Corrupted blood lord

The first dire wolf moved before the others.

It sprang from the left, not toward Teclos, but toward the fire mage behind him.

Two more broke from the opposite side at the same moment.

The mercenaries reacted exactly as the pack expected.

The spearman turned to protect the mage. The crossbowman raised his weapon toward the wolves on the ridge, while the captain stepped back to keep the center from collapsing.

Their formation split.

The werewolf standing on the fallen tree gave a short growl.

The forest erupted.

Dire wolves rushed from every direction, weaving between roots and low branches with frightening precision. They did not throw themselves blindly at steel. Some drew the mercenaries’ attention while others circled behind them. One seized the supply horse by the throat. Another tore into its flank, sending the animal crashing into the road.

"Hold the line!" the captain shouted.

There was no line left to hold.

Teclos stepped forward.

Darkness spread from beneath his boots and rushed through the forest floor.

A dire wolf leaped toward the fire mage.

Its shadow caught it in midair.

Black tendrils twisted around its legs and spine, stopping it less than a meter from the man’s face. The beast snarled and snapped its jaws until Teclos closed his fist.

The tendrils pulled.

The wolf struck the ground hard enough to crack the soil beneath it.

Teclos turned his hand.

Dark spikes rose through three others before they reached the mercenaries.

The pack scattered immediately.

Not in fear.

In response.

The werewolf on the tree barked twice, and the surviving dire wolves abandoned their charge. They slipped back between the trees before Teclos could seize them.

Axel watched them disappear.

"They are testing us."

"I noticed."

The mercenary captain moved closer to Teclos.

One of his sleeves was wet with blood, though the wound beneath it did not appear deep.

"What are they waiting for?"

Teclos looked toward the fallen tree.

The werewolf was gone.

"For us to chase."

The captain stared into the forest.

"Then we stay here."

A howl sounded behind them.

The crossbowman turned.

A dire wolf emerged from the bushes, seized the wounded supply horse, and dragged it away before anyone could fire.

Another howl followed from farther east.

Then another.

The sounds moved around them, never remaining in one place for long.

"They will keep doing this," Axel said. "Take the horses. Wear us down. Make us follow."

Teclos looked down at the tracks.

"They want us somewhere."

The captain’s expression tightened.

"That does not mean we should go."

"It does if the den is there."

Teclos started walking.

The captain caught his arm.

"We cannot follow them blindly."

Teclos looked at the hand.

The captain released him.

"We can," Teclos said. "You simply could not survive it last time."

He pulled Axel’s chain and continued into the trees.

The mercenaries followed because turning back alone felt even worse.

—

The wolves never attacked in force again.

They remained close enough to be heard, sometimes seen, but never gave Teclos a clear target.

A flash of gray fur between two trees.

A pair of yellow eyes watching from a ridge.

Claws scraping against bark somewhere behind them.

They were being guided.

The path narrowed as the land rose. Trees grew closer together, their roots breaking through the earth in thick knots. The forest floor became uneven, forcing the mercenaries to slow down and watch every step.

That was when the traps began.

The spearman noticed the first pit before falling into it. A layer of leaves had been stretched across thin branches, hiding sharpened stakes beneath.

The second trap was harder to spot.

A rope snapped tight around the captain’s ankle and dragged him from his feet. He was halfway into the air when Teclos cut the line with a blade of darkness.

The captain struck the ground and rolled onto one knee.

"They built these."

"Or someone taught them," Axel said.

A growl answered from the trees.

The fire mage raised one hand and sent a wave of flame through the undergrowth.

Several bushes ignited.

Nothing screamed.

The wolves had already moved.

Teclos stopped.

The darkness around his feet spread wider.

He no longer searched for bodies.

He searched for interruptions.

Each tree cast a shadow. So did every stone, branch, and animal hidden among them. The forest was crowded with darkness, yet some of it moved when it should not.

Teclos turned toward an empty patch of ground.

A tendril shot into the bushes.

It wrapped around a dire wolf’s throat and tore it into the open.

