Chapter 6: I'm Not Going Anywhere

Samantha POV

The blade caught the light, and I knew I was going to die.

Ranulf stood over me with the dagger raised, his grey eyes empty of anything but cold resolve. The guards held my arms pinned behind my back, their fingers digging into my wrists hard enough to leave bruises. I could not move. I could not run. I could not fight.

But I could lift my chin.

I met his gaze without flinching. If this was to be my last moment, I would not spend it begging. I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. I had spent five years being called worthless, being told I had no honor, no courage, no place among wolves.

But I knew the truth now. I had faced a cursed king and calmed him. I had touched a monster and found a man beneath. I had survived this cell, this darkness, this slow dying of hope.

I was not worthless.

Ranulf's arm drew back.

And the wall exploded inward.

Stone shattered. Dust billowed. The guards holding me screamed and released me, stumbling backward as a massive shape hurtled through the gap. Dark fur. Crimson eyes. Jaws lined with fangs that gleamed like daggers.

Maddox.

The wolf landed between me and Ranulf, his body a wall of muscle and fury. His hackles were raised. A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the cell, so deep I felt it in my chest.

He was enormous, larger than I remembered, his black fur bristling with barely contained rage. But his eyes when they found mine flickered from crimson to gold.

He was here. He had found me.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to fall to my knees and sob with relief. But there was no time.

Ranulf stumbled back, his dagger still raised, his face drained of color. "Maddox. Nephew. This is not what it looks like."

The wolf did not answer. He lunged.

The first guard flew across the cell and slammed into the far wall with a sickening crack. The second guard tried to run, but Maddox was faster. His massive paw caught the man's leg, and he went down hard, his sword clattering across the stone floor.

Then the wolf turned to Ranulf.

"You cannot touch me," Ranulf said, backing toward the hole in the wall, his voice shaking. "I am your uncle. Your blood. You obey me. You have always obeyed me."

Maddox's lips peeled back from his fangs.

"I raised you," Ranulf continued, desperate now. "I ruled in your place. I kept your kingdom safe while you drowned in madness. You owe me everything."

The wolf lunged.

His paw connected with Ranulf's chest with a force that lifted the older man off his feet. I heard ribs crack. I saw the dagger spin from his hand and clatter against the stone.

Ranulf flew backward through the shattered wall and landed in the corridor beyond, crumpled and unconscious, his grey eyes closed, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.

Silence.

The wolf stood over the gap, his sides heaving, his fur still bristling. Blood dripped from his muzzle, but none of it was his own. He turned slowly, his crimson eyes scanning the cell, the fallen guards, the scattered chains.

Then his gaze found me.

The transformation came faster than I had ever seen. Bones shifted. Fur receded. Muscles contorted and reformed. Within seconds, the wolf was gone, and Maddox knelt before me in his human form, naked and trembling and covered in dust and blood.

His eyes were gold again. Soft. Wet with tears he was not trying to hide.

"Samantha."

He said my name like a prayer. Like a confession. Like the only word that had ever mattered.

I crossed the distance between us and threw myself into his arms.

He caught me. His body was warm against mine, his skin slick with sweat and blood, his arms wrapping around me so tightly I could barely breathe. I buried my face in his neck and sobbed. I had held myself together for so long.

Through the cell, through the darkness, through the moment I thought the blade would fall. But now, with his heart pounding against my chest and his hands fisted in the back of my ragged shift, I let myself break.

"I knew you would come," I whispered against his skin. "I knew it. I never stopped believing."

He pulled back just enough to look at my face. His hands cupped my cheeks, his thumbs brushing away my tears. His own face was streaked with them.

"I am sorry," he said, his voice raw. "I am so sorry it took me so long. I should have found you sooner. I should have torn down every wall the moment you disappeared. I should have"

"You are here now." I placed my fingers over his lips, silencing him. "That is all that matters."

He pressed his forehead to mine, and we stayed like that for a long moment, breathing the same air, feeling the same heartbeat. The bond between us, so faint and flickering in the darkness of the cell, blazed back to life. Warm. Electric. Unbreakable.

A small sound came from the corridor. I looked up and saw Tori standing in the shadows, her hands pressed over her mouth, her eyes shining with tears. She was trembling, but she was smiling.

I mouthed the words thank you.

She nodded once, then slipped away before the guards arrived.

They came in a rush, boots pounding against the stone, swords drawn. But when they saw Ranulf unconscious in the corridor and the King kneeling in the rubble with his arms around me, they stopped. They lowered their weapons. They understood.

"Take him," Maddox said, gesturing toward Ranulf without looking away from me. "Chain him in the dungeon. He will stand trial for treason."

The guards moved quickly, lifting Ranulf's limp body and carrying him away. His grey eyes fluttered once, twice, but he did not wake. I watched him go and felt nothing but cold satisfaction.

Maddox stood slowly, pulling me with him. My legs were unsteady, but his arm around my waist kept me upright.

"What will happen to him?" I asked, looking up at my mate.

"He will be judged. Severely." Maddox's jaw tightened. "He imprisoned you. He lied to me. He tried to kill you. There is no forgiveness for that. Not from me. Not from the law."

I nodded. It was more than he deserved.

Maddox turned to face me fully, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. His thumb traced the line of my cheekbone, gentle despite everything. His eyes searched my face as if memorizing every detail.

"You are hurt," he said, noticing the bandage on my wrist.

"I will heal."

"You are exhausted."

"I will rest."

"You are safe." His voice broke on the last word. "You are safe now, Samantha. I swear it."

I reached up and touched his face, feeling the roughness of his jaw, the warmth of his skin. He looked as exhausted as I felt, dark circles beneath his eyes, his body covered in bruises and cuts I had not noticed before.

The curse was still there, lurking beneath the surface. I could see it in the way his hands trembled, in the flicker of red that sometimes bled into his gold eyes.

"We both need to heal," I said softly. "We both need to rest. We will take care of each other now."

His eyes glistened. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, soft and lingering.

"Together," he whispered.

"Together," I agreed.

He pulled me close again, and I let myself sink into his warmth. The cell was cold and dark, the rubble still scattered across the floor, the scent of blood still heavy in the air. But none of it touched us. We were wrapped in each other, in the bond that had survived imprisonment and lies and the blade that had nearly ended me.

Hand in hand, we walked out of the cell.

The corridors felt different now. Brighter somehow, though the torches burned the same as always. The guards we passed bowed their heads. The servants who saw us smiled. Word was spreading. The King had found his mate. The curse had not won.

Maddox led me up the stairs, his hand never leaving mine. We climbed past the kitchens and the storage rooms, past the places where the walls were bare stone and the shadows pressed close. Each step felt like leaving the nightmare behind.

When we finally reached his chambers, he pushed open the door and guided me inside. The fire had been lit. The bed was turned down. Fresh linens and a basin of water waited on the table.

He turned to face me, his golden eyes soft.

"Stay with me tonight," he said. Not a command. A question.

I smiled and laced my fingers through his.

"I am not going anywhere."

We climbed into bed together, our bodies exhausted, our hearts full. He pulled me against his chest, and I felt the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my ear. The bond hummed between us, warm and alive, a thread that would never break again.

For the first time in days, I was not afraid.

For the first time in years, I was home.