Chapter 126

KNOX

The chaos was suffocating, the weight of it pressing down on me like a vice. I could barely hear myself think over the roar of panic, the smoke still thick in the air, mixing with the screams and the clash of bodies. Jax and I moved in sync, defending ourselves from the onslaught of hunters that had descended on the room like wolves.

But the weird part? None of the alphas were shifting.

“Why can’t we shift?” Jax shouted, panic creeping into his voice as he knocked a hunter off his feet with a swift punch.

“I don’t know!” I growled, swinging a piece of broken wood like a club, striking down another hunter that lunged at me. My muscles strained with effort, and my wolf raged inside me, clawing to be let loose, but something was blocking the shift. It was like there was a wall between us and our primal side.

The hunters were ruthless, moving with precision. They were prepared for this. Planned it. They knew exactly what they were doing, and we were caught in their trap. I glanced around, trying to find Asher. My heart was pounding in my chest, fear biting at my heels as I scanned the debris for any sign of him.

“Asher!” I shouted, but no response. My stomach dropped. He wasn’t where I’d last seen him, and the uncertainty gnawed at me. We were being overwhelmed, the hunters forcing us into corners, using sheer numbers to box us in.

Jax threw a glance at me, his face grim and streaked with dirt. “We’ve gotta find him, Knox!”

I nodded, my mind racing. “Keep moving! We’ll get to him!”

We ducked behind an overturned table, trying to catch our breath for a second. The sounds of metal clashing, bodies hitting the ground, and grunts of pain surrounded us like a sick symphony. But no one was shifting. It was like we were cut off from our wolves, powerless to fight back the way we were meant to.

Then I saw it—a hunter holding a vial, pouring some weird green liquid onto his blade before lunging at one of the other alphas. The alpha—someone I recognized from the meeting, a big guy named Tyrell—was fast, but even he couldn’t dodge forever. The blade caught him on the arm, and he dropped like a stone, convulsing.

“Shit!” I breathed, eyes widening. Poison.

“Knox! Behind you!” Jax’s shout jolted me back into focus. I twisted just in time to see a hunter swing a bat towards my head. I ducked, slamming my shoulder into his chest and sending him crashing into the ground. But more were coming—too many of them, and we were outnumbered.

“Keep going!” I urged Jax, gripping his arm and pushing him forward.

We fought our way through, dodging strikes, landing punches, but the tide was turning against us. Jax was holding his own, but I could see the exhaustion starting to wear on him. We were running out of time.

Another hunter charged at me, and I barely had time to react, slamming my elbow into his throat and sending him reeling back. But as I turned, I felt a sharp, burning pain in my side.

I looked down. An arrow, green liquid still dripping from its tip, was lodged in my ribcage.

The poison.

My vision blurred almost instantly, the world spinning around me. I stumbled, my legs giving out from under me, and I hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. The pain was excruciating, like fire spreading through my veins, and I couldn’t focus.

“Knox!” I heard Jax’s voice, but it felt distant, like he was miles away. I saw him rushing towards me, his face twisted in fear, but my body wouldn’t move. Everything was shutting down.

Hands grabbed me—rough, calloused hands. The hunters.

“No…” I tried to protest, my voice barely a whisper, but I was powerless to stop them. They hoisted me up, dragging my limp body away from the battlefield. My limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, and I could feel the poison coursing through me, stealing every ounce of strength I had left.

I heard Emilia’s voice—cold and calculating—somewhere behind me. “Take him.”

I tried to fight, to scream, but it was no use. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision, and the last thing I saw before the world went black was Jax’s horrified expression as the hunters pulled me into the shadows.

Then, nothing.

ISABELLA

A heavy feeling settled in my chest, tightening with each passing second. I couldn't shake it. Something was wrong. I knew it, I felt it deep inside, like a storm gathering on the horizon. But I had no proof—just a nagging sense of dread that refused to let go.

I paced the living room, my arms wrapped tightly around Luca, who was nestled against my chest. His soft breathing was the only sound breaking through the suffocating silence. I rocked him gently, trying to calm my racing thoughts, but it wasn’t working. My heart pounded in rhythm with the nervous steps I took across the floor.

Where were they?

“Asher,” I muttered under my breath, pulling out my phone for what felt like the hundredth time. I dialed his number, hoping—begging—for him to answer. Nothing. My thumb hovered over Knox’s name, then Jax’s, repeating the cycle. Each time, my calls went unanswered.

The knot in my stomach twisted tighter.

“They're okay,” I whispered to Luca, though I wasn't sure who I was trying to reassure—him or myself. “They’re fine. They’ll call back any minute now.”

But that gnawing feeling only grew stronger. My hands started to tremble as I lowered the phone, pressing Luca closer. He gurgled softly, completely oblivious to the panic bubbling inside me.

I glanced around the room, desperate for something to distract myself with, but everything felt wrong. The room was too still, too quiet. My head spun, my thoughts racing with possibilities—none of them good.

Where are you?

"Isa?" Spencer’s voice broke through the haze. I turned sharply, startled, to see him standing in the doorway. His face was calm, but his eyes gave him away. He was trying to keep it together—for me.

"Something’s wrong," I said, my voice shaking. “I can feel it. Why aren’t they answering? I’ve called all of them.”

Spencer crossed the room quickly, reaching out to brush a hand over Luca’s head before looking at me. “They’re probably just in a meeting or—”

“No.” I cut him off, my voice firm. “It’s not that. I can feel it, Spencer. Something’s happening. I know it.”

Spencer’s jaw tightened, but he stayed quiet, his steady presence beside me meant to be comforting. But it wasn’t. Not now.

“I need to do something,” I muttered, bouncing Luca gently as I started pacing again. “I can’t just stand here.”

“They’ll be back soon, Isa. Don’t work yourself up. They’ve handled worse, you know that,” Spencer said, his voice soft but insistent.

I stopped, turning to face him, the weight of his words not landing the way he hoped. “What if this is different? What if… what if something’s really wrong?”

Spencer met my gaze, his eyes softening. “Even if something is wrong, you stressing yourself out like this isn’t going to help them. They’d want you to stay calm for Luca.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to think that maybe I was just being paranoid, that this awful feeling was just in my head. But it wasn’t. I knew it wasn’t.

My mind replayed every moment of the last few days—how tense Asher had been, how distracted Knox had seemed, the way Jax kept checking his phone when he thought I wasn’t looking. Something had been brewing, and I hadn’t pressed hard enough. And now… now they weren’t answering.

I swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over.

Spencer’s hand found my shoulder, squeezing gently. “They’ll be back,” he said, more quietly now. “I promise.”

But even his reassurances weren’t enough to ease the knot of dread lodged in my throat.