THE ROGUE QUEEN

Chapter 23

Chaos.

That’s all I could think at first.

My shadows had scattered Garrett’s front line, but they got back up faster than I expected. They were trained fighters. Humans changing into wolves in an instant.

Our ambush hit from both sides.

Zara came from the left, her blade shining. Two other wolves attacked from the right. Kael stayed close, protecting me while I focused on controlling my shadows.

A huge brown wolf lunged at me—

My shadows caught it in mid-air and slammed it into a tree. I heard bones break.

No hesitation. Just like Maya taught me.

Another wolf. Then another.

The shadows reacted to every attack, faster than I could think. Crushing. Tearing. Killing.

“Good, my wolf purred. This is what we were made to do.”

"FALL BACK!" Garrett shouted over the chaos. "Regroup! REGROUP!"

His wolves tried to form a circle to defend themselves, but we didn’t let them.

Maya ran through their line, her wolf form a fast blur of grey fur and snapping teeth. She took down two wolves before they even noticed her.

We had surprise. We had anger. We had shadows.

But they had more wolves.

Suddenly, a wolf I hadn’t seen came from behind and bit my already-injured shoulder. I screamed as pain shot through me, making my shadows flicker.

“Focus!” my wolf growled.

I twisted and bit the wolf’s leg. He yelped and let go. My shadows attacked him before he could recover.

All around me, the battle was fierce and brutal. No one showed mercy.

I saw Zara fighting three wolves at the same time. She was moving fast and skillfully, even though she looked desperate.

I saw one of our wolves, a young male whose name I didn’t know get taken down by a group attack. He didn’t get back up.

There was so much blood.

“Selene, LEFT!”

Kael shouted just in time. I dodged as a huge grey wolf flew past where my head had been.

Garrett.

He landed and turned, his yellow eyes full of hatred.

“You,” he growled through the pack link. “This is all your fault.”

“Then come get me,” I said, surprised at how brave I sounded.

He charged.

Fighting Garrett was different from fighting the others.

He was older, stronger, more experienced. Every move calculated and precise.

He rushed at me with a mix of speed and power I wasn’t used to. I barely blocked him with my shadows before he was already snapping at my throat from another direction.

Kael tried to help, but two of Garrett’s biggest wolves blocked him and pushed him back.

I was on my own.

The shadows reacted to my rage. They grew darker and stronger, no longer just protecting me, they fought back.

They wrapped around Garrett’s legs and body like tight ropes. He struggled and snarled, trying to break free.

“What are you?” he asked, sounding afraid.

“Your worst nightmare.”

I pushed all my power into the shadows, every bit of anger from being hunted and treated like I didn’t matter.

He began to weaken.

“Wait,” Kael’s voice cut through my anger. “Selene, don’t kill him. We need information.”

I wanted to end it. But Kael was right.

I loosened the shadows, keeping Garrett trapped but still awake.

Around us, the battle was ending.

Half of Garrett's force lay dead or dying. The rest had scattered into the forest, running for their lives.

We had won.

But it came with a cost.

I shifted back to human, breathing hard, my body hurting everywhere. I was covered in blood, some mine, some not.

Kael shifted beside me, limping. “Are you okay?”

“Define okay.”

He almost smiled, but then his eyes changed. “Behind you—”

I turned quickly, ready to fight—

But before the wolf could reach me, Zara jumped in and stopped it. The wolf fell, unmoving.

“Thanks,” I breathed out.

“That’s three times I’ve saved you,” she said, panting, blood dripping from a cut above her eye. “But who’s counting?”

Maya appeared, also injured, pulling an unconscious wolf behind her. “Casualties?”

“We’re still checking,” someone said. “At least two of ours didn’t make it. Maybe more.”

“And theirs?”

“Fifteen down. Ten ran. These two—” he gestured at Garrett and the wolf Maya dragged, “—captured.”

Maya nodded seriously. “Tie them up. Use silver if anyone has it. And someone check on the wounded.”

The aftermath was worse than the fight itself.

We had lost three wolves, The young male I saw fall earlier. Sarah, an older woman who had been kind to me. Marcus, Finn’s brother, who helped rescue us a few days ago.

