Selene
The howls shattered the night, raw and layered with something guttural that set my teeth on edge. They came from all sides now, echoing off the pines like a chorus of the damned. The wards' blue fire sputtered erratically, casting jagged flickers across the clearing we'd stumbled into—a small hollow ringed by twisted trunks, the ground soft with fallen needles. Those glowing eyes multiplied, pushing forward through the underbrush, and I caught the first clear glimpse: rogues, but not like any I'd hunted before. Their fur matted and patchy, eyes burning with that same unstable blue, their forms bulked up unnaturally, muscles rippling as if the curse had pumped them full of stolen strength.
"Circle up!" Draven barked, his voice cutting through the chaos without a hint of fear. He planted his feet wide, his sword already drawn, the blade gleaming in the ward light. "Renn, Thorne – flanks! Elara, stay in the center. Veyra, with me on the front."
I nocked an arrow in one fluid motion, my bowstring humming taut against my fingers. The air thickened with their overwhelming stench of rotting meat and ozone, the curse's mark twisting their natural musk into something foul. These weren't just feral outcasts; the broken wards had warped them, turning the Wolf Wars' old curses into weapons that amplified their aggression. Draven had said earlier that neglect bred danger, and here it was, surging at us like a living storm.
The first rogue lunged from the left, a hulking brute with claws elongated by the magic, it's blue veins pulsing under its hide. It went for Renn who dodged low and drove his dagger into its flank.
"They're faster than usual!" Renn shouted, twisting the blade free as black blood sprayed.
"Stay tight!" Draven called back, his sword arcing to meet another beast mid leap. He cleaved through its shoulder with ruthless precision, the rogue crumpling without a sound. "Aim for the joints! The curse makes them brittle there!"
I loosed my arrow, the shaft burying into a rogue's knee as it barreled toward Thorne. The beast howled, stumbling, and Thorne finished it with a swift slash across the throat.
"Got it, Alpha!" he grunted, wiping sweat from his brow. "But I think there's more coming. Can you hear that?"
I did. The pack was swelling, shadows detaching from the trees in ones and twos, their eyes locking on us with predatory focus. The wards flickered again, and for a split second, the whispers returned, slithering into my mind: Useless. Traitor. You'll lose him too. Kaelen's echo, or the curse playing tricks? Either way, it fueled the fire in my veins. I couldn't falter now – not with Dorian waiting.
"Veyra, cover the right!" I yelled, drawing another arrow. A rogue slipped past Draven's guard, veering toward her. She swung her sword in a wide arc, but the beast twisted mid air, curse-enhanced reflexes carrying it over her blade.
"Damn it!" Veyra snarled, pivoting to face it. But suddenly, she froze. Her eyes widened as the rogue's claws raked the air inches from her face.
Not even stopping to think, I dropped my bow and charged, slamming into her side with all my weight. We hit the ground together, rolling as the rogue's claws gouged the earth where she'd stood. Veyra gasped, scrambling up, her sword forgotten in the dirt. "What the–"
"Move!" I grabbed her arm, hauling her to her feet as the beast whirled back toward us. She shook off the daze, snatching her weapon and thrusting it upward into the rogue's underbelly. It roared, collapsing in a heap, but two more pressed in, their jaws snapping.
Draven was there in an instant, his free hand shoving me behind him as he dispatched one with a brutal overhead strike. "Selene, keep your eyes up! Thorne, reinforce the left!"
"I'm fine," I snapped, retrieving my bow and firing point blank into the second rogue's eye. It dropped, twitching. "But we need to thin them out and hit the wards to disrupt the curse!"
Draven glanced at me over his shoulder. "No. Hold the line! Scattering now gets us picked off!"
"They're coming from the trees because of the wards!" I countered, loosing another arrow that felled a leaping shadow. "Break one, and the pack scatters!"
He parried a claw swipe, his voice steady but edged. "I know these woods better than you do."
The fight blurred into a frenzy of steel and snarls. Elara stayed low in the center, her hands glowing as she pressed a poultice to a gash on Renn's arm. "Hold still. The herbs will bind the curse's bite," she murmured. Thorne grunted through a slash on his thigh, swinging his axe to cover her. Veyra fought like a demon unleashed now, her earlier freeze buried under fury, cleaving through a rogue that got too close.
