The footsteps pounded closer, fast, coordinated, merciless. Not the uncertain shuffle of frightened villagers, nor the sluggish pace of common guards. This was a strike unit.
Rylan's elite.
Here for her.
Alpha Anderson Maya straightened, ignoring the searing pain from the silver cuffs biting into her wrists. Her wolf snarled beneath her skin, furious and wild, demanding she fight, demanding she tear her way out even if it killed her.
From across the hall, Kade whispered urgently, "Maya, listen, if they find that key…"
"They won't," she said, stepping away from the open cell door and kicking the key beneath a loose stone with her heel. Her movements were deliberate, controlled. "You will not die here. I won't allow it."
Kade made a sound like he wanted to argue, but pain silenced him.
The torches flickered as shadows gathered. A cold draft swept the hall, carrying the heavy scent of wolves in full armor, fur, steel and hostility.
The first of Rylan's elite appeared at the top of the stairs.
There were six of them.
Large, Skilled and Obedient.
Maya recognized each one because she had trained them herself.
She met their eyes without flinching. "If you touch him," she said, her voice low but sharp enough to cut stone, "I will tear you apart."
Her threat landed like thunder.
But the elite did not falter.
Their leader, a wolf named Draven once one of Maya's most disciplined commanders, took a step forward. His dark hair hung loose around his shoulders, and his expression held none of the warmth she remembered.
"Alpha Anderson Maya," he said stiffly, "you are to be escorted to the elders' council, Now."
"Escorted?" Maya let out a cold laugh. "Is that what you call dragging me through the dirt?"
Draven didn't react. "Do not resist. You are already wounded. Fighting will only worsen your condition."
Maya lifted her chin. "My condition is none of your concern."
His jaw tightened. "We have orders."
"From Rylan," she said.
Silence confirmed it.
More elite wolves spread out behind Draven, blocking the passage entirely. Two moved toward Kade's cell.
Maya's aura surged violently. "Get away from him."
Kade struggled up, leaning against the bars, breathing heavily. "Don't provoke them"
"Too late," Maya said under her breath.
Draven raised a hand. "Secure them both."
"Draven!" Maya snapped, stepping between him and Kade's cell. "You obey me. I am still your alpha."
A ripple passed through the wolves, uncertainty, shame, hesitation. Maya felt their instincts clash against their orders. Wolves were not meant to betray an alpha. Not unless that alpha had truly failed And Maya had not failed.
But Rylan had poisoned their beliefs. Had twisted their loyalty. Had fed them lies wrapped in tradition.
Draven's voice cracked with unspoken conflict. "Please, Maya… don't force us."
She stepped closer to him until their faces were inches apart. "Then don't force me."
Her aura flared again, this time without restraint.
Golden light flickered in her eyes.
The wolves staggered back. One dropped to his knees.
But Draven gritted his teeth and pushed against her aura with his own. It wasn't as strong as hers, but the silver cuffs dampened her power.
"Last warning," he said, breathing hard. "If you resist, we will subdue you."
Maya smiled without warmth. "Then come and try."
The hallway exploded into violence.
Two warriors lunged. Maya spun, ducking beneath a blade, her chained wrists slamming into a wolf's jaw. The silver burned her skin, and pain shot up her arms, but she didn't stop.
Another wolf grabbed her from behind. She slammed her head backward into his face. Bone crunched. He fell with a shout.
"Maya!" Kade yelled, gripping the bars as if he could tear them apart through sheer desperation.
"I'm fine!" she lied.
She wasn't fine—the silver was weakening her faster than she expected. Her movements remained sharp, but each strike came with blinding pain.
Draven attacked next.
He moved like a predator, silent, precise. His blow caught her side, sending her stumbling. Maya retaliated with a kick that hit his ribs, but he absorbed the impact.
"Stop this!" he growled. "This isn't you, we don't want to hurt you!"
"You already did," she hissed.
One wolf got behind her, locking an arm around her throat. Another grabbed her wrists, yanking the silver cuffs until her vision white-out with agony.
She gasped—but didn't scream.
Draven approached, breath ragged, guilt flickering across his eyes. "Forgive us," he murmured.
"No," Maya spat. "I don't forgive cowards."
His expression darkened. "Then we do what we must."
He nodded to the others. "Sedate her."
Kade roared, slamming against the bars. "Don't you touch her!"
A vial of black mist was produced from a pouch witch's vapor. The kind that knocked out wolves instantly.
Maya thrashed violently. "Don't!"
But the wolves tightened their grip.
The vial was uncorked.
A thick, dark vapor swirled toward her face
And then the ground shook.
Not subtly, Violently.
Stone cracked beneath their feet, Dust rained from the ceiling, Torches flickered wildly.
"What was that?" one of the elite shouted.
Another sniffed the air. "Something's coming"
But Maya knew.
It wasn't something.
It was someone.
A deep, primal howl echoed through the chamber, so powerful the torches slammed against the walls.
Kade's eyes widened. "Maya… your wolf "
No. It wasn't her wolf.
This howl came from above the cell. From the forest outside. From the night sky itself.
And the sound was unmistakable.
An alpha howl.
But not Rylan's.
Draven's eyes widened. "Impossible…"
Maya snarled. "Looks like the Moonstone made another mistake."
The walls trembled again.
Dust fell in thick sheets.
And then, the ceiling exploded.
Stone rained down as a massive figure dropped into the corridor in a storm of debris and moonlight.
A wolf, huge, silver furred, with eyes glowing like molten steel, landed between Maya and the elite warriors. The air cracked under its power.
A rogue alpha.
Unknown, Unclaimed, Unbound.
The wolf bared its fangs.
The elite stumbled back, fear etched into their faces.
"M-Maya…" Kade breathed. "Who is that?"
Maya stared, heart pounding violently, because the wolf's scent hit her like a thunderclap.
She knew that scent.
Everyone in the pack did.
But the wolf had been presumed dead.
A legend.
A warning.
A ghost.
Yet here he was.
Ashen Stormclaw, The banished Alpha.
The wolf growled and the sound shook the stones.
Draven's voice trembled. "You're supposed to be dead."
Ashen did not respond with words.
He lunged.
The hallway erupted into chaos.
Maya pressed against the bars of her cell, eyes locked on the massive rogue alpha tearing through Rylan's elite like they were nothing more than leaves in a storm.
She didn't understand why he was here.
She didn't know what he wanted.
She didn't know how he found her.
But she knew one thing,
She was not alone. Not anymore.