THE ROGUE KING'S WOLFLESS OMEGA

Chapter 4: The Rogue King

Chapter 4: The Rogue King

“He is coming for the white wolf.”

The soldier’s final words spread through the Moon Hall like poison.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Even the flames burning along the walls seemed to shrink as the name of the Rogue King settled over them.

Darius Veyr.

Elara had heard stories about him since childhood.

Mothers used his name to frighten unruly children. Warriors spoke of him in lowered voices after drinking too much. According to Silvercrest legends, Darius had slaughtered his mate with his own claws, murdered half his royal council, and tried to steal the northern crown from his younger brother.

The stories said he had been chained in silver and brought before the five kingdoms for judgment.

They said he escaped his execution by tearing out the throats of twenty guards.

Afterward, Darius disappeared beyond the northern mountains and gathered rogues beneath his banner. Criminals. Murderers. Wolves driven mad after losing their packs.

The unwanted.

The condemned.

Now he was crossing Silvercrest territory.

And he was searching for a white wolf.

Elara looked down at the fading silver markings on her arms.

“No,” Helena whispered.

Her mother’s fingers closed around Selene’s shoulders as though it were Selene the Rogue King had come to claim.

Cassian turned to the warriors surrounding him.

“Seal the borders. No one enters or leaves Silvercrest without my permission.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Send word to every patrol. I want the Rogue King found before he reaches the inner territory.”

One of the warriors hesitated. “And if we find him?”

Cassian’s expression hardened. “Kill him.”

The dying soldier laughed.

It was a broken, wet sound.

Everyone turned.

“You think your border wolves can kill Darius Veyr?” Blood stained the man’s teeth. “You have no idea what is coming.”

Cassian strode toward him. “How many rogues crossed the border?”

“I saw six.”

“Six?”

The soldier’s smile widened. “Six were all he needed.”

His body convulsed.

Mariel knelt beside him, pressing two fingers against his throat.

“He is dying.”

“Keep him alive,” Cassian ordered. “We need answers.”

“I am a priestess, not the Goddess.”

“Then summon a healer.”

The soldier caught Mariel’s wrist.

“Too late.”

His frightened gaze shifted across the room until it landed on Elara.

Something in his expression changed.

Recognition.

“There you are,” he breathed.

Elara’s skin turned cold.

The man tried to crawl toward her.

Cassian blocked his path.

“How do you know my daughter?”

The soldier ignored him. “White fire. Eyes like the moon.”

“I asked you a question.”

“He showed us your face.”

Elara’s breath caught. “Who did?”

The soldier’s bloody fingers scraped across the marble.

“The king.”

“What king?”

But they all knew.

“Darius,” the man whispered. “He has been dreaming about you.”

His hand fell.

The remaining light vanished from his eyes.

Mariel released his wrist.

“He is gone.”

No one looked at the body.

They stared at Elara.

Selene recovered first.

“This is her fault.”

“Selene,” Caelan warned.

“The Rogue King is invading because of her. You heard the soldier.”

Elara looked at her in disbelief. “I didn’t invite him.”

“But he knows your face.”

“I don’t know how.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

“I have never met him!”

“Perhaps you contacted him through forbidden magic.”

Elara laughed once, the sound sharp and humorless. “Of course. I can barely leave the packhouse without permission, but apparently I found enough time to form an alliance with the most dangerous wolf in the continent.”

“You had the binding stone.”

“You had it in your sleeve!”

“Enough!” Cassian roared.

The force of his Alpha command shook dust from the cracked walls.

Selene immediately lowered her head.

Elara remained standing.

Cassian noticed.

His eyes narrowed.

A day ago, his authority had been enough to force her onto her knees. Now her body hardly reacted.

Whatever had awakened in the Moon Hall did not recognize him as its Alpha.

That realization terrified her almost as much as it angered him.

Cassian pointed toward two guards.

“Take Elara to the western chamber.”

Garrick was not here to protect her.

Still, she refused to move.

“Why?”

“For your protection.”

“You mean imprisonment.”

“A murderous rogue crossed our border looking for you. This is not the time for your defiance.”

“I’m not being defiant. I want to know what is happening.”

“And I intend to find out.”

“By locking me in a room while you ask everyone except me?”

His lips thinned. “Take her.”

The guards approached.

Caelan stepped forward. “Alpha Cassian, perhaps she should remain here until Mariel examines her.”

Cassian turned toward him. “Are you questioning my decision?”

“No, Alpha. But if the Rogue King is somehow tracking her power, moving her could expose the packhouse.”

“That is possible,” Mariel said.