I moved with them, arrow after arrow finding marks, but the numbers pressed us. One rogue broke through on the right, its cursed claws grazing my arm before Draven yanked me back, his sword finishing it. "I told you to stay with me!"
"And I told you to listen!" I shot back, the sting in my arm ignored as I scanned for the next threat. The wards' fire was dimming, the rogues growing bolder as their forms began twisting even further – jaws unhinging wider, eyes flaring brighter. The curse fed on the chaos, turning them into relentless engines of the old wars' hate.
Finally, the tide shifted. Draven roared a command, and we surged as one – Renn and Thorne picking off stragglers from the flanks, Veyra and I holding the front while Draven carved a path through the thickest cluster. My last arrow struck true, dropping the alpha rogue, a massive thing with blue fire licking its fur, and the pack faltered as the remaining beasts started slinking back into the dark with whimpers.
Panting, we stood amid the carnage, the wards' glow fading to embers. Blood slicked the ground, mixing with the metallic tang of the curse. I leaned on my bow, my chest heaving, my arm throbbing dully where it'd been slashed. Kealen must've felt the slash too through the mate bond.
He knows we're coming, I thought, wiping sweat from my eyes. And he's laughing.
Draven sheathed his sword, turning to the group with that fearless grin. "Well fought guys. Everyone alive?"
Renn nodded, flexing his bandaged arm. "Elara's magic's holding for now. That poultice burned like hell, though."
Thorne chuckled weakly. "Better than bleeding out. These bastards were twisted. Curse got to 'em good."
Veyra sheathed her blade, her face pale but composed. She met my eyes, the grudging respect clear in her nod. "You didn't have to shove me like that. You could've gotten yourself killed."
I shrugged, though my arm still burned where the rogue had grazed me. "Couldn't let you check out on us. Especially not after I saw you freeze like that. What happened anyway?"
She looked away. "Old ghosts. My brother... died in a raid like this many years ago. He froze once and I couldn't get to him in time." Her voice cracked just a fraction, vulnerability slipping through her tough shell. "Thanks, Luna. I owe you one."
"Call it even," I said softly. "We've all got ghosts."
Draven clapped Veyra on the shoulder. "Ghosts make us stronger. Now, let's bind these wounds proper and move before more show."
Elara moved among us, her pouches rustling as she distributed salves. She knelt by me first, inspecting the shallow gash on my arm. "This one's tainted. I think remnants of the curse still clings to it. Hold still." Her fingers worked deftly, smearing a cool paste that tingled against the skin. The glow from her earlier invocation lingered faintly, drawing on the wards' residual energy.
As she worked, her expression softened, her wise eyes growing distant. "I lost my mate in a raid much like this too, years back. Bloodfang scouts, pushing borders during a harsh winter. He was a healer too – he taught me everything I know. The curse took him slowly, twisting his mind before his body. I earned my place by nursing the rest of pack through it, but I learned a valuable lesson. Rush in without thought, and the Goddess will turn her back on you."
I watched her hands work steadily despite the story. "Sounds like you earned more than most. How do you keep going?"
She smiled faintly, tying off the bandage. "By remembering the favor isn't given... it's forged. Sort of like this salve: herbs from sacred groves blessed under trial. You, my dear Luna, fight with that same kind of fire. But temper it, or it'll consume you."
Draven approached as she finished, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a deep slash across his forearm. "My turn, oh wise one. Don't spare the lecture."
Elara tsked, applying the paste. "Arrogance nearly cost us that flank, Alpha. The Luna was right. The wards were the key to ending it much sooner."
He winced but grinned. "Noted. But my way still worked in the end, didn't it? It kept us breathing."
I straightened. "Your way? We could've ended it faster if you'd just listened to me. Those rogues were obviously feeding off the magic. All we had to do was disrupt the source, and they scatter."
Draven turned to me, his golden eyes sparking with challenge. "And leave the center exposed? You're bold, Selene, but this isn't a solo hunt. I lead for a reason."
The argument ignited quick, words tumbling out as the adrenaline ebbed. Veyra and the others busied themselves dragging rogue corpses into a pile, giving us space, but I felt their glances.
"Lead? Or dictate?" I retorted. "I know these woods too, Draven. I hunted in them long before you even claimed your shiny little throne. You cannot presume to make all decisions on your own. Ignoring me risks everything, including Dorian!"
