Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Sera

The suppressant made me drowsy within minutes. Not dangerously so, just a heavy, warm feeling that settled into my bones. Dante insisted I lie down while the pack prepared for the journey to Council Hall.

I tried to argue, but my body betrayed me. The exhaustion I'd been fighting for days finally caught up, and I fell asleep in Dante's bed with the sound of warriors gathering outside.

When I woke, the sun had shifted. I checked the clock—eleven fifteen. I'd slept for almost three hours.

My hand went immediately to my stomach. Everything felt normal, or as normal as could be expected given the circumstances. The frantic energy that had been humming under my skin since yesterday was quieter now. The suppressant was working.

A knock at the door. "Come in," I called, sitting up.

Maya entered carrying a tray with food and a glass of water. "Dante said you'd probably wake up hungry."

My stomach growled on cue. I accepted the tray gratefully. "Where is he?"

"Briefing the warriors. They're going over the route, discussing contingencies." Maya sat on the edge of the bed, watching me eat. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Scared. Angry." I took a bite of bread. "Normal, I guess, considering."

"For what it's worth, the pack is talking. About you, about what's happening." Maya's voice was gentle. "Not everyone believed Adrian's concerns. A lot of us think you're getting treated unfairly."

"A lot of you isn't the same as all of you."

"No," she admitted. "But it's a start. And after Cole's testimony this morning, more people are questioning Marcus's motives."

I finished eating in silence, trying to organize my thoughts. In less than an hour, we'd be leaving for the Council Hall. Marcus would be waiting somewhere along the route with thirty-two warriors. And I'd be sitting in an armored vehicle, helpless, while others fought for my right to speak.

"I hate this," I said quietly. "Hiding while everyone else takes risks for me."

"You're not hiding. You're being smart." Maya took the empty tray. "And for what it's worth, you're the bravest person I've met. Most wolves in your situation would have given up by now."

After she left, I got dressed carefully. Nothing fancy—just comfortable clothes that would allow me to move if I needed to. I braided my hair back from my face and stared at myself in the mirror.

I looked different than I had a week ago. There was something harder in my eyes, something that hadn't been there when I was with Marcus. Maybe it was the true mate bond giving me strength. Or maybe it was finally realizing I deserved to fight for myself.

Dante appeared in the doorway. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

He studied my face. "The suppressant worked. I can see the difference. You look more settled."

"I feel it. Less like my body is trying to run a race I can't finish." I moved toward him. "Thank you. For believing me, for helping me, for not treating me like I'm made of glass."

"You're stronger than glass." He kissed my forehead. "Come on. Everyone's waiting."

Outside, the courtyard was full of wolves. Not just warriors—pack members had gathered to see us off. Families, elders, young wolves barely old enough to shift. They stood in clusters, watching quietly.

The armored vehicle Dante mentioned was actually a reinforced SUV with thick windows and heavy plating. It looked more like a tank than a car.

"Little excessive, don't you think?" I asked.

"Not if it keeps you safe." Dante helped me into the back seat. "Cole will ride with you. Adrian and I will be in the lead vehicle with half the warriors. The rest will follow behind."

Cole climbed in on the other side, giving me a respectful nod. He looked nervous but determined.

"Thank you," I said to him. "For speaking up this morning. For choosing honor over loyalty."

"Loyalty without honor is just blind obedience," Cole replied. "My father taught me that before he died. I almost forgot it, serving Marcus."

The convoy began to move. Six vehicles in total, each carrying armed wolves. Overhead, I could see shapes circling—the aerial scouts Dante had mentioned, watching for threats from above.

We took a route that wound through the forest rather than the main road. The trees were thick here, blocking out most of the sunlight. I watched the shadows pass, my heart beating faster with each mile.

"How far to where Marcus planned the ambush?" I asked Cole.

"About ten minutes at this speed. But we're not taking that road, so—" He stopped, his expression shifting. "Wait."

"What?"

"We're heading east. Toward the river crossing." His voice tightened. "This is wrong."

"What do you mean wrong?"

"The eastern route goes through Riverside Pack territory. Marcus has an agreement with them, remember? If we cross there, they can legally detain us for trespassing." Cole leaned forward, speaking urgently to the driver. "We need to turn around. This is a trap."

The driver, one of Dante's senior warriors, shook his head. "Alpha's orders. He said the eastern route is safer."

"It's not safer, it's suicide. Riverside can hold us at the border for hours, long enough to miss the evaluation entirely." Cole's hand went to the door handle. "We have to tell Dante."

Before anyone could respond, the convoy lurched to a stop. Through the windshield, I could see why. A fallen tree blocked the road ahead, massive and unmovable.

"That wasn't there this morning," the driver muttered. "I scouted this route personally."

Cole's face went pale. "It's not Riverside. Marcus changed his plan. He knew we'd avoid the main road, so he set up here instead."

As if summoning them, wolves began emerging from the forest on both sides. Not thirty-two. More like fifty. They surrounded the convoy in a loose circle, not attacking but making their presence clear.

And at the front, stepping over the fallen tree with deliberate slowness, was Marcus.

He looked different than I remembered. Harder, wilder around the eyes. His gaze found our vehicle immediately, and even through the tinted windows, I felt the weight of it.

"Sera," his voice carried clearly in the sudden silence. "I know you're in there. Come out. We need to talk."

"Don't," Cole said immediately. "Stay in the vehicle. That's what Alpha Dante ordered."

"I'm not asking her to fight," Marcus continued, speaking to the vehicle like I was the only one there. "I just want to talk. Five minutes. Then you can continue to your evaluation. You have my word."

"His word means nothing," the driver growled.

But something in Marcus's voice caught my attention. He sounded tired. Desperate, even. This wasn't the confident, manipulative Alpha who'd planned my destruction. This was someone backed into a corner.

"If she doesn't come out, we'll be forced to extract her," Marcus said. "I have fifty warriors and you have, what, twenty? The math isn't in your favor, Dante."

So Dante could hear this. There must be communications between the vehicles.

I waited for Dante's response through the pack link, but felt nothing. The bond was there, steady and strong, but no direct communication came through. Maybe the distance was too great, or maybe he was too focused on strategy.

Marcus took another step forward. "Sera, please. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to save our child."

"It's not your child," I said, knowing he couldn't hear me through the reinforced glass.

But Cole stiffened beside me. "Wait. Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Marcus's hand. The way he gripped his side when he stepped forward." Cole leaned closer to the window. "He's injured. Recently, by the look of it."

I studied Marcus more carefully. Cole was right. Marcus was favoring his left side, his movements slightly off. And now that I was paying attention, I could see darkness staining his shirt under his jacket