The Hunt Begins

The moment Riven saw blood on the floor something inside him snapped.

Riven stormed into the empty chamber heart pounding like war drums. The broken silver cuff lay twisted on the cold stones next to fresh bloodstains that still gleamed wet under the torchlight. He dropped to one knee fingers brushing the red marks. The bond felt weak and distant but it still pulled alive in his chest like a faint heartbeat.

"He is alive," Riven muttered voice rough with barely controlled rage. "I can still feel him out there."

Thorne and three guards burst through the door weapons already drawn. "Alpha what happened?" Thorne asked breathing hard as he scanned the room.

"Someone took him," Riven said standing fast eyes wild. "He did not leave on his own. Look at the blood and the broken cuff. Get every man up right now. The keep goes on high alert. No one sleeps until we ride."

Guards shouted orders down the halls. Torches flared brighter as warriors scrambled from their beds. Feet pounded on stone stairs and voices echoed through the corridors. The entire keep woke in a storm of noise and movement.

One older warrior pushed forward wiping sleep from his eyes. "Alpha we should wait until morning. The forest is too dangerous at night. We cannot see the threats coming and we risk losing more men."

Riven spun on him eyes blazing with fury. "Morning? He is out there now bleeding and chained somewhere in the dark. We move tonight or I go alone."

The warrior backed up hands raised. "I only meant we need a solid plan Alpha. Charging blind helps no one."

Riven nearly grabbed him by the collar teeth bared. "My plan is to find Lucien before whoever took him breaks him or worse. Do not test me on this."

His wolf raged just under the surface fangs threatening to show. Everyone in the room saw it the way Riven's hands shook and his eyes flashed with raw desperation. The bond had sunk its teeth deep into him changing the iron fisted alpha into something fiercer.

Thorne stepped between them fast placing a firm hand on Riven's chest. "Calm down Riven. We are all with you but we need clear heads if we want to bring him back alive."

"Do not tell me to calm down," Riven growled shoving past him toward the door. "Lucien is gone and every second we waste here could be his last. Saddle the horses load the weapons and gather the best trackers. Now."

Thorne looked shocked at the raw desperation pouring out of his alpha. "I have never seen you like this Riven. Not even in the worst battles. This bond really has you by the throat."

Elder Mara stood quietly in the corner watching everything with sharp eyes. She noticed something strange in Riven's face. He was not only worried about a prisoner. He looked terrified much more than any normal mate bond should cause this soon. She whispered to herself so low no one heard. "Too fast. The merge should not be happening yet."

Lucien woke slowly inside a cold ruined underground temple. His wrists ached from fresh chains that bit into his skin. Strange glowing symbols covered the cracked walls pulsing with faint unnatural light. The damp air smelled of wet earth and ancient stone that had not seen the sky in centuries.

A hooded figure spoke from the deep shadows voice smooth and low like it had waited years to speak. "Welcome home Lucien."

Lucien twisted toward the sound straining against the chains but could not see the face clearly. "Who are you? This is not my home. Where have you brought me?"

The figure laughed softly the sound echoing off the walls. "You will remember soon enough. The blood calls you back."

Lucien noticed another prisoner nearby hidden behind heavy iron bars. The shape stayed mostly still and silent in the darkness but he sensed eyes watching him.

Back at the keep Riven refused to waste another breath. "I go myself. Thorne you ride with me. Pick five good warriors who know how to move quiet. We leave now."

Thorne nodded quickly. "Rowan will join us too. He knows the eastern trails better than most."

Mara stepped forward blocking the doorway for a moment her staff tapping the stone. "Something ancient sleeps beneath these woods Riven. Do not wake it blindly or you may lose more than Lucien."

"Then I will wake it myself if I have to," Riven replied grabbing his sword and cloak. Before they left he picked up Lucien's broken silver cuff and slipped it into his belt. "Hold on traitor. I am coming for you. Do not you dare give up."

The rescue team rode hard into the black forest. Trees whipped past under thin moonlight casting long shadows across the trail. Riven felt flashes through the bond as they pushed deeper. Sharp fear. Deep loneliness. Sudden bursts of pain that made his own side ache.

Suddenly Lucien's voice echoed weak but clear inside his head. "Riven?"

Riven yanked his horse to a stop nearly throwing himself off. "Lucien? Where are you? Talk to me."

"I do not know," Lucien answered through the connection voice strained. "It is dark. Chains again. Symbols on the walls."

"Stay awake," Riven said out loud voice urgent and rough. "Fight whatever they give you. I am coming for you right now. Hold on."

"Trying," Lucien replied fading. The link broke leaving Riven breathing hard and gripping the reins until his knuckles turned white.

Thorne rode up beside him eyes wide with disbelief. "You spoke to him? Just now through the bond?"

"He is scared," Riven said jaw tight as he kicked his horse forward again. "I felt all of it. Fear loneliness pain. We push harder. No slowing down."

Thorne studied his alpha for a long moment as they rode. "This is no longer hatred between you two is it? I see it in your face."

Riven did not answer but the truth hung heavy between them as they raced on.

Deep in the temple Lucien turned toward the hidden prisoner behind the bars. "Who are you? Can you hear me over there? Say something."

The stranger shifted closer to the iron bars and laughed softly voice tired but carrying a strange familiarity. "You are Lucien Vale. I have waited a long time to meet you."

Lucien tensed every muscle going tight. "How do you know my name? Who told you?"

The figure moved into a patch of faint light. "Someone who survived the experiments same as you. They thought they broke us but here we are."

Lucien froze cold spreading through him. Mara had said only one child survived. This stranger proved her words wrong and opened doors he did not want to look behind.

Meanwhile Riven's group reached an abandoned shrine deep in the woods where the trees grew twisted and old. Fresh tracks marked the snow around the ruins. Thorne knelt low to study them closely and his face went pale in the moonlight. "These footprints. Impossible. They do not make sense."

Riven swung down from his horse and looked down. Six claw marks pressed deep into the ground. Not four like normal wolves. Not five. Six clear and unnatural.

Thorne whispered voice shaking as he traced one mark with his finger. "I saw these once before. The night your father died. Same pattern. Same impossible size."

Far underground the hooded figure finally stepped fully into the torchlight revealing a tall form wrapped in dark robes. Lucien's eyes widened in shock. Around the stranger's neck hung the exact same wolf shaped ring Rowan had worn before he died.

The figure smiled slowly eyes gleaming. "Tell me Lucien. Do you remember your sister?"