The Alpha´s Queen

CHAPTER 6: BLOOD AND ASHES

The roar of the compound’s emergency sirens shattered the night.

I didn't have time to process Marek's warning about the beacon before Silas was moving. He didn’t carry me this time. He hauled me to my feet, his iron grip on my arm the only thing keeping me from face-planting onto the stone floor as he dragged me toward the stairs of the command center.

But as he moved, the confined air around us catalyzed the disaster in my blood.

The scent spike from the courtyard hadn't cooled down; it was mutating. A sudden, violent wave of liquid fire pooled in the lower half of my body. My breathing hitched, turning shallow and ragged.

No. Not now. It was a pre-heat. My biology, shattered by Kaelen's rejection and hyper-stimulated by the proximity of a dominant Alpha like Silas, was desperately trying to force a new bond to save itself. I hated Silas. He was using me. But as my shoulder brushed against his, my wolf wanted nothing more than to bare my throat and beg him to bite me.

"Fight it, Elara," Silas growled, his voice vibrating directly against my chest. His jaw was clenched so hard I thought his teeth might shatter. He could smell it. He knew exactly what my body was doing, and his own scent was darkening, turning thick and heavy with answering dominance.

He kicked open the heavy iron doors leading to the northern ramparts, dragging me directly out into the freezing, howling blizzard. The shock of the icy wind helped clear the fog in my head for a split second.

Red dots were moving through the shadows of the dark tree line below. Moon Ridge hunters. They weren't shifting; they were using silver-laced cross-bows and tactical gear. Kaelen was playing dirty.

"The perimeter sensors are dead," Silas barked, pinning me against the stone battlement with his body to shield me from the wind—and to keep me upright. "They've laid traps in our blind spots. Elara. Look."

I squeezed my eyes shut against the agonizing migraine hammering my skull. Pushing my Seeker's Gaze to the surface felt like pouring acid directly onto my brain.

I screamed, the sound swallowed by the wind, as I forced my eyes open.

The world turned a blinding, high-contrast silver.

"Ah!" I gasped, dropping to my knees. The pain was so intense I vomited a small amount of bile into the snow. A warm, metallic liquid began to drip from my nose, staining the white snow crimson. My vision flickered, threatened to go completely black.

"Look through the pain, little wolf!" Silas growled, dropping to his knees with me. He didn't pull me into his arms; he grabbed the back of my neck, his thumb pressing hard against my spine, forcing my head up toward the forest. "Focus!"

I forced my glowing silver eyes to pierce the dark forest.

The lies of the physical world stripped away. I didn't see trees or shadows. I saw glowing, putrid green lines of malice running along the snow.

"The snowdrifts..." I choked out, blood dripping from my upper lip as I clawed at Silas's tactical jacket just to stay upright. "They've buried silver-tipped proximity mines. Six of them... in a crescent arc leading to the main gate. If your warriors charge out, they'll be shredded."

Silas didn't ask for a second explanation or repeat my words to his men. He just looked at Marek, who was already on his radio.

"Where is the trigger?" Silas demanded, his face inches from mine. His eyes were wild, dilated, caught between the urge to hunt and the urge to claim the burning female in his arms.

"Left..." I gasped, another wave of heat from my pre-heat rolling through me, making me shiver violently against him. "The hollow oak. There's a sniper... holding a remote detonator. He's cloaked in a scent-masker, but his intent is a black cloud."

Silas released my neck and tapped his own earpiece, his voice cold and clipped. "Sniper in the hollow oak. Take him out. Then detonate the mines remotely. Do it now."

I let my power drop, and the sudden darkness made me sway. I fell forward, my forehead resting against Silas's shoulder. I was panting, coated in a cold sweat, my body trembling from the physical pain, the nosebleed, and the torturous ache of the heat building inside me.

Silas didn't push me away. His hand returned to the back of my neck, his thumb stroking the sensitive skin just below my ear. It was a possessive, territorial gesture.

"You did good, Elara," he murmured, his breath hot against my temple.

"Don't get... sentimental, Alpha," I whispered, fighting the urge to purr at his touch. "I did it to burn Kaelen's plans. Not to help you."

Silas chuckled, a dark, dangerous sound. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

A loud explosion suddenly rocked the valley below. Marek had triggered the mines. Screams of enemy hunters echoed from the trees.

The battle for the Shadow Pack had begun.