MARCUS'S POV
I've made a terrible mistake.
I watch Roman Blackwood's wolves carry Elena's bleeding silver body away, and every instinct screams at me to attack. To die fighting like a warrior should.
But Elena's eyes told me to run. To trust her.
So I do the hardest thing I've ever done—I melt into the shadows and let them take her.
For now.
I track them silently through the forest, staying downwind. Roman's pack is disciplined, well-trained. They move in formation like soldiers, protecting their prize in the center.
Elena hangs limp in Roman's arms. She's lost consciousness, bleeding from multiple wounds. Her silver fur is matted with blood.
My wolf howls inside me, demanding I save her. But twenty against one? I'm good, but I'm not stupid.
Then I hear it—the second howl. The one that made Elena's face go pale before she passed out.
Alpha Chase Rex is coming.
And he's not alone. The forest fills with the sound of running paws. At least thirty wolves, maybe more. Silvercrest Pack's full force.
Roman hears it too. He stops, listening.
"Well," he says calmly, "this is interesting. It seems Alpha Rex has finally decided his rejected mate is worth retrieving. Too late, of course."
One of his warriors shifts. "Alpha, we're outnumbered. Should we fight or run?"
"Neither." Roman smiles coldly. "We negotiate."
He sets Elena down against a tree, her silver wolf form barely breathing. Then he waits.
Chase bursts into the clearing first, his massive gray wolf form radiating fury. Behind him, Malcolm and the full Silvercrest hunting party emerge.
Chase shifts to human form, and I've never seen an Alpha look so deadly. His eyes glow with rage.
"Step away from her, Blackwood."
"Or what?" Roman doesn't move. "She's not your mate anymore, Rex. You rejected her, remember? She's unclaimed territory now."
"Those are my children she's carrying."
"Are they?" Roman tilts his head. "Because I heard you rejected her while pregnant. That means you rejected the children too. Legally, they're bastards with no claim to your bloodline."
Chase's hands clench into fists. "I'll kill you."
"You can try." Roman gestures to his wolves. "But my pack will kill her before you reach me. Is that what you want? The mother of your children dead?"
I watch from the shadows, calculating. If fighting starts, Elena dies. She's too weak to survive crossfire between two packs.
"What do you want?" Chase growls.
"Simple. Walk away. Let me take her and the babies. You've already got a new mate—Lydia, isn't it? Pregnant with your true heir?" Roman's smile is vicious. "Elena is trash you threw away. Why fight over garbage?"
"She's not—" Chase stops, his face twisting with something that might be regret. "She's the mother of my children."
"Now you care? Where was this concern when you rejected her? When your pack forced her out? When she nearly died from bond-break hemorrhage?" Roman laughs. "You're not here because you love her. You're here because your pride is wounded. Because she survived and became something you didn't expect."
"You don't know anything about—"
"I know everything." Roman crouches beside Elena's unconscious form. "I know she's a female Alpha now. I know her bloodline is worth millions. I know those babies will be the most powerful wolves born in a century." His hand touches Elena's silver fur possessively. "And I know you're too late to claim any of it."
Chase's wolf tries to break free. Malcolm grabs his Alpha's arm, holding him back.
"Don't," Malcolm warns. "He's right. If we fight, she dies."
"I can't just let him take her!"
"You already let her go once," Malcolm says quietly. "You rejected her. She's not ours to save anymore."
The words hit Chase like a physical blow. I see the exact moment he realizes the truth—he has no claim to Elena. No right to protect her. He threw that away.
"Make your choice, Rex," Roman says. "Walk away and let her live as mine. Or fight and watch her die in the crossfire. What's it worth to you?"
I can't watch this anymore. I step out of the shadows in human form, hands raised.
"There's a third option," I say.
Every wolf turns to me. Chase's eyes widen in recognition—he saw me with Elena at the hunting party confrontation.
"The rogue," Chase snarls. "You're the one who helped her."
"I'm the one who saved her when your pack left her to die," I correct. "And I'm the one who's going to save her now."
Roman laughs. "You? One scarred rogue against two Alpha packs? You're insane."
"Maybe." I look directly at Chase. "But I'm also the only one here who actually cares about what Elena wants. Not her babies. Not her power. Her."
"And what does she want?" Chase demands.
"To be free of all of you." I point at Chase. "You destroyed her." I point at Roman. "You want to use her." I meet Chase's eyes. "Let me take her. No pack affiliation. No claims. Just me protecting her until she's strong enough to choose her own path."
"Absolutely not," Roman snaps.
"Why not?" I challenge. "You said she's unclaimed. I'm claiming her. As my Alpha. My pack."
"Your pack?" Chase laughs bitterly. "You're a rogue. You don't have a pack."
"I do now." I walk toward Elena slowly, my hands still raised. "A pack of two. Soon to be four when the babies come. Small, but it's ours."
Roman's wolves growl, blocking my path.
"You think I'll just let you walk away with a female Alpha?" Roman's eyes narrow.
"I think you don't have a choice." I point to Elena's barely breathing form. "Look at her. She's dying. The fight, the stress, the wounds—she won't survive another hour without treatment. And I'm the only one here who knows how to save a rejected wolf."
"I have healers—"
"Not for this." I cut Roman off. "I've saved three rejected wolves in my life. It requires specific herbs, specific treatments, and constant care. Your healers will kill her trying to help. Chase's healers won't even try—they want her dead."
Both Alphas hesitate. I press my advantage.
"Let me take her. Right now. I'll disappear with her. Neither of you will ever see her again. Problem solved."
"And the babies?" Chase's voice breaks. "My children?"
"Will be raised by their mother, far away from the pack that rejected them." I look at him without pity. "You made your choice. Now live with it."
The silence stretches. Roman and Chase stare at each other, then at Elena's dying form.
Finally, Chase speaks.
"Take her."
"What?!" Roman explodes.
"Take her," Chase repeats, his voice hollow. "Save her. Save my children. Just... save them."
"Alpha, you can't—" Malcolm protests.
"I rejected her!" Chase roars. "I threw her away like she meant nothing! The least I can do is let her live!"
Roman snarls. "If you think I'm just going to—"
A new howl splits the night. Higher-pitched. Female.
Lydia.
She crashes through the trees in her brown wolf form, immediately shifting when she sees Elena.
"Chase! What are you doing?" Lydia runs to him, grabbing his arm. "Kill her! Kill her before she tells everyone the truth!"
Chase stares at his new mate. "What truth?"
"That I—" Lydia stops, realizing her mistake.
"That you what?" I ask quietly, pieces clicking together in my mind.
Lydia's face goes pale.
And Elena's silver wolf eyes suddenly snap open.