Chapter 129:
Silas’s attack hit Lyle with a force that sent him sprawling, but his defiance, his willingness to protect Dante, gave Dante the split second he needed to regain his footing, to turn and face Silas head-on.
Dante’s roar was filled with fury, his strikes a blur as he engaged Silas, his movements a combination of strength and precision. The two of them clashed in a brutal fight, their every strike a testament to the hatred and history between them. But now, Dante had something Silas could never understand—a pack, a family, wolves who would risk everything to protect each other.
As Dante fought, I saw Silas falter, his confidence shaken by the loyalty, the courage he faced. In that moment, I knew that we had already won, that Silas’s attempt to divide us had only made us stronger.
Dante’s final strike sent Silas staggering back, his form crumpling as he fell to the ground, his defiance replaced by disbelief, by the realization that he had been defeated not by strength alone, but by the unity he had sought to destroy.
Around us, Silas’s forces began to retreat, their spirits broken, their will shattered. I felt a wave of relief, of triumph, as I looked around at the wolves who had stood beside me, who had fought with everything they had.
But as I turned, my heart dropped. Lyle lay still on the ground, his breaths shallow, his eyes half-closed. I rushed to his side, Dante close behind me, his expression stricken.
“Lyle,” I whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“You saved us. You saved Dante. You’re a hero.”
He managed a faint smile, his voice barely a whisper.
“I wanted… to protect the pack. To protect you.”
Tears blurred my vision as I nodded, feeling the weight of his sacrifice, the courage that had defined him.
“You did, Lyle. You protected us all.”
Dante knelt beside him, his gaze filled with gratitude, with sorrow.
“You were brave, Lyle. Braver than any wolf I’ve ever known.”
Lyle’s gaze softened, a look of peace settling over him. With a final, shuddering breath, he closed his eyes, his sacrifice etched into the hearts of every wolf who had witnessed it. As the remaining wolves gathered around, a silence fell over us, a quiet reverence for the courage, the loyalty that Lyle had shown. He had given everything to protect his pack, his family, and his legacy would live on in the strength, the unity he had fought for.
I rose, my heart heavy yet filled with a fierce resolve.
“We will remember Lyle. We will honor him with our lives, with our loyalty. His courage has made us stronger, has shown us what it means to be a pack.”
The wolves around me raised their voices in a howl, a tribute to the young wolf who had given his life for his family. As the sound echoed through the forest, I felt the weight of his sacrifice settle within me, a reminder of the courage that bound us together.
We had faced the darkness, and though we had lost, we had also found something unbreakable, something that no enemy could ever take from us.
Talon Pack would endure. And Lyle’s courage would live on in every wolf who stood, who fought, who believed in the strength of the family he had died to protect.
POV: Dante
The day after Silas’s forces retreated was tense, a temporary calm that felt more like the eye of a storm than the end of it. Every wolf in Talon Pack knew that Silas was regrouping, that he’d be back. Elara and I spent the morning going over plans with Osric and the council, reinforcing the border defenses, arranging patrol rotations, and preparing the pack for what we knew would be the final, decisive clash.
Elara was carrying the weight of it all, her every decision burdened by the lives it would affect, but she wore that weight with a strength that left me both proud and worried. I could see the exhaustion beneath her determination, the subtle signs of strain that only someone close to her might notice. But even as the weight pressed down on her, she stood tall, unwavering. She was doing everything she could to protect Talon Pack, and I was determined to do the same—for her, and for the family we had built together.
