5. BLOOD AND INSTINCT

Rhea’s POV

Eleven days passed.

Only three remained before Artavius and Brielle’s mating ceremony.

The entire pack had transformed in preparation for it.

Decorations draped the Packhouse halls while warriors doubled patrol rotations around the territory. Noble families from neighboring packs had already begun arriving with escorts and gifts for the future Alpha and Luna.

Everyone was preparing for a celebration.

And I was preparing to leave my home forever.

The bond between us and Artavius still existed, but it no longer felt warm.

It hurt, constantly.

Some days it felt like claws dragging slowly through my chest.

Other days it felt numb enough to scare me.

My wolf barely spoke anymore.

Ever since that night in the council room, she had retreated deeper inside me, wounded by rejection and separation.

I no longer lived in my family’s estate. Three days after the negotiations, I moved into an abandoned warrior cabin near the western training grounds. Small. Quiet. Empty.

Perfect.

Mother cried when I left, but even through her tears she asked me not to create more tension before the ceremony.

Father called it childish rebellion, accusing me of abandoning my responsibilities to the Pack over personal emotions.

Brielle tried apologizing again, but never wanting to correct her mistakes

I ignored all of them.

Especially Artavius.

I still fulfilled my duties as Pack Commander, but that was all he was to me now.

My future Alpha, nothing more.

“Commander Rhea.”

I looked up from the security maps spread across the strategy table.

Leomar stood near the doorway looking tense. How could he not?

The future Alpha and Karl the Beta’s son were both inside the room.

“The southern patrol units completed rotation assignments,” he reported quickly.

“Good,” I answered calmly. “Increase eastern border patrols during the night. Large gatherings attract attention.”

He nodded immediately. “Yes, Commander.”

After he left, silence settled heavily across the strategy room.

I could feel Artavius staring at me from across the table, but I ignored it.

“The western watchtowers also need reinforcement,” I continued evenly while marking routes across the map. “The ceremony weakens border response times.”

Karl crossed his arms nearby. “We already stationed additional warriors there yesterday.”

“Double them.”

Karl frowned slightly. “That’s excessive.”

“No,” I replied coldly. “It’s cautious.”

Artavius finally spoke. “Rhea.”

My wolf stirred weakly at the sound of his voice.

I crushed the reaction immediately.

“Yes, Alpha Artavius?” The title hit him exactly the way I intended.

His jaw tightened. “You don’t need to call me that.”

I finally lifted my gaze toward him.

His golden eyes looked exhausted lately. Mine probably did too.

“You are the future Alpha,” I answered calmly. “It would be inappropriate otherwise.”

A heavy silence followed.

Karl suddenly looked deeply interested in the maps.

Artavius stepped closer to the table. “We need to talk.”

“We are talking.”

“You know that’s not what I mean.”

My fingers tightened slightly around the papers in my hand.

Of course I knew.

But there was nothing left worth saying anymore.

“You made your decision eleven days ago,” I said quietly. “There’s nothing left to discuss.”

Pain flickered across his face.

For one dangerous moment, guilt twisted inside me.

Then I remembered Brielle standing beside him while he chose her. The guilt disappeared instantly.

Artavius lowered his voice. “You’ve barely slept.”

I almost laughed.

Was that what he noticed?

Not the fact that his mate was emotionally falling apart. Only exhaustion.

“I’m functioning adequately.”

“Rhea—” The doors suddenly burst open.

My father, I mean Gamma Darius entered quickly, breathing heavily.

Every warrior in the room straightened instantly.

“Alpha Elias needs everyone at the northern boundary,” he said sharply. “Scouts detected rogue movement near the forest.”

The atmosphere changed immediately. Emotion disappeared beneath instinct

Duty first. Always.

“How many?” Artavius demanded immediately.

Unknown,” Gamma Darius answered grimly. “Enough to threaten the outer territory.”

My body was already moving before he finished speaking.

“Mobilize western units immediately,” I ordered sharply. “Archers take the ridge positions. Close civilian gates and evacuate outer patrol routes.”

Warriors rushed into motion instantly and adrenaline drowned everything else inside me.

This is perfect.

The rogues had picked the wrong time to attack. I’ve been itching to kill something for eleven days now.

Artavius moved beside me as we exited the strategy room.

“We go together,” he said firmly.

I didn’t argue, I simply ignored him again.

The northern boundary was already chaos by the time we arrived.

Alarm horns echoed through the forest while warriors rushed through defensive positions.

The scent hit me immediately.

Rogues.

At least twenty or maybe more.

My wolf growled weakly beneath my skin.

“They’re trying to breach the northern ridge,” Leomar reported urgently.

“Not happening,” I answered coldly.

My bow was already in my hands before he finished speaking.

I leapt onto the ridge effortlessly while warriors spread below.

Movement exploded between the trees. It was rogues and they were fast, feral and bloodthirsty. 

I shot an arrow instantly and a rogue collapsed before it even reached the lower line.

Another emerged and I took aim, the arrow pierced directly through its eye.

The battlefield erupted completely afterward.

Growls and screams tore through the forest while warriors shifted back and forth and collided violently with rogues beneath the moonlight.

My claws slid free instinctively as I dropped from the ridge, drawing my sword mid-motion.

This is what I’m good at.

Not politics. Not ceremonies.

War.

A rogue lunged toward one of the younger warriors.

I intercepted instantly and aimed my sword.

Blood sprayed. Its head hit the ground a second later.

“Stay focused!” I barked.

Another attacked from behind and my wolf surged forward instinctively.

Canines lengthened, claws tore through flesh before my sword finished the kill.

Everything blurred afterward into instinct as arrows, claws, and silver steel clashed together with the smell of blood just growing stronger. 

To me, it all feels familiar

Then suddenly, pain exploded violently through the mate bond.

‘Our mate!’ My wolf shouted worriedly inside me.

My head snapped up instantly.

Artavius is in danger!

Three rogues had broken through behind him while he fought another near the ridge.

Without thinking, I moved fast.

I shifted partially mid-run, claws ripping free as my speed exploded through the forest floor.

I used my arrow and killed the first rogue before it reached him.

Then, I unsheathed my sword as I neared and pierced through the second rogue

“Artavius!” I yelled when a rogue picked up a sword from the ground and rallied behind him while he was holding off the rogues in front of him.

In that moment, I only did the only thing that could protect him. 

I jumped in between, taking the attack that was meant for him.

“Rhea!” Artavius shouted as the rogue’s blade sliced violently across my side. 

Pain exploded through me, but it didn’t stop me.

I grabbed his sword by its blade and pushed it deeper inside me so I could reach him and directly tore his throat with my claws.

The rogue collapsed first before I fell to the ground. 

“Rhea,” Artavius caught me before I collapsed fully. 

I held the sword that was stuck in my body tightly, I was about to pull it out but Artavius stopped me.

“Don’t,” he held my hand. “It will only cause you to bleed more, the Pack medics are coming. Let them take care of it.”

I didn’t respond. I’ve been to too many battles. When I get hurt, I just pull it out and continue fighting. 

The battlefield sounds blurred strangely around me.

My wolf whimpered weakly.

‘Protect the pup.’

Everything inside me stopped. Pup?

My breath caught violently.

No, that’s impossible.

I looked down and saw blood soaking through my clothes.

Horror flooded through me instantly. The blood wasn’t coming from my side wound, it was coming from the lower part of my body. 

Artavius followed my gaze.

And the moment he saw the blood, the color drained from his face completely.