Chapter 42. Valeria

Rasmus’s POV

I surveyed the battlefield, my eyes lingering on the fallen rouges as I flipped them over with my foot. They had fought with a desperation that spoke of something more than just hunger or territorial ambition. Something was driving them, something that I needed to understand if we were to avoid future attacks.

“Ruka,” I called as the disgusting stench of blood swarmed over me. She approached, her face streaked with blood and dirt, but her eyes still burning with fierceness I admired. The only reason I could trust Ruka, she was a true warrior.

“Burn their bodies,” I commanded. “Search the perimeters. We don’t have much time.”

She nodded, and her eyes moved behind me where I had just annihilated dozens of them myself, motioning for a few other warriors to assist her. As they began their grim patrolling, I turned my attention to the wounded.

The pack doctor, Lyra, was already moving among them, her hands glowing with a soft, soothing li