Semua Bab Bound To My Father’s Foe: Bab 21 - Bab 30

ELAINA The alarm bells screamed across Creekwood territory like angry ghosts. The sound pierced through my wolf ears so loudly I wanted to howl in pain. But I kept running. My paws hit the ground hard and fast. Dirt flew up behind me. The smell of pine trees and wet earth filled my nose.Troy ran beside me, his massive gray wolf almost twice my size. Behind us, twenty warriors followed in perfect formation. Their growls mixed with the sound of our paws thundering against the forest floor.We had maybe ten minutes before Creekwood warriors surrounded us. Ten minutes to find my babies and get out.Ten minutes that would decide if my pups lived or died.My wolf pushed harder. Faster. The trees became a blur of green and brown. The morning sun felt hot on my fur. My tongue hung out as I panted, but I did not slow down.Then suddenly, through the mind link that connected me to Aiden, I felt something.Pain.Sharp, terrible pain that made my legs stumble. I crashed into a tree trunk and ye

ELAINAThe dagger never reached Monica’s heart.Troy burst free from the warriors holding him down. His body exploded into his wolf form mid-leap. Bones cracked. Fur sprouted. His massive gray wolf slammed into Marcus like a boulder.They crashed to the ground in a tangle of teeth and claws. The silver dagger flew from Marcus’s hand and landed in the dirt near my feet.I grabbed it without thinking. The silver burned my already wounded palms but I held it tight. The pain helped me focus. Helped me push through the shock of everything I just learned.Melissa was Aiden’s mother. Which meant my pups were her grandchildren. Which meant this whole twisted mess was even worse than I thought.“Stop them!” Melissa shouted to her Creekwood warriors. “Kill the beta! Kill them all!”The clearing erupted into chaos again. Wolves crashed into each other. Blood sprayed across the grass. The metallic smell filled the air, mixing with the scent of dirt and sweat and fear.I crawled toward Aiden. He w

ELAINAI could not stop crying. My body shook with sobs so violent I thought my ribs would crack. The moon was rising, fat and silver in the darkening sky. Somewhere in those woods, Melissa was preparing to kill Aiden.And I let it happen.“Get up.” Troy’s voice cut through my grief like a blade.I looked up at him through blurry eyes. “What?”“I said get up!” He grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. “We are not done fighting.”“It is over,” I whispered. My voice sounded dead. “She took him. She won.”“No.” Troy shook me hard. “It is only over when we stop trying. Aiden would never give up on you. So we are not giving up on him.”I stared at him. Troy’s face was covered in blood and dirt. One eye was swollen shut. But his jaw was set with determination.“How?” I asked. “We have maybe ten warriors left.”“Then we fight with ten,” Troy said firmly. He turned to the remaining warriors. “Our Alpha has been taken. We march north to the ritual site. We save him or die trying. Who is with

ELAINA“STOP!” My scream tore from my throat like something dying.I threw myself at Melissa, not caring that she could kill me with a thought. My hands reached for her face, my nails like claws.But Darein caught me mid-air. His arms wrapped around my waist and slammed me to the ground. Hard. My head cracked against stone. Stars exploded in my vision.“Elaina, no!” Aiden’s voice was weak. Fading. The dark magic was draining him. I could see his skin turning gray. His eyes dimming.“Let them GO!” I screamed at Melissa. My voice was raw. Broken. “Please! Take me instead! Kill me! Just let them go!”“Why would I waste good blood?” Melissa’s smile was cold. Empty. “When I can have it all?”The screaming got louder. Raven and Ryker were crying for me. Their little voices begging. Pleading.My babies. My precious babies.I tried to get up but Darein pressed his knee into my back. The weight crushed my lungs. I could not breathe. Could not move.“Shh,” Darein whispered in my ear. His breath

ELAINAI sat by the window and stared at nothing.The world outside kept moving. Birds flew past. Clouds drifted across the sky. Wind rustled the leaves. But inside me, everything was frozen. Dead. Empty.My stomach growled but I couldn’t eat. My eyes burned but I couldn’t sleep. My throat was dry but I couldn’t drink. The mate bond stayed silent. That horrible silence that reminded me every second that Aiden was gone.“Mama?” Raven’s small voice came from the doorway. “When is Daddy coming back?”I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t even look at her.“Mama, when do we get Ryker back?” Her footsteps got closer. “I miss him. I miss Daddy.”My fingers dug into the windowsill. The wood cracked under my grip.Raven started crying. I heard her run away. Her little feet pounding down the hallway. Part of me screamed to go after her. To hold her. To comfort her. But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t feel anything except the emptiness where Aiden used to be.Black veins crawled up my arm. They had spread from