Liam’s POV
“We did it.”
I smiled as I watched the men jubilate around me. I knew how strung up everyone was and was relieved that they could relax. I glanced at Kevin to see how he was doing and smiled as I saw him. He looked better than he had been for the past few days. He had his arms around Ella’s waist and kissed her so passionately that I wondered if he knew that we were all still out in the open field and they weren’t alone. With the way Ella held on to him, I didn’t doubt that she had also forgotten that we were here.
I smiled as I looked away to give them privacy though they didn’t ask for it. If they wanted privacy, they wouldn’t have displayed their love in public.
It must be nice to have a mate. I sighed and pushed the thoughts out of my head, not needing them at this moment.
“Stop sucking my daughter’s face off every chance you get.” Zeke said as he pulled Kevin off.
I chuckled. Zeke never disappointed in breaking Kevin’s contact with Ella and making him growl. With the way his eyes smiled as always anytime he did that, we knew he was enjoying himself.
Kevin chuckled and ran his tongue over his lips. “I could have held on to my self-control if your daughter had hers intact. Tell her to stop latching her lips to mine and maybe I will behave.”
Zeke laughed. “I don’t need you to behave. I actually enjoy breaking you apart. The growls you make send thrills through my heart.”
“Petty, dad.” Ella chuckled.
Zeke winked at her. “I am and feeling extra petty tonight. Let’s have a feast to celebrate chasing off the rogues tonight.”
“They might still come back.” Damien said.
Kevin chuckled. “That is expected. Kenneth is too much of a bastard to not come at us again but Zeke is right, we have to celebrate beating them despite the numbers they had against us.”
“Let’s party!” Andre hollered.
“Yeah!” The men all cheered and chorused as we moved inside.
We had hardly settled down inside when the talks about the war and the rogues were brought up. I hid a smirk as I listened to them all. That was expected.
“What do we do?” Adrian asked. “I don’t think that they wouldn’t fall for our tricks again?”
Damien snorted. “Why wouldn’t they? It’s not like they can fashion arrows as soon as they can and the rogues I know won’t wait for a month to get weapons before they attack us again.”
Kevin snorted. “The Kenneth I know won’t wait for a month before he attacks us again even if his men don’t want to come here. Kenneth has tasted loss and defeat which I’m sure would be a bitter pill in his mouth that he isn’t used to and comfortable with. He will attack us soon so he can’t get rid of the taste. I’m sure he won’t rest until he fights with us and gets the taste out of his mouth.”
I smiled, shaking my head subtly. Kevin seemed to know him well.
As if Zeke had been reading my mind, he spoke my thoughts out loud. “You really seem to know him well.”
Kevin shrugged in what I supposed was meant to be modesty. “You can’t help but know how your enemy thinks especially if the chase has gone on for too long.”
Zeke nodded. “True enough.”
“What do we do about the battle?” Caleb asked.
At first, everyone was silent. Because we didn’t know what exactly we would do about the battle. Caleb rarely spoke up in meetings like this and it was a surprise that he did.
Suddenly, everyone began to speak at the same time, making suggestions and adapting it that I didn’t feel the need to know who was talking. It became a hassle to flick my head around to know who was talking and I sat there and listened to them while making notes in my brain on whose suggestion was good.
We were ready for war again and I hoped that this was going to be the final one.
Kevin’s POV
“It’s the rogues. They are coming.”
I sighed as I heard the signal. It wasn’t a surprise. I had known that Kenneth would show up. It was just two days that we had had the last battle and he was already here. I hoped that this would be the last one.
I couldn’t even laugh at how impatient he was to come so soon. He couldn’t even wait for a week or two more days before the war.
“Let’s go.” I said to my men.
We got outside in our battle formation just as the rogues walked towards the open field where we had fought the other time. There were no more traps in the ground but they didn’t know and we had no hesitation against using that fear against them.
Looking at how his men moved back and didn’t want to come closer, I could tell that they still remembered how the last war played out and didn’t want to get into traps and be killed by explosives.
I didn’t think his men were ready mentally for the war. They were brought to the slaughter house by their leader and they knew it, just as I did.
“Did you miss me that much, Kenneth, that you couldn’t wait to see me?” I yelled towards his direction.
He snorted and replied me as loudly as I did. “You wish. I want to get rid of you so soon so I can go back to leading my people.”
“Do your people know that you might not make it back home?” I asked him.
He laughed. “Do you still delude yourself that you can kill me?”
“I believe that your life will end here.”
“You dream a lot, Kevin. Is that how you lead your pack?” He taunted. “With dreams and fake promises?”
“Do you also lead your pack with your obsession and your impulsiveness?” I scanned his men another time and confirmed what it was that I was looking for. I didn’t see his general. “I can’t find your general. Did you send him to lead your people at home while you deal with your obsession?”
His men shuffled on their feet and looked confused. I realized from their attitude that they didn’t know where their general was as well. Only Kenneth looked unruffled and I confirmed what I suspected. This guy was a bigger asshole than I already thought he was. I knew as much as his men did that Kenneth wasn’t someone who was going to willingly let his general rule in his stead.
I decided to be naughty again and cause more tension among his army. After all, a worked up army tended to make mistakes and lose easily. I was glad that Ella had overcome her emotional reactivity. I hoped that these soldiers hadn’t overcome theirs so I could use it against them.
I gasped in mock outrage. “Did you kill your general, Kenneth? How could you? I didn’t know you were this low.”
He hissed at me, his eyes narrowing into slits. “Shut it!”
“What if I don’t?” I challenged him.
“I will kill you.” He growled.
“Bring it on, bastard.” I smirked, taunting him.
“Don’t call me that.” He roared as he raced forward.
My words had done what it needed to do. Not all of the men ran with him. Some of them stayed back and I knew it was because of what I had said. They didn’t want to fight for a man they realized could kill them as he wished. Even when they saw their leader run towards us over the field without any explosive blowing his head off, they still didn’t make a move to come forward.
“Charge!” I roared to my men as Kenneth and his faction of soldiers ready to fight for him got closer to us.