while, and definitely not this.

But I couldn’t tell them that now, could I?

No, I couldn’t. And so I carried on, pretending like I actually knew what I was doing.

We spread the warriors into small units. Every able–bodied male or female with training.

I turned to Silver. “You’re with me. We’ll patrol the lower floor.”

He nodded. “You got it.”

Everett was already tending to a child with a bruised leg, so we left him at it while we proceeded to the lower

floor.

Outside, the blood moon was getting more and more scary. Shadows moved in twisted, unnatural ways. Some of the possessed creatures simply paced, like they were waiting. Others tried to break in. Every thud made people flinch.

Inside, we did what we could. I kept asking about Elias, and I kept getting the same answer fro no one had seen him. Neither had anyone seen Gareth.

eryone-

The whole pack was under attack, and the alpha was nowhere to be found.

My mind raced with questions. Was this a curse? A plague? A coordinated attack?

4/5

CHAPTER

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

My head was filled with all kinds of questions as I walked through the hall again with Siver, checking on the

guards.

“Hold your line,” I told one female warrior. “No matter what, you must remain on guard. And if anything happens, call for help and backup immediately. Do not hesitate for even a second. You understand me?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” she nodded. I gave her a nod in reply before walking away.

“We have to keep people calm, Silver said as he fell into step beside me. “Panic will only get us killed.”

“I know. I’m doing my best,” I told him. “But we need answers. And soon.”

A crash came from the back, and we both stiffened.

I bolted toward the sound, and I could feel Silver right on my heels. A small group of creatures had torn through a wooden shed in the backyard, but the mesh and steel reinforcement still held–thank goodness for

that.

Then suddenly, a long, low, soul–shaking howl echoed across the sky, louder than anything else.

People went dead silent, their faces full of panic and confusion as they turned to me like I was supposed to

hold all the answers.

“What was that?” someone whispered.

“A warning,” I said quietly. “Or a call. I don’t know. But I… I think they’re calling to each other.”

Silver cursed under his breath. “Or someone else is calling them.”

That terrified me more than the first one.

I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew it deep in my bones.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I actually felt fear. And right now, I didn’t know what to think

of that.

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