Cassian’s anger shifted toward the High Priestess. “Then suppress it.”

“The stone spent eighteen years suppressing her blood. You saw what happened when it broke. I will not attempt another binding until I understand what she is.”

Elara folded her arms over her chest.

“I’m standing right here.”

Mariel looked at her. “And what would you prefer that we call you?”

“Elara would be a good start.”

A flicker of approval passed through the priestess’s eyes.

Cassian did not share it.

“We do not have time for this. Caelan, take her to the western chamber. Remain with her until I send relief.”

Caelan looked startled. “You want me to guard her?”

“I trust you more than soldiers who might be influenced by whatever power she released.”

“And Selene?” Elara asked.

Her father’s expression turned impatient. “What about her?”

“She was carrying the binding stone.”

“So she claims,” Selene said.

“I saw it fall from her sleeve.”

“And only you saw it.”

Elara looked at Caelan. “Search her room.”

Selene stiffened.

“If I’m lying, you’ll find nothing,” Elara continued. “But if she has more of those stones hidden there—”

“You will not search my room,” Selene snapped.

“Why? What are you afraid they’ll find?”

“I have nothing to hide.”

“Then prove it.”

“Stop trying to turn this against me!”

Selene’s voice cracked with genuine anger.

The perfect mask slipped.

Just for a second.

But everyone saw it.

Caelan stared at her.

Helena tightened her grip on Selene’s arm. “She is distressed.”

“She is hiding something,” Elara said.

“My daughter has endured enough accusations.”

Elara looked at Helena.

“Your daughter?”

Silence.

Helena’s face went blank.

The words might have meant nothing. Selene was her daughter, after all.

But after Garrick’s revelation, Elara heard what her mother had not said.

Both of my daughters.

Helena had never called Elara her daughter unless someone else was listening.

A painful pressure formed in Elara’s throat.

Before she could speak, a horn sounded outside.

One long note.

Two short.

An attack at the northern border.

Cassian drew his sword.

“Caelan, go. Take twenty warriors and reinforce the patrol.”

Caelan nodded, but his gaze lingered on Elara.

Something restless moved behind his golden eyes. His wolf was agitated by the danger around her, fighting against the distance he had placed between them.

“Elara—”

“Don’t,” she said.

His jaw flexed. “Stay inside.”

“You no longer have the right to tell me what to do.”

The words hurt him.

She saw it.

Part of her wanted to take them back. The older, softer part that still remembered honey cakes beneath her window wanted to assure him that he had not destroyed everything between them.

Then she remembered him looking away while her father struck her.

She turned her back.

The mate bond pulled painfully as Caelan left the hall.

Cassian followed with most of the warriors.

“Put Elara in the western chamber,” he ordered before disappearing through the ruined doors. “If anyone attempts to remove her, kill them.”

The remaining guards seized Elara’s arms.

She fought instinctively.

“Let go of me.”

“Do not resist,” Helena said.

“You know Selene is lying.”

“I know your behavior has become increasingly unstable.”

“My behavior?”

“Look around you.”

The Moon Hall was destroyed. Windows lay shattered across the floor. Marble tiles had cracked. White fire still burned upon the candles, refusing to return to its natural golden color.

“You think I chose this?”

“I think trouble has followed you since the day you entered our home.”

The sentence struck with chilling precision.

Entered.

Not since the day she was born.

Helena realized her mistake.

Elara stared at her. “You know.”

“Take her away.”

“You know I’m not your daughter.”

Selene’s face lost its color.

The guards paused.

“Mother?” Selene whispered.

Helena turned toward them. “I said take her away!”

One of the guards pulled Elara toward the doors.

She twisted her arm free.

The second guard reached for her.

A growl rumbled through her chest.

Both men froze.

Their wolves recognized the threat before Elara understood it herself. The guards lowered their eyes, bodies shaking beneath the pressure radiating from her.

Elara looked at her hands.

She was not doing anything.

At least, she did not know how she was doing it.

“Get her out!” Helena screamed.

A guard recovered enough courage to strike the back of Elara’s knees.

She collapsed.

The other forced her arms behind her and locked silver restraints around her wrists.

Agony burned through her.

The silver markings beneath her skin vanished.

The guards dragged her from the hall.

Behind her, Selene whispered, “Mother, what did she mean?”

Helena did not answer.

---

The western chamber was not a chamber.

It was a cell.

Silver bars covered the single narrow window. Chains had been bolted into the stone wall, and old blood stained the floor beneath them.

Elara stood just inside the doorway.

“You cannot be serious.”

The guard avoided her gaze. “Alpha’s orders.”

“This room is used for prisoners.”

