Elara 2

Late autumn had brought colder temperatures than the previous year. Gareth Grimshaw—the Alpha of Silverhollow—was conducting a routine inspection along the border with his trusted Beta, Cole Hunter.

“Alpha, you should get some rest and let me handle the patrol tonight,” Cole suggested, matching his Alpha’s stride.

Gareth ignored the suggestion and continued along the border. But suddenly, he stopped when a faint disturbance in the air caught his attention.

“Alpha?” Cole stopped as well, his expression turning concerned as he looked at his Alpha.

“Did you hear that, Cole?” Gareth turned to him, merely wanting to confirm that his Beta had heard what he had.

Cole sharpened his hearing.

But there was too much noise around them—the chirping of crickets, the calls of nocturnal animals, and the rustling of leaves stirred by the cold wind.

“Did you hear some kind of commotion coming from the neutral zone, Alpha?” Cole asked in return. As a Beta, his hearing was nowhere near as sharp as his Alpha’s.

If the disturbance really was coming from the neutral zone—a territory with no ruler, often used as a refuge by exiled rogues and werewolves seeking to live in isolation—then it was none of their concern.

Gareth tried to ignore it.

Whatever happened in the neutral zone was governed by the law of the wild.

Yet the closer Gareth came to the border, the stronger the strange sensation pressing against his chest became.

A wave of emotions suddenly flooded his senses—bone-deep exhaustion, profound despair, and a seething rage that burned so fiercely it seemed to seep into his very soul.

What the hell is happening to me? Am I simply too exhausted after crushing the rebels in the north yesterday? Gareth wondered, his mind filled with questions.

Help!

A faint cry from a woman suddenly echoed through his consciousness.

Gareth wasn't using the mindlink. Cole couldn't hear his thoughts either.

So how could that unfamiliar scream strike his mind with such force?

“Are you sure you didn't hear that?” Gareth asked Cole again.

His Beta only stared at him in confusion.

Without sparing Cole another thought, Gareth shot forward, racing through the dense forest until he reached the very edge of the Silverhollow border.

A few hundred meters ahead, a petite, disheveled young woman in tattered clothes was running for her life. Three heavily built rogues, their bodies reeking with the foul stench of exiles, had surrounded her and were trying to violate her.

Gareth dug his claws into the earth. A low growl rumbled deep in his throat, betraying an unease he rarely experienced. Yet his instincts as a leader kept him from recklessly crossing the boundary.

“Alpha?” Cole arrived at his side, his eyes fixed on the scene unfolding before them.

“The moment that woman crosses our border, I’ll save her,” Gareth growled coldly.

Cole didn't dare argue.

The girl kept running with whatever strength she had left. Even Gareth could clearly hear her labored, ragged breathing.

Crack!

One of the rogues hurled a stone. It struck the back of the girl’s head, sending her stumbling forward before she collapsed face-first onto the ground—across the boundary separating the Neutral Zone from Silverhollow.

Gareth remained motionless for a moment, his gaze locked on the scene.

His target was clear.

It wasn't the girl.

It was the hunters.

This wasn't about turning a blind eye to injustice. It was about the territorial laws he had sworn to uphold—laws that could not be violated if he wanted to protect Silverhollow.

“One more step…” Gareth murmured, his voice carrying a deadly warning.

The instant one of the rogues stepped across the Silverhollow boundary, the wolf inside Gareth exploded into action.

CRASH!

In the blink of an eye, Gareth’s human form gave way to a massive black wolf that lunged forward with savage fury. His claws and fangs tore through the trespassers.

Two rogues died instantly, never even realizing what had attacked them.

The third rogue watched in horror as his companions were slaughtered with a single swipe. He let out a terrified scream before turning and fleeing across the border as fast as his legs could carry him.

Once the brief battle was over, Gareth shifted back into his human form.

He approached the unfamiliar girl lying weakly on the damp ground.

Her face was streaked with blood and sweat. Strands of matted hair obscured part of her features, while several scratches across her skin had darkened beneath the dried blood.

But none of that was what caught Gareth’s attention.

A unique scent drifted from the girl’s body—a fragrance that stirred something strange and restless within Gareth’s wolf.

“Call Maeve to my castle,” Gareth ordered without turning around.

“Alpha, you intend to save her?” Cole eyed the unconscious girl suspiciously. “We don’t know who she is. For all we know, she could be a spy sent by Redlake or Blackridge.”

“Then what do you expect me to do? Leave her here to die?” Gareth shot him a cold, piercing look.

Cole’s suspicion was perfectly reasonable. As the Alpha of Silverhollow, surrounded by enemies on all sides, Gareth could not afford to be careless.

But there was no way he could tell Cole about the strange pull he felt toward this girl.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before—not even with either of his late wives.

“Call Maeve and tell her to meet us in the dungeon,” Gareth ordered firmly, making his decision about where the girl would be taken.

“Let me carry her back to the castle.”

Cole bent down, preparing to lift the unconscious girl, but Gareth stopped him.

“I’ll do it. Go. Make sure she doesn’t die before we have a chance to interrogate her,” Gareth commanded.

Without another word of protest, Cole shifted into his wolf form and raced away to carry out his Alpha’s orders.

Once Cole disappeared into the darkness, Gareth bent down and gathered the girl into his arms.

She was astonishingly light—so light that he could barely feel her weight.

She was far too weak to even lift her eyelids.

Gareth carried her to the dungeon hidden deep within his residence. It was secure, easy to monitor, and offered little chance of escape should Cole’s suspicions prove correct.

He carefully laid her down on the rough straw bedding, then studied her pale face and the injuries covering her body. For a while, the Alpha simply stood there in silence.

There was no sign that the girl was pretending.

Her breathing was far too soft and steady for someone faking unconsciousness. Her fear was genuine, her injuries severe, and her body had clearly been pushed to the very limits of its endurance.

Gareth finally acknowledged the one thing he had been trying to dismiss all along.

This girl was truly a victim.

And somehow, that realization made something inside the Alpha’s chest churn with even greater fury—especially when the memory of those rogues nearly laying their hands on her flashed through his mind again.