Chapter 4

Nathan’s POV

“A wolf’s heart is a battlefield, torn between duty and desire.”

The cave shook, runes fading as the red-eyed woman’s power surged, a tidal wave of ancient magic that made my wolf howl in warning. Scarlett’s hand slipped from mine, her blood-soaked shoulder a stark reminder of the chaos we’d unleashed. The altar’s magic had shattered Everleigh’s bond and freed me from the moonbane’s poison, but at a cost—our mate bond flickered, fragile, and fading. 

Camila’s guards hesitated, their loyalty fracturing, but the woman’s presence shifted everything. She was no pack wolf. She was something older, something wrong.

“Stay behind me,” I growled, shoving Scarlett toward Lira, who bled but stood defiant. My claws extended, my wolf straining to protect what was mine. But Scarlett’s eyes burned with a fire I couldn’t tame—not fear, not surrender, but a resolve that made my chest ache. She wasn’t mine anymore. Not fully.

The woman’s voice slithered through the cave, low and resonant. “You’ve broken the chains, but the war is just beginning.” Her red eyes locked onto Scarlett, ignoring me, Camila, and everyone. “You, she-wolf, are the spark.”

Camila’s laugh was sharp, cutting through the tension. “You think you can use her?” She leaned forward in her wheelchair, her voice dripping with venom. “Scarlett’s nothing—a mongrel who overreached. The pack is mine.”

The woman’s smile was cold, predatory. “Yours? You’re a puppet, Camila, dancing on strings you can’t see.” She raised a hand, and the air crackled, shadows coiling like snakes. The guards lunged for her, but the shadows lashed out, flinging them against the walls with bone-cracking force. Everleigh screamed, scrambling back, her alpha bravado gone.

I grabbed Scarlett’s arm, my heart pounding. “We need to go—now.”

She wrenched free, her gaze fixed on the woman. “Who are you?” she demanded, the dagger still clutched in her bloodied hand. “What do you want with me?”

The woman’s eyes softened, almost pitying. “I am Selene, keeper of the old ways. And you, Scarlett, carry a power Camila feared—a bloodline tied to the moon’s heart. Your pup is its heir.”

My blood ran Vergleichcold. Scarlett’s pup—our pup—was more than a child. It was a threat to Camila’s reign, a key to something ancient. I turned to Scarlett, guilt clawing at me. I’d failed her, chosen duty over love, and now she stood at the center of a war I’d helped ignite.

Camila’s snarl broke the moment. “Lies! Kill them all!” Her remaining guards charged, but Selene’s shadows struck again, faster than thought. One guard’s throat tore open, blood spraying. Lira tackled another, her silver wolf form relentless. Everleigh bolted for the exit, but Scarlett moved like lightning, slamming her into the wall.

“You’re not running,” Scarlett hissed, her claws at Everleigh’s throat. “Not after what you did.”

Everleigh’s eyes widened, but her smirk returned, twisted with desperation. “You think you’ve won? Nathan’s free, but he’ll never choose you. Not now. Not ever.”

Scarlett’s hand trembled, but her voice was steel. “I don’t need him to choose me. I choose myself.”

The words hit me like a blade. My wolf howled, desperate to reclaim her, but she was right. I’d broken her trust, and no bond—magic or not—could erase that. Not yet.

Selene’s voice cut through. “Enough.” The shadows stilled, and she stepped toward Scarlett, ignoring the chaos. “Your path lies beyond this pack, beyond this Alpha. The moon calls you to the northern wastes, where the old blood waits. Go alone, or your pup will pay the price.”

Scarlett’s jaw tightened, her gaze flicking to me, then to her stomach. “And if I stay?”

Selene’s eyes darkened. “Then Camila’s hunters will never stop. And your child will be their weapon.”

A growl rumbled in my chest. “I won’t let that happen.”

Selene’s gaze shifted to me, dismissive. “You’ve done enough, Alpha. Your choices brought her here. Let her go, or you’ll destroy her.”

The cave trembled again, rocks crumbling from the ceiling. Lira shifted back, panting, her arm bleeding heavily. “Scarlett, she’s right. You can’t fight them all—not like this.”

Scarlett’s eyes met mine, raw with pain and defiance. “You knew about the moonbane,” she said, her voice low. “You knew Camila was manipulating us, and you did nothing.”

“I didn’t know,” I said, my voice breaking. “Not until tonight. Scarlett, I—”

“Save it,” she snapped, stepping back. “You made your choice. Now I’m making mine.”

Before I could respond, Camila’s voice rang out. “You think you can walk away?” She raised a hand, and a hidden guard emerged, holding a crossbow loaded with a silver-tipped bolt. “No one defies me.”

The bolt fired, aimed at Scarlett’s heart. I roared, lunging, but Scarlett was faster. She twisted, the bolt grazing her arm, blood welling instantly. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she threw the dagger, its blade sinking into the guard’s chest. He collapsed, but more guards poured in, their scents thick with loyalty to Camila.

Selene’s shadows surged, buying us time, but the cave was collapsing. “Go!” she shouted, her form flickering like smoke. “The northern wastes, Scarlett. Find the old blood!”

Scarlett hesitated, her gaze locked on me. For a moment, I saw the girl who’d fought beside me, who’d loved me despite the pack’s scorn. Then her expression hardened, and she turned to Lira. “Get me out of here.”

Lira nodded, grabbing Scarlett’s arm. They bolted for a side tunnel, shadows covering their escape. I started after them, but Selene’s hand gripped my shoulder, her strength unnatural. “Let her go, Nathan. Your war is here.”

Camila’s laugh echoed as the guards closed in. “You’ve lost them both,” she taunted, her eyes glinting. “Everleigh’s useless, and Scarlett’s gone. You’re nothing without me.”

Rage blinded me. My wolf surged, and I shifted, tearing into the nearest guard. Blood sprayed, but there were too many. Everleigh’s scent vanished—she’d fled, the coward. Camila’s guards pinned me, silver chains burning my skin. Selene fought beside me, her shadows relentless, but her form was fading, her power spent.

As the cave collapsed, a new scent hit me—wild, unfamiliar, male. A massive wolf burst through the rubble, his fur was black as night, his eyes blazing green. He tore through Camila’s guards like paper, his strength rivaling an Alpha’s. Camila’s scream was cut short as he lunged for her, but shadows swallowed her, and she vanished.

The wolf turned to me, his gaze piercing. “You’re the Alpha?” he growled, shifting to human form—a man, scarred and broad, his presence commanding. “Scarlett’s mate?”

“Not anymore,” I said, the words bitter. “Who are you?”

“Rylan,” he said, his voice low. “I’m here for her. And you’re in my way.”

My wolf roared, possessive and raw, but the chains held me. Rylan’s eyes flicked to the tunnel where Scarlett had fled. “She’s not yours to save,” he said. “Not anymore.”

He shifted and vanished into the darkness, leaving me chained, bleeding, and alone. The cave’s collapse buried Selene’s shadows, and silence fell. Scarlett was gone, chasing a path I couldn’t follow. And Rylan—his scent, his strength—hinted at a rival I hadn’t anticipated.

Camila’s schemes had fractured the pack, but Rylan’s arrival was a new threat. Scarlett was out there, carrying our pup, hunted by enemies and drawn to a destiny I didn’t understand. My bond with her flickered, a dying ember, but I’d tear the world apart to find her.

Unless Rylan found her first.