CHAPTER 26: The Weight of the CrownAs the gates of the Shadowfang Fortress creaked open what lay behind was the very core of the most agile and terrifying pack in the northern mountains. The stronghold hummed with activity inside — warriors sparring in the courtyard, blacksmiths working weapons into form, scouts coming and going with reports. Wolves, steel, and magic hung thick in the air.The woman who had welcomed us then showed us around some stone halls with an undeniable authority. She stalked around as if in her natural habitat, moon as a lone predator with her amber eyes calculating until they settled on me, weighing my value in seconds.“I am Commander Rhea of the Shadowfangs,” she broke the silence at last, her voice a low growl. “And you Jessica Rivera, entered my territory with an army on your heels.”I held my children tighter. “We didn’t have a choice.”Rhea halted suddenly and turned toward me. “You always have a choice. The question is are you ready to deal with the ou
Chapter 27: Making the AllianceThe fire in the great hall crackled, casting long shadows on the ancient stone walls of the Shadowfang fortress. The air was filled with the heavy aroma of burning wood layered with the musky scent of wolves, the tension thick as warriors and pack leaders I knew had gathered. The weight of what we had just agreed on — war — loomed over us all.I sat at the long table with Ethan at my side and Selene and Dorian on my other. Rhea sat across from me, her amber eyes assessing. She had no idea yet if she trusted me, but she had given her word. In her world, trust had to be paid for in blood.“Three days isn’t a lot of time,” Ethan said, his tone steady, but pulsing with tension. “We need to know what forces we’re working with. How many wolves can you muster?”Rhea leaned back and crossed her arms. “Two hundred, battle-trained. Fifty more in scouting or support roles. But that won’t be enough to face the Order if what Dorian says is true.”Dorian nodded with a
Chapter 28: The Gamble at MidnightThe journey to Midnight Claws' territory was brutal. The air grew colder as the dense forests of the Black Hollow were replaced by torn cliffs and valleys shrouded in mist. Each step came with an added heaviness as the inevitable loomed beyond me, bearing down like a torrential rain. The Ironfangs had bowed to fight beside us, but it wouldn’t be enough. We needed more.Selene was in the lead, gliding through the shadows like water. Dorian fell in step beside her, ever the strategist, his keen silver eyes raking the horizon. The Midnight Claws were infamous for that, for their secrecy, their shifting alliances. If they were already in league with the Order, we were walking into a death trap.That thought sent a shiver of fear down my spine, but I brushed it away. We didn’t have a choice.“Stay close,” Selene said softly. “We’re being watched.”My wolf stirred under my skin and I tensed, but forced myself to remain calm. This was their home court, thei
Chapter 29: The March to WarInvisible birds of prey circled lurching waves, talons at the ready for my fall, and the cold wind howled in my ears, as we crossed from Midnight Claws stronghold into the open night, our new alliance settling heavily over me like a cloak. The Ironfangs and the Midnight Claws now stood with us—two packs. It wasn’t enough. Not yet. But it was a start.Adam clung to Selene as we walked, weak but able to stand. His face was pale, his body thin, but the fire in his eyes was clear. He had been shattered by the Order, but he wasn’t finished.Ethan walked beside me, quiet but vigilant. And his hand skimmed mine once, briefly, a tether.I glanced at Adam. "Tell me everything. From the beginning."He breathed out shakily, his mist in the cold air. “They’re testing on wolves. Not just any wolves — Alphas, Betas, those of bloodlines. They’re infusing biology with magic, seeing if they can make stronger stuff. Something unstoppable."Selene’s jaw tightened. "Hybrids."
