Chapter 1269

Chapter 1269:

The leader’s gaze wavered for a split second before he barked a sharp command, his voice like a whip. “If you refuse to cooperate, then don’t blame us for being ruthless! Attack! Capture him!”

At his word, the guards morphed into wolves and came at me full tilt.

I slashed at the belly of the nearest one, but the screech that followed wasn’t flesh—it was steel on steel. That told me everything. These damn iron scale suits were even tougher than the gossip had let on. Just great.

I twisted hard, trying to duck away from a wolf’s snapping jaws, but I wasn’t fast enough to dodge the rest. One of them sank its teeth deep into my left shoulder.

A white-hot wave of pain shot through me. I let out a savage roar and slammed my skull straight into the attacker’s snout.

It let out a sharp yelp and dropped back. Wasting no time, I bit down on its front leg, hard. The crunch of bone breaking under my teeth was music to my ears.

The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. It only fueled the wild hunger rising in my chest.

More of them piled in, the numbers turning the tide against me.

Gashes opened up all over me—eight, maybe more. My silver-gray coat was soaked with thick, dark blood. I panted hard, my breath tearing out in broken bursts.

My body grew sluggish. Every blow I landed felt heavier, slower than the last.

The Iron Scale Guards were no joke—they’d earned their reputation as the king’s finest. I was powerful, sure, but they were too many. Their numbers chipped away at me, bit by bit.

The leader stood just outside the brawl, arms crossed, wearing a grin that dripped with scorn. “A prince? Is that all you’ve got?”

Arrogance. Their fatal flaw.

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I saw it—that flicker of smug pride in their eyes, so I played along. I let my legs give out, staggered forward, and dropped to the dirt. A low whine slipped from my throat, thin and pitiful.

It worked like a charm. The wolves nearest to me faltered. One even shifted back into his human shape and stepped in, prodding my paw with the toe of his boot.

“That’s all you’ve got? And you dared to defy His Majesty?” he scoffed, his voice full of contempt.

This was it.

Summoning every last ounce of strength I could scrape together, I burst into action. My claws ripped across three necks in a heartbeat. Blood sprayed like a fountain, painting the air red.

The rest of them froze, too stunned to move. But I was already on them. One after another, I ripped them apart, until only the leader turned tail and bolted. When the dust finally settled, I stood alone in the wreckage. My body screamed in agony, covered in wounds and gore.

My fur, once shining silver-gray, now dripped with blood. A nasty cut on my hind leg went bone-deep, but I couldn’t stop now. Makenna was still inside that cemetery, waiting on me.

I had just turned to make my way back when I heard the steady rhythm of marching boots behind me.

I froze on the spot, ears twitching with tension. Without wasting time, I dropped low into the thick underbrush nearby, my gaze narrowing as I studied the oncoming group.

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