His Rogue Luna and the Secret Heir

Chapter5

THE HUNT BEGINS

Kiera's POV

Glass exploded inward. I lunged across the room, my wolf already surging forward, claws extended. But I was too slow. The creature, that thing with burning red eyes, crashed through the window and snatched Kai from his bed in one fluid motion.

"Kai!" I screamed.

My son's cry cut through the night, high and terrified, before something covered his mouth. The creature leaped back through the broken window and disappeared into the darkness.

"No!" I dove after it, hitting the ground outside hard, rolling to my feet.

Gone. They were gone. But the scent remained. Multiple scents. Rogues. At least five of them. And something else. Iron. Blood. Magic that made my wolf recoil.

"Kai!" I screamed his name into the night. "Kai!"

My legs moved before my brain caught up. I shifted partially, my senses exploding. Every smell, every sound amplified a thousand times.

There. The trail led east, toward the old industrial district. I ran. Faster than I'd ever run before. My wolf clawed at my insides, demanding full control, demanding blood. For the first time in five years, I let her.

The shift tore through me. Bones cracked and reformed. Fur rippled across my skin. My clothes shredded. And then I was running on four legs, my wolf finally free, hunting for her pup. Behind me, engines roared to life. The Iron Valkyries. My family. But I couldn't wait for them. Kai. I had to get to Kai.

The scent trail grew stronger. I pushed harder, my paws eating up the distance. Buildings blurred past. My wolf's vision cut through the darkness like daylight.

A mile. Two miles. Three. The industrial district loomed ahead, abandoned warehouses and rusted machinery casting long shadows.

The scent stopped at a large warehouse with broken windows and a caved-in roof. I skidded to a halt, shifting back to human form. Naked. Bleeding from cuts I don't remember getting. But I didn't care.

"Kai!" I screamed. "Where is he? Where's my son?"

Movement inside. Shadows shifting. A laugh echoed out, cold and cruel.

"The b***h came alone," a voice called. "Stupid wolf."

"Give me back my son!" I grabbed a piece of rebar from the ground, my hands shaking with rage.

"Come and get him."

I charged into the warehouse. Five rogues waited inside, their eyes glowing in the darkness. Massive. Scarred. Dangerous.

And in the center, held by the largest rogue, was Kai. Unconscious. A gag over his mouth. His small body limped. Everything inside me shattered.

"Put him down." My voice was barely human. "Now."

The largest rogue grinned, revealing fangs. "Or what? You'll fight all of us? You're just one wolf."

"Then I'll die killing you."

I lunged. The first rogue met me head-on. I slammed the rebar into his skull. Bone crunched. He went down. The second came from the left. I ducked under his claws and drove the rebar through his ribs.

But there were too many. Claws raked across my back. Pain exploded through me. I fell, rolling away, coming up bloody. The third rogue kicked me in the ribs. Something cracked. I couldn't breathe.

They were going to kill me. And then they'd take Kai, and I'd never see him again.

No. No!

My wolf surged forward with desperate fury. Then I heard it. Engines. Dozens of them. Coming fast. The warehouse doors exploded inward. The Black Howl MC poured through like an avalanche. Rylan at the front, his eyes blazing pure gold, his Alpha aura so strong it made the air shimmer.

"Touch her again," he snarled, his voice inhuman, "and I will tear you apart piece by piece."

The rogues scattered. But Rylan was faster. He shifted mid-run, his massive black wolf form crashing into the rogue holding Kai. They went down in a tangle of fur and fangs. Kai tumbled free, rolling across the concrete. I crawled toward him, my broken ribs screaming, my vision blurring.

"Kai, baby, wake up."

His eyes fluttered open, golden and terrified.

"Mommy?"

"I'm here. I've got you."

Behind me, chaos erupted. The Black Howl pack tore into the rogues with savage efficiency. Rylan fought like a demon, his jaws clamping around his throat, his claws ripping through flesh. The Iron Valkyries arrived seconds later, guns blazing.

"Get the kid out!" Jax roared.

Mika ran toward me, but a rogue intercepted her. She fired twice. The rogue went down.

"Kiera, move!"

I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't work. Too much blood. Too much pain. A rogue charged at us, its eyes locked on Kai. I threw myself over my son, ready to die protecting him. The rogue never made it.

Rylan's wolf slammed into it from the side, jaws locking around its throat. One violent shake and the rogue went limp.

He dropped the body and shifted back to human form, blood covering his chest, his eyes wild.

"Kiera." He dropped to his knees beside me. "God, you're bleeding."

"Kai. Is he.."

"He's okay. He's breathing." Rylan's hands moved over me, checking my wounds. "But you're not."

"Doesn't matter." I coughed, tasting blood. "Just... keep him safe."

"You're both going to be safe." His voice cracked. "I swear it."

For a moment, we locked eyes. Two wolves. Two parents. United by one desperate fear.

Just like the old days, before everything fell apart.

"Behind you!" I gasped. Rylan spun, catching a rogue's claws mid-strike. He twisted and broke the creature's arm, then its neck. I forced myself up, my wolf lending me strength I didn't have. Together, we fought.

Back to back. Moving as one. Anticipating each other's movements like we'd never been apart. A rogue came at me. Rylan intercepted. Another lunged at him. I drove my rebar through its heart.

We were a unit. A weapon. Lethal and synchronized. Within minutes, the rogues lay dead or dying around us. Silence fell, broken only by heavy breathing and the crackle of a fire that had started in the corner.

Rylan moved immediately to Kai, scooping him up gently, cradling him against his chest.

"He's alive," he breathed. "Thank God, he's alive."

Something in my chest twisted at the sight. Rylan holding our son. Protecting him. Looking at him with such raw love and fear.

"Give him to me," I said quietly.

Rylan's arms tightened around Kai. "He's hurt. He needs a healer."

"He needs his mother."

"I'm not letting him go," Rylan's eyes blazed. "Not again. Never again."

We stared at each other over Kai's small body, both of us bloodied, both of us broken, both of us terrified of losing what we'd just saved.

Mika appeared beside me, her hand on my shoulder. "Kiera, we need to move. There could be more."

She was right. We had to get out of here.

But something was wrong. Something was...

A sound. Wet. Gasping. One of the rogues was still alive. I walked over to where it lay in a pool of blood, its chest torn open, its breathing shallow.

"Why?" I demanded. "Why did you take my son?"

The rogue's red eyes focused on me. It smiled, blood staining its teeth.

"He wants... the boy," it wheezed. "The true heir."

"What are you talking about? Who wants him?"

"Your Alpha..." The rogue coughed, more blood spilling from its mouth. "Is not... who you think he is."

Ice flooded my veins. "What do you mean?"

"The real Alpha... died years ago. What stands before you now... is a pretender. A.."

The rogue's eyes went blank. Its head lolled to the side. Dead. I stood there frozen, the words echoing in my mind. Your Alpha is not who you think he is. I turned slowly, my gaze finding Rylan.

He stood there holding Kai, his face pale, his eyes wide. He'd heard every word.

"Kiera," he said quietly. "That rogue was lying. They always lie before they die. You know that."

But his voice shook. His hands trembled. And for the first time in five y

ears, I looked at the man I'd once loved and wondered. Who are you really?