46: The brute.
**The brute pov**
I returned to my tent after leaving Bane and Aife behind and the first thing I did was to sit on the edge of my bed. I ran my hands over the rough fabric and stared at the shelves across the room.
Dolls - fragile little things, perfectly aligned, each one more beautiful than the previous one.
I didn’t even like dolls that much, but arranging them over and over gave me something to do and handing them out to the little girls that were born in the camp was pretty great too. Not to mention the times when their mothers would bring them to my tent, just so they could sit and play like other children did.
Slowly, I approached the shelf and sighed. I moved one doll slightly to the left, adjusted another, and then paused before I switched some of them around so the colors made more sense in my mind.
Just as I grabbed one of the bigger dolls and was about to set it aside, Khan stepped into my tent.
When I turned to look at him over my shoulder, my muscles tensed instantly and my claws started itching under my skin. I knew that look on his face better than I knew my own mind.
Sharp eyes, deadly serious expression and paired with calm that could crush a man if only Khan truly wanted to.. Yeah, this was bad.
“Nathan,” Khan said and the moment he spoke my actual name, a cold shiver ran down my spine. “We’re short one man, you’re joining Alexander and the patrol. The villagers are getting closer to the camp, we need all men we can get aboard. You leave in ten minutes, get ready.”
A low growl formed in my throat and it escaped me even before I could try to stop it. Slowly, I turned around fully to face Khan. I took a breath and clenched my fists, intent to explain I was needed in the camp more than I was outside of it. “I just got back from-”
“You’ll survive,” Khan cut me off before I could finish the explanation. Then, he waved at me and added, “the men who are on the patrol now might lose limbs, if not lives, if you keep hesitating. Move. That’s an order.”
All I could do was nod, despite the tension that spread in my chest. For now, I hoped Aife and Bane found a way to control that monster without needing backup. For as long as they held hands or licked each other’s mouths, they should be good.
As soon as Khan left my tent, I threw on a thicker jacket and slid my feet into a pair of heavier, packed boots, meant for long walks in the forest. As I stepped out of the tent myself, the air instantly hit my face and while it was cold enough to lower the temperature of my skin, it did nothing to ease the anxiety.
Each step I took toward the patrol lions felt like an actual punishment. Risk was everywhere, and my mind refused to stop racing with “what ifs.” What if the villagers found Aife or Kala? What if someone else got hurt because I wasn’t careful?
Alexander waited by the patrol tents, grinning from ear to ear like he always did. I swear, despite his size, the guy looked like he was a part of some sort of happiness cult, because he never showed any negative emotions.
“You’re Nathan?” Alexander asked as soon as he noticed me approaching and if it was possible, his grin widened even more. “Holy shit, you still have a name, I already started thinking you adapted to the new name Khan’s cub and her friends call you.”
Obviously, the idiot was trying to get under my skin, but I paid no mind to it and simply shrugged. “Yep, Nathan, that’s me. Surprise?”
Alexander slapped my shoulder, grabbed it almost painfully and shook me a little. “Heard what you did yesterday, big guy. I must admit, I’m very fucking impressed that you managed to hold back the monster yesterday while Khan said he was struggling. That’s some serious skill, even if you guys were essentially only dicking around.”
I nodded sharply and looked away, mumbling. “I was there, yes, but Bane isn’t all monster at all. Or at least, he’s not fully. The guy is trying, give him a break.”
Never in my life had I thought I would stand and defend someone I first despised with my entire being, but here I was, doing the exact thing and not feeling bad about it at all.
Alexander snorted out a laugh that sounded far too happy and joyful to be true. “Not fully? That thing inside him killed half the camp’s faith in him. You think I’m supposed to trust him just because you stand here and claim he’s trying?”
I shrugged. “I don’t trust him fully either, but I know him enough to know the difference between him and the monster.”
Alexander waved off my words like they meant nothing, nodded in the direction of the woods and started walking. I followed right after him, my senses on the edge while he kept babbling like we were taking a friendly hike, not patrolling to keep the camp safe from the danger that was surrounding us.