“Only dangerous ones.”

“I’m his daughter.”

Neither guard responded.

That silence hurt more than an insult.

They chained her wrists to the wall and left without offering water. The iron door closed behind them. Three separate locks slid into place.

Elara stared at the restraints.

A few hours ago, she had believed her awakening ceremony would finally change her life.

She had been right.

She simply had not expected it to become worse.

“You should have run when I told you.”

Elara’s head snapped up.

“Who said that?”

Silence answered.

She searched the cell.

No one stood in the shadows. There was no opening beyond the barred window and the locked door.

“Show yourself.”

A soft, feminine laugh moved through her mind.

“You are the one who cannot find me.”

The voice was clearer now.

Low, powerful, and somehow familiar.

Elara closed her eyes.

The wall stood inside her again.

But one chain had broken.

Beyond it, the outline of an enormous wolf moved through the darkness.

“You’re my wolf.”

“Yes.”

Relief and anger collided inside Elara.

“Where have you been?”

“Waiting.”

“For what?”

“For you.”

“I have called for you every night since I was fourteen.”

“And I answered every time.”

“I never heard you.”

“The chains did.”

Elara gripped the silver restraints binding her wrists. “Who put them around you?”

The wolf approached the barrier.

White eyes opened in the darkness.

“Those who feared what we would become.”

“Selene?”

“She carried the stone, but she did not create it.”

“Who did?”

The wolf’s gaze shifted as though it could see beyond Elara’s mind and into the physical cell.

“We are not alone.”

Elara opened her eyes.

A figure stood on the other side of the window.

Tall. Motionless. Wrapped in a black cloak.

She stumbled backward until the chains snapped taut.

The figure lifted one gloved hand and placed it against the silver bars.

“Who are you?”

The stranger tilted his head.

Then he bent the bars apart as easily as if they had been made from warm wax.

Elara’s heart pounded.

The stranger climbed through the window and landed silently inside the cell.

He pulled back his hood.

He was younger than she had imagined the Rogue King would be.

Perhaps twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Dark hair fell carelessly across his forehead, and a thin scar cut through one eyebrow. His face might have been handsome if not for the coldness carved into every line of it.

Blood covered the collar of his black shirt.

Not his blood, judging by the absence of a wound.

His eyes were the most frightening thing about him.

They were not golden like Caelan’s or gray like her father’s.

They were black.

Completely black.

Elara pressed her back against the wall.

“Darius Veyr.”

The man’s gaze moved slowly over her face.

“Disappointed?”

“I expected more scars.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “Give your pack another hour.”

She pulled at her restraints. “If you came to kill me, you’ll have to wait. Apparently, my family wants the honor.”

His faint amusement vanished.

He looked at the silver chains, then at the bruises darkening her arms.

“Who did this?”

“My father.”

The air inside the cell changed.

A savage presence pressed against its walls. The torches beyond the door flickered.

Darius crossed the room.

Elara recoiled. “Stay away from me.”

He stopped immediately.

The Rogue King, who had supposedly torn twenty wolves apart during his escape, obeyed her three quiet words.

His nostrils flared.

A strange expression crossed his face.

Pain.

Disbelief.

Then anger so deep that it made the stone beneath Elara’s feet tremble.

“What are you?” he asked.

She gave a bitter laugh. “Everyone keeps asking me that.”

“I am not everyone.”

“No. You’re a murderer who climbed through my window.”

“If I were here to murder you, we would not be having this conversation.”

“Then why are you here?”

Darius stared at her as if trying to solve a mystery he hated.

“For six months, I have dreamed of a woman I have never met.”

Elara remembered the soldier’s final words.

“He showed us your face.”

Her mouth went dry. “You dreamed about me?”

“Every night.”

“I don’t know you.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“That is what I came to discover.”

A shout echoed from outside.

“Search the western grounds!”

Darius glanced toward the door.

Elara’s pulse raced. “There are guards everywhere.”

“There were.”

The blood on his collar suddenly made sense.

“You killed them?”

“They tried to kill me first.”

“That does not make me feel better.”

“It was not intended to.”

He stepped toward her again.

This time, Elara held her ground.

Darius reached for the chain.

The moment his fingers touched the silver, both of them gasped.

Light exploded between their hands.

Elara saw a throne covered in blood.

A woman with red hair lying lifeless beneath a shattered crown.

Darius on his knees, roaring as silver spears pierced his back.

Then she saw him wandering through a frozen forest, wounded and alone, while wolves hunted him from every direction.

His memories tore through her.

Betrayal.

Grief.

Rage.

Loneliness so deep that it had become another living creature inside him.

