Helena's POV
"Hand it over," Beta Cain said coldly the moment we reached the line of sleek black cars waiting outside Christian's lair.
The courtyard was half-shadow, half-sun, and the way the vampires hissed and kept their distance told me the artifact hadn'tn'tchanged the power balance in the room yet yet.
Cain's fingers clamped around my wrist again.
"Hand what over?" I asked, raising a brow.
"The knife," he snapped. "I won't have you stabbing anyone on my watch."
My jaw tensed. "That hurts, you know. And that knife is important to me. I'm not handing it over."
Cain's grip tightened. I winced.
"I'm not going to kill anyone unless they deserve it," I added. Which, to be fair, wasn't entirely true. I'd never killed anyone before—unless you count the vampire in Christian's lair who turned to ash after tasting my blood. That had been more… accident than execution.
Cain narrowed his eyes, gaze flicking toward the boot where my knife was hidden.
"Leave it," The Alpha King said suddenly, voice calm but firm.
Cain turned to him. "Blake, don't trust her so easily. Just because—"
"I said, leave it," He repeated, voice dropping half an octave.
There was a weight in that tone. Even I felt it.
Cain obeyed with a grunt. "Whatever," he muttered, then practically dragged me toward one of the cars. His mood was sharp and stormy, as if my existence offended him.
"Easy, jeez," I muttered, rubbing my wrist where he'd gripped it.
The car doors opened automatically. Sleek leather interior. No scent of wolves, surprisingly. No scent at all. As sterile as a hospital.
I slid in beside Cain. One of the enforcers—taller, even more muscled—was already seated in the front. His sharp green eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. Probably the Gamma or Delta. Didn't matter. I wasn't trying to learn their names. I wasn't staying long enough to care.
The car started with a purr, and we began driving into the forest.
No one spoke.
The silence was heavier than it needed to be. Not awkward—more like measured. Like they were both listening for something I couldn't hear. I stared out the window as the trees blurred past. Thick trunks, early spring leaves, golden light piercing through the canopy. It almost looked peaceful. But my thought was absolute chaos. I was being taken from one prison to another. Traded like a product. And still, the question haunted me:
Why would the Alpha King trade the Daylight Stone… for me?
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Cain. Jaw clenched. Eyes alert. Sitting like a soldier even though he was in the back seat of a car. There was history in those frown lines. Pain, maybe. Or just a deep-rooted hatred of hunters like me.
"We're being followed," the enforcer sitting in the front said suddenly.
Cain straightened.
I froze. "By who?"
Cain ignored me. "How many?"
"Four. Maybe five. Keeping low behind the ridge."
The car veered off the road suddenly, tires crunching gravel as the driver swerved us behind a cluster of trees. We stopped. The engine died. The Alpha King and his third enforcer had taken another route, so we were on our own.
Cain turned to me. "Stay here."
"What? Why?"
He opened the door. "Because I said so."
And then he was gone, disappearing into the woods with the theenforcer behind him. I sat in the silent car, heart thudding, eyes darting around. When I could not take it anymore, I cracked the door open and slid out silently, keeping low. My boots barely made a sound against the mossy ground. I thought this was the best time to escape. Then I heard a branch snapped somewhere ahead and voices.
"You sure she's in there?" one said.
I crept closer, staying low behind the underbrush. My eyes widened as I spotted them. Hunters. They were looking for me. I was so relieved and about to reveal myself, but then the next words made me pause with confusion.
"She's with wolves. That's all I need to know," another replied. "We take them all down."
Dressed in tactical black. Silver-tipped weapons strapped across their chests. Sigils on their jackets. Sunburst marks.
That was new.
Cain emerged from the trees like a storm, slamming into one of them with a roar that made the ground shiver. The enforcer followed a breath later, fists flying. It was brutal and fast—blood sprayed across the ferns. One fired a silver bolt into Cain's shoulder only because he missed his heart. He would have gotten the hit if the second enforcer, whose name I should probably know once this is over, hadn't barreled into the hunter. Another tried to hurl a net soaked in wolfsbane at the enforcer. They were fighting to kill.
My stomach twisted. When did hunters start targeting wolves who hadn't been reported to be terrorizing humans? Hunters were supposed to only go after supernatural threats. Beasts that hurt humans. Witches who cursed innocents. Vampires who fed without consent and Fae that enticed them and turned their brains to mush.
This wasn't that. This was an ambush.
"Deal with the girl!" another shouted.
'What the…'
I ducked instinctively. A hunter emerged from the trees near me, eyes scanning. He spotted me. I yanked my knife from my boot just in time.
"Helena?" he said, startled. He was young. Maybe my age. Brown hair. Grey eyes. I didn't recognize him.
"Who the fuck are you?" I asked, blade raised.
"I'm a hunter," he said quickly. "We're here to rescue you."
I hesitated. "Rescue me? I for sure heard your colleague over there say you should deal with me."
He blinked. "You must have heard wrong."
I stared at him. I wasn't stupid.
Cain was bleeding but still fighting. The enforcer had pinned one hunter to a tree. Blood ran down both sides.
"Did something happen to Grand Marsha Gwen? She would never condone this," I barked at him.
"She was weak and could not do what was necessary. All supernatural beings are evil, and anyone fraternizing with them must be destroyed." He shouted, looking very dangerous
"Fraternizing? Who leads you?"
He puffed his chest. "Grand Marshal Dan."
I froze.
Dan
That name hadn't been used in hunter circles for decades. He was exiled. Violent. Obsessed with wiping out all supernaturals. Even those who lived peacefully.
"Enough of the chitchat." Then he lunged but moved faster.
The hilt of my blade slammed into the side of his skull before he could get close. He dropped instantly, unconscious.
I thought of running again, but then the other enforcer grabbed my hands before I could take a step, almost like he read my thoughts.
'What's your name?' I asked, and he just grunted. Guess I would stick to calling him the other enforcer then.
Cain was limping but alive. He saw me and growled. "I told you to stay put."
"You are not the boss of me," I muttered.
We piled into the car. The enforcer went back and dragged the dead hunter's body into the trees.. As the engine started, I turned toward Cain.
"Why did they attack?"
He didn't answer.
I leaned forward. "Seriously. Why would they come after you when you haven't harmed anyone, or have you?" Maybe they had.
Cain's jaw flexed. "Because they have a new leader. One who hates us and wants our end."
"Dan," I said quietly.
His head turned sharply.
"You know him?"
"I've heard the name."
Cain nodded once, eyes on the road. "He wants war. Not justice."
I looked down at my blood-stained knife.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure which side I was on anymore.