Chapter 179: The Hunt Begins

Kaelen's POV

The grassland stretched endlessly before us, spring grass swaying in waves under the wind. Twenty-three warriors moved behind me in tight formation. We'd been tracking Damien's scent for seven days now, following the invisible thread that would lead us to Sera.

Seven fucking days.

Vespera hadn't known Ravencrest's exact location—Damien had kept that from her. All we had was the trail he'd left behind, the faint scent markers he couldn't completely erase, and the occasional drops of Sera's blood staining the ground.

My hand reached for my neck, fingers pressing against the mark she'd left there. The bond was silent, severed by the silver collar, but the mark itself burned with phantom pain.

Right now, it was driving me insane.

The sun was setting, painting the grassland amber and crimson. My muscles burned from days of constant movement, but I couldn't stop. Not while Sera was out there, terrified and hurting—

Pain exploded through my body like lightning.

I dropped to my knees, one hand flying to my neck as agony ripped through the mark. It felt like someone had wrapped barbed wire around my spine and yanked. This wasn't the mate bond—that was dead, silenced by silver. This was the mark itself screaming that my mate was in agony, that she needed me and I wasn't there.

My eyes burned gold, then blood-red as my wolf surged forward. My canines punched through my gums, fingernails lengthening into claws that dug furrows in the earth.

"He's hurting her," I managed through gritted teeth. "Damien—he's hurting her again. Fifth time. Fifth fucking time."

I could feel her pain echoing through the mark, could sense her terror like a scream trapped inside my skull.

I'm coming, baby. Just hold on—

Another surge of pain, and my spine began to shift. The wolf was taking over, and all it wanted was to run. Cover the remaining distance in one desperate sprint and tear apart anyone who stood between me and my mate.

I shoved myself to my feet. "We need to move faster. Now."

"I said NOW!" My voice came out as a snarl. "She's suffering while we're standing here! Every second we waste is another second he has his hands on her!"

But before I could move, Lucian stepped directly into my path.

"Move."

Lucian didn't budge. Behind him, I could see the rest of the warriors, and for the first time in days, I really looked at them.

Jason was leaning against a tree, his face pale and drawn. Derek had dark circles under his eyes and a tremor in his hands. They all looked exhausted, hollow-eyed, running on nothing but willpower and loyalty.

If Orion were still alive, we would've found Damien by now. He was the best at scent tracking.

The thought hit like a punch to the gut. Orion, who'd died trying to protect Sera. Orion, whose fresh grave we left behind seven days ago. Orion, whose sacrifice I was about to waste by getting the rest of my warriors killed.

"Look at them, Kaelen," Lucian said quietly. "Really look."

I looked. Saw the way several younger warriors wouldn't meet my eyes, saw the subtle sway in their stances. Saw the empty water skins, the blood still crusting bandages.

"We've been running for seven days straight," Lucian continued. "Damien deliberately left false trails at three crossroads. We lost a day and a half. The warriors are starving, exhausted, and if we push any harder without rest, we'll arrive at Ravencrest too weak to fight."

"She's being tortured," I bit out. "Right now. I can feel it through the mark."

"I know. But showing up in time to watch her die because we collapsed halfway through won't help anyone."

My hands clenched into fists hard enough that my claws punctured my palms. Blood dripped onto the grass.

"Alpha." Jason's voice was rough. "Permission to speak freely?"

I jerked my chin in acknowledgment.

"We want to save Luna too. Every single one of us is ready to die to bring her home. But over the past two days, our speed has dropped by forty percent. Some of the younger wolves are starting to stumble. If we don't rest, we won't have the strength to fight."

Derek stepped forward. "Last night I heard grumbling. Warriors saying this pace is going to get us all killed before we even reach Luna."

I forced myself to look around again. Marcus's leg was clearly bothering him. Two younger warriors near the back were swaying, their eyes glazed. Even Lucian had a fine tremor running through his shoulders.

They were falling apart. And I'd been too consumed by Sera's pain to notice.

Orion died to buy her time. If I get the rest of them killed in a pointless charge, his sacrifice means nothing.

The mark thrummed with another pulse of agony. My vision went red, my wolf surging forward, demanding I abandon these weaklings and run ahead alone. I could feel the shift beginning, bones starting to crack—

And what? Storm Ravencrest by yourself? Get cut down before you even reach her?

The rational voice was barely audible. Reminding me that I couldn't take on an entire pack alone. That if I died in some reckless solo assault, Sera would be left with no one. That Orion's death would be for nothing.

If you lead them like this, broken and exhausted, you'll all die. And she'll die with you.

My claws sank deeper into my palms, blood flowing freely. The internal war was tearing me apart—the mark screaming for immediate action versus the cold logic that said acting now would doom us all.

Thirty seconds. That's how long I stood there, trembling while my warriors watched in tense silence. Thirty seconds of the hardest battle I'd ever fought.

Finally—finally—I forced the words out.

"Make camp. Rest here. Prepare food, treat wounds, recover your strength."

The relief on their faces was palpable, but I couldn't look at them. Every minute we delayed was another minute Sera spent in hell.

For Sera. And for Orion. We have to be strong enough to win this, or his blood was spilled for nothing.

I turned away before anyone could speak, my legs carrying me away from the warriors, away from the camp they were already starting to set up.

"Kaelen—" Lucian's voice behind me.

"Let him go." Cordelia's quieter response. "He needs space to fight this. He needs to let the wolf out before it tears him apart."

Their voices faded as I put distance between myself and the camp, my strides lengthening toward a small clearing just visible in the dimming light.

The moment I crossed into the clearing, out of sight, my control shattered.

The transformation ripped through me with brutal force. My spine arched backward with a crack that echoed in the empty space, bones breaking and reforming. White fur erupted across my skin in waves, my clothes shredding as my body expanded. My jaw extended with sickening crunches, teeth elongating into fangs.

But it was my eyes that marked me as different—a double pupil in each eye, inner and outer rings that glowed with both gold and blood-red.

The white wolf that emerged was massive, easily twice the size of a normal shifted werewolf, with fur that seemed to glow in the gathering darkness.

But what kind of Alpha left his mate to suffer? What kind of leader let his Gamma die and still couldn't save anyone?

The howl that tore from my throat erupted from somewhere deeper than thought, a sound that carried all the rage and grief and helplessness I'd been swallowing for seven days. It echoed across the grassland, rolled over the distant hills, shook the very air.

It was a mate's cry for his lost other half. An Alpha's declaration of war against the enemy who'd taken everything. A promise that Orion's sacrifice wouldn't be wasted, that Damien would pay for every drop of blood he'd spilled.

I'm coming for you, Sera. I swear to god, I'm coming. Just hold on.