Claw of Exile: He Kills to Survive (Exiled Book 1)

by J. K. Jones

  “Please!” Ryu jerks away, tears falling from his eyes as he sees the Lycans nearly overrun the camp.

  “I prayed one prayer. For years, I prayed until my tongue stiffened and my throat went dry. I prayed until my knees bled. Kill the Silvercrest Howlers. Kill them all.” Kenyon holds him close. “I prayed to have you as my mate. The Goddess has granted me every wish.”

  “Not without a price!” Ryu hollers back desperately. “This isn’t you—this isn’t—”

  “This has always been me,” Kenyon interrupts. “Now to the main event. I will kill your Silver-fuck Alpha and breed you on top of his corpse.”

  “No!” Ryu fights, punching and kicking anywhere he can get. A fury inside him builds and builds with each moment. Not Micah! Not now!

  The sun beats down on them furiously as the heatwave continued unaffected at such chaos. Ryu twists around, elbowing Kenyon in the nuts, causing him to jerk back in agony.

  “You shit!” Kenyon rages; his fist slams into Ryu’s face. His head whips back, blood spurts from his nose and lip. However, he counterattacks with an expert roundhouse kick, knocking Kenyon flat on his back.

  Kenyon laughs. “Let’s see what you got.” He jumps to his feet and then begins to crouch low information. Ryu mirrors him, knowing in his heart he will have to defeat Kenyon or else the Silvercrest Howlers will be destroyed. “You fight against me for people who would happily see you dead. You aren’t a true Filthy Claw; they’ve twisted your mind. No matter. I will soon right this wrong.”

  Kenyon lurches forward, grabbing a fistful of Ryu’s hair, drags him kicking and screaming. Ryu grunts, as Kenyon smashes his head against a tree. Ryu sees stars and then coughs violently as his vision swims.

  “You take their side over mine,” Kenyon seethes, slamming his face again and again. Blood pools in Ryu’s mouth. He pants loudly, agony shooting up his head and spine. Ryu tries to elbow him off, but Kenyon dodges it easily, before smashing his head back into the tree.

  Ryu throws a sloppy kick, but it doesn’t land, and Kenyon laughs harder. The world turns, he can hear the pandemonium mounting around him, the wolves are dying and the Silvercrest Howlers are falling. If he doesn’t kill Kenyon, then they will all die.

  Determination pumps in his veins and he feels a crescendo of fury building within his core. His left leg wraps around Kenyon, he does a sweeping kick, effectively tripping Kenyon onto his back. The minute Kenyon is on the ground, Ryu jumps on, his fist flailing wildly as he punches Kenyon over and over again in the face.

  Kenyon laughs, as blood floods his mouth and nose. “More! More!”

  Ryu recoils, sick to his stomach.

  “Kill me!” Kenyon grabs Ryu, his hands clasp around his throat, he does a reverse grapple, throwing Ryu onto the ground and choking the life out of him. “You can’t beat me Little Omega. I have the power from the Gods themselves.”

  Ryu’s eyes bulge as he crawls frantically at the hands-on his throat.

  “L-let him go!”

  They both turn at the noise. It’s a young wolf, he looks to be only thirteen or fourteen, but he holds his gun firmly. He’s from the Silvercrest Regiment.

  “G-get out of here!” Ryu wheezes, trying desperately to draw breath.

  “A little Silver-fuck,” Kenyon grins devilishly, releasing his hold. “So many to kill, so little time.”

  “Don’t hurt him,” Ryu pants.

  Kenyon looks down at him. “I’m not going to hurt him. You are. Tell him to tell your precious Alpha that you are my mate now. You’ve finally come home to the Filthy Claws.”

  Ryu's stomach flips. Can he do it? Even he does, he knows they will never forgive him. Even if he was faking it, they would believe he betrayed them. Like Micah said earlier, he would always be branded as a traitor. “Fine.”

  Kenyon allows Ryu to stand, smirking. Ryu shakes with anger, his blood boiling feverishly in his skin. Fuck—he would have to hurt the boy badly. Or else Kenyon will kill him. Ryu takes off his clothes, ignoring the catcalls from Kenyon, and shifts into a massive black wolf. The boy shrinks away, dropping his weapon. “A-aren’t you Micah’s Omega?” He trembles. “Are you on our side? We’ve been looking for you.”

