4. His Wrath

Marcellous's POV

By the time I reached the dungeon, the familiar scent of damp stone, rusted iron, and old blood had already filled my lungs.

The underground prison sat beneath the western wing of the fortress, built by my ancestors for one purpose and one purpose only—to break enemies until there was nothing left of them but fear and regret.

No sunlight ever reached this place.

Down here, there was no concept of mercy. Only darkness, pain, and the kind of suffering that stripped pride from even the strongest wolves.

The thick iron doors groaned open the moment the guards saw me approaching.

“Supreme Alpha Marcellous.”

Their heads bowed immediately, their voices tight with respect and something far more useful—fear.

I acknowledged neither.

Fear was not an insult to me. It was necessary.

A king who wasn’t feared was a king waiting to be challenged. And I had not fought my way to the top of this brutal world to be challenged by dogs.

The moment I stepped deeper into the dungeon, I caught Nate’s scent first, then the smell of two unfamiliar wolves mixed with blood and sweat.

My gaze shifted toward the holding cell.

Two rogues were chained to the wall with silver restraints, their skin burned where the metal touched them. Their clothes were torn, bodies bruised, lips bloodied.

One had a swollen eye and split lip, while the other looked half-dead already, his head hanging so low it seemed too heavy for his neck.

Weak.

I said nothing at first. Simply stood there and stared. Silence could be more terrifying than threats if wielded correctly.

The air in the dungeon changed almost instantly as my aura spread through the room like poison, thick and oppressive, pressing against every living thing until breathing itself became labor.

One of the rogues slowly lifted his head, and the second his eyes met mine, terror flashed across his face before he could hide it.

Good. That reaction fucking pleased me. Even before I spoke, both began trembling. Their wolves recognized mine.

Every wolf did. Mine was stronger. Superior. Born to dominate.

I walked toward the cell with deliberate calm, my boots echoing against the stone.

The chains rattled as one of them instinctively tried to move back, but there was nowhere to go.

I stopped directly in front of them and studied their faces.

“You trespassed into my territory.” My voice came out calm. The dangerous kind of calm.

The kind that made warriors pray to gods they had long abandoned.

Neither answered me.

Interesting. So they had either courage… or stupidity.

Sometimes the difference between the two was laughably thin.

I tilted my head slightly. “I’ll ask once,” I said, my gaze moving lazily between them. “And I strongly suggest you answer before I lose what little patience I have left tonight.”

One of them spat blood at the floor.

His action was bold. Very bold.

He raised his chin despite the fear flooding his scent. “Fuck you,” he said.

Silence followed.

Then beside me, Nate sighed.

I didn’t look at him. “Do you enjoy irritating me?” Through mind-link, I asked dryly.

Nate folded his arms. “No. But I know that look.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What look?”

“The one you get right before you kill first and ask questions later.”

A small smirk tugged at my lips. He knew me too well. How could I not be tempted when they were acting this way?

The rogue drew back my attention by laughing bitterly. I frowned.

“If you’re going to kill us, then do it.”

My wolf stirred violently inside me. “Kill him,” he ordered. His voice rumbled through me like thunder. “Rip his bloody throat out. Make him scream.”

I felt his claws scraping against my control, demanding violence, demanding blood.

He wanted to tear flesh apart and paint the walls red. So did I. But not yet.

I crouched until my face was level with the rogue’s. The bravado in his eyes weakened immediately. I smelled it. The fear. My lips curved into a slow, cruel, predatory smile. The kind that made grown wolves break.

“You misunderstand something,” I said softly.

His breathing quickened.

“I don’t kill quickly.”

The second rogue began shaking harder.

“When I decide someone deserves death…” I continued, letting every word settle into their bones, “I make sure they beg for it first.”

His confidence shattered.

I saw the exact moment instinct overpowered his pride. Submission always came eventually. Always.

I leaned closer. “Who sent you?”

No answer.

My patience thinned. I moved before either rogue could react, my hand shooting through the bars and locking around the first rogue’s throat. My fingers tightened instantly.

None shifted beneath my grip.

He gagged. His feet left the floor.

The second rogue whimpered.

“Who,” I repeated, voice low and deadly, “sent you?”

He clawed uselessly at my wrist. Still giving me no answer.

My wolf snarled. I released the rogue. His body crashed to the floor, coughing violently.

Pathetic.

Nate shifted slightly beside me. “Alpha Marcellous.”

He was warning me, trying to balance things. Trying to always be the voice of reason.

I hated reason. Especially tonight. Ignoring him, I looked at both rogues again and asked the only question that actually mattered.

“Where is Blade?”

That changed everything. Both heads snapped upward so fast it was almost amusing.

Shock flashed across their faces. Pure shock.

My eyes narrowed.

The one on the floor stopped coughing. There. That reaction told me enough. “How…” he rasped. “How do you know our leader?”

I laughed, not because it was funny but because it was insulting. These pups actually thought Blade was some mysterious secret.

Blade Vanderwell.