Chapter 30: The Treachery from InsideUnder the moonlight, the war camp was alive with the energy of warriors preparing for the battle that would decide the fate of the packs. The air was thick with steel and sweat, bitterly pungent smell of metal, so unlike the silence that had settled over us. The Shadowfangs, Ironfangs, and Midnight Claws were one, but something still felt wrong.My wolf was restless, trotting under my skin. It wasn’t fear. It was something worse.Dorian tightened his gauntlets as he examined the map laid out in front of us. “We have one opportunity to strike them before they are aware of us coming. If we go through the tunnels, we can breach their defenses without them knowing. But if they’re expecting us—"“Nothing but a slaughter we walk into,” Selene grimly finished.A half-nod, fingers tracing routes on the map. “Then we ensure they’re not expecting us. We move fast, hit harder. No hesitation."Rhea folded her arms, opposite me. "You sound confident. However,
Chapter 31: The Day Before the StormBy night, the war drums of the Shadowfangs sounded, a steady, pounding thrum audible miles away. Flames leapt in all directions, shadows flickering across the assembled warriors. Three powerful packs of wolves stood poised, sharpening their blades, bracing for the inevitable bloodshed.But in the face of this solidarity, I felt uncertainty settle heavy in my bones. We had initiated our plan, dispatching the scout back return to the Order filled with lies. It had been whispered around amongst their kind that we had heard from the winds, retreat to the northern pass. A baited lure meant to distract. If they bought the lie, we would have the element of surprise. If they didn’t, we were heading directly into an ambush.The air was thick with tension.Ethan was standing next to me with his arms crossed as he watched the warriors spar in the training yard. "They’re ready. As ready as they’ll ever be."I exhaled slowly. "Are they? Because if that boy was
CHAPTER 32: THE CLASH OF TITANSHell broke loose on the battlestorm of blood and steel.Wolves collided against the Order’s forces, a mass of claws and teeth and raw fury. Spells were warded and countered, unnatural energy cracklibg through the air as the air darkened with magic. The ground shuddered beneath the clash of battle, and the cacophony of conflict was a blaring cacophony of howls and death, of roars and fury, of metal thudding against scale and bone.I leapt forward, my wolf fighting beneath my skin as I barreled into the chaos. My blade bit into flesh, a hybrid warrior falling beneath my blow. They were like normal wolves, only stronger, and their movements were not quite right -- made mechanical. Something monstrous had been done to them by the Order.Ethan stood by my side, his blade dispatching another enemy. “Stay close!” he shouted over the din. “They’re trying to divide us!”I could see it happening. The Order’s troops weren’t just fighting with no direction in mind
Chapter 33: Into the FireMy legs ached as I ran, my pulse pounding in my ears. The world faded into obscurity around me, the pandemonium of battle rushing into the background. My single thought, my sole preoccupation—My children.The warrior who bore them was swift, but I was swifter. I forced myself to move faster, weaving between bodies and blades, ignoring the pain flaring through my muscles. The sound of them crying pierced through the night, amplifying my desperation.“JESSICA!”There was Ethan’s voice, but I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t wait. Each second that ticked by was a second closer to losing them for good.The warrior burst into the treeline, his body blurring mid-step. He was attempting to shift to his wolf form, to run for the woods and beyond my tracking range.I decided I wasn’t about to let that go down.I jumped, pinning him to the floor. We slammed into the dirt, rolling violently. The hold he had on my babies slipped, and in that instant, I yanked them away from him,
Jessica stood paralyzed between Kade and Lucas, her heart hammering against her ribs and her past and future colliding before her.She should be relieved. After all these months running away, just trying to survive, desperately trying to stay alive—her pack had finally found her.But why did it feel so wrong?Lucas’s eyes were hopeful, craving for her to conform, to go back to what she used to be. Kade, however, remained unmoved next to her, barely shrouded dominance barely leashed, refusing to budge.She gulped, wavered on her feet. “Lucas… how did you find me?”His face gave nothing away. “We never stopped looking.”A twinge of guilt knotted in her chest. Had they really been searching for her all along? Or was there another reason for their mysterious re-emergence?Kade growled low next to her, catching Lucas’s ear. “She is not leaving without the truth.”Lucas’s jaw tightened. “This doesn’t concern you, Alpha. She belongs with us.”Jessica exhaled sharply. “I decide where I belong
Chapter 72 – The AwakeningJessica’s body was weightless, floating between this world and another. This energy flowed in her veins as nothing she had ever known: primal, ancient, wild.Her wrists no longer ached. The burns had vanished, her skin as unmarred as if silver had never sullied her. But she knew better. She had experienced the pain, the torture. She had been tied up, powerless to struggle, could hardly breathe as her captors smothered her.And now?She was free.As she steadied herself, her breath came out in slow measured exhales. Lucian had run. Lucian had run from her. This man, who had tormented her, who had taken pleasure in her pain, had seen into her eyes and ran.Why?The question twisted tight in her mind, but just as she was able to settle into it, footsteps sounded in the corridor beyond.They were coming.Think, Jessica. Think fast.Her body may have healed, but she wasn’t naïve enough to believe she was invincible. Not yet. Whatever power had set her free, whate