The beast twisted, claws carving through the earth as it tried to retreat.

Teclos dragged it closer.

Before he could kill it, three werewolves burst from the trees.

They had been waiting for him to expose himself.

One came low.

Another leaped toward his back.

The third went for Axel.

Teclos released the wolf.

A black wall rose behind him, catching the attacker in midair. He seized the second werewolf by the wrist and turned with its momentum, throwing it into the one rushing Axel.

The third was faster.

Its claws tore across Teclos’s side before he caught its throat.

Blood darkened his clothes.

The werewolf tried to twist free.

Teclos drove it into a tree.

The trunk split.

The creature dropped, but before he could finish it, the dire wolves attacked again.

The mercenaries formed around the fire mage.

Bolts and flames crossed between the trees while Teclos stood at the center of the assault.

For the first time, the pack committed fully.

They came in groups, never from the same direction twice. Dire wolves drove the mercenaries together while the werewolves attacked the edges of the formation. Whenever Teclos turned toward one threat, another struck somewhere else.

It was coordinated.

Disciplined.

Almost military.

Teclos smiled.

Darkness flooded the ground.

It spread between the trees, climbed over roots, and swallowed the spaces beneath every creature in the clearing.

The werewolves noticed too late.

Their shadows rose against them.

Black hands wrapped around legs and throats. Dire wolves were pulled sideways into trees or dragged beneath the earth up to their chests.

The mercenaries backed away as Teclos closed both hands.

Dark blades appeared throughout the clearing.

They struck at once.

Bodies fell between the trees.

Some of the werewolves managed to tear free, leaving strips of flesh behind as they fled deeper into the forest.

Teclos did not let them escape.

He stepped into the nearest shadow.

Screams followed among the trees.

One.

Then another.

By the time he returned, only the mercenaries, Axel, and three badly wounded dire wolves remained alive.

The captain stared at him.

Teclos wiped blood from his side.

"Now they will stop wasting my time."

A deeper howl rolled down from the mountain.

Every surviving wolf went still.

The sound carried more than volume.

Mana pressed through the forest with it, thick and violent enough to shake ash from the burned leaves.

Teclos looked uphill.

Something large moved between the trees.

The alpha stepped into view.

It stood nearly three meters tall, with dark silver fur covering a body built more like a warrior’s than an animal’s. Old scars crossed its chest and shoulders. One eye was clouded, while the other burned with a deep amber glow.

A piece of broken plate armor had been strapped across its chest.

Around its neck hung several metal tags taken from dead mercenaries.

The captain went pale.

"That is it."

The alpha looked across the corpses.

Its lips pulled back from long teeth.

Then it spoke.

The voice was rough, shaped with difficulty, but the words were clear.

"You kill pack."

Teclos tilted his head.

"You speak."

The alpha stepped forward.

"You die here."

Mana surged through its body.

The earth beneath its feet cracked.

Teclos released Axel’s chain and stepped away from the others.

"Stay back."

For once, no one argued.

The alpha moved.

It crossed the clearing faster than anything its size should have been able to.

Teclos raised his arm.

The first strike tore through his guard and sent him sliding across the ground.

Before he stopped, the alpha was already in front of him.

Its claws came down.

Teclos vanished into shadow.

The attack split the earth where he had been.

He emerged behind the creature and drove a dark blade toward its spine.

The alpha turned and caught his wrist.

Teclos’s eyes narrowed.

The werewolf lifted him and threw him through two trees.

Axel felt the impact through the ground.

The alpha charged after him.

Teclos rose from the wreckage just as it arrived.

Their fists met.

The collision burst through the forest like thunder.

Both slid backward.

The alpha recovered first.

It attacked with claws, teeth, and raw force, never giving Teclos room to settle. Every strike carried enough power to break stone.

Teclos blocked, shifted, and countered, but the creature adapted quickly.

When he used the shadows beneath it, the alpha tore through the tendrils before they tightened.

When he opened a rift behind it, the beast turned before he emerged.

