Caitlyn's POV
I walked in the direction Bard had given, and it didn't take me long to stumble upon a somewhat decrepit church. Underneath the towering church, several other werewolves stood with solemn expressions, their faces showing fatigue, but their eyes darting warily.
"Who are you?" One of the werewolves took a decisive step forward and looked at me condescendingly.
"Bard sent me. I'm here to find Talon." I straightened up, revealing my bulging stomach, which seemed to make the werewolf soldier a bit uneasy, causing him to hastily step back.
"Ms. Caitlyn? Please, come inside." As I hesitated, a person's suddenly appeared at the second-floor window, frowned as he assessed me, and then instructed the werewolf guarding the door to let me in.
Glancing at his appearance, I soon remembered that he was none other than the werewolf who had crossed paths with Bard earlier. Judging by Bard's reaction, it seemed that this man, called Braum, was Bard's brother.
Upon entering the church, I found several werewolf soldiers seated inside. Judging by their attire, they all seemed to belong to the Talon pack. Despite their bodies being more or less covered in wounds, the unwavering determination in their eyes left no room for doubt about their fighting prowess.
"Ms. Caitlyn, the Alpha is in this room." Braum stood at the door of a spacious chamber, gently knocked, and respectfully called out from inside, "Alpha, the visitor is here."
"Come in." With those words, that familiar yet cold voice emanated from within. I pushed open the door and entered the room where Talon sat behind a broad table. On the table lay a large map with numerous markers, suggesting that he was devising a battle plan.
"Who sent you here, and how did you manage to slip past Pantheon?" Talon frowned, a hint of displeasure crossing his face.
Talon's response hit me like a bucket of ice water, leaving my heart feeling as though it were encased in ice, and an overwhelming sorrow weighed on me like a heavy blow to the chest.
"I apologize."
I sneered. Talon's words made me feel like everything I'd invested today had been a self-inflicted joke from the start. With that thought in mind, I turned around indifferently, preparing to leave this place.
"Wait, I mean it's too dangerous here," Talon said, perhaps sensing my strange emotions, as he spoke out to halt my next move. "Frankly, I'm still glad you're here, but I'm not too thrilled about the idea that this kind of situation might alarm my woman and child."
Talon walked slowly over to me, his eyes filled with tenderness and a subtle hint of joy on his face. He wasn't deceiving me.
"Your woman?" I scoffed. After all, the last time I waited with deep affection, he had left in a hurry without giving me a satisfactory explanation.
"I apologize for my actions last time, but it was a genuine emergency. There were at least three strange werewolves from other packs lurking in the bushes. Finding them might have exposed you to your past persecutors," Talon said with a serious expression. Looking into his sincere eyes, I felt the resentment that had been building up for so long dissipate in an instant, and I even took a small leap of faith.
"Are they the men of the Lycan King?" I thought about what Bard had recently revealed to me. It appeared that there were other forces at play behind this war.
"I'm not sure yet, except for Shaco's own words. I doubt he has the courage to confront me directly," Talon said, smashing the cup in his hand against the corner of the map. The model built on top of it instantly collapsed, and as I looked down, it seemed to indicate none other than Alpha Shaco's home.
"Caitlyn, I'm sorry for involving you in this situation again. I'll give you the answers you seek once this mess is resolved," Talon said, reversing the situation, and he gently took my hand.
"Why not now?"
"Because there's more trouble to deal with right now," Talon said, his eyes slowly turning indifferent, followed by his pupils taking on a cold amber hue as he resumed his role as the unwavering leader.
A cacophony of noise erupted from the outskirts of the church as soon as Talon uttered those words. I stood by the window and gazed outside. The perimeter was already encircled by the werewolf soldiers of the Purple Moon Pack, with Jayce prominently positioned in his armor at the front.
Jayce wielded a large sword and was hacking away at the center of the crowd. I tried to spot my father in the midst of the chaos but, unfortunately, could not.
This left me feeling both lost and thankful. I was sure my father would hate to witness this scene, although at least the pack still held some significance in his mind. If he wasn't here, he wouldn't be torn between choosing sides.
"Pantheon didn't come?" Talon inquired, seemingly understanding what I was searching for, as he straightened his armor. I nodded softly before nervously focusing on the battle downstairs.
"Alpha," a sudden anxious shout came from the doorway, and Braum nervously pushed it open. "There are just too many of them. Let's keep watch here while you and Ms. Caitlyn get out of here," he said, his gaze fixed on Talon, awaiting his response.
"Are you telling me to leave my people behind and escape alone?" Talon appeared as if he had heard an incredibly amusing joke, with a disdainful smile on his face.
"No, that's not what I meant..." Braum bowed his head nervously.
"Let's go. We're going to make them realize how much trouble they've gotten themselves into today," Talon sneered, ignoring Braum's reaction, and headed for the stairs. Talon's body shook softly, and I could feel the wolf inside him whining restlessly. It wasn't fear, but the excitement that preceded a kill.
"Take care of Caitlyn for me," Talon patted Braum's shoulder gently and prepared to descend towards the battle.
"Talon..." My brows furrowed as I whispered his name.
Right after I had finished shouting, a sudden shattering of glass echoed from behind me.
I instinctively turned around, only to witness a sharp knife piercing through the shattered window and hurtling straight toward me. Shards of glass scattered in the sunlight, casting an eerie reflection on the faded church frescoes. I stood there in shock, my eyes wide with terror.
Just in the nick of time, a dark shadow leaped toward me, like a guardian deity from mythology.
The broad back of Talon formed my most formidable fortress, and Talon turned to me with a worried expression.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded. But in the next instant, a mist of blood blossomed from Talon's body.