Blood and Loyalty

Chapter Five

Landon’s POV

~The awakening~

I sidestepped just in time to dodge the attack, but she didn’t stop there.

The injured girl, chained to the wall, fought the guards around me like a cornered wolf. The men scrambled to restrain her without causing real harm.

I heard it before I felt it. The rush of air. The scrape of claws. A guard cried out as she struck him.

A snarl ripped through the air, low and guttural. She lunged again, chains snapping taut but not enough to hold her fully.

“Subdue her!” one of them barked, voice bitter after taking a hit.

The loud grunt that followed signaled that they were making no progress.

I stood aside, dagger still gripped firmly in my fist. The cell echoed with grunts, chains clanking against stone, the sharp tang of fresh blood mixing with damp mold.

I took slow steps back toward the door, cane tapping steadily, listening to the scuffle. A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

How would Damien react to this?

He had seemed pretty confident when he strutted into my office, defying me with his smooth words and false caution. His "unidentified female" had just turned on the very warriors sworn to protect the pack. Would he still stick to his earlier logic after this?

The guards who had hesitated to kill her on my order were more than ready to hurt her now. I heard the shift in their breathing, the low growls building.

“Enough,” I said, voice cutting through the chaos. “Don’t lay a finger on her.”

They froze. Breaths hitched in confusion. Blood dripped from one guard’s arm, pattering softly on the floor.

“Alpha…”

“Out.” I jerked my head toward the door. “Lock it behind you.”

They hesitated, Goddess, that hesitation grated, but they obeyed, dragging themselves out with muttered curses and limping steps. The door slammed shut, the lock clicking into place.

Her snarls faded to ragged pants, chains rattling as she slumped back against the wall. I lingered a moment longer, dagger heavy in my hand. My amusement soured into resolve.

She was a wild and unpredictable thing but nothing I couldn't handle. And they were right, it seemed like she had a pack somewhere out there. Killing her now would only prove their point, that I was being irrational. Controlling her, bending this wild threat to my will, would show real power.

Alive, she had just handed me ammunition against the council’s defiance. Let them explain this to the pack.

I turned and made my way back to the office. The guards trailed silently behind me on their way to the infirmary. Their wounds left a faint copper trail in the air. No one spoke. Good. Let them stew in their failure.

Back at my desk, I handled pack duties as best I could, an omega droning on about supply reports, voice hesitant as he read aloud. I approved a border rotation with a curt nod.

But my mind stayed on the girl below. On what was coming.

I didn’t have to wait long.

Shouts echoed through the packhouse walls, raised voices, crunch of boots on snow, the murmur of a growing crowd. I paused mid-sentence, head tilting toward the window

I rose, cane in hand, and made my way outside.

The winter wind whipped at my face, carrying the cold bite of snow. Pack members had gathered in the clearing, a loose semicircle of bodies shifting restlessly, heartbeats quick, breaths fogging the air. I could feel their eyes on me as I approached, the whispers dying like always, leaving only the crunch of my boots.

“What’s going on?” I demanded, voice carrying over the group.

Damien spoke first, as always. I could sense a hint of rage in his tone but it was masked in forced calm, his heartbeat however betrayed the unease beneath.

“Alpha… we heard about the attack in the cells. The rogue injured five guards. We came to correct our mistake.”

“Mistake?” I echoed, letting the word hang heavy in the frosty air.

“Yes,” he admitted, voice laced with reluctant humility. “We were wrong to question your order. She’s dangerous. We can end her now, before she causes more harm.”

Before I could respond, a grunt cut through the crowd. Snarls and heavy breathing followed as a warrior dragged the girl into the clearing. Her chains scraped the ground, breaths shallow and coarse, ragged from the fight and whatever wound still plagued her. She resisted every inch, weak but unyielding.

The crowd murmured, a ripple of bloodlust and unease washing over them like a wave.

“Unhand her,” I ordered the guard, my voice steady.

The elders exploded in protest. “Alpha, you can’t!” one shouted, voice cracking with outrage. “She’s attacked our own! Leaving her alive is madness. She’s too dangerous!”

I turned toward their voices, cane planted firm in the snow. “I don’t think so. I understand your point from earlier,” I said calmly. “We can’t kill her. She might belong to another pack. Executing her could invite retaliation, war we’re not ready for.”

Damien sputtered. “That doesn’t matter! Look what she’s done to my son and our warriors! She deserves to die.”

I laughed, short and cold. “It doesn’t matter now because your son is hurt? Are you willing to endanger the entire pack just for vengeance?”

Silence fell for a beat, wind howling through the pines. But Damien had no intention of letting this go.

“This isn’t only about my son. This rogue is dangerous. Killing her now prevents more harm!”

Before I could say more, I heard the slither of steel. Damien had drawn a knife. Murmur erupted from the crowd, then I heard the girl’s sharp intake of breath.

Rage surged through me at the blatant disrespect. My wolf surged forward, instinct overriding thought. I shifted, bones cracking, fur rippling and then my clothes shredding as I dropped to all fours. A growl thundered from my throat.

Damien trembled upon seeing me, his knife clattered to the ground as he bowed low in submission. The crowd followed, dropping to their knees.

The girl scrambled free, chains rattling as she ran straight toward me and took shelter behind my massive wolf form, pressing close to my flank.

However, I was too stunned to move.

Because the moment I shifted, something changed. The darkness thinned, color and light flooded in. Everything was blurry as though looking through fogged glass.

But I could see.

The bowed heads of everyone in the clearing. The vast land, mostly covered in snow.

A whimper pulled me back out of my reverie and I turned to the little woman huddled beside me.