Chapter Six.

Dawn came, and the neutral territory checkpoint emerged from the mist like a ghost, a watchtower used to mark the border between territories.

“We rest here, two hours, then we continue moving."Kael said.

I agreed without hesitation.

Two hours wouldn't be enough, I could see it in the way Kael's shoulders dropped. His jaw was clenched too tightly, his breathing low. He was hurting, though he would never admit it.

Darius rested his back against the tower wall with a grunt. "Your father will hear you escaped within the hour."

"I do know that."

Darius’s eyes stayed sharp, even though exhaustion weighed on him. “You do not understand. King Aldric doesn’t just react, he is backed with actions. And when a White Wolf Princess vanishes with a Black Wolf Alpha… he won’t let it pass quietly. He is going to make a display everyone in the empire will remember.”

The words hung in the air like smoke.

"We'll be in Black Wolf territory by dusk, if there are no interruptions” said Kael.

Darius said quietly, "Some of us will die, and some of them will die. Now the question you'll have to answer, Alpha, is how many lives your mate is worth."

Kael's hand went to his blade. "Careful, old wolf."

"I'm not questioning your choice." Darius's voice was steady. "I'm warning you that others will. Fear and greed will always find a way to creep in, even in the strongest pack."

Before Kael could respond, a low whistle cut through the air; everyone stood still. Kael removed his blade from its sheath in one fluid motion. "Torin?"

There was another whistle. Closer. Wrong pattern.

"Trackers," Darius breathed. "They found us."

"Impossible." "We covered our—"

An arrow hit with a sound like a snapped branch—wet, final. Kael spun, red blooming across his shoulder, and went down hard.

Men rushed from the tree line—mercenaries by the look of them, mismatched armor and hungry looking eyes. Not royal guards.

Bounty hunters.

Darius moved with extreme speed for his age, blocking the first attacker with a savage efficiency that spoke of decades of survival. But there were too many. Six. Eight. More were emerging from the forest.

Kael was back on his feet, blood gushing from his shoulder. He cut down the nearest mercenary.

A mercenary broke through Kael's guard, his blade aimed at Kael's abdomen —

I didn't think. My hand shot out—

Reality seemed to shift, and my unseen force violently threw the attacker into a tree, killing or completely disabling him.

The mercenaries froze. One dropped his blade.

I stared at my hand, trembling with fear. "I didn't—I don't—"

"Run!"

The remaining mercenaries fled in fear after my sudden show of power, crashing through the underbrush in their haste to escape. The forest felt quiet, broken only by our breathing and the drip of blood on stone.

Darius spoke first. "Well… That's new."

My legs gave out. "What did I do? What was that?"

"Power," Kael said, despite the blood loss, and the arrow still on his shoulder, his voice carried something that might have been pride. "Your power."

"I could have killed him."

"You probably did." Kael winced, pressing a hand on his wound. "It was impressive."

"This isn't good! I don't know how I did it. I can't control it. What if I—"

"Sierralya." Kael's hand found my shoulder, his hand felt warm and steady.

"Breathe."

I forced air into my lungs. Once. Twice. "Better."

My focus snapped to the arrow protruding from his shoulder.

"We need to remove it," Darius said, already moving toward us.

My hand hovered over the injury, I'll do it. I gripped the arrow shaft with both hands and pulled it out.

He didn't scream. Didn't make a sound. Just went rigid,

The arrow fell. Blood gushed out from his wound, I wrapped his shoulders with strips torn from my clothes.

The wound still looked angry, but the bleeding slowed.

Our eyes met. "You're staring."

A smile tugged from his mouth. "Thank you. For saving my life."

"You saved mine first. In the dungeon."

“I just fought a lot of guards." His smile faded. "What you did back there... Sierralya, that kind of power doesn't come from nowhere."

"The prophecy, whatever I'm supposed to become, it's starting, isn't it?"

"Maybe." Kael looked at me for some time. "Or maybe you're just stronger than anyone realized. Including your father."

"My father." The word tasted bitter.

Darius stepped away clearing his throat. "As touching as this is, we need to move. Where there are eight mercenaries, there are likely more. And now your father knows exactly where you are."

“Darius was right. He must have announced a bounty.”

"We should be in Black Wolf territory by nightfall. Once we cross the border—"

"More people will die." I met his gaze steadily. "Your people, because of me."

"Because of your father."

"Does it matter?" I stood on my feet, restless energy humming through my exhaustion.

"Kael, think about what Darius said. How many lives am I worth? How many of your pack will die to protect me before you admit this was a mistake?"

"Don't." He was on his feet now, closing the distance between us. "Don't you dare bring up that suggestion."

"I could turn myself in."

"No."

"It would end the bounty. Your people would be safe."

“And you'd be dead." His hands gripped my waist, his grip firm but not painful. "Your father imprisoned you once. He won't make that mistake again. He is going to execute you the moment you're in his custody.”

"Then what do we do?" The question came out smaller than I intended. "Just… run? Hide? Wait for the next ambush?"

"No." Kael's jaw set in a stubborn way I was beginning to recognize. "We stop running. We stand and fight."

"Against the entire White Wolf empire? That's suicide."

"Maybe. But I'd rather die fighting than live knowing I let fear make my decisions." His hands moved from my waist to caress my face, his thumbs moved on my cheekbones, gentle in a way I hadn't expected. “I am not letting you go to him or anyone." His voice dropped to something raw “Understand?"

"I'm not helpless."

"I know." His voice became lower. "You terrify me a little, if I'm honest."

"Sierralya…"

The moment shattered as Darius appeared. "We have a problem."

Kael stepped back. "What kind of problem?"

"Brenner just spotted three more groups of bounty hunters within a ten-mile radius."

Kael's mind was already racing; I could see it in his eyes. "We need to move now, hard and fast, and hope we can reach Black Wolf borders before—"

"No." My voice cut through his planning. "That's exactly what they'll expect."

Both men turned and stared at me.

"They know where we're going," the plan formed as I spoke. "Black Wolf territory. It's the only place that makes sense. So they'll have ambushes set up along every route to the border."

"Then what do you suggest?"

I looked at Kael's eyes. "We don't run to your borders. We make them come to us. On our terms."

"You want us to set an ambush." Kael's voice was carefully neutral. "Using yourself as bait."

"Using us as bait," I corrected. "The White Wolf Princess and the Black Wolf Alpha, together."

"It's too dangerous."

"Everything is dangerous now." I stepped forward, refusing to back down. "But at least this way, we choose the ground. We choose when to fight, and we hit them hard enough that the others think twice before trying."

Silence fell. Darius looked at us with his eyebrows raised.

I held his gaze. "Don't try to stop me"

He studied me for a long moment. "No. I am going to help you."

"Good, because I do have a plan. And you're not going to like it.”