Chapter 5: The Lion's Den

I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally slapping myself for the sudden wave of sympathy I had felt for the man sitting across from me.

He is an Alpha King; I am a hunted Erias. Understanding his childhood trauma didn't change the fact that he was currently carting me off to his fortress like a prized possession.

The carriage lurched violently to a halt. Outside, the synchronized, booming sound of iron-rimmed wheels against stone echoed through the air.

"We are inside the outer gates," Darius announced, his hands instantly dropping away from Sarlen's chest. The faint, blue healing light that had been stabilizing my father's shallow breathing fizzled out into nothingness.

"Your Majesty, the council elders are already waiting in the courtyard. They felt the Erias shift wave through the network. They know." A guard spoke by the door of the carriage.

Rowan’s jaw set into a hard line of granite. The vulnerability I had witnessed just minutes ago vanished behind an unyielding mask of absolute royal authority.

"Let them wait. Darius, take Sarlen through the servant's tunnels straight to the medical wing. If he dies, your head will be on the courtyard floor."

"Understood, Sire."

The carriage doors flew open, and a blast of bitter, high-altitude wind rushed inside, whipping my hair across my face. I saw two massive, armored guards move with cold efficiency, lifting Sarlen’s stretcher out into the dark.

"Father!" I scrambled forward, trying to climb out after them, but Rowan’s broad hand wrapped around my forearm.

The moment his bare skin touched mine, a violent, blinding spark of electricity shot up my spine. My inner wolf purred, throwing herself against my ribs, begging me to lean into his heat.

I hated her.

I ripped my arm out of his grip, glaring at him with pure venom.

"He is running out of time, Adele," Rowan said, his voice dropping into a low, commanding vibration that sent shivers down my neck.

"If the elders see a dying human healer in the royal courtyard, they will suspect your identity and try to stop you before you even cross the threshold.

Stay beside me and keep my cloak wrapped tight. Do not speak to anyone."

I looked at the thick, black fur cloak still draped over my bare shoulders, smelling heavily of his intoxicating scent. I had no clothes, no weapons, and my only ally was being carried into a fortress of monsters.

I never had a choice.

"If he dies in your medical wing, King Rowan," I whispered, stepping out of the carriage onto the ice, "I will ensure your madness takes you completely."

Rowan didn't flinch. He stepped beside me, his towering, muscular frame completely blocking the biting wind.

The courtyard of the Obsidian Stronghold was a militaristic nightmare. It was huge, with jagged columns of black volcanic stone covering the perimeter; they were lit by towering cauldrons of roaring green fire.

Hundreds of wolves stood in rigid, silent formations along the stone walls, their eyes tracking our every movement.

But it was the group standing at the base of the grand staircase that made my blood run entirely to ice.

A silver-haired, imposing man dressed in pristine silk robes stood with his arms crossed, flanked by an entourage of heavily armed warriors. Beside him stood a stunningly beautiful young woman with dark hair styled into intricate warrior braids and cold, calculating green eyes.

Who are they?

The rogue’s dying words echoed through my brain like a death knell: Elder Eric paid us... he said the Erias girl was worth millions alive.

"King Rowan!" the Elder’s booming voice cut through the courtyard, and he continued speaking as he came closer, "the entire spiritual network vibrated with a pure, golden alpha shift two hours ago. We believed the rogues were attacking the border, yet you return with... a stray?"

His piercing gray eyes darted over Rowan's shoulder, landing directly on me. I instinctively shrunk back, pulling the heavy black cloak tighter around my neck to hide the golden shimmer of my hair.

The lady beside him stepped forward, her gaze on the blood staining Rowan’s shirt, then dropping to the hem of the royal cloak dragging around my bare feet. A vicious, ugly flash of jealousy contorted her perfect features.

"Why is she wearing your royal crest, Your Majesty?" Theresa demanded, her voice high and sharp.

"The council has already drafted our mating announcement for the pack-wide summit tomorrow.

Surely, you didn't bring a nameless, blood-soaked human peasant into the royal wing."

"She is not nameless, Theresa," Rowan growled, stepping directly in front of me, his massive shoulders completely cutting off their view of my body. "And Elder Eric, she is not a peasant. She is under my direct protection."

"Protection from what?" Elder Eric narrowed his eyes, taking a slow, predatory step forward. He sniffed the air aggressively.

Because I had spent ten years drinking the silver suppression tonic, my natural scent was a chaotic mess—part human, part hidden alpha, part toxic herbs. It confused him. "She smells of wolfsbane and copper. Rowan, what are you hiding?"

"I hide nothing from my pack, Eric," Rowan spat, the raw, suffocating pressure of his True Alpha status exploding outward from his frame.

The sheer power of his aura made the surrounding guards drop to one knee, their armor clattering against the ice. "But I am the King, and I do not answer to the council regarding who sleeps in my quarters."

Theresa gasped, her face flushing with humiliation. "Rowan, you can't mean—"

"Move," Rowan commanded, not letting her finish.

He grabbed my hand, his fingers locking tightly with mine. The renewed jolt of energy sparked between our palms, but this time, it felt like a lifeline against the predatory glares of the elders.

He dragged me past Eric and Theresa, marching up the grand stone steps with a speed that made my breath catch.

As we crossed the threshold into the dark, echoing grand hall, I risked a single glance back over my shoulder.

Elder Eric was staring straight at me. He wasn't looking at me like a stranger; his gaze had a predatory taint similar to the rogues that attacked us.

"He knows," I whispered frantically as Rowan slammed the heavy, iron-reinforced oak doors of the royal suite behind us.

"Rowan, Eric knows what I am. He masterminded the attack on my father and me, and now I am locked inside his territory."

Rowan turned to face me, his breathing shallow and erratic. He was turning manic again. His eyes were completely gone, replaced by a swirling, terrifying void of blood-red madness.

He staggered backward against the stone wall, his hands clawing at his own chest as if trying to rip something out of his lungs.

"Adele..." he groaned, a guttural, monstrous sound tearing from his throat as he dropped to his knees.

Before I could move, a frantic fist slammed against the wooden door from the adjacent corridor.

"Your Majesty! Healer Darius sent me!" a servant screamed from the hallway. "The human... his heart has just stopped! He is dying right now!"

My world splintered into pieces. Sarlen was dying, and the only man who could keep me safe from Eric was actively turning into a mindless, rabid beast right in front of my eyes.