It had watched him fight.

Learned from him.

A claw tore across Teclos’s chest.

Blood splashed over the grass.

The alpha lunged for his throat.

Teclos caught its jaws with both hands.

For several seconds, neither moved.

The werewolf pushed down.

Teclos’s boots sank into the earth.

Then darkness spread across his arms.

He forced the jaws apart and drove his forehead into the creature’s snout.

Bone cracked.

The alpha staggered.

Teclos seized it by the throat and slammed it into the ground.

The werewolf kicked him away and rolled back onto its feet.

Both were breathing harder now.

Teclos wiped blood from his mouth.

"At least you are interesting."

The alpha roared.

Every remaining dire wolf rushed from the trees.

They had not fled.

They had been waiting.

Teclos glanced around as they closed in.

The alpha charged with them.

This time, Teclos did not move.

Darkness rose behind him.

Not tendrils.

Not blades.

A vast black shape unfolded over the clearing like a pair of wings.

The wolves struck it and vanished inside.

Their howls ended immediately.

The alpha broke through.

Its claws pierced the darkness and reached Teclos.

He caught its arm, turned beneath it, and drove the creature to one knee.

A black sword formed in his free hand.

The alpha seized the blade before it reached its chest.

The weapon cut through its palm, but the werewolf held on.

Teclos pushed.

The alpha resisted.

For a moment, they remained locked together, face to face.

Then Teclos smiled.

A second blade emerged from the alpha’s own shadow.

It pierced through its back and burst from its chest.

The creature froze.

Teclos drove the first sword through its throat.

The alpha’s grip weakened.

He stepped closer.

"You were strong," he said quietly. "Just not strong enough."

The alpha collapsed.

Silence returned to the forest.

Teclos knelt and placed one hand against its chest.

Mana surged into him.

Far more than the firebear.

Far more than the griffon.

The force of it made the darkness around him lash across the clearing. His aura swelled until the mercenaries struggled to breathe beneath the pressure.

Then it settled.

Teclos opened his eyes.

Axel stared at him.

"That one nearly matched you."

"Nearly."

—

The den lay beyond the ridge.

It had once been an iron mine, but the wolves had widened the entrance and taken over the tunnels within.

Bones filled the first chamber.

Farther inside, they found weapons, armor, coins, jewelry, and packs taken from hunters, travelers, and mercenaries.

The werewolves had gathered everything useful into separate piles.

Food in one chamber.

Weapons in another.

Even potions had been stored carefully in an old wooden chest.

The captain stood among the stolen equipment.

"They knew what all of this was worth."

Axel picked up one of the mercenary tags hanging from a nail.

"They were not collecting trophies."

Teclos looked toward the stacked weapons.

"They were preparing."

No one disagreed.

They loaded what they could onto the surviving horse and marked the mine entrance for Count Veyron’s men.

By the next afternoon, the fortress appeared on the horizon.

The guards at the gate stared when they saw the mercenaries returning.

This time, none were missing.

Count Veyron received them in the same hall.

His gaze moved from the blood on Teclos’s clothes to the alpha’s severed head lying at the captain’s feet.

"You succeeded."

Teclos tossed the count’s contract onto the table.

"The pack is dead. The mine is clear."

Veyron looked toward the captain.

"Is this true?"

The man nodded.

"They were commanding dire wolves, my lord. They used traps, ambushes, and signals. The alpha could speak."

The hall grew quiet.

Veyron stared at the head again.

"Werewolves do not build traps."

"These did," Axel said.

The count looked at him, then at Teclos.

Teclos placed one of the recovered mercenary tags on the table.

"They were gathering weapons and supplies as well."

Veyron’s expression darkened.

The mission had been completed.

But the threat had been far more serious than anyone had understood.

Teclos held out one hand.

"My payment."

The count studied him for a long moment.

Then he gestured toward his treasurer.

"Pay him."

A chest of coin was brought forward.

Teclos barely looked at it.

The true reward had been the alpha’s mana.