Eventually, I matched his pace and walked right next to him, keeping a little distance so I wouldn’t bump into him every step we took. While Alexander kept talking about his plans for the evening, which I simply didn’t listen to, I kept looking around and scanning for any movement near us.
The villagers could be anywhere, hiding in the denser parts of the tree bush, watching us. They were greedy, yes, but also insanely clever and experienced. If I knew one thing about them, it was that once the villagers surrounded something - every sound and shadow could be death.
“You know what we’re walking into,” Alexander grumbled after a while when he finally realized I wasn’t paying attention to his stories. “Those villagers don’t play fair - they’re precise, ruthless, and unpredictable. Why are you coming?”
“I’m not going to stand by and watch someone else clean up a mess I can handle,” I muttered as my eyes swept over the perimeter again. “Besides, running isn’t in my vocabulary.”
Alexander chuckled, the sound dry and low. “You’ve got balls, Nathan, I’ll give you that. Just don’t die before we reach them.”
After that, we moved in silence for another few minutes. Now, finally, Alexander was paying as much attention to our surroundings as I was.
I jumped at every snapping twig, rustle of leaves and even stronger gusts of wind. My senses were on edge, hyperfocused and I knew we were about to walk into something without a way back.
Before I could warn Alexander, we both were started by a sharp crack of a branch. It wasn’t an animal - the sound was too slow and purposeful to be a wolf or a bear.
I froze as Alexander’s hand moved to his weapon, his eyes scanning the shadows.
Then, a scream cut through the air - one, two, then many more as figures darted between trees, weapons raised in their hands.
There they were, the fucking villagers, and just like I predicted, we walked straight into their ambush.
I growled as claws replaced my fingers and my body tensed. “Shit, there’s too many of them,” I muttered to Alexander, but my own warning didn’t hold me back from lunging forward.
Alexander reacted immediately, and we fell into rhythm, side by side. He barked commands while I blocked attacks, cut and stabbed the villages with my claws. I kept my focus only on the attacks and the sound of his command, knowing I had to be precise because one mistake would cost us dearly.
A villager lunged from the left and I turned just in time to grab him and throw him into the bush. My shoulder slammed into a tree and right after, hot pain shot through my arm, but I ignored and kept moving.
There was another strike that cut across my side - shallow, but it stung like a motherfucker. I gritted my teeth and kept going, mentally promising myself to deal with the injuries once we would return to the camp.
“Fall back!” Alexander screamed from somewhere in the distance. “Protect yourself, we need backup!”
I grabbed a man charging toward me and slammed him into the ground as pain radiated through my ribs, but I refused to acknowledge it.
“Nathan! Step back, get out of there!” Alexander yelled again, this time way further away from me.
My head snapped in the direction of his voice just as a villager’s blade connected with my ribs. Immediately, the pain exploded through me as I stumbled and felt the world blur before my eyes.
I felt rough hands grab me and barely could tell it was Alexander who grabbed me. He dragged me somewhere, maybe behind a tree, but it was away from the villagers, that much I knew.
As I forced my hand over the wound, I gritted my teeth and tried to pretend I couldn’t feel my own blood run between my fingers.
Alexander crouched next to me and grabbed my hand to pull it away from the wound, then let out a sharp, almost pained sound. “Shit, you’re hurt. It’s bad, we need to get you back to the camp as soon as the backup arrives. Think you can walk?”
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sit upright despite the pain. Then, I looked at Alexander and growled, “I appreciate you saving me, but fucking hell, you don’t run while other still fight.”
Alexander nodded and carefully helped me up. It felt like every muscle in my body was set on fire with every breath I took. I glanced over my shoulder where just moments ago a group of wild villagers had attacked us and noticed how they started retreating.
I frowned and looked at Alexander, and then, as a loud, ground-shaking growl tore through the mountains, I realized why the villagers were running. Bane.
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