Chapter 7: Two Enemies, One Prize

We were here first," Vaughn snapped, blood dripping from a cut above his eyebrow. "Back off, Draven scum."

The woman in front of me didn't even look at him. Her eyes stayed locked on mine, calm in a way that scared me more than Vaughn's whole crew ever did.

"I don't take orders from Thorne's leftovers," she said. "My name is Ilsa. I work for Selene."

My stomach turned at the name. "Of course you do."

"Selene wants you brought in alive," Ilsa said. "Untouched. She was very specific about that part."

"Funny," I said. "Since she looked pretty happy watching Damian humiliate me."

Something flickered in Ilsa's expression, gone almost as fast as it appeared. "Selene doesn't do anything without a reason. You'll understand that soon enough."

Kael limped closer to me, one arm pressed against his ribs, blood soaking through his sleeve. "Elena, whatever happens, don't go with either of them."

"That's cute," Vaughn said. "Except you're not really in a position to be giving orders right now."

The forest around us felt smaller with every second, both groups circling closer, and I realized with a sick twist in my stomach that this wasn't really about who got to me first. It was about who was willing to hurt the most people to get me there.

"Enough," Renata said, stepping forward despite everything. "You're both hunting a girl who doesn't even understand her own power yet. Do either of you actually understand what happens if you push her too far."

Ilsa's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is that a threat."

"It's a warning," Renata said. "The last time someone cornered an Aurelian and refused to back off, half a kingdom burned. Ask your alphas how that story ends."

For a second, nobody moved. I could feel the heat building in my chest again, stronger this time, like my body understood the danger before my mind fully caught up.

Then Vaughn made his move.

He lunged at Ilsa, not me, clearly deciding that taking out the competition made more sense than fighting through both sides at once. Ilsa spun to meet him, and just like that, the two groups turned on each other instead of me, weapons flashing in the moonlight, snarls tearing through the clearing.

"Now," Kael said, grabbing my arm. "This is our chance. Move."

We ran while chaos broke out behind us, the sound of fighting fading slightly the deeper we pushed into the trees. My lungs burned. My legs felt like they belonged to someone else. But I kept moving because stopping meant becoming a prize again, something to be fought over instead of a person.

"Where's Marisol," I asked between breaths.

"She got the others out before Vaughn even showed up," Renata said. "She's fine. Focus on running."

We didn't stop until the sounds of fighting disappeared completely behind us, replaced by nothing but our own ragged breathing and the crunch of leaves under our feet. Kael finally slowed, leaning hard against a tree, his face pale from blood loss.

"You're hurt," I said, reaching for his arm.

"I'll live," he said, though the way he winced said otherwise.

"Why did you help me," I asked. "After everything Vaughn said. You could have just let them take me and disappeared."

Kael looked at me for a long moment, something tired and honest in his expression. "Because what I did for Thorne haunts me every single day. I've spent years trying to undo even a fraction of the damage. Protecting you isn't about making up for it. It's about finally doing something right."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded, my throat suddenly tight.

Renata pressed a strip of cloth against Kael's wound, tying it off with practiced hands. "We need to keep moving. Both Thorne and Draven know roughly where we are now. They'll regroup fast."

"Where do we even go," I asked. "Everyone wants a piece of me. My own pack. Damian's kingdom. Now Thorne and Draven both. I don't have anywhere left that's safe."

"There's one place," Renata said quietly. "A place even Thorne's people fear to go. The Ashwood Ruins, what's left of the old Aurelian stronghold before it fell."

"You want to take me to ruins."

"I want to take you somewhere with answers," Renata said. "Your mother went there before she died. If anyone left records of what she was planning, that's where they'd be."

Something about the way she said it made my chest tighten. "You think there's more to find there."

"I think it's time you learned exactly what your mother started," Renata said. "And exactly what she was willing to die for."

Kael pushed himself off the tree, steadier now despite the makeshift bandage. "It's three days travel. Rough terrain the whole way. And if Thorne or Draven figure out where we're headed, they'll try to cut us off before we get there."

"Then we don't tell anyone where we're going," I said.

Renata's mouth pulled into something almost like a proud smile. "Good. You're already starting to think like a survivor instead of a victim."

We moved through the rest of the night in tense silence, my mind spinning with everything that had happened since the rejection, everything I still didn't know, everything waiting for me at some crumbling ruin three days away.

Just before dawn, we reached a narrow ravine, the only way through for miles according to Kael. He stopped at the edge, scanning the path ahead with a wariness that put me instantly on edge.

"What is it," I asked.

"Tracks," he said quietly. "Fresh ones. Someone's already been through here, recently, moving fast."

Renata crouched beside the tracks, her expression darkening the longer she studied them.

"These aren't Thorne's men," she said. "And they're not Draven's either."

"Then whose are they," I asked.

Renata looked up at me, something unreadable in her gold eyes.

"These are Kade tracks," she said. "Damian's personal guard. And judging by how fresh they are, they're not far ahead of us."

"Maybe they're just patrolling," I said, even though I didn't believe it myself.

"Elena," Kael said slowly, staring past me down the ravine. "I don't think they're patrolling."

I turned to see what he was looking at, and my whole body went cold.

Someone was standing at the far end of the ravine, waiting.

And I recognized it him instantly.