Jasper and Bella, in their wolf forms, tore across the battlefield alongside Sophia and Henry.
Capel didn't flinch he stepped forward with inhuman speed, meeting their charge head-on.
In a single brutal motion, he slammed into Bella and Sophia, sending both crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.
Jasper lunged, jaws snapping for Capel's throat.
Capel twisted away, fluid as shadow, and caught Jasper mid-air his claws dug in before he hurled him straight into Henry.
Tyler and James darted in next, their growls vibrating through the night air.
"You still want more?" Capel sneered, his voice echoing with menace.
A shimmering blue aura ignited around him, crackling like wildfire. In his hands, the energy solidified two massive trees wrenched from the earth with a deafening crack.
Oh no… James thought through the mind-link. This is nothing like anything we've faced before.
The first tree came swinging Tyler dove aside just in time. The second whooshed past James, missing him by inches.
They lunged together, claws flashing.
Capel's smile widened. He moved like lightning, unleashing a devastating wave of blistering blue energy that sent them both tumbling through the dirt.
"You can't ever defeat me," he said, voice low and cold. "I have killed more wolves than you can imagine shattered bones, crushed bodies, ended legacies. If you truly think you can stand against me… you're playing a dangerous game."
Tyler and Bella forced themselves to their feet, bodies aching, breaths ragged. Jasper rose beside them, then James and Henry, with Sophia bringing up the rear. Shoulder to shoulder, they advanced, their eyes locked on Capel.
In a blur of motion, Capel darted forward his speed a streak in the dark. He slammed into James and Henry, splitting them apart and sending them crashing to the ground with pained groans.
Jasper's claws found their mark, raking across Capel's side and drawing a startled stagger from the vampire. Sophia lunged in to press the attack, but a sharp burst of blue energy exploded from Capel's hand, hurling her backward.
Henry came in low, fangs bared, almost at Capel's throat until a vicious backward kick caught him square, dropping him to the dirt.
The vampire's aura swelled, glowing like molten sapphire. With a single sweeping gesture, he unleashed a massive pulse of draining energy. The force rippled through the clearing, ripping the strength from the wolves' limbs. One by one, they collapsed, groaning, pinned to the earth by exhaustion.
Capel's laugh was low and mocking. "What do you fight for," he taunted, "with your fragile, pitiful lives? You are weak." He clenched his fists.
And then his eyes clouded. A memory surged forward, unbidden.
He was no king, no killer just a swordsmith in a quiet village, the most respected among his peers. His forge glowed warm in the evening light. He had a wife. Two children. Both sick with a wasting disease, their tiny bodies pale and frail.
He worked double hours, sweat pouring, desperate to earn enough for a cure.
"Stop you're not doing it right, Capel," a customer's voice echoed. A man stepped forward, holding a blade. "Sharpen it like this."
Capel smiled faintly. "I will."
"How are your children?" the man asked.
"No progress yet," Capel replied, "but I'm sure things will get better."
"I hope they do," the man said softly.
Later that night, at home, his firstborn tugged at his sleeve.
"Daddy," the boy said, coughing, "I want to ride a horse."
"You can't. Not yet," Capel replied.
"But I'm strong now," the boy protested, standing with tiny fists clenched.
Capel and his wife laughed gently, though the sorrow never left his eyes.
The warmth faded. The forest returned.
Tyler surged up with a scratch across Capel's arm, but the vampire retaliated instantly his fist slamming into Tyler with bone-jarring force. Sophia sprang at him from the side, but Capel's energy twisted into a massive rising black arrow. It struck her mid-leap, the impact wringing a scream that echoed in Tyler's mind.
It tore at him her pain, raw and sharp. He glanced around the battlefield.
The pack lay scattered and groaning, every one of them beaten to the ground… except Jasper and James, who still struggled to rise.
Truly, this night was nothing they could have prepared for.