Chapter 6: Blood on the Gate
782 Words
The gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
I froze halfway up the ladder, hands locked around the cold metal. For one second, the world went silent.
“DARIAN!”
Kael grabbed my ankle from above. “Move! Now!”
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
Then I heard it - a low, guttural snarl from below. Not human. Not Rourke.
Darian.
The ladder shook violently. I scrambled up the last three rungs as Kael hauled me over the edge. We slammed the grate shut just as claws raked against the metal below.
Lucas was already dragging us back from the gate. “We’re clear. Go!”
We ran.
The east gate was cracked open, just enough for us to slip through. Cold night air hit my face. Behind us, the estate was chaos - alarms, shouting, the sound of shifting bones.
I didn’t stop running until we hit the tree line.
Kael collapsed against a tree, gasping. “He’s alive,” he panted. “Darian’s alive.”
I turned. “How do you know?”
“Because I can still feel him,” Kael said. His eyes met mine. “He’s not gone.”
I didn’t know if that was pack bond or wishful thinking.I didn’t care.
Lucas jogged up, checking his phone. “Comms are back. Victor says Rourke’s men are pulling back. Darian’s holding the tunnel.”
“Holding it how?” I asked.
Lucas hesitated. “Alone.”
My chest tightened. “We have to go back.”
“No,” Kael said immediately. “If we go back, Rourke wins. The plan was to get you and me out. Darian’s buying us time to regroup.”
“He’s my mate,” I said. The words came out before I could stop them.
Lucas and Kael both stopped.
Kael’s expression shifted - shock, then understanding. “s**t. That’s why he wouldn’t let you go.”
“I’m not leaving him,” I said.
Lucas cursed under his breath. “Then we don’t leave him. But we don’t go in blind.”
He pulled out a comms device. “Victor, status?”
Static. Then: “Rourke’s regrouping at the main hall. Darian’s injured but holding. He said - ” Victor’s voice cracked. “He said to get Aria to the border. If he falls, the challenge dies with him.”
“No,” I whispered.
Kael stepped in front of me. “Listen to me. If Darian dies in that tunnel, the pack falls to Rourke. If we get you to the border, you’re safe. You can come back with reinforcements.”
“I don’t need reinforcements,” I said. “I need him.”
Lucas sighed. “Stubborn. Just like him.”
He looked at Kael. “You okay to move?”
Kael nodded, though he was still pale and shaking. “Yeah.”
“Then we move to the border,” Lucas said. “But we don’t cross it. Not until we know Darian’s status.”
I nodded, even though every instinct screamed to run back.
We moved fast through the woods. Every sound made me flinch. Every shadow looked like Rourke.
Half an hour later, we hit the old border fence. The air here felt different - charged, like before a storm.
Victor was waiting, crouched behind a fallen log. His face was grim.
“Darian’s coming,” he said.
I stopped breathing.
“Alone?” Kael asked.
Victor shook his head. “Rourke’s with him.”
My stomach dropped.
Victor continued, “Darian’s dragging him. Both of them are bleeding. He’s not gonna make it unless we move.”
I was already moving.
I hit the fence and started climbing. My hands were slick with blood - mine or Darian’s, I didn’t know.
“ARIA, WAIT!” Kael shouted.
Too late.
I dropped to the other side just as the trees behind us exploded.
Darian stumbled through, dragging Rourke by the throat. His shirt was torn, face covered in blood, eyes glowing gold.
“Get back!” he roared at me.
Rourke laughed, even with Darian’s claws at his throat. “Too late, cousin. The challenge is over.”
Darian slammed Rourke to the ground. “I accept the challenge.”
The air shifted.
The ground beneath us hummed.
Kael swore. “It’s starting.”
I looked at Darian. Blood dripped from his mouth. His eyes found mine for one second.
“Stay back,” he whispered.
Then the change took him.
Bones broke. Skin split. Fur tore through flesh.
Rourke shifted too, bigger, scarred, eyes full of hate.
Two wolves faced each other on the border line.
One would walk away.
The other wouldn’t.
*[End of Chapter 6]*
- Writer