Both brothers were gone.

Seven others were injured, some very badly.

But we had defeated Garrett’s group. We scattered them and sent a strong message:

We’re not afraid anymore.

Lyra rushed around the clearing, treating one injured wolf after another. I tried to help even though I was hurt, but she snapped at me.

“You’re bleeding from four different places,” she said. “Sit down.”

So I sat.

Kael dropped to the ground beside me, worn out and pale with pain. His injured leg had opened again during the fight.

“We did it,” he said quietly.

“Did we? Three dead. Seven wounded. And for what?”

“For survival,” he said. “And to show them we’re not prey.”

Maybe he was right. But it didn’t feel like winning.

It felt like losing.

Maya walked over, pulling Garrett, still tied up in my shadows—behind her. He was in human form now, angry and helpless.

“Let’s talk,” Maya said coldly, and she dropped him at my feet.

Garrett glared at me. “You think you’ve won? This means nothing. The Council will send more. Stronger. They won’t stop until you’re dead or captured.”

"Why?” I asked. “Why does the Council want me so badly?”

“Because you’re an abomination,” he said, spitting blood. “Shadow Wolves almost destroyed everything two hundred years ago. The Council swore never to let your kind rise again.”

“What do you mean, destroyed everything?”

“Ask your rogue friends,” he sneered. “Ask them about the Shadow Wars.” He gave a cruel smile. “Oh wait—you can’t. They don’t know. The Council erased it from history.”

“What wars?” Kael demanded.

"Doesn't matter. You'll all be dead soon anyway." Garrett laughed. "You killed fifteen of mine. But there are hundreds more. Thousands. And they're all coming for her."

Maya kicked him in the side. “Where is their main base? Where is the Council hiding?”

“Go to hell,” Garrett said

She kicked him again, harder. "Talk, or I'll let Selene's shadows crush every bone in your body slowly."

Garrett actually looked scared.

“The old fortress,” he said, gasping for breath. “Twenty miles east. That’s where the regional commanders stay.”

“How many people are there?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe fifty, maybe a hundred. They change shifts all the time.” He coughed. “But you’re crazy if you think you can attack that place. It’s heavily guarded. You’d need an army.”

Maya turned to me. “What do you think? Is he telling the truth?”

I looked closely at Garrett’s face. The fear looked real.

“I think he is.”

“Good.” Maya looked at the others. “Tie up both prisoners. We’ll decide what to do with them later. For now, we need to get the injured back to camp.”

As the wolves went to follow her orders, Garrett’s eyes locked onto mine.

"This isn't over, Shadow Wolf. Even if you kill me, there are others. Better than me. And they will find you."

"Let them come," I said quietly. "I'm done running."

The walk back to camp was slow and painful.

We carried the wolves we lost. We supported the ones who were hurt. And we all tried not to think about how close we came to being wiped out.

I walked beside Kael. We were both too exhausted to talk.

Around us, everyone was quiet. There was no celebration, no happiness.

Only tiredness and sadness.

When camp finally came into view, the wolves who stayed behind ran out to meet us. Lyra immediately started helping the most injured.

I helped however I could, bringing supplies, holding hands, offering what comfort I could.

But inside, I felt nothing. Just numb.

Three dead. Seven wounded. All because of me.

“Stop,” my wolf said firmly. “This isn’t your fault. This is on the Council. On Garrett. On everyone who chose to hunt you.”

“But if I wasn’t here—”

“If you weren’t here, they’d just find another excuse to attack rogues. This is what they do. It’s what they’ve always done.”

Maybe she was right.

But the guilt didn’t go away.

As dawn broke, casting golden light across our bloodied camp, Maya came to me.

“Get some rest,” she said. “We’ll talk later.”

“What about Garrett and the other prisoner?”

“I’ll take care of them.” Her face showed nothing. “You did well tonight, Selene. Better than well. You saved us.”

“I killed people.”

“Yes. You did.” She didn’t hide from the truth. “And you’ll probably have to do it again before this is over. But that doesn’t make you a monster. It makes you a survivor.”

She walked away before I could answer.

I stood there as the sun rose, covered in dirt and dried blood, wondering if surviving and being a monster were really that different.