Chapter 26: A Trap

KADE

"If they attack from the east, we're vulnerable here." Marcus pointed to the map spread on the table, "We need more archers."

I studied the marked positions, calculating angles and distances. "We don't have enough skilled archers, most of our fighters are combat specialists."

"Then we'll train them fast."

It was past midnight, we'd been reviewing defensive strategies for hours, making adjustments, preparing for every possible scenario. The compound had transformed over the past few days, walls reinforced, weapons distributed, patrol routes established.

We were as ready as we could be but would it be enough against an army three times our size?

"Take a break," I told Marcus. "You're not thinking clearly anymore."

"Neither are you." He leaned back in his chair studying me, "You keep looking at that window."

I didn't deny it. From here, I could see across the compound to where Sera's room was located.

"She's resting," I said, "like I told her to."

"Good, she'll need her strength." Marcus rolled up the map, "We all will."

After he left, I walked through the quiet compound, guards nodded as I passed. The night patrol was alert, professional, everything was running smoothly but tension was in the air like smoke, everyone felt it.

I found myself near the main house, looking up at Sera's window, the candle still burned. Was she awake? Unable to sleep despite exhaustion?

I wanted to check on her, wanted to..

I stopped that thought, she was resting.

The days passed in focused preparation, Sera trained hard but also took breaks, ate properly, slept when she needed to. She was stronger now, more controlled. The panic and fear from weeks ago had transformed into quiet determination.

She was ready or as ready as anyone could be for what was coming.

I turned to head back to my office when shouting erupted from the gates.

My wolf surged forward immediately. I was running before conscious thought, Marcus appearing from somewhere behind me.

"What's happening?" I demanded as I reached the gates.

"Someone's here," the guard captain said. "Came stumbling out of the forest Injured, she's asking for Sera."

"She?"

"A young woman, says her name is Maya."

Ice flooded my veins. Maya, Sera's best friend who'd visited weeks ago to warn her about Vivian.

"Let her in," I ordered. "Careful, she could be followed."

The gates opened, two guards half carried a figure through.

Maya looked nothing like the confident young woman who'd visited before. Her clothes were torn and bloodied, bruises covered her face and arms. She could barely walk, leaning heavily on the guards.

"Sera," she gasped. "I need... Sera..."

"Get Elena," I told Marcus, and wake Sera. Tell her Maya's here."

They laid Maya on the ground carefully. Her breathing was shallow, pained, one eye was swollen, and blood on her hair.

"Maya," I said, crouching beside her. "What happened? Who did this?"

"They... they took us..." Her good eye focused on me with difficulty. "Two days... I escaped but.."

"Slow down," I said, though urgency clawed at me. "Who took you?"

"Maya!"

Sera appeared, running across the compound in her night clothes, her hair loose. She dropped to her knees beside her friend.

"Oh gods, Maya, what happened to you?"

Elena arrived with her medical bag, immediately beginning to examine Maya's injuries.

"Broken lips," Elena muttered. "Possible concussion, multiple contusions." She looked at me, "We need to get her to the clinic now."

Guards lifted Maya carefully. We moved quickly to the clinic, Sera holding her friend's hand the entire way.

Once Maya was on a bed, Elena worked efficiently, cleaning wounds, checking for internal injuries, administering pain medicine.

"She'll live," Elena said finally, "but she needs rest. Whatever happened to her, it was brutal."

"Maya," Sera said gently, leaning close. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Maya's good eye opened, finding Sera's face. Tears leaked out.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I tried to stop them, I fought but…"

"Who?" I demanded, moving closer. "Who did this?"

"They came three days ago," Maya said, her voice weak. "To my house, looking for... for information about you." She looked at Sera, "about where you were, what you were planning."

My hands clenched, "Council?"

"I didn't tell them anything," Maya continued. "So they took me and they took Lila."

The name hit the room like a physical force.

"Lila?" Sera's voice cracked. "My sister? They took my sister?"

"We were held together," Maya said, tears flowing freely now. "In some building, dark, cold, they kept asking questions, hurting us when we wouldn't answer."

Sera's hand was shaking as she gripped Maya's. "Where is she? Where's Lila?"

"Still there." Maya tried to sit up, gasped in pain, fell back. "I managed to escape through a window, ran for two days straight, came here because... because I didn't know where else to go. You're the only one strong enough to help her."

"Where is she being held?" I asked, forcing myself to stay calm even as rage built inside me. "What location?"

"Old warehouse, east of Silvermoon territory, near the border." Maya's breathing was getting more labored. "But Kade...I think it's a trap. They probably wanted me to lead them here or... or lead Sera there."

"Who?" Sera's voice was barely controlled. "Who has my sister?"

Maya's good eye locked onto Sera's face. Fear flickered there, mixed with pain and exhaustion.

"It was…"

Her eyes rolled back, she went limp.

"Maya!" Sera grabbed her shoulders. "Maya, wake up!"

Elena pushed Sera aside gently, checking Maya's pulse. "She's passed out, between the injuries and the pain medication, her body shut down. She needs rest."

"Wake her up," Sera demanded. "She has to tell us who.."

"I can't," Elena said firmly. "Her body can't take any more trauma right now, she'll wake when she's ready."

Sera stood abruptly, silver light beginning to glow around her clenched fists. "My sister is being held captive, we need to know who has her."

"We'll figure it out," I said, though my mind was already racing through possibilities. Clearwater? Vivian? Someone else?

"How?" Sera turned to me, her eyes wild with fear and fury. "How do we figure it out when Maya's unconscious and Lila is.." Her voice broke. "She's just a girl, she's innocent, why would they take her?"

"To get to you," Marcus said quietly from the doorway. "To lure you out or force you to trade yourself."

This was the move we'd been waiting for but not like this, not Lila.

"I'm going after her," Sera said, her voice hardening. "As soon as Maya wakes and tells us where.."

"It's a trap," I interrupted. "Maya said so herself."

"I don't care."

"Sera.."

"She's my sister!" The windows rattled with the force of her power. "I'm not leaving her with whoever took her, I'm not.." She stopped, breathing hard, fighting for control.

I wanted to pull her close, wanted to promise we'd save Lila but I couldn't make promises I might not be able to keep.

"We'll get her back," I said instead. "But we do it smartly, we wait for Maya to wake, get the information we need then we make a plan."

"And if Maya doesn't wake for hours? Days?" Sera's eyes were bright with unshed tears. "What happens to Lila while we wait?"

I had no answer for that.

Marcus stepped forward. "I'll double the scouts, see if we can find this warehouse Maya mentioned."

"Do it," I said.

Sera sank into the chair beside Maya's bed, her head in her hands. The silver light around her flickered and died.

"Who would take her?" she whispered. "Who?"

I stood behind her, close but not touching. Wanting to comfort her but not knowing how.

Maya lay unconscious on the bed, the answer locked behind her closed eyes and somewhere out there, Lila was being held captive by someone who wanted Sera badly enough to use an innocent girl as bait.