  “He’s a Filthy Claw through and through.”

  I’m sorry. Ryu attacks.

  -

  Ice fills his veins.

  Ryu never maimed anyone before. It feels sick and wrong, against everything he stood for when he joined the Silvercrest Howlers, however, he knows it needed to be done. Kenyon laughs and laughs; the boy screams in agony, and with the last of his strength sprints off to the camp to relay the message.

  Ryu’s stomach twists violently. What has he done? To save the boy, he nearly killed him. He shifts back into his human form, body covered in blood.

  “Good,” Kenyon clamps his hand on his shoulder. “I would have done far worse.”

  Ryu knocks his handoff. “What the hell do you want?”

  “You,” Kenyon says simply. “And the Silvercrest Clan gone.”

  “You can’t have either,” Ryu rages at him.

  Kenyon smirks, his hand dips low to Ryu’s stomach, he palms the area, causing goosebumps to prickle on his skin. “I can and I will.” He trails his fingers down, his thumb-stopping on his protruding hip bones. “You were always my most prized possession.”

  “Stop it,” Ryu bats his hand away. “I belong to someone else. The Silvercrest Clan will listen if you reason with them—”

  “There is nothing to reason with.” Kenyon’s eyes flash. “I hate them, and they hate us. However, my plan is working well. Did you ever wonder why it was so easy to draw them out? Did it ever occur to you what they were doing?”

  Ryu shakes his head and looks away.

  “They were all out looking for you.”

  His heart stops. What?

  “I-I don’t understand,” Ryu stutters, breathing harshly. No, it can’t be true. He left early that day without notice, but surely Micah wouldn’t send out the whole camp to look for him.

  “Your Alpha is pathetically predictable,” Kenyon beams. “As soon as they heard you were missing, he broke the line and sent the whole damn regiment to search in every direction to look for you.”

  Oh my God. Ryu lurches forward, stomach-turning as he looks back out to the field. The chaos, the mayhem—everything, he caused it. With his stupidity, he went looking for Kenyon after Micah told him not to. Of course, Micah would uproot the army to look for him, especially if he thought Ryu was taken by Kenyon.

  “That’s how we were able to get through,” Kenyon moves behind him, his clothes rub against his naked flesh. “My beautiful Ryu.” He leans down, sniffing his hair. “You’re all mine now.”

  What has he done? Ryu’s body stiffens as he takes in the scene of pure carnage, the Lycans move swiftly across the field, their movements cold as they tackle wolves in large groups, overtaken them easily. It’s grotesques. The wolves themselves are falling back, retreating, but the Lycans are chasing them and killing those that aren’t fast enough where they stand.

  Ryu’s stomach coils. Everything he touches turns to ash. His heart feels like it is being stabbed because all he wanted to do was to help. He just wanted to prove himself to the Silvercrest Howlers.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Chapter 43

  Micah.

  He’s bloodied, broken, split lip and face covered in soot. He’s gorgeous nonetheless, Trmon and Deryn flank him.

  “Take your fucking hands off him,” Micah says, voice carrying a deep timbre of a True Alpha.

  Ryu feels relief floods him; he moves to step forward, but Kenyon grabs him, his hand clasps around his neck. “Never. He belonged to me first.”

  “He was never yours.” Micah’s eyes flash yellow. “I invoke the right.”

  Oh no! Ryu’s eyes widen in terror, even Trmon and Deryn look startled at the announcement. To invoke the right, meant a fight to the death between two Alphas. It’s a part of the old wor
ld, a way they used to settle disputes over Omegas in the past. However, Kenyon was a Bloodhound, all of his powers were granted by the Goddess herself. If Micah fought him, then he would be at a huge disadvantage. Kenyon could call upon the Goddess to kill him!

  “No—don’t!” Ryu cries. “Don’t do it please!”

  “Shut up!” Kenyon seethes. “Ha! Do you want to invoke the right against me? I am a Bloodhound.”

  “Stop please!” Ryu begs.

  “Too much of a coward to accept?” Micah demands. “You couldn’t beat me anyway, with or without divine influence.”

  Kenyon scowls. “You fucking Silver-fucks! I’ll kill you all!” He shoves Ryu away; he falls on the ground twisting his ankle in the process. He cries out, the pain spears his leg and shoots down his thigh.

