Chapter 4

Christian's POV

My blood turned to pure liquid fire, boiling under my skin until my vision flashed a violent, blinding red.

The air in the room grew heavy, the atmospheric pressure dropping so fast that the glass windows began to rattle in their frames. My jaw clenched so tight a sharp pain shot up into my ears, my fangs extending until they scraped against my bottom lip.

I took a slow, agonizing step toward Aiden, my hands curling into lethal, white-knuckled fists.

"Say that again," I growled, my voice so low and raspy it barely sounded human anymore. "Tell me exactly what that coward said, word for word."

Aiden flinched, his shoulders pulling in as he took a quick step back toward the open doorway. His fingers twitched against his thighs, his eyes darting nervously between my face and the small, still form of Amelia on the hospital bed.

"He... he sent a signed pack scroll with the messenger, Alpha," Aiden stammered, his voice cracking with genuine terror.

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he clutched a piece of dark parchment against his chest like a shield. "Adrian claims we stole his fugitive, and he wants her thrown back across the river before the sun hits the tree line."

"And the children?" I demanded, my chest heaving as my wolf clawed violently at the inside of my ribs.

"He has three of our border guards' children in his dungeon," Aiden whispered, his eyes gleaming with suppressed tears. "The ones who were captured during the border raid last month. He said he will cut their throats one by one on the boundary line if we refuse."

I turned my head slowly, looking back at Amelia's pale, motionless face resting against the crisp white pillows.

Her dark eyelashes cast long, fragile shadows across her hollow cheeks, making her look impossibly small and defenseless. She was paralyzed, her wolf violently ripped away, completely unaware that a war was being fought over her broken body.

If I gave her back to Adrian, she would not survive another single hour in that hellhole.

They would drain whatever faint spark of life she had left, torturing her until her heart gave out completely. But if I kept her here to protect my heavenly mate, three innocent children of my own pack would bleed out in the dirt.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped, frantic beast, tearing me apart from the inside out.

I dragged my hand down my face, my nails digging into my skin as a low, agonizing groan escaped my throat. How could a man be so heartless, so utterly devoid of a soul, to use innocent children as bargaining chips?

Aiden took a tentative step closer, his voice dropping to a desperate, shaking plea. "Alpha... the pack elders are already gathering in the courtyard. The parents of those children are screaming at the gates, begging for their kids back."

I closed my eyes, my breathing shallow and jagged as the weight of an entire pack pressed down on my shoulders.

I walked back over to the edge of the bed, gently picking up Amelia's limp, icy hand in mine once more. I pressed her cold knuckles against my lips, closing my eyes as her fading cosmic energy brushed faintly against my soul.

I just found you, I thought, my heart weeping in silence. I cannot lose you before I even get the chance to give you back your life.

"Gather the elite warriors," I commanded quietly, my voice icy, cold, and devoid of any human warmth.

I laid her hand down gently on the blanket, smoothing the dark hair away from her bandaged forehead with a trembling thumb. "Tell the parents that their children will come home alive today, or I will bring back Adrian's head on a silver spike."

Aiden's eyes widened in sheer shock. "You're going to fight them? But Alpha, our main force is scattered along the northern front!"

"I don't care," I snarled, turning around to face him with my eyes glowing a terrifying, murderous gold.

I brushed past him, my long coat billowing behind me as I stormed down the wide, marble corridor of the clinic. The guards posted along the walls bowed their heads instantly, trembling under the sheer weight of my furious Alpha aura.

I kicked the heavy oak front doors open, stepping out into the blazing, hot afternoon sun.

The main courtyard was absolute chaos, filled with crying mothers, shouting warriors, and anxious pack members pushing against the stone stairs. The moment my boots slammed onto the top step, the loud, frantic noise died down into a suffocating, heavy silence.

Every single pair of eyes locked onto me, searching my face for answers, searching for hope.

A woman rushed forward from the front row, her face stained with fresh, red tears as she threw herself onto her knees at my feet. "Alpha Christian! Please, I beg you!" she sobbed, clutching the bottom of my trousers with trembling hands.

"Please save my little boy!" she pleaded, her voice breaking into frantic, desperate shrieks. "Don't let that monster slaughter my child for a foreign woman!"

My chest tightened until I could barely draw air into my lungs.

I reached down, taking her shaking shoulders and gently pulling her up to her feet. "Your son will sleep in his own bed tonight, Martha. I give you my word as your Alpha."

She sobbed in relief, nodding her head repeatedly as two female warriors stepped forward to lead her back into the crowd.

I raised my head, my gaze sweeping across the hundreds of waiting faces, my voice echoing across the courtyard like rolling thunder. "Load the heavy silver weaponry and march the vanguard to the Falmouth river border right now!"

The crowd erupted into a mixture of fierce, bloodthirsty cheers and frantic, terrified whispers.

I turned back toward the dark entrance of the pack house, my mind racing as I tried to build a strategy out of nothing. I needed a miracle, a tactical advantage that could save the hostages without surrendering Amelia to her executioners.

I marched up the grand staircase, heading straight for my private study to retrieve the ancient maps of the border tunnels.

As I reached the second-floor landing, a sudden, sharp pain exploded inside the left side of my chest.

I gasped violently, my hand flying up to clutch my heart as my knees buckled under the sudden, crushing agony. It felt as though a hot, jagged blade was being slowly turned inside my ribs, slicing through every muscle and vein.