Chapter 23 - Try and Stop Me
1273 Words
Elara moved first.
The moment Thorne stepped into her path, something inside her gave way completely.
The Valemere wolves behind him had already started pulling closer together again. Chains shifted every time one of them moved, metal scraping against bruised skin while the scent of silver clung heavily to the cold morning air. Some kept glancing toward the prison entrance behind them, eyes hollow with the kind of fear that came from expecting freedom to disappear the second they touched it.
And Thorne stood between them and escape.
Her pulse pounded violently while the bond between them stretched so tight it felt ready to tear apart.
“Calm down.”
His voice came low and controlled, though strain scraped beneath the surface.
That only made the anger worse.
She surged forward anyway.
Her hand drove toward his shoulder with enough force to shove him aside, but he caught her wrist instantly. His grip locked around her before she could break past him.
“Don’t.”
The warning came rougher this time.
Elara twisted violently out of his hold and drove forward again, shoving against him with enough force to jar through her bones. He barely moved.
Frustration burned hotter inside her chest.
“Move.”
The word tore from her throat as she shoved against him again.
Thorne caught her arm before she could slip around him.
“Stop fighting me.”
“No.”
She ripped free and drove her elbow toward his ribs. He blocked it immediately, the impact sending pain shooting through her arm, but the ache vanished beneath the fury clawing through her chest.
Behind her, chains shifted again.
Uneven breathing carried through the prison grounds.
Valemere wolves had survived years underground only to walk straight into another fight the moment they stepped outside.
“You don’t get to stop me from protecting them!”
Her voice cracked sharply across the prison grounds.
Several wolves flinched.
Draegon wolves had started gathering around them now, drawn by raised voices and rising dominance. Some looked uncertain. Others watched the Valemere wolves with open hostility while tension spread outward through the growing crowd.
Kaia stepped forward immediately.
“She’s escalating this.”
“Stay where you are.”
Thorne’s voice cut across the prison grounds hard enough to stop everyone cold.
Even Kaia froze.
Rafe swore quietly nearby while Rowan remained silent, his attention fixed on every movement between them.
Elara barely noticed either of them.
She came at Thorne again, harder this time.
Her shoulder slammed into his chest as she tried to force past him. The scent of pine and cold air clung to him beneath the heavy pressure of dominance spreading across the prison grounds.
“You’re making this worse,” he warned.
“They were already suffering!”
The words broke out before she could stop them.
The bond lashed violently between them, emotion slamming into emotion so hard it became impossible to separate where hers ended and his began. Rage crashed against restraint while fear tangled with control hanging by a thread.
Elara shoved against him again before the feeling could drown her completely.
This time, Thorne caught both her wrists.
The movement happened fast enough to pull startled breaths from several wolves nearby.
She fought him instantly, twisting and shoving while his grip tightened just enough to stop her from wrenching herself free.
“Let me go.”
The command came rough and breathless.
“Enough.”
His voice dropped lower this time, harder.
Her wolf surged beneath her skin hard enough to send a ripple through the prison grounds.
Several Draegon wolves stiffened immediately while growls broke loose from opposite sides of the crowd. The atmosphere shifted so quickly it made the hair rise along her arms.
Thorne felt it too.
She saw the exact moment his attention flicked beyond her toward the wolves gathering around them and the edge of losing control entirely.
“Listen to me.”
“No!”
She tore one hand free and shoved hard against his chest.
For the first time, she actually moved him.
The reaction around them came instantly.
Several Draegon wolves stepped forward while the Valemere wolves behind her tensed in response. Fear thickened through the air so heavily Elara could almost taste it.
The prison grounds exploded into noise.
Growls ripped through the crowd while voices rose from every direction. Someone shouted for the guards while another wolf barked an order she couldn’t make out over the chaos building around them.
Everything was spiraling too fast.
Thorne caught her again before she could move.
This time he pulled her sharply against him, one arm locking around her waist before she could break free. Her back slammed against his chest hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs.
She fought harder immediately.
Every muscle in her body strained against his hold while panic and fury crashed violently together inside her chest. Behind them, wolves were still shouting. Kaia barked orders somewhere to the left while Rafe tried forcing Draegon wolves back before the situation exploded further.
The Valemere wolves had started grouping tightly together again. Some looked terrified enough to run while others looked ready to fight despite their weakened state.
“Let me go!”
Elara twisted violently against his hold, trying to wrench herself free.
Thorne shifted with her immediately.
Her footing slipped beneath her.
The ground hit hard enough to rattle through her entire body.
A sharp breath broke from somewhere nearby as Thorne followed her down before she could recover, catching her wrist against the dirt while his other arm braced beside her head.
Cold earth pressed against her back while strands of hair clung to her face. Dirt streaked across her skin as she shoved hard against his chest again, trying to force space between them.
Thorne held her there while his breathing finally lost its calm.
She could hear it.
Feel it.
The restraint he’d been holding onto since this started had begun cracking beneath the surface.
For a second neither of them moved.
The noise around them faded beneath the violence tearing through the bond. Her chest rose unevenly while his weight kept her pinned against the ground, close enough for her to feel the heat coming off his skin despite the cold morning air.
Behind him, the prison grounds had gone nearly silent again.
Everyone was watching.
Draegon wolves.
Valemere wolves.
Kaia stood rigid with fury while Rafe looked deeply uncomfortable beside her. Even Rowan’s expression had hardened, though his attention stayed fixed on Thorne more than Elara.
But Elara barely saw any of them.
All she could feel was the pressure between them and the wolves behind her waiting to see whether she would surrender.
She wouldn’t.
“I will not back down from this, Thorne.”
The words came rough beneath her breathing.
“You either let them go or lock me up with them. Let’s see how the council handles that.”
Silence spread across the prison grounds.
Several wolves exchanged startled looks immediately.
Even Kaia’s expression shifted.
The threat struck exactly where Elara intended.
Publicly.
Politically.
Directly at Thorne’s authority.
Something dangerous moved through his expression the second the words left her mouth.
The bond twisted sharply enough to make her chest ache as anger and pressure collided with something darker beneath both.
His hand tightened slightly around her wrist before he caught himself.
Around them, the prison grounds stayed silent enough for Elara to hear uneven breathing behind her and the distant wind moving through the trees.
Everyone standing there understood one thing now.
This had gone far beyond a prison break.
- Writer
