The Lycan King's Defiant Surrogate

More and more people start to notice. Then screaming and pari begins. People start running for the doors back into the hall. Caleb and I, closest to the railing of the balcony, are left pushing at the back of the fearful crowd. Behind us, more and more parachutes blot out the sky. A few come uncomfortably close, landing in the courtyard beyond. Gunfire sounds, lighting up the night with flickering flashes. The sounds make me cower, afraid of being hit. Then, my worst fear, before the balcony can fully clear out, a few large men with parachutes land directly onto the balcony.

"Behind me, Harper," Caleb demands, shoving me as he steps.

forward.

The other men have assault rifles. I pull out my small knife like that will make a difference.

"King Caleb?" one of the men calls out. It's hard to discern their figures exactly, with them wearing black as they are. They even have dark paint smeared over their faces.

"You already know," Caleb growls, "What is the meaning of this intrusion? Were you disappointed you never received invitations to the party?"

I'm in awe of Caleb in this moment, facing down the guns of his enemies and being glib about it. He truly knows no fear. "Long live the bear clan!" one of the intruders shouts and suddenly gunfire breaks out.

A few guests behind me scream. Bullets clatter around us, striking nearby. A few people, I suspect, are hit, with how fast they fall to the ground.

Caleb's body shifts as the bullets hit him. Still he roars as he shifts, growing in height and width. His wolf is two stories tall, towering on the balcony, barely able to fit.

He roars again, as he rushes forward, swiping the enemies with his large claws.

"These are silver bullets!" one of the men cries, fear in his voice. They should hurt him!"

"Take him down!" another commands, likely the leader of this particular group. "Take him down!" He's louder than the screams, somehow able to rally what's left of his troops.

Unfortunately for them, Caleb is as fast as he is vicious, and he tears through them all without mercy.

Unfortunately for us, more enemy soldiers are dropping onto the balcony, like there's an endless wave of them. How could there be so many? Is the bear clan dropping their entire army down on us?

Caleb turns and in his red, monstrous eyes, I see a hint of fear. It's not much, but when combined with the blood oozing from the wounds on his chest - wounds that aren't healing, I know we are in very real danger. He nudges his head toward within the door. It's open now, I can escape

But I don't want to leave him.

I have to though. What good is my knife against an army of well-armed bear shifters? If I stay, I will only get in his way. He'll be hindered, forced to protect me. "Follow," I tell him. "Don't stay out here."

He chuffs at me and turiis, facing the next group of attackers.

I don't wait for the bullets to fly. If he won't listen to me, I have to find more guards to send his way. And the only direction I know guards are, is inside the Hall.

Rushing, I fly into the hall-enly to be faced with more chaos. Somehow, bears have infiltrated inside of the palace as wel Many of these enemy soldiers have already shifted, and now large actual bears are bellowing and storming through the

room

Many guests have already fallen, mauled by the bears or the bullets.

There's too many wide spaces now, with people fleeing through the open doors or fallen and dead. There's nowhere to hide

So when one of the mauling bears turns his bloody maw to me, can only run.

I'm fast for a human, not so fast for a hear. Three wide strides and a pounce, and the bear collides with me, sending toppling hard down onto the ground. I slide across the bloody floor, stopping as I back against an overturned table.

I scramble to stand again, as the bear rears onto its back feet and roars straight into my face. I hold my knife out in from of me protectively, my last line of defense.

The bear hulls a few times, like it's laughing at me and my small knife. Then, it rears back to one side, as if it is about to swipe down at strike me.

Just as it's about to, a gray wolf pounces onto it, closing its jaws into the side of the bear's neck. By sheer mass, bears are generally larger than wolves, even Alpha ones, and this is no exception. The wolf dangles like an accessory around the bear's neck. Yet bears are slow where wolves are faster. And with the wolf already clamped down on the bear's neck, it struggles to bear it away. Soon, the bear is brought low, choking in a pool of its own blood. As the wolf turns to face me, I recognize it at once Samuel

This is Samuel's shifted form.

Leah screams from nearby, drawing both of our attentions. A bear swipes at her, catching her on the side. She's flung like a paper doll. Samuel instantly moves to block the bear's second attack. Meanwhile, I rush to Leah's side.

I roll her over to inspect the damage. Her dress is torn at the waist, and she's bruised pretty badly. Yet miraculously, the bear's claws only left slight marks on her skin. They aren't deep.

Leah's fear must be fueling her adrenaline. As I pull her up, she doesn't even complain about the pain, or about my closeness. She simply seems as if she's desperate to get away. "Harper," she starts.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

"We're going." I tell her and push her out into the hallway. There's less chaos out here, at least for the moment, and we have a moment to breathe.

1 urge

her forward toward the stairwell that will lead us down to what I hope is the safety of the underground.

As we near it, I say, "We should wait for Samuel."

"To hell with that bastard," Leah snaps.

I glance at her, confused and surprised. Had they not attacked me as a unified front only a few minutes before? What could cause this division between them now?

"Didn't you see?" she says to me, cruelty and hatred in her voice even as she clings to my shoulder for support. "The bears attacked us both, yet he ran to you. It was you he saved before even considering my life. Me! His wife! The Luna of his pack Still he wants his whore.

"Don't call me that," I say, only now realizing how right he is. Samuel did rush to my protection, abandoning his wife to he fate. Worse, he might not have even realized he'd done so.

"I'm sure he just didn't see you..."

"Bullshit," she snaps. "That bastard abandoned me. Let the bears have him."

"You don't mean that."

""Like hell I don't."

As we round a corner. I hear a distinct set of wolf footsteps behind us. Just as we reach the stairwell, Samuel is with us once more.

"Get the hell away from me!" Leah shouts,

From deeper within the stairwell, I hear the distinct sound of a bear growl.