He stepped closer, voice dropping to a growl that vibrated through me. "Risk? I just saved your arm from matching mine. I make the decisions because I see two moves ahead. You tend to jump in blindly without any calculation or thought process."
I huffed. "That's rich coming from the man who pinned his whole strategy on holding ground. You make moves like you own this pack."
He closed the distance in a blur, his hand slamming against the tree trunk beside my head, caging me in. The bark bit into my back, his body heat pressing close, fearless and unyielding.
"That's because I do, princess," he murmured, eyes locked on mine. "That's kind of the point of the word 'Alpha', isn't it? You want to lead? You need to first prove you're worth being followed. But shouting won't win this."
I lifted my chin and met his gaze. "Then stop treating me like a pup that needs muzzling. I do not need your protection."
"Too bad, because you're getting it anyway."
The world narrowed to just us as the squad's murmurs faded into the background. His breath ghosted my lips, and then, suddenly, he closed the distance and his mouth claimed mine with a hunger that stole my air, one hand tangling in my hair, the other steady on my waist.
I froze, the mate bond screaming in protest – it hurt, that echo, pulling at threads I'd thought severed. But Draven... gods, Draven tasted like pine and defiance, his kiss igniting something I'd buried under rage. Despite myself, I kissed him back, my hands fisting in his tunic, drawing him closer. The spark won, just for that stolen moment, warmth blooming where the bond had left only ice.
Then reality slammed in. What am I doing? Dorian was trapped because of men like this, alphas who took what they wanted, when they wanted it. I shoved him back hard, my palm cracking across his cheek before I could stop it. The slap echoed loud in the clearing.
Draven staggered a step, hand rising to his reddening skin, as surprise flickered in his eyes. "Selene–"
"Don't," I hissed. The squad stared now, Veyra's brow arched, Elara's expression unreadable. "You had no right."
He rubbed his jaw, the grin returning slow, almost rueful. "I'd say being your husband sure gives me a lot of right."
"Shut up," I muttered, turning away, my heart hammering.
"You kissed back, huntress." He called back as I walked. "Deny it all you want, but you know as well as I do... that spark's real."
I wanted to hate him for stirring it, for making me feel alive in a way Kaelen never had. But Dorian... he came first. Always. So instead, I said. "The only spark I feel is to the cursed mate bond making my heart beat for the very man who holds my son hostage."
I turned then, so I could look him square in the eyes, and said, "The moment I have my son back, I'm leaving for Veyor. I have no interest in being Luna to a pack whose Alpha has no respect for my opinions."
For a moment, the woods were as silent as death. No one dared say a word, no one dared even breath too loudly. Draven and I just stood there, staring each other down, the tension palpable.
Elara cleared her throat, stepping between us with a fresh poultice. "Let me check that slap, Alpha. It might bruise."
Veyra dragged over a bound rogue we'd snared in the fray – a scrawny one, still twitching from the curse. "We have one live one. He might talk."
We gathered around, the beast's eyes wild but dimming. I knelt, dagger at its throat. "Who sent you? Why the surge now?"
It snarled, foam flecking its jaws, the curse's blue fading from its veins. "Freed... by the blood. He waits..."
Draven crouched beside me. "What does that mean? Explain yourself."
Suddenly, its body jerked, skin blistering as unnatural flames erupted from within, consuming it in a burst of blue fire that singed the air.
I leaped back, the heat searing my face. The rogue's form crumbled to ash, leaving only silence and the acrid stench of burned flesh.
"Freed by blood. What does that mean?" Renn asked.
Draven's expression hardened. "It means Kaelen's playing with fire he can't control. And that he's one step ahead."
"Stop it." I said, hating the way it came out so sharp. "We cannot make accusations without proof."
Draven's eyes found mine. "So what? You're defending him now?"
"I'm not defending him. I'm just saying we cannot make any conclusions until we are a hundred percent sure."
His eyes lingered on mine for a beat longer, holding an expression I couldn't quite read. Suddenly, he turned and started making his way back to the tents.
"Everyone, get some rest." he called without glancing back or breaking stride. "We move at dawn. The sooner we get to the Red Cliffs and save the child, the sooner your Luna can leave."