The Hidden Cellar

It was Mia. She looked terrified.

"They're coming for you," she whispered.

"Not the princes. The others. You don't understand,

Rayna... the locket isn't just a trophy. It’s a key."

Before I could ask what she meant, a heavy blow hit the back of my head.

The last thing I saw was the Ironclaw Alpha ripping the arrow from his shoulder and staring at me with a desperate, wild hope.

"Elena..." he gasped, as the darkness swallowed me whole.

The first thing I felt was the dampness.

It was a deep, bone-chilling cold that smelled of rot and old iron.

My head throbbed with every heartbeat, a sharp reminder of the blow Mia had delivered.

I tried to move my hands, but the rough bite of rope held my wrists tight against a wooden post.

I wasn't in the Ironclaw camp. I wasn't even in the woods.

The walls around me were made of the same ancient stone as the pack house basement, but this room was hidden.

I had been a servant here for ten years, yet I had never seen this room. It was a secret cellar, buried deep beneath the floors of the Elders' wing.

"She’s awake."

The voice was cold and thin.

I squinted as a lantern flickered to life.

Standing in the doorway was Elder Thomas, the head of the Council.

He was a man who had always looked like a grandfather to the pack, but now, his eyes were as hard as flint.

Mia stood behind him, trembling.

"Where is Claude?" I rasped, my throat feeling like it was full of glass.

"The Alpha is busy," Elder Thomas said.

"He is currently fighting a war he cannot win.

My grandsons believe they are fighting for the throne. They don't realize they are merely the distraction."

"You framed my parents," I said. "You sold the secrets to the Ironclaw pack ten years ago, not them."

Thomas smiled. "Silas and Elena were too smart for their own good.

They started asking questions about where the pack's gold was going.

I couldn't have them whispering in a young Alpha's ear. So,

I gave the Ironclaws what they wanted,

the patrol routes and in exchange, they gave me the scapegoats I needed."

"And the locket?" I asked. "Why does the Ironclaw Alpha have it?"

Thomas chuckled. "The Ironclaw Alpha, Silas, was Elena’s brother. Your uncle, Rayna. When I 'executed' your mother, I didn't actually kill her that day.

I sold her to her brother's pack to ensure his silence.

That locket was the proof of the transaction."

My mother... might still be alive? Sold like an animal by the men who were supposed to protect us?

"Why am I here?" I spat. "If you wanted me dead, you could have done it years ago."

"Because of the bond," Thomas said.

"I didn't expect a second-chance mate bond between the Alpha and a servant.

It’s too powerful. If Claude marks you, he will become impossible to control.

I need you here to ensure he surrenders when my grandsons reach the Great Hall."

Suddenly, a muffled explosion rocked the room. The battle was moving into the house.

"Mia, watch her," Thomas commanded. "If anyone other than me opens that door, kill her."

He hurried out, locking the heavy iron door. Mia stayed in the corner, clutching a small dagger.

"Mia," I whispered.

"You heard him. He’s using everyone.

Help me, and I’ll tell Claude the truth. I'll tell him you saved me.

It’s your only chance to survive."

Before Mia could answer, the door was ripped off its hinges. A massive golden-brown wolf burst into the room.

It was Zack. He shifted back to human form, his body covered in blood.

"What is this? Why is she here?" Zack looked at Mia. "Is this true?"

Mia let out a sob. "He told me it was the only way to make you Alpha, Zack! He said she had to be a prisoner so Claude would give up!"

Zack’s face went pale.

He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of the boy who hadn't been poisoned by hate.

He stepped forward and sliced my ropes with his claws.

"My father is in the Great Hall," Zack said. "Zayne is fighting him. He’s going to kill him, Rayna."

"We have to stop them," I said. "The Ironclaw Alpha is my uncle. He’s not here for the throne. He’s here for revenge against the Elders."

I grabbed the dagger Mia had dropped.

"Zack, you have to find Zayne.

Tell him the truth before he does something he can never take back.

I’m going to the Great Hall."

I ran out of the cellar.

The house was a nightmare of growls and screams.

I reached the balcony overlooking the Great Hall and stopped.

Below me, Claude was in his human form, his back against the throne. He was wounded.

Zayne stood ten feet away, holding a sword.

"Give up, Father!" Zayne yelled.

Claude looked up, and for a split second, our eyes met.

The mate bond flared, giving him a burst of strength.

He threw off the attackers.