The Alpha´s Queen

CHAPTER 7: BURNING IN THE COLD

The shockwave from the triggered mines rolled across the ramparts, vibrating through the soles of my boots. Screams of enemy hunters rose from the dark forest below, quickly swallowed by the howling wind.

We had the upper hand for a second, but I knew Kaelen. He didn't give up. He didn't retreat just because a few pawns got blown to pieces.

"They're not stopping," I wheezed, my forehead still resting against Silas's shoulder.

My voice sounded foreign to my own ears—breathy, desperate, and laced with a thick heat that had nothing to do with the adrenaline of battle. The pre-heat was no longer just a warning tickle in my blood. It was a full-blown assault on my nervous system.

My skin felt like it was on fire, even though the freezing blizzard was whipping my hair across my face. A heavy, liquid ache settled deep in my lower belly, pulsing in time with the thudding of my heart. My wolf was whining at the back of my mind, practically begging to submit, to let the dominant Alpha holding me take away the pain of the broken bond.

"I know," Silas growled. His voice was a low, rough vibration that sent a violent shiver straight down my spine.

His hand was still wrapped around the back of my neck, but his grip wasn't just controlling anymore. It was grounding. His thumb stroked the skin just below my ear, and every brush of his skin against mine felt like an electric shock.

I forced myself to pull away from him, stumbling back against the freezing stone battlement. I needed distance. His scent—damp earth, ozone, and pure, raw dominance—was acting like a catalyst, making the heat in my veins boil over.

"Don't touch me," I gasped, hugging my arms around my chest. My breath was coming in short, ragged pants.

Silas’s eyes bled to a darker shade of blue, his pupils dilating until the iris was just a thin, jagged ring. He took a step toward me, his heavy combat boots crunching in the blood-stained snow.

"You think I want this, Elara?" he rasped, his jaw so tight I could see the muscles feathering in his cheek. He stopped just inches from me, his massive frame blocking the wind. "Your scent is filling my lungs. My wolf wants to pin you to this wall and mark you until you forget Kaelen ever existed. I am fighting every instinct I have just to keep my hands off you."

A fresh volley of crossbow bolts whistled through the air above us, slamming into the heavy timber of the command center doors behind us.

"Alpha!" Marek shouted from the far end of the rampart, ducking behind a stone pillar. "They're moving up the western cliff! They've got climbers, and our perimeter grid is still dark. We can't see where they're planting the breaches!"

Silas cursed, a dark, guttural sound. He looked at the dark forest, then back at me. I was sliding down the wall, my knees giving out as a fresh wave of fever rolled through me. I felt a warm trickle of blood run down from my nose again, staining my lips.

"I need your eyes, Elara," Silas said, his voice dropping to a low, urgent growl. He dropped to his knees in front of me, grabbing both of my wrists. "I know it hurts. I know your body is fighting you. But if you don't find those climbers, my men are dead."

"I... I can't," I whispered, shaking my head. Tears of frustration and pain welled in my eyes. The migraine was a physical iron spike driven through my skull, and the heat in my blood was making it impossible to focus. "It hurts too much, Silas. I can't breathe."

"Yes, you can," Silas countered, his voice suddenly absolute, leaving no room for argument.

He didn't pull me up. Instead, he shifted, sitting on the frozen stone and pulling my trembling body back against his broad chest. He wrapped his massive arms around my waist, pulling me flush against his hard, warm body. He rested his chin on my shoulder, his lips brushing against my burning neck.

"Focus on my heartbeat," he murmured in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "Ignore the fever. Ignore the pain. Let your wolf lean on mine. I will hold you. I won't let you fall."

I wanted to fight him. I wanted to scream that he was just using me as a weapon. But the moment his massive frame enveloped mine, a strange, desperate calm washed over my wolf. The contact was fueling the heat, yes, but it was also giving me a solid anchor to hold onto.

I gritted my teeth, drawing blood from my lower lip, and forced my eyes open.

"Do it," I choked out.

I pushed my Seeker's Gaze to the surface.

A choked, agonized scream ripped from my throat as the world flashed into high-contrast silver. The pain was so intense I felt my vision go completely black for a full two seconds before the silver lines stabilized. Blood poured freely from my nose now, dripping onto Silas's dark tactical jacket. My body spasmed against his, but his iron grip around my waist didn't waver. He held me locked against him, absorbing my tremors.

I forced my glowing eyes toward the western cliff face.

The lies of the darkness and the falling snow stripped away. I didn't see rock or shadows. I saw glowing, putrid green lines of intent moving up the sheer vertical face.

"There..." I gasped, my fingernails clawing desperately at Silas's sleeves just to stay anchored in reality. "Three of them. Beta-rank climbers. They're carrying... silver-laced thermite charges. They want to blow the foundation of the western tower."

"Where exactly?" Silas asked, his voice steady and calm right against my ear, even though I could feel the tension vibrating through his entire body. He was channeling his own control into me.

"Ten feet below the main parapet," I wheezed, my eyes burning like they were being pressed with hot coals. "There is a crack in the masonry... Kaelen knew it was a structural weakness. They are planting the charges right there."

Silas didn't let me go. He tapped his earpiece, his voice turning into a whip of absolute authority. "Western wall, ten feet below the parapet. Three climbers with thermite. Drop oil and fire. Now. Do not let them set the charges."

A few seconds later, I heard the shouts of panic from below, followed by the roaring sound of ignited oil. The green lines of intent suddenly turned into chaotic, thrashing auras of agony before falling away into the darkness of the abyss.

"I got them," Silas murmured, his voice thick.

I let my power drop, and the sudden darkness made my head swim so violently I thought I was going to pass out. My muscles went completely slack, and I slumped back against Silas's chest, panting heavily. The nosebleed wouldn't stop, and my skin was slick with a cold sweat.

The silence that followed the explosion was heavy. The immediate threat was gone, but the threat inside the fortress was just beginning.

Now that the adrenaline of the scan was leaving my body, the pre-heat came back with a vengeance. The contact with Silas was no longer just anchoring; it was a torture of pure, unadulterated need. My body was arching back against his, my neck tilting to the side to expose the fresh rejection scar on my throat.

Silas let out a low, pained groan that sounded more animal than human. His grip on my waist tightened to the point of pain. I felt his teeth graze the sensitive skin of my neck, just millimeters away from my scar.

He was losing it. The scent of an Omega in heat combined with the blood in the air was stripping away his Alpha control.

Suddenly, Silas shoved me away, moving with a blur of speed. He stood up, backing away until he hit the opposite stone wall of the rampart. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving, his eyes completely pitch black.

"Marek!" Silas roared, his voice cracking with a desperate, violent strain. "Get her inside! Lock her in the southern quarters! Now!"

I lay in the snow, shivering and looking up at him. Silas was gripping the stone wall so hard the rock was cracking beneath his fingers. He didn't look like a savior. He looked like a predator who was terrified of his own hunger.

"Silas..." I whispered, my hand reaching out weakly.

He didn't look back. He turned and vaulted over the side of the rampart, shifting into his massive black wolf mid-air as he dove straight into the battle below, running from the only thing he couldn't control.