The rogue hybrid fool who fancied himself a king. My greatest nuisance. The only creature stupid enough to keep testing my borders and surviving.

I slowly rose to my full height. The dungeon suddenly felt smaller. The rogues looked tiny, like insignificant ants under my boots.

I let my aura pour out fully. The walls vibrated. The guards stiffened behind me. One nearly dropped his weapon. The rogues began shaking violently now, their bodies betraying them no matter how hard they fought it.

That was the truth about fear. No matter how brave you pretended to be, your body always told the truth.

“Answer the damn question.” My roar shook the dungeon.

The weaker rogue broke first. “We— we don’t know!”

His voice cracked. “We swear!”

I stared at him. Then at the other. He was silent. This one had more spine. Still not enough to matter.

My wolf growled. “He’s useless. Kill them.”

I agreed. Blade would never entrust his location to low-ranking rogues. This had become a waste of time.

Then the silent rogue laughed. He actually laughed. The nerve he had.

Blood coated his teeth. “You’ll never find him.”

I went completely still. Dangerously still. He smiled. That was a fatal mistake.

“Blade will destroy you.”

That was enough to snap my wolf. The little control I had vanished.

I moved, too fast for their eyes to track. My claws sliced clean through flesh. Warm blood sprayed across my shirt and jaw.

The rogue’s head hit the floor with a sickening thud and rolled across the stone.

The second screamed.

I turned.

His scream ended the moment my claws tore through his throat.

Silence returned. Blood pooled across the ground. The dungeon smelled of fresh death.

I stared at the bodies, still feeling absolutely nothing.

No satisfaction. No relief. No bloody peace. Just that same damned restlessness still clawing inside me.

Onyx's voice rumbled through me. “Good.”

That felt better.

I exhaled slowly. “Look who finally decided to compliment.”

I stepped away as guards rushed to clean the bodies.

He sounded annoyed. “I had nothing to say to you.”

I almost scoffed. “Really?”

“Yeah. Nothing you did today pleased me.”

That caught my attention. “Not even killing the rogues?” I had to ask.

“Except this.”

I smirked faintly. So we were back to the same problem. Sex, hunger, frustration. No woman satisfied him. No amount of release helped.

This had never happened before.

As Nate and I left the dungeon, the cool night air hit my skin, but it did nothing to calm the heat burning beneath my flesh.

Nate shoved his hands into his pockets and gave me a sideways look. “What exactly is wrong with you these days?”

I rubbed my temple. “My wolf is unstable.”

That was the only word that fit perfectly to my predicament.

Nate stayed quiet.

So I continued. “He’s restless. Violent. Sex does nothing to satisfy him.”

His brows rose slowly. “You’ve been sleeping around more than usual.”

I glared. “Yes, Nate. Thanks for stating the obvious.”

He ignored the sarcasm. Then something clicked in his head. I could see it through his eyes as they widened.

No. I already knew that look.

“Marcel…” he was back to calling me by my name.

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“Yes, I do.”

He stopped talking, but his brows rose again and again. He grinned in that annoying way that made me want to strangle him.

“Your mate…”

I growled. He finally said it.

He grinned wider like an idiot. “That explains everything.”

“No.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t.”

“Your wolf is sensing her. I mean—”

I clenched the steering wheel. “Don’t say it.”

“The full moon is tonight.”

“No,” I said again in denial.

“You’re about to meet your mate.”

My eyes flashed amber. My aura spiked.

I slowly turned to him. “Get out.”

He blinked. Then grinned wider. “Come on—”

“Get out of my damn car, Nate.”

Laughing, the bastard stepped out. What an idiot I have as a Beta. If he wasn’t my friend…

My thoughts went back to what he had just said. A mate? Impossible. I didn’t want one. Didn’t need one.

Mates were weakness. Weakness got people killed. I had learned that long ago.

I was still thinking deeply about it when—

A panicked mind-link slammed into mine.

Evander. My Gamma.

It sounded urgent. Fear poured through the bond.

“Supreme Alpha—” his voice shook. “The… the princess…”

Every muscle in my body locked.

Kira.

Ice flooded my veins. “Speak.” The word came out lethal.

Evander stammered. “The princess went shopping in Silvercrest Pack and on her way back, news reaching me now is that she was kidnapped by rogues.”

Everything inside me stopped. My heartbeat, my pulse, everything. Then my rage exploded in a violent, monstrous way.

My grip tightened so hard metal bent beneath my fingers. Those filthy dogs. They dared lay a finger on my sister.

A terrifying silence fell over me. The kind that came before slaughter. My canines descended, my eyes burning.

Onyx rose.

“If my sister has so much as a bruise,” I said, voice cold enough to freeze blood, “I will make every rogue involved regret the day they crawled out of whatever filthy hole they came from.”

Onyx purred in savage approval.

I slammed my foot onto the accelerator. The engine roared.

“When I’m done with them…” My lips curled into something cruel.

“Even the crows will be too afraid to feast on what remains.”