Chapter Six: The Alpha’s Fury

I hit Thomas with everything I had.

Claws raked across his face. Blood sprayed. He stumbled back, shocked. Nobody expected the weak alpha daughter to fight. Nobody expected me to choose violence.

But Kade’s sister taught me well.

I was small. Fast. Furious.

The elite guards shifted. Six massive wolves surrounded me. But I did not stop. Did not hesitate. I tore through them like they were nothing. Like I was something more than the broken girl they knew.

“Stop her!” Thomas roared.

Beta Richards lunged. I dodged. Twisted. Sank my teeth into his throat. Not deep enough to kill. Just deep enough to make him bleed. To make him remember.

He collapsed, gasping.

The other guards hesitated. They had trained me. Beaten me. It broke me down until I was nothing. And now I was destroying them.

Thomas yanked on the silver chain. Kade screamed. The metal burned through his skin. Smoke rose from where it touched him.

“Enough!” Thomas shouted. “Stop fighting or I'll kill him. Right here. Right now.”

I froze.

Kade’s eyes met mine. He shook his head. Begging me not to surrender. But I could smell his pain. Could see the burns eating through his flesh.

I shifted back. Stood there naked and bleeding and defeated.

“Good girl,” Thomas said. “Now come here.”

I walked toward him. Every step felt like death.

He grabbed my throat. Lifted me off the ground. I could not breathe. Could not think. His grip was iron.

“You embarrassed me,” he said. “Made me bleed in front of my wolves. That requires punishment.”

He threw me. I crashed into the ground hard enough to crack ribs. Pain exploded through my chest.

“But first, we need to have a conversation. About loyalty. About obedience. About what happens to mates who defy their alpha.”

He dragged Kade forward by the chain. Kade fought. Struggled. But the silver was too strong. It drained him. Made him weak.

Thomas forced him to his knees beside me.

“Look at her,” Thomas said. “Look at your mate. See what you cost her.”

Kade’s silver eyes were filled with rage. With guilt. With something darker.

“Do not do this,” Kade said. His voice was rough. Barely human. “Whatever you want from me, I will give it. Just let her go.”

“But I want everything, Kade. Your curse. Your power. Your complete submission.” Thomas smiled. “And the fastest way to break you is through her.”

He pulled out a blade. Silver. Curved. Deadly.

“No,” Kade said.

“Yes.” Thomas pressed the blade to my throat. “You are going to watch while I carve my claim into her skin. While I make her mine in every way that matters. And you are going to do nothing. Because if you fight, if you resist, I will kill her slowly. Make it last for days.”

The blade bit into my skin. Blood welled up hot and thick.

Kade’s eyes went pure silver. Not wolf silver. Something else. Something ancient and terrible.

“You just made a mistake,” Kade said.

His voice was different. Deeper. Wrong.

The curse was coming.

“Kade, no!” I shouted. “Do not let it out. That is what he wants!”

But it was too late.

Kade’s body convulsed. Bones cracked and reformed. But not into a wolf. Into something bigger. Something with claws like knives and eyes that burned with silver fire.

The monster from his nightmares.

The thing that killed his pack.

It ripped through the silver chain like paper. Turned on Thomas with a roar that shook the ground.

Thomas smiled. “Yes. Show me what you are. Show me the power I am going to take.”

He pulled out a second chain. This one glowed with symbols. Ancient runes that pulsed with dark magic.

“This is a binding chain,” Thomas said. “Forged by witches. Designed to control creatures like you. Once I wrap this around your neck, you belong to me. Your curse. Your strength. Everything.”

The creature that was Kade lunged.

Thomas was ready. He dodged. Moved with speed that should not be possible. And wrapped the chain around the creature’s neck.

Kade screamed. The sound was agony. The runes burned into his flesh. Smoking. Sizzling.

“Stop!” I tried to stand. Failed. My ribs were broken. My body was failing.

But my wolf was not done fighting.

She surged forward. Gave me strength I should not have. I shifted. Threw myself at Thomas.

He backhanded me. I flew. Crashed. Tasted blood.

“Pathetic,” Thomas said. “Your mate is being bound and you can barely stand. Some alpha daughter you are.”

He was right. I was weak. Broken. Nothing.

But I was not alone.

A howl split the night. Long. Loud. Furious.

Kade’s sister burst through the trees. Her black wolf was massive. Beautiful. Deadly. And behind her came more wolves. A dozen of them. Rogues. Outcasts. Survivors from the Blackwood massacre.

They had come for their alpha’s son.

“Impossible,” Thomas said. “The Blackwood pack is dead.”

“Not all of us,” Kade’s sister said. She shifted back. Stood there proud and dangerous. “Some of us were away. Some of us survived. And all of us have been waiting for this moment.”

The rogues surrounded Thomas. Surrounded by his guards. The elite wolves who served my father suddenly looked very small.

“This is Steele territory,” Thomas said. “You have no authority here.”

“Neither do you.” The voice came from the shadows. Cold. Commanding. Familiar.

My father stepped into the clearing.

He looked at Thomas. At the binding chain. At Kade’s monstrous form trapped and burning. At me bleeding on the ground.

“Explain,” my father said. “Now.”

Thomas smiled. Confident. “Your daughter has been harbouring a rogue. The Blackwood rogue. She betrayed the pack. Betrayed you. I was simply handling the situation.”

“By torturing my heir?”

“By teaching her obedience. Something you clearly failed to do.”

My father’s eyes flashed gold. Pure alpha rage. “You forget yourself, Crane. This is my territory. My daughter. My authority.”

“Not after tomorrow. After we mate, she becomes mine. And so does your territory.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Did you really think I wanted an alliance? I want conquest. Your land. Your resources. Your power.” Thomas laughed. “And you handed it all to me. Wrapped up in your pathetic excuse for a daughter.”

My father went very still. Dangerously still.

“You made a mistake,” my father said softly.

“What mistake?”

“You told me the truth.” My father shifted. His wolf was enormous. Black with gold eyes that burned with fury. “And now I am going to kill you.”

He attacked.

Thomas barely dodged. He yanked on the binding chain. Forced Kade’s monster form to fight my father. To defend him.

The two massive creatures collided. Claws and teeth and blood everywhere.

“No!” I screamed. “Father, stop! That is not Kade! That is the curse!”

But my father was beyond reason. He was an alpha protecting his territory. Nothing else mattered.

Kade’s monster caught my father by the throat. Lifted him. Prepared to crush his windpipe.

And Thomas smiled. “Kill him. Prove your loyalty to your new master.”

The creature’s claws tightened.

My father’s eyes found mine. For the first time in years, I saw something other than disappointment in them.

I saw regret.

“I am sorry,” he mouthed. “For everything.”

Then his eyes closed.

And I realised the truth.

My father was not fighting to win.

He was fighting to give me time.

Time to make a choice.

Save my mate. Or save my father.

But I could not save both.