Chapter 58

Rex stumbled and collapsed against the side of the building, barely remaining standing, near slipping in a patch of mud. He’d been doing the last check after Jake went running to the castle to deliver the news of the vampire’s attack. Rex had ordered two others to leave the village to notify nearby packs as well, but he hadn’t been sure if any of them had made it.

The attack had been swift and brutal, more like guerilla warfare than a siege. It had been too long since any werewolf had fought a vampire. No one was trained to handle their agility, so Rex could only blame the passage of time and complacency for the number of casualties.

Tom, however, had a different opinion on the matter.

These vampires are more skillful than the ones from the days of the war…His voice had been grim as Rex had slumped against a wall, trying to catch his breath and staunch the bleeding wound in his side with a rough bandage.

He didn’t know if that meant that the vampire queen had been simply biding her time or if there was more to the war against the vampires than they first thought.

Rex stumbled as Arthur shifted into his human form and came to help him stand.

“I’ve… never been so glad to see anyone as I am to see you right now, Your Majesty.” Rex huffed. “I don’t know if they’ll come back, but we have no hope of fighting another attack like that.”

Arthur pulled Rex’s arm around his shoulder and took on more of his weight, “You’re too injured to be out here by yourself.”

“I’m the only one able right now,” Rex said grimly. “Had to make sure we got all of the bodies… the bonfire on the training pitch is still going.”

The men with Arthur pulled the spear out of the vampire’s chest and grabbed her by her legs, dragging her away from the area. Arthur helped Rex get back to the infirmary as Daphne grabbed the horse’s reins and led it after the group.

A wall had collapsed, but they were using a temporary beam and support system to hold up the rest of the roof. Werewolves cried out in agony as the doctors ran around trying to treat everyone. People sobbed, screaming in sorrow and grief.

“These are all the people that survived,” Rex said. “We’ve been burning the bodies at Tom’s advisement.”

“Why?” Arthur asked.

“The only way to guarantee a vampire is dead is to burn its body,” Tom said, hobbling towards them on a crutch. A bloody bandage was wrapped around his head and he winced in pain. “Vampires are abominations against the moon goddess’ creation that defies death short of fire. Monsters with no regard for life.”

Arthur lowered Rex into a seat as Daphne rushed off to direct people to get the supplies off the cart. Arthur wasn’t sure what Daphne had been able to pull together, but he remained with Rex while he was treated to get a full report of the attack.

It started sometime after lunch. Vampires were generally weakened by the sun, but it had been getting darker and darker with the coming of winter. The cloud coverage had been enough to allow them to maintain their strength and tear through Sharp Armor.

“We fought hard,” Rex shook his head. “The patrol stood its ground long enough to get people to take refuge in the infirmary so we only had to defend a few buildings in the area, but it hadn’t been enough.”

The rainfall that had come in the middle of the battle made it easier for wolves to even the playing field as the mud destabilized the vampires and slowed their movements a bit, but it also made it near impossible to get a fire going to dispose of the bodies.

Rex shuddered, looking back through his memories at the way the vampires rose again and the bitten werewolves stuttered back into something like life, baring their teeth and heading the orders of the other vampires.

Kill. Rex shuddered at the rough tone of a reanimated wolf’s voice before he lunged at a member of the pack.

“They came back?” Arthur asked, grimacing.

“A vampire’s bite can change anything into something half alive,” Tom said. “The reanimated know nothing of their past selves and are under their sire’s control.”

“People’s mates turned on them,” Rex said. “Which only added to the casualties… Honestly, we’re lucky to be alive.”

Blade shuddered, imagining Mamie’s sweet smile and gaze turn empty as she attacked him no longer the woman he loved but a puppet to monsters. He didn’t know if he would have been able to kill her before she killed him.

Tom nodded, “We’ve been complacent all these years and forgotten how to fight them, but we’ll survive yet.”

Arthur nodded, “I wanted to talk to you about that. How did we fight them?”

Tom shook his head, “We trained. It’s… a bit fuzzy, but there’s probably some notes and information in the castle from the military correspondence. I know for sure that heavy arms like spears were used a lot then. I’m sure we can manage to find some in the castle’s armor.”

Arthur nodded, “We’ll convene at the castle in a few days with the leaders of other packs.”

Arthur pat Rex on the shoulder and stood before standing to help unload the cart with the others. Daphne dashed around gathering bloody bandages and passing out food and blankets to the survivors.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Blade said. “Why would they attack us so suddenly?”

Tom nodded, “It is something to be concerned about, but it’s not something we can answer now.”

Blade wasn’t so sure that they would ever be able to answer it.

It took four days to get Sharp Armor in some sort of state to defend itself. The fire had burned out on the second day, but no one was able to travel to the castle until the fourth day. When they arrived back at the castle, Daphne hurried to their room to get cleaned up before they went to the meeting in the main hall.

Rex looked less pale, but he still looked exhausted. Most of the alphas had losses to report regarding rogues or other issues, though a few of them mentioned attacks from the vampires.

“Sharp Armor lost most of its patrol,” Rex said, leaning in his seat. “We hadn’t fully recovered from the last battle against the rogues when the vampires struck.”

“Blade,” Arthur said and looked at him. “I think you’d be better served leading and training the warriors at Sharp Armor.”

Blade nodded, “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“As for the other nearby packs, as many werewolves as can be spared to train to fight against vampires and fill the positions in the patrol force of those packs will be sent to Sharp Armor. We don’t know when or if they’ll attack again.”

“W-When?” One of them asked.

“As Tom said, the defenses of the kingdom have gotten complacent with the apparent peace since the end of the war and the fall of the kingdom. We can’t be too careful.”

The man lowered his head and nodded.

Diana looked at Tom, “What can you tell us about the end of the war, Tom?”

He sighed, “Duke Osborn led the army with King Dean’s support. He was brave, ruthless, and strategic in leading the werewolf army for the last three years of the war. King Dean had led the battle when their father had been on the throne.”

Arthur frowned and wondered what had happened to his grandfather to make it necessary for Dean to take the throne. He kept the question to himself as Tom went on.

“Duke Osborn reported that he’d subdued the vampire’s forces completely, destroying most of their forces. They shouldn’t even have enough vampires to have organized an attack of this size.”

“Is it possible that he was wrong?” Diana asked. “Underestimated their forces?”

Tom shrugged, “I don’t know, but based on the way things have happened, it would seem so.”

Arthur thought carefully. If Osborn had been leading the forces against the vampires, he would have been the only person to have an accurate count or even an estimation of how many of their forces were left. He likely even had an idea of where the vampire queen had gone at the time. Even if he didn’t, Arthur doubted that he simply underestimated their numbers.

When he thought about the vampires in Brown Valley, Sharp Armor, and the timing of their attack, he got suspicious. It was just after his coronation. No one knew he and Daphne had left the castle except for the people in the castle. Furthermore, no one outside of the werewolf kingdom could have possibly known that he and Daphne had lived in Sharp Armor.

Someone had to have given them the information. Arthur narrowed his eyes.

There was a traitor among them. But who?