  Kenyon shifts, shredding his clothes, as his muscles tense and fur erupts from the skin. His bones crack and break, the sound is almost sickening as he changes into a huge creature, fur matted, claws sharp as swords. He stands on knotted haunches, an aura of pure hate and evil explodes in his red glowing eyes.

  A monster. A Lycan.

  Micah bursts, his wolve tears apart his clothes as he turns into a glowing white wolf. They stand head-to-head, with Micah several inches taller than Kenyon’s monstrous frame.

  “No—” Ryu stutters, tears falling from his eyes. “Stop!”

  Kenyon charges forward, the beast's hind legs propel him forward, its jaw powerful and prehistoric, teeth like butchers’ knives and inches thick. Micah meets him head-on, his own body massive and consuming, as he shifts into a white wolf, his yellow eyes glint in the sunlight.

  They claw each other apart.

  Micah snarls, twisting and turning, trying to rip apart any flesh he can find. Kenyon is relentless, he snaps powerfully, breaking the skin on Micah’s right leg, causing him to howl and jump back. Kenyon grins, hungry for fresh meat.

  Micah charges, his teeth clamp around Kenyon’s jugular, however, the skin is thick as wood, and Kenyon claws up his stomach, causing blood to bloom against his white fur.

  Ryu's heart lurches, he struggles to get up, only to fall backward. His own body, beaten and broken earlier by Kenyon. Trmon and Deryn come towards and help him sit up.

  “W-we need to stop them!” Ryu says manically, wiping blood from his eyes. “Kenyon will kill him.”

  “We can’t,” Trmon says. “Nobody can interfere. Micah commanded us not to earlier. We cannot break an Alpha command.”

  Kenyon swipes again, this time catching Micah’s left leg, shredding the fur with his vicious claws. Micah stumbles back, now heavily limping on the opposite side.

  Ryu steals his nerves. He swallows thickly, before staggering to his feet. Earlier, when he fought Kenyon, he wasn’t able to pierce his skin. However, the neck is always the weakest point, in even wolves and monsters alike.

  “You can’t,” Ryu mutters. “But I can.” He shifts abruptly, exploding into a massive black wolf, and jumps on Kenyon’s back. Ryu sinks his teeth into Kenyon’s neck, digging deep and tearing at the skin. It’s tough. The skin is too thick and too coarse, but he pushes through, even as Kenyon scratches and claws at him, trying to throw him off. Ryu punctures the skin and tears.

  Kenyon hits him, his giant claws sending Ryu spiraling and smashing into a tree.

  The impact judders his body, as he hears an audible crack in his ribs. Ryu cries out, agony rippling across his core. He shifts back, body broken and bloody, clutching his ribs that are blooming an ugly purplish red. “Micah his neck!” he screams.

  Kenyon stumbles, placing his hand against the wound on his neck as it leaks blood. Micah leaps forward, pouncing on Kenyon, his teeth clamp down hard on that same wound. Kenyon’s eyes widen, fear and panic reflect at Ryu. They tussle, Micah biting down harder and harder, and Kenyon desperately trying to throw him off.

  The world slows down.

  Kenyon’s eyes bulge unnaturally, they glow red and frantic as they find Ryu’s. He can see it, his old friend echoed at him. The Kenyon who only wanted a safe place to eat and live, the boy who played with him in the ravine. His friend.

  Micah rips his head clean off.

  Ryu chokes on a shriek, heart seizing in his chest. Kenyon. The head rolls several feet away, the body withers before dropping. Ryu screams. He doesn’t know for how long, but Micah shifts back and gathers him into his arms.

  Ryu cries loudly, clutching at whatever he can reach. He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe. It’s too much! He never wanted things to end like this.

  Kenyon’s body slowly dissipates, turning to ash right before his eyes.

  “You’re safe,” Micah says, holding him tightly. “I got you. I got you.”

  The Lycans on the battlefield slowly dissipate, their bodies turning into ash and floating away in the wind.

  It’s over. It’s finally over.

  Chapter 44

  Mount Horai

  Yamato 21’

  On the Road….

  The crystalline winter forest comes under the cover of night, trees of every hue cloaked in white velvet. Snow crests the hills and the mountaintops, the Alps and Oak trees. Ryu watches in mild fascination, the landscape changes from slopes to cavernous mountains, jagged edged cliffs. He hugs his jacket closer; the air thickens as they climb the mountains.