Chapter 71: The Trap We Never Saw ComingEmerging from the dense thicket of woodland, bursting through brush, my objective flashed through my mind, in a sing song sort of chant, skull, skull, skull. Kade was standing next to me, his fingers clenched around my wrist, his body rigid and prepared for anything. Elias trailed closely, his customary smirk replaced by grim concentration. The rogue Alpha, Maddox, hovered just outside of range, his icy gaze scanning the trees as if he were expecting a brawl.Because something felt off.The air too still, the forest too quiet. My wolf paced restlessly under my skin, her instincts prickling with that special kind of warning that got the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.I swallowed hard. “Something’s wrong.”Kade nodded, his silver gaze sliding over to me. “I know. Keep moving.”But the feeling just got worse.With every step we took, the discomfort tightened like a spring in my belly.We were stepping into something, and it has felt
Chapter 70: Giving In To FateUnlike most of the time though—I was half the way through the black sticky forest when I felt the knot between Kade and me, deluging the space with the pulse of connection, thick and unyielding. Whenever I walked away, it pulled me back. It was all I ever wanted, and every time I tried to shove it down, to ignore it, the damn thing flared hotter, burning up my veins like wildfire. I hated it. Hated how my body reacted to him, hated how my wolf purred in response to his presence, how she wanted him regardless of what he was.Elias must have felt it, too, because he sighed dramatically behind us. “So, are we all just not going to acknowledge how you two are giving off enough sexual tension to burn this whole forest down, or —”“Elias,” I snapped, my patience already threadbare.“What? All I’m saying is, if you two don’t deal with this, like, soon, I’m going to have to step in and —”A growl ripped through Kade’s throat so fast, so savagely, that Elias actua
Chapter 69: Bound in Blood and FlameWe doubled up and ran through the very green forest, the plants meeting us and loosening up. It was sharp air, full of damp earth and pine, the wind cutting through my cloak as we staggered toward the unknown.We’d been running for hours at a punishing speed, which I didn’t mind at all. Every second I spent was another second closer to losing my kids.Kade jogged next to me, his silver eyes raking the shadows for threats. He made no sound, just concentrated, but I could sense him, a fire licking my skin. The mate bond throbbed between us, raw and undeniable, a tie neither of us had asked for but could no longer ignore.Elias matched me on my other side, the usual smirk gone. Even he knew the stakes now. The rogue Alpha—who’d finally introduced himself as Maddox—lagged just behind, studying us with inscrutable eyes.The tension was thick. We all knew what we were getting ourselves into.But we did not speak it openly.Not yet.The Moment the World C
Chapter 68: Tethered by Destiny, Severed by DesireKade’s utterance lingered between us, dense with unvoiced weight. Come back with me. Three little words, and yet they pierced like a knife to the ribs. My pulse thundered in my ears as I fought to suppress the heat in my chest, ignore the primitive fire burning all the more brightly in his silver gaze. I had run from one betrayal to another for years, had spent my entire life knowing how to survive without depending on anyone. Now fate was brazen enough to gift me a second mate? And not just anyone—Kade. An Alpha. A man I couldn’t afford to let into my life.I clenched my fists. “You do not get to demand this of me.”Kade’s jaw ticked. “No right? Jessica, you disappeared. No warning. No explanation. You gift me with a pack council on my heels defending you as you marched straight into rogue territory armed with a fucking dagger and nothing else but your stubbornness.”“I didn’t ask you to defend me,” I hissed, my voice slicing the air
Chapter 67: Into the Lion’s DenAs we drew closer to the river, the noise of rushing water grew louder, the current filament weaving between dense foliage like a silver snake under the moon.As Elias and I passed through the bank, we looked around. The air was heavy with the smell of damp earth, pine, and something else — something unnatural.“We’re almost there,” I gasped, the adrenaline surging.Humming, Elias rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Too close.”I frowned. “What do you mean?”He shot me a look. “I mean, we’ve been walking through rogue territory for hours, and no one’s tried to kill us yet.”I exhaled. “You sound disappointed.”Elias smirked. “Not disappointed. Just… suspicious.”I didn’t blame him.Rogues weren’t the sitting-waiting kind. If they knew we were coming — and I had no doubt they did — then why hadn’t they revealed themselves?I glanced at the area again, my wolf stirring under my skin.Something wasn’t right.As I stepped forward, a deep voice came from the
Chapter 66: On the Road to the UnknownThe fire was low, crackling quietly in the still night. The weight of exhaustion lay against my bones, but sleep just wouldn’t. Not when my brain wouldn’t shut up.Not when I saw my children’s faces every time I closed my eyes.Elias had settled easily into the rhythm, gazing into the flames with a dazed sort of concentration, but I could tell he wasn’t entirely at ease either. He was waiting. Watching. Not for threats — though those would surely come — but for me.He was there waiting for me to crack.I wouldn’t want to give him the satisfaction.Instead, I curled in tight at the knees and looked into the darkness past the firelight. The forest surrounding us was silent, but it was a deceptive kind of silence. The kind that listened.That waited.“We should leave at first light,” Elias murmured, breaking the stalemate of silence.I exhaled. “Agreed.”“Unless, of course, you’ve suddenly decided to head back.”I shot him a sharp look. “You know th
Chapter 65: A Mother's SacrificeThe fire crackled quietly and threw fluttering shadows on the trees. The night was quiet but my mind was anything but.I sat with my back to a fallen log, my cloak tightened around me, the flames dancing in my eyes. The heat barely reached the chill lodged deep in my chest.Because I allowed myself to think of them for the first time in days.My babies.My heart squeezed painfully at the vision of their little faces; I curled my fists.Their smell was still fresh in my mind — soft, new, unhindered by the world. The way they curled into me while they slept, the way their little hands grabbed for me outside of their understanding of what was happening.And I had left them.I had left them.Some nights, the guilt was unbearable.Like now.“Elias moved next to me, eyes fixed and unreadable on the fire. He had been quiet for some time, but I could feel his curiosity, how he was waiting for me to say something.I exhaled slowly. “They’re safe.”Elias looked