Chapter 125

• Kavian's POV
• Alpha Damian came at me with his sword swinging deadly at me but I dodged it in time, the blade whooshing past my cheek and throwing dust into my eyes. I lunged for his chest with my claws, hoping to end this fast by ripping out his heart — the thought was cold, clean, necessary — but he surprised me, parrying my hand-swipe just in the nick of time and answering with a brutal, unexpected counter: his clawed hand slammed into my face and sent me staggering backwards.
• For a second everything slowed. The world narrowed to the sting on my skin and the sudden, hot taste of iron. I was honestly stunned — no one had landed a solid hit on me in a long while, and I hadn't expected it would be him. Something warm rolled down the side of my face; I brought my hand up and wiped it, grimacing when I saw it was my blood, bright and sticky on my fingers.