Crossroads of Fire

Chapter Six 

The alley was a battlefield of silence.

Raven’s chest heaved heavily, her claws trembling at her side as she felt her arms grow limp.

Around her, the hunters groaned weakly, Sabrina hovered pale and wide-eyed, as Cole tightened his shaking fingers over the knife as it gleamed under the sickly streetlight. At the alley’s mouth, Axel stood calm and unshaken, his outstretched hand waiting, golden eyes burning with something far more dangerous than hunger.

“Come,” he said softly, like a command whispered through her bones. “Before they turn on you.”

Her wolf surged, pressing hard against her ribs. She wanted to obey, wanted to leap into his arms, surrender to the bond, to the promise of belonging and power. 

Her skin tingled with the urge to move, every nerve pulled toward him like a magnet.

Raven’s knees nearly buckled.

“Mine”, her wolf insisted.

But her voice came out rough, defiant. “No.”

Axel’s smile didn’t falter. It widened, slow and dangerous, like a man amused by a child’s tantrum. 

“You think they’ll protect you? You think Reed will hesitate, once he hears?” 

He glanced at Cole, whose face twisted with rage. “Looks like some of them already know.”

Raven’s breath came out sharp as she looked at the cousin who had fought beside her, laughed with her, called her sister. But his eyes were nothing but fire and betrayal now.

“You lied,” Cole spat. “All this time.” He raised the knife higher, his voice breaking with fury. “You’re not one of us. You never were.”

“Cole, stop!” Sabrina cried, darting between them. “She saved you! She saved me!”

“She’s a danger,” he snapped. “You saw what she almost did. She’s one slip away from killing us all!”

Sabrina shook her head desperately, clutching his wrist. “Let's give her a chance to explain…”

But Raven’s gaze locked on Axel. He hadn’t lowered his hand. His voice slid through the chaos, smooth as oil. 

“You can deny me now, Raven.

But the bond doesn’t break. Every second you stay here, you’re choosing death. Every second you reject me, you burn yourself alive.”

Her wolf clawed at her skin, a howl rattling in her skull. She clenched her fists so hard her claws cut her palms.

“I’m not yours,” she said through gritted teeth.

Axel chuckled. “You’ll learn.”

The hunters stirred again, dragging themselves upright. One hissed through bloody teeth, “She’s slipping. Kill her now and it ends.”

Cole moved like he agreed. He yanked free of Sabrina’s grip, knife raised as Raven’s pulse spiked.

Her wolf screamed to finish him, to end the threat before it spread and she nearly lunged at him.

Then the roar of engines shattered the night.

Motorcycles. Heavy. Many.

Cole froze, knife hovering midair. Sabrina turned, eyes wide. Even Axel’s smirk faded slightly.

The Iron Fangs had arrived.

Headlights flared at the end of the street, a dozen bikes rolling into formation. At the front, Reed cut his engine and stepped off, every inch of him carved from cold suspicion. His gaze raked over the scene at the hunters crumpled, Cole armed, Sabrina trembling, Raven glowing faint gold with her wolf still at the surface.

And Axel, standing like a king at the alley’s mouth.

“What the hell,” Reed said, voice low and dangerous, “is going on here?”

No one spoke as the silence stretched long and suffocating.

Cole broke it first. “She’s been lying to us, Reed. She’s not who she says she is.” His words tumbled fast, desperate. He jabbed the knife toward Raven. “I saw it. The claws, the eyes, she’s one of them.”

Murmurs rippled through the Fangs behind Reed as suspicion and unease.spread like widefire. 

Raven’s throat closed. “That’s not true…”

“Don’t,” Reed cut her off, his voice sharp as steel. He stalked closer, eyes narrowing. “I’ll hear this once, explain yourself.”

Her heart thundered. How could she explain claws, glowing eyes, hunters who called her by the identity she hid? How could she confess without sealing her death sentence?

Axel’s laugh cut through the tension, low and amused. “You really don’t see it, do you, Fang leader? She’s not yours to command. She never was.”

Reed’s jaw flexed. “Shut your mouth, Rider.”

But Axel only tilted his head toward Raven, his golden gaze burning. “Tell him. Or I will.”

Her wolf snarled, pressing harder. The mate link twisted tight, pulling her toward Axel even as every shred of loyalty to the Fangs screamed to resist.

Cole’s voice rose, urgent, pleading. “Reed, she’s dangerous! You have to see how long her claws are and …”

Sabrina shoved him, voice shaking with fury. “Stop it, Cole! She’s your blood!”

“Blood doesn’t matter when it’s poison,” he shot back.

Reed raised a hand, silencing them both. His gaze pinned Raven like a blade to her throat. “Enough.”

The alley seemed to shrink, every breath too loud. The Fangs waited while the hunters smirked through their blood.

 Axel watched like a predator savoring the kill.

Reed took a step closer. “Raven, Show me your hands.”

Her heart stopped.

She couldn’t. If she unclenched her fists, the faint smear of blood from her own claws would be visible to all eyes as the proof.

“Now,” Reed barked.

Her wolf thrashed inside her chest telling her to Shift and Flee but knowing fully well those options would save her.

Her hand trembled as she slowly, slowly started to uncurl her fingers…

Then the blond hunter laughed, loud and broken. “You’re too late. She belongs to him already.”

All eyes snapped to Axel.

And he gave a crooked and smug smile, slow and triumphant.

“Mine,” he said softly.

The word cracked through Raven like thunder. Her wolf howled in response with a sound no one else could hear but her as her glow flared, her claws pulsed sharper, betraying her despite her will.

Reed’s eyes widened. 

Cole stepped back, grinning like a viper. “Told you.”

Sabrina’s hand flew to her mouth, tears spilling.

And Raven realized in a sick rush, no matter what she said now, no

one would believe her. The bond had exposed her. Axel had exposed her.

Reed’s voice came out low and lethal. “Raven, Get on your knees.”