Chapter Four.

Sierralya

Kael hit the top of the dungeon stairs with me close behind him, Darius dragging up the rear. No one looked good. Everyone looked like they’d pushed past whatever limit they were supposed to have.

Torin was waiting by the door. There was blood on him somewhere—his cheek, maybe his arm. It was hard to tell. He grinned anyway.

“Took you long enough.”

“Status?” Kael asked.

“Brenner and Ren are holding the corridor,” Torin said. “For now. But the palace is waking up. Fast.”

Kael glanced back at me. Pale. Too pale. I was on my feet, but just barely.

“Can you run?”

I didn’t hesitate. “I can do whatever I have to.”

That wasn't just confidence, it was determination. Kael nodded once.

“Path?” he asked.

“Servant passages. East wing. There’s a window. Drops into the gardens. After that, straight for the forest.”

“They’ll have archers.”

Torin shrugged. “Then we move fast.”

Kael turned back to me. “Stay close. Don’t stop. If I move, you move.”

I nodded.

“Darius?”

The old wolf bared his teeth in something that might have been a smile. “I didn’t wait twenty years to stop now, pup.”

We moved.

The halls blurred together. Narrow corridors meant for servants, not nobles. Low ceilings. Back stairs worn smooth by feet no one ever noticed. Tapestries lined the walls—White Wolf kings, battles, victories. I didn’t look at them. I could feel their eyes anyway.

We turned a corner and ran straight into a line of guards.

Six of them.

Everything stalled.

“Surrender the princess!” the captain barked. “By order of King Aldric!”

My heart slammed into my ribs. I knew him. Captain Roran. He’d been there forever. In the halls. At court. At my mother’s funeral.

Now he looked at me like I was a problem that needed solving.

Kael shifted slightly, placing himself in front of me without looking back.

“Stay behind me,” he said.

Roran’s gaze flicked to Kael. “Black Wolf Alpha. You’ve made a very serious mistake coming here.”

Kael’s mouth curved, just a little. “Have I?”

“The princess belongs to the White Wolves.”

“She belongs to no one!” He said, his voice like thunder.

Roran’s jaw tightened. “Last chance. Hand her over.”

“Try it.”

Everything exploded.

Steel rang. Someone shouted. Someone screamed. I didn’t see who fell first. Kael grabbed my arm and yanked me forward before I could think.

“Go.”

Torin and Brenner hit the guards hard. Too fast to follow. Blades clashed. Sparks flew. The formation broke apart into chaos and noise and snarls.

Then we were past it.

We reached the window.

“Down,” Torin said. “Now.”

I looked at the drop and swallowed. “I’ve never”

“I’ve got you,” Kael said. He didn’t wait. He went first, one hand gripping stone, the other locked around my waist.

I clung to him. I didn’t open my eyes.

We hit the ground hard.

“Move.”

We ran.

Across gardens. Over stone paths. Through hedges that tore at my sleeves. Fountains blurred past. My lungs burned. My legs screamed. I didn’t stop.

Behind us alarms. Torches. Shouting. The palace was fully awake now.

Ahead trees. Darkness. Something like freedom.

King Aldric

Aldric slammed his fist against the balcony railing. The railing cracked. Smoke rose from the courtyard, curling in the torchlight. Pieces of marble lay broken on the ground.

“The princess… she’s gone?” His voice shook.

The aide stuttered. “They… went through the east wing, Your Majesty. The Black Wolves—”

“They?” Aldric’s jaw tightened. His stomach twisted with anger.

He turned, struggling to keep control. “Go. Now. Find her. Don’t let her reach the forest. Bring her back… alive.”

The messengers ran. Aldric looked over the courtyard, the walls, the shards of marble. His thoughts were a mess. The prophecy he had tried to ignore, the power he had tried to hold, it all felt out of reach.

He breathed hard. “Hunters. All loyal packs. Surround the forest. Every path. Do not fail me.”

Torches flared. Horns sounded. Aldric shouted again, harsher this time. “Move! Every wolf, every guard, bring her back!”

Sierralya

We crashed into the forest.

Kael didn’t slow until the palace lights were distant and broken apart by branches.

Then he stopped.

Everyone was there. Brenner and Ren had caught up, breathing hard, weapons still drawn.

Kael turned to me. “Sierralya”

“I’m fine,” I said automatically, and then my knees buckled.

He caught me. Again. This time he didn’t just steady me. He lifted me up, arms firm around me.

“I can walk”

“No,” he said. “You can’t.”

I didn’t argue.

Through the bond, I felt Kael's constant awareness of me. His readiness to catch me if I fell. His determination to get me to safety.

But also, his plan.

Something he wasn't sharing.

What are you hiding? I wanted to ask.

But I had no breath for questions.

We stopped beneath a cluster of old trees. Someone laid out a bedroll. Kael set me down carefully.

“You need water,” he said. “Food.”

“I need answers.” I looked up at him. “What happens now?”

“Now we…”

“Kael,” Torin said. “Listen.”

Silence. Then a howl.

Another.

More after that.

“White Wolves,” Darius said. “Hunting party.”

“How many?” Ren asked.

Kael listened, head tilted. “Fifteen or more.”

I pushed myself upright. “They’re coming for me.”

Torin looked at me. “Of course they are.”

“I didn’t ask for this”

“Doesn’t matter,” Torin said. “You’re here now.”

“Enough,” Kael snapped.

Torin didn’t stop. “We broke into Moonveil. Pulled out a prisoner. Risked our best infiltrators. Now we’re being hunted. For her.”

Torin stepped closer. “Or is the bond thinking for you?”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Kael’s jaw tightened. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Answer him,” Darius said quietly.

Kael exhaled. “She’s my mate, and… the prophecy,” he said, his voice low.

Darius nodded slowly. “Then understand this—the prophecy isn’t just about peace.”

I swallowed. “Then what is it?”

He spoke the words like a prayer long forgotten:

“When the White Wolf wakes, the divided must kneel;

one bound by fate will fall. From that loss, the empire will be remade.”

“Cost,” Darius said. “And choices no one wants.”

“What cost?” I asked.

"That is something you will have to discover yourself. When the time comes."

Another howl cut closer.

“We move,” Brenner said.

We did.

I stayed close to Kael. Sometimes I ran. Sometimes I leaned on him without realizing it.

Behind us, the forest filled with noise.

Then torchlight broke through the trees.

I stopped.

A familiar figure stepped forward, silver armor catching the light.

Keholts.

My brother.

And the one leading the hunt.