The Alpha’s Captive Heiress

CHAPTER6

The Enemy at the Gates

The mountain was shaking like it was having an earthquake.

Stone was making a noise under Arias' feet.

The windows were shaking hard and one of the bookshelves fell over sending big leather books crashing all over the floor.

Then there was another loud boom.

This one was even louder and closer.

Outside the fortress was in chaos with sirens blaring and guards running

The big steel gates were closing and searchlights were moving back and forth looking for something in the dark.

Aria asked "What is going on?". Nobody answered her.

Lydia was talking into a device on her arm.

"East Wing is secure. Lock every floor with civilians. Move all personnel below Level Three."

A voice answered from the device.

"Enemy forces are inside. There are breaches on the northern ridge. Alpha Damien is fighting."

Lydia's face got tighter.

Dr. Evelyn Mercer put a glowing crystal back in her bag like it was no deal.

"They are moving faster than we thought, " she said quietly.

Aria looked at them. Asked "Who are they?"

Before they could answer the door burst open and Vance came in wearing black armor and carrying a sword.

His face was dirty. He looked serious.

"We have to get out of here, " he said.

He looked at Aria. Said "You are coming with us."

Lydia. Said "The eastern corridors are still safe."

Vance said "Not for long."

Then there was another explosion and dust fell from the ceiling.

Aria stepped back. Said "I am not going anywhere with you."

Vance did not listen to her.

"You have thirty seconds, " he said.

Aria said "I am not going,". Vance just said "You can walk or I will carry you. Your choice."

Arias' heart was beating fast. She felt a weird buzzing under her skin.

The lights above were. A chair moved on its own.

Vance saw it. Put his hand on his sword.

Lydia got between them. Said "Enough."

She looked at Aria. Said "If the fortress falls everyone dies."

Aria crossed her arms. Said "That is your problem."

Lydia just said "It becomes your problem if they find you."

Aria. Then the building shook again.

This time it sounded like metal was twisting and breaking.

Vances device. A voice said "North Gate is compromised. The outer gate has fallen."

The room was silent. Even Vance looked surprised.

Lydia looked at Evelyn. Said "They broke through the steel gate."

Evelyn said "They did not break the gate. They broke the magic that was protecting it."

She looked at Aria. Said "The magical barriers around Veylor Fortress."

Aria was confused. Said "What?"

Evelyn explained "Magic. Werewolves. Moon marks."

Aria thought it all sounded crazy.

Vance got on his device again. Said "What is happening?"

All he got was static.

Then a voice said "Unknown energy is detected. Wolves are not listening to Alpha commands."

Vance's face got darker. He said "They are using something to control the wolves."

Evelyn's eyes got wide. She said "Someone has made a device that can stop the wolves from listening to their leader."

Aria asked, "What does that mean?"

Vance said "For centuries all werewolves have listened to their leader.. Now someone has found a way to break that bond."

Aria understood why that was a problem.

If the soldiers did not listen to their leader it would be like the end of the world.

Floors below Damien were standing on the wall looking out at the valley.

The night was filled with explosions and fires and rogue wolves were pouring out of the trees like a tide.

They were not attacking randomly; they were moving with precision.

Damien shouted orders to his soldiers. They were fighting back with arrows and explosives.

The wolves just kept coming and Damien realized that something was not natural.

The wolves were fighting like trained soldiers, not like animals.

One of the wolves reached the wall and Damien's soldiers were fighting hard.

Then one of Damien's own guards turned against him and Damien was shocked.

The guard had a dagger and was attacking his own people.

Damien caught the guard. Asked "What have they done to you?"

The guard just laughed and said "You are already too late."

Then the guards body started to convulse and dark veins spread across his neck.

Foam came out of his mouth. Then his chest exploded.

Damien jumped back. Black smoke came out of the guards body.

The other soldiers were frozen in horror.

Damien's face got hard. He said "This is not an invasion. It's an experiment."

Deep beneath the fortress something ancient was waking up.

The vibration was reaching places that had not been touched in centuries.

Chains were. Symbols on the rock were glowing silver.

In the darkness a pair of eyes slowly opened.

Back in Arias room the lights suddenly went out. Everything was dark.

The only light was from the moon outside.

Someone grabbed Arias wrist. It was Lydia.

She whispered "Stay close."

The emergency lights came on. Everything was red.

Vance opened the door carefully. They went into the hallway.

The hallway was empty. They could hear guards running and rifles being loaded.

Some of the guards were shifting into wolves and sprinting towards the elevators.

Aria stopped walking. Said "This can't be real."

Lydia touched her shoulder. Said "I know."

Aria said "I've lost my mind. I'm hallucinating."

Lydia just said "You haven't lost your mind. You're not hallucinating."

Aria looked at her. Said "I just saw people turn into wolves!"

Lydia gave her a smile and said "I remember saying almost the same thing."

Then Lydia. Looked behind Aria.

She said "Get down " and pushed Aria to the floor.

Glass. A black figure came crashing through the window.

It was not a wolf or a human; it was something in between.

Its muscles were big and unnatural. Its skin was gray and had scars.

There were metal spikes on its back. Its eyes were cloudy and white.

Evelyn. Said "My God..."

Vance drew his sword. Said "Stay behind me."

The creature charged and Vance fought it with his sword.

The creature was too strong and it threw Vance through the wall.

The creature kept coming. Aria felt the buzzing, under her skin again.

Furniture was rising into the air. The lights were shattering.

Arias hands were glowing with energy and she felt a blast of power erupt from her.

The creature flew backward. Crashed into the wall.

For a second everything was still.

Then the creature started to get up and its broken bones were healing.

Evelyns face was white. She said "It shouldn't be able to heal."

Vance got up bleeding from his forehead. Said "What is that thing?"

Evelyn whispered the answer.

"One of Kael's prototypes."

The creature tilted its head.

To everyone's horror.

It spoke.

Its voice sounded like people talking at the same time.

"Subject..."

"...confirmed..."

"...Moon..."

"...Heir..."

It looked into Arias eyes.

"Alpha Kael requests..."

"...your return."

Before anyone could do anything.

The monster slammed its fists into the floor.

The whole corridor fell apart.

The stone floor gave way under everyone's feet.

Aria screamed.

The floor disappeared under her.

She fell into darkness.

Damien felt it away.

The mate bond. Pain. Fear. Falling.

His head turned to the wing.

"No."

The tower fell apart a little.

Dust blew up into the night sky.

Without waiting Damien left the battlefield.

"Alpha."

Some soldiers shouted after him.

He did not listen to them.

His wolf had taken over now.

One thought was in his mind.

Aria.

If something bad happened to Aria.

Nothing in the kingdom would be safe from what would happen

Aria hit the freezing water hard.

The impact took the air out of her lungs.

She came up coughing.

Everything around her was completely dark.

The only sound was water echoing through the huge underground caves.

"Hello."

There was no answer.

"Lydia."

Nothing.

"Vance."

No sound.

She was alone.

So she thought.

Behind her.

Something breathed in.

Not loud.

Not mean.

Just.

Curious.

Aria turned around slowly.

Two huge silver eyes looked back at her from the dark.

Much bigger, than any wolf she had ever seen.

A deep old voice echoed through the cave.

"After twenty three years..."

"...the last Ashbourne has finally come home."

The creature took a step forward.

Aria realized the stories she was told about monsters.

We're not scary enough.