  It’s the stillness that captures him.

  This place is nearly bursting with power, Ryu can feel it vibrating with every cell in his body. There is goodness here, tranquility, and everlasting life.

  The journey among the wolves is peaceful. Most of them are quiet, enjoying the serenity of Mount Horai. It is said that this area belongs to Haveus, God of The Stars, and that he inhabited the earth here waiting for his lover, Ehros, God of Nature. Ryu smiles thinking of those old stories, it used to make his heart lurch with gladness whenever they were reunited.

  In a few hours, they would reach their destination.

  Ryu is confident they could reason with the Master of the Moon and get him to grant them their one wish. Afterward, all would be right and the Lycans would be gone for good.

  They stop to rest in a cave, Ryu sits down heavily on a rock, running his hands through his damp hair. It’s been snowing non-stop, the trudge through the mountain is getting harder and harder because of the snow. Micah starts a small fire, then goes out with a few of the other men to catch some food. Ryu keeps to himself, feeling his bones ache in a way that screams exhaustion.

  Soon. Very soon Amaya would be cured.

  That’s all that matters. Ryu thinks back on his conversation with Micah, worry lines crease his forehead. What if Micah is right? What if he isn’t a vessel? What would they do then? Ryu clenches his fist. No. That wouldn’t happen. They can’t come all this way only to be turned down. He wouldn’t allow it.

  Alhazred drops a bunch of firewood near his feet. “You can help you know. Or are you just a Princess we need to wait on hand and foot?”

  Ryu sneers at him. “I thought that was your job.”

  “You’re such a fucking cunt,” Alhazred growls. “You think because you spread your legs for him that things are all better now? Guess what Princess, they aren’t. We were all there. We all watched your precious Alpha turn his back on you.”

  That cut deep.

  Ryu doesn’t need reminders. He knows his history very well. He is aware of how the whole clan turned against him overnight and how he desperately needs Micah. Only for Micah to turn away and agree with them. Ryu knows now that his conversation with Trmon was pointless. The Silvercrest Howlers would never forget, to them he would always be a traitor. And Micah would never leave his pack. The hope he had earlier dissipates.

  Despite Alhazred being a total bastard, he was right.

  One fuck didn’t change anything.

  It wouldn’t bring Kenyon back or stop the other wolves from being massacred, it wouldn’t stop the war with the Filthy Clans and it certainly wouldn’t stop the animosity between them.

 
Ryu stands slowly, glaring down at Alhazred. “At least I’m not spreading them for you.”

  “Not yet,” Alhazred chuckles. “Only a matter of time right.”

  Ryu punches him hard.

  His head snaps back, he stumbles several feet away, before he looks up, blood trailing from his lips in a devilish grin. “Is that all you got Omega?”

  Ryu steps forward, his hand immediately going to his Katana.

  “Alright enough.” Fermin steps in, placing a firm hand on his chest. “Fuck off Alhazred, before Micah comes back and rips your head off.”

  Ryu looks at Alhazred coldly.

  All his life he tormented Ryu. Made it his mission to make sure Ryu knew how worthless he was. Not anymore. Ryu sees Alhazred for what he is. A short, sniveling man, who failed to become anything in his entire life.

  “It’s only my love for Amaya that’s stopping me from killing you,” Ryu grunts and walks past them.

  He leaves the cave, storming outside to find a quiet place to rest. The white winter coats the deepest green, he finds a glacial river, the stream runs at full force. Ryu takes a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. This area is beautiful, enriched, and infused with fresh water, pure and clean as the cherry sun sets on the horizon.

  This is real.

  He closes his eyes, relaxing into deep meditation, trying to clear his mind and his thoughts. Something is trying to get through. A memory—but he can’t quite place it. His head hurts when he tries too hard, but he desperately needs to remember. Ryu feels like he is missing something vital. It’s too much. He can’t focus. His thoughts blur and his vision pricks with tears. Fuck. He can’t have this. Not anymore. That part of his life is over. He has to end things, once and for all.

  “Hey.” White Sage. “Ryu—”

  “Don’t touch me!” Ryu rounds on him, eyes wide and frantic. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

  Micah regards him closely.

  “It doesn’t mean anything. What happened. It means nothing,” Ryu starts speaking rapidly, his heart pounding in his chest. “We aren’t anything.”