Darius jerked away.

His black eyes returned to gray for one startled heartbeat.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.”

“You entered my mind.”

“You entered mine first!”

“I touched a chain.”

“You’re blaming the chain?”

“It has behaved suspiciously.”

Despite her fear, Elara stared at him.

“Did you just make a joke?”

“No.”

“You did.”

“I have never made a joke in my life.”

“I believe that.”

A heavy impact struck the cell door.

“Elara!” Cassian shouted from outside. “Move away from the prisoner!”

Darius looked toward the entrance.

“Prisoner?”

“He probably means you.”

“You are the one in chains.”

Another impact shook the door.

“Elara pulled against her restraints. “If my father finds you here, he’ll kill you.”

Darius turned back to her.

The faintest hint of darkness returned to his eyes.

“He can try.”

The door buckled inward.

Elara’s wolf growled inside her mind.

“He did not come to harm us.”

“You trust him?”

“No.”

“That is comforting.”

“But the moon sent him.”

Elara’s breath caught.

Before she could ask what that meant, Darius wrapped one hand around the silver chain.

Smoke rose from his palm.

The metal burned through his glove, but he did not release it.

With one violent pull, he tore the chain from the wall.

Elara stared at the broken stone.

“How did you do that?”

“I was angry.”

“That’s your explanation?”

“It has served me well.”

The cell door burst open.

Cassian stood in the entrance with a sword in his hand. A dozen warriors crowded behind him, several already in partial shift.

His gaze landed on Darius.

Hatred twisted his face.

“Step away from my daughter.”

Darius looked at Elara, then at the chains hanging from her wrists.

“Your daughter?”

“She belongs to Silvercrest.”

The Rogue King’s expression turned cold.

“She is not a possession.”

“She is under my protection.”

“You imprisoned her in silver.”

“For the safety of my pack.”

Darius’s eyes darkened completely.

“And you wonder why rogues despise pack wolves.”

Cassian raised his sword. “You crossed my border, murdered my men, and broke into my home. Give me one reason not to remove your head.”

“I did not murder the patrol at your northern border.”

“The survivor named you.”

“He said I crossed the border. He did not say I attacked them.”

Cassian hesitated.

Elara noticed.

Darius continued. “Your men were already dying when we found them. Black-fletched silver arrows. Royal weapons.”

“The northern crown does not recognize you as king.”

“No. But they remain very interested in making certain I stay dead.”

“Convenient.”

“Believe whatever comforts you. It will not prevent the next attack.”

“What attack?”

Darius looked at Elara.

“The one coming for her.”

A howl rose outside the packhouse.

It was followed by another.

Then dozens more.

Not Silvercrest wolves.

These howls were unnatural—ragged, tortured, and filled with mindless hunger.

Cassian’s face changed.

Darius drew two black blades from beneath his cloak.

“Those are the creatures that killed your patrol.”

“What are they?”

“Wolves who have had their souls torn out.”

A scream pierced the night.

The warriors behind Cassian turned toward the corridor.

Darius moved to Elara’s side.

“Can you run?”

“She isn’t going anywhere with you,” Cassian snapped.

The exterior wall shook.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Elara sensed something enormous racing toward them.

She heard claws tearing across the earth, violent breathing, and a heartbeat that sounded wrong—too fast and filled with nothing but rage.

The stone wall exploded inward.

A monstrous wolf crashed into the cell.

Its fur had fallen out in bloody patches. Black veins spread beneath its skin, and fragments of binding stone protruded from its spine.

It landed between Elara and the doorway.

One of Cassian’s warriors lunged.

The creature caught him by the throat and threw him into the wall.

Darius attacked.

His first blade struck the wolf’s shoulder. The second sank beneath its jaw, but the beast did not fall. It twisted and slammed him across the cell.

He struck the iron bars hard enough to bend them.

“Darius!” Elara shouted.

The creature turned toward her.

It inhaled.

Recognition filled its red eyes.

“White,” it rasped.

Elara froze.

The monster could speak.

“Give us the white wolf.”

Darius rose behind it, blood running from the corner of his mouth.

“She is not yours.”

The beast spun.

Darius shifted in midair.

His body expanded with a sickening crack of bone. Black fur erupted across his skin. His hands became enormous claws before he struck the ground.

The wolf standing before Elara was larger than any she had ever seen.

He nearly filled the cell.

His coat was darker than night, and silver scars crossed his muscular body. His eyes burned like twin eclipses—black at their centers, surrounded by rings of molten gold.

The Eclipse Wolf.

The corrupted beast charged.

Darius met it head-on.

Their collision shook the entire western wing.

