Chapter 15: The Night Ambush

The howl echoed across the valley.

Then another answered.

And another.

The sound bounced off the surrounding cliffs, turning one voice into many.

Every warrior in the camp froze.

Weapons appeared instantly.

Swords.

Daggers.

Bows.

The relaxed atmosphere vanished as though it had never existed.

The hunters had arrived.

Kael's expression became ice.

"Darius."

The Beta stepped forward immediately.

"Defensive positions."

No further explanation was needed.

Blackridge warriors moved with frightening efficiency.

Within moments, the camp had transformed into a fortress.

Scouts climbed the rocky ridges.

Archers took position.

Patrols doubled.

Everyone prepared for war.

Everyone except me.

I stood beside the fire, my heart hammering.

The mark burned beneath my sleeve.

Harder with every passing second.

Like it recognized something approaching.

Kael moved toward me.

His attention remained fixed on the darkness beyond the valley.

But part of him remained focused on me.

I could feel it.

The bond carried that much now.

"What did you see?" he asked quietly.

I swallowed.

"I don't know."

That wasn't entirely true.

I knew what I had seen.

I simply didn't understand it.

"The symbol," I continued. "It looked important."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"What symbol?"

I described it.

The silver crest.

The strange circular design surrounding a wolf's eye.

The moment I finished speaking, his expression darkened.

Darius cursed softly.

My stomach dropped.

"You recognize it."

Neither man answered immediately.

Finally, Darius spoke.

"That's the Hunter's Crest."

The words sent a chill through me.

"Meaning?"

Kael's gaze remained fixed on the darkness.

"It belongs to their elite division."

I blinked.

"Elite division?"

The Alpha finally looked at me.

And for the first time that night, I saw genuine concern.

"They don't send elites unless the target matters."

The mark immediately pulsed.

As if confirming his words.

Wonderful.

Just wonderful.

Before I could ask another question—

A horn sounded.

Sharp.

Loud.

From somewhere beyond the eastern ridge.

The entire camp became still.

Every wolf listening.

Waiting.

Then a voice echoed across the valley.

"Alpha Kael Draven."

The voice carried unnaturally far.

Confident.

Calm.

Dangerous.

"We know you're there."

Silence followed.

No one moved.

No one responded.

The voice continued.

"We are not here for your pack."

My stomach tightened.

The hunters knew.

Of course they knew.

"We only want the Mark Bearer."

The mark flared violently.

Pain shot through my arm.

I gritted my teeth.

Kael noticed immediately.

His entire posture changed.

Predatory.

Threatening.

The kind of dangerous that made even allies cautious.

The voice echoed again.

"Surrender her."

The valley fell silent.

Then Kael answered.

Two words.

"No."

The response rolled across the darkness like thunder.

Absolute.

Final.

The hunter laughed.

A cold sound.

"You would risk your entire pack for one girl?"

Kael didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

The single word stunned me.

Several warriors exchanged looks.

Even Darius seemed surprised.

The hunter laughed again.

"Interesting."

The silence that followed felt wrong.

Too quiet.

Too still.

Then chaos erupted.

Arrows rained from the ridges.

Blackridge warriors shouted warnings.

Steel flashed.

The ambush had begun.

---

The first explosion came from the western side of camp.

Fire erupted into the night.

Several tents ignited instantly.

The hunters poured down the slopes.

Fast.

Disciplined.

Organized.

They weren't rogues.

They weren't mercenaries.

They were soldiers.

And they had done this before.

Many times.

Kael shifted instantly.

His eyes turned gold.

Power rolled through the valley.

The Alpha was gone.

The predator remained.

"Protect the center!" Darius roared.

Warriors rushed forward.

The battle exploded around us.

Steel clashed.

Wolves roared.

Men shouted.

The valley became a storm of violence.

I tried to move toward safety.

A mistake.

The moment I stepped away from Kael—

The bond reacted.

Pain lanced through my arm.

I stumbled.

At the same moment, Kael turned sharply.

Even in the middle of battle, he felt it.

He always felt it.

Three hunters broke through the defensive line.

Their eyes locked onto me.

Not the warriors.

Not Kael.

Me.

The realization sent fear through my chest.

One of them smiled.

"We found her."

My stomach dropped.

They weren't trying to kill me.

They were trying to take me.

That somehow felt worse.

The hunters rushed forward.

I backed away instinctively.

The mark exploded with heat.

Energy surged beneath my skin.

Wild.

Uncontrolled.

Dangerous.

The nearest hunter lunged.

Everything happened at once.

The mark flared.

The world flashed white.

And power erupted outward.

The force slammed into the attackers.

All three were thrown backward.

One crashed into a tree.

Another hit the ground hard enough to leave a crater.

The third flew several yards before rolling to a stop.

Silence briefly spread through the immediate area.

Everyone stared.

Including me.

My hands shook.

"I didn't—"

A hunter's voice cut through the battlefield.

"She's awakening."

The words sent chills through me.

Awakening?

What did that even mean?

Kael appeared beside me instantly.

Breathing hard.

Covered in blood.

Most of it wasn't his.

His gaze scanned me quickly.

Checking for injuries.

Finding none.

Relief flashed through the bond.

Then disappeared.

Replaced by focus.

"You need to stay behind me."

I almost laughed.

That had become his solution for everything.

Unfortunately, it was usually correct.

Another wave of hunters advanced.

More careful this time.

More cautious.

They had learned.

One of them raised a silver weapon.

The moment I saw it—

The mark reacted violently.

A scream escaped my lips.

Pain ripped through my arm.

Not normal pain.

Memory.

The same ruins.

The same woman.

The same circle.

Images flooded my mind.

Then a new image appeared.

A hunter.

Centuries ago.

Standing beside the ritual.

Watching.

My eyes widened.

The hunters had been there.

From the beginning.

The realization nearly knocked the air from my lungs.

"Kael," I whispered.

He looked at me immediately.

"They know."

His expression sharpened.

"What?"

"The ritual."

The Alpha's eyes widened slightly.

The reaction lasted less than a second.

But I saw it.

And that told me everything.

The hunters weren't chasing the mark.

They understood it.

Maybe better than anyone.

---

The battle raged around us.

Blackridge held the center.

But barely.

The hunters were relentless.

More kept appearing from the darkness.

As though the night itself was producing them.

Then a voice shouted from behind us.

"Alpha!"

Darius.

I turned.

And immediately wished I hadn't.

The Beta was fighting one of the Blackridge warriors.

Not alongside him.

Against him.

My stomach dropped.

"What is happening?"

Kael's expression became murderous.

The warrior smiled.

Then he removed a Blackridge insignia from his armor.

A disguise.

A spy.

A traitor.

He had traveled with us the entire time.

Darius slammed him into the ground.

The traitor laughed.

Blood stained his teeth.

"You were always too late."

Kael moved.

Fast.

Terrifyingly fast.

A moment later, the traitor was pinned beneath him.

The Alpha's eyes glowed like molten gold.

"Who sent you?"

The spy smiled.

Even now.

Even with death staring him in the face.

"They're already coming."

A chill swept through me.

The man wasn't talking about the hunters.

Someone else.

Something worse.

The traitor looked directly at me.

And smiled.

"The Mark Bearer returns."

My blood went cold.

Returns?

Before anyone could stop him—

The spy bit down hard.

A capsule.

Poison.

He died instantly.

The battlefield seemed to pause.

Questions filled the silence.

Questions nobody could answer.

Then another horn sounded.

The hunters began retreating.

Fast.

Disciplined.

Purposeful.

This had never been about winning.

It had been about confirming something.

Finding something.

Finding me.

Within minutes they vanished into the darkness.

Leaving only bodies.

Blood.

And uncertainty.

The battle was over.

But the war had only begun.

---

Hours later, the camp smoldered beneath the stars.

The wounded were being treated.

The dead were honored.

No one celebrated survival.

Because everyone understood the truth.

The hunters would return.

I sat beside the remains of the fire.

The mark pulsed quietly.

Thoughtfully.

Almost as if it were considering something.

Kael approached.

His expression remained unreadable.

But exhaustion lingered beneath the surface.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then I broke the silence.

"What did he mean?"

Kael looked at me.

"The traitor."

I swallowed.

"'The Mark Bearer returns.'"

The Alpha stared into the darkness.

Long enough that I feared he wouldn't answer.

Then he spoke.

And his voice carried something I had never heard before.

Fear.

"That," he said quietly, "is exactly what I'm trying to find out."

The wind stirred through the valley.

Far in the distance, another howl echoed.

Waiting.

Watching.

Hunting.

And somewhere beyond the mountains—

Someone already knew my name.