Claws tore through flesh. Teeth snapped inches from Elara. Darius drove the creature into the wall, but it twisted beneath him and bit deep into his shoulder.

His roar rattled her bones.

Cassian’s warriors tried to enter, but more corrupted wolves poured through the opening in the wall.

Silvercrest descended into chaos.

Darius threw the first beast away.

It landed near Elara.

Too near.

The creature rose, blood hanging from its teeth.

“White wolf,” it rasped again.

Elara backed away until the remaining chain tightened.

She had nowhere to run.

The monster leaped.

Time slowed.

Elara saw its claws reaching for her throat.

She heard Darius roaring behind it.

She felt the broken chain within her mind.

And something inside her finally answered.

“Enough.”

The word did not sound like her voice.

White light filled her eyes.

The attacking creature stopped in midair.

Its body crashed to the floor at Elara’s feet, but it could not move. Its limbs shook as though an invisible force were crushing it against the stone.

Every wolf inside the western wing froze.

Silvercrest warriors.

Corrupted beasts.

Even Darius.

They all lowered their heads.

Elara stood against the wall with silver chains hanging from her wrists.

The monstrous creature whimpered beneath her gaze.

She did not understand the power flowing through her. It felt ancient, cold, and vast enough to swallow the entire pack.

“Who sent you?” she asked.

The beast fought against the command.

Black blood poured from its mouth.

“Who sent you?”

The pressure doubled.

The floor cracked beneath its body.

At last, the creature answered.

“The woman without a face.”

“What does she want?”

Its red eyes rolled toward her.

“Your heart.”

The binding stones in its spine began to glow.

Darius shifted back into human form.

“Elara, move!”

He lunged toward her.

The stones exploded.

Darius wrapped his body around hers as black fire consumed the cell. The force tore the remaining wall apart and hurled them into the forest beyond.

They struck the ground together.

For several seconds, Elara heard nothing.

Then sound returned all at once—wolves fighting, trees burning, warriors screaming.

Darius lay over her, motionless.

Blood flowed down his back.

“Darius?”

He did not answer.

Elara pushed against his shoulder. “Darius.”

His eyes opened.

“You shout,” he muttered.

“You were unconscious.”

“I was resting.”

“In the middle of a battle?”

“It has been a difficult morning.”

Relief escaped her as a startled laugh.

Darius stared down at her.

Their faces were only inches apart.

Something shifted in his expression.

The fury inside him quieted.

His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before he pushed himself upright.

“You need to leave.”

“My grandfather is inside.”

“The packhouse is surrounded.”

“I’m not abandoning him.”

“I did not ask what you wanted.”

Elara sat up. “And I don’t remember giving you the authority to order me.”

Darius looked at her.

Even injured and covered in blood, he carried the unmistakable presence of a king. Most wolves would have dropped their gaze.

Elara stared back.

To her surprise, his mouth almost curved.

“Good,” he said.

“What?”

“The woman in my dreams was beginning to disappoint me.”

She grabbed the broken chain and swung it at him.

He caught it before it struck his face.

“There she is.”

“You are insufferable.”

“I have been called worse.”

“I’m certain you deserved it.”

Another section of the packhouse collapsed.

White flames shot through the roof of the Moon Hall.

Elara scrambled to her feet.

“Grandfather.”

Darius caught her wrist.

The touch sent another flash of memory between them.

Garrick standing beside a younger Darius in a torchlit chamber.

Her grandfather handing him a crescent-shaped key.

When the white wolf awakens, take her north.

The vision vanished.

Elara and Darius stared at each other.

Slowly, she pulled the silver key from beneath her dress.

Darius’s face went still.

“You have it.”

“You’ve seen this before.”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Eighteen years ago.”

Her heart stopped.

“You knew my grandfather.”

Before he could answer, a voice came from behind them.

“And that,” Garrick said, “is the secret I should have told you long ago.”

Elara turned.

Her grandfather stood among the burning trees with Mariel beside him. Blood stained the front of his robe, and his hidden blade remained clutched in one hand.

Behind them, corrupted wolves closed in from every direction.

Garrick looked at Darius.

“You came sooner than I expected.”

Darius placed himself between Elara and the approaching beasts.

“You waited longer than you promised.”

Garrick’s expression filled with regret.

“I hoped she would be allowed one ordinary life.”

Darius’s black eyes shifted toward Elara.

“Ordinary was never an option for her.”

The corrupted wolves leaped from the darkness.

Garrick raised his blade.

Mariel lifted her staff.

Darius’s claws emerged.

And for the first time in eighteen years, the wall inside Elara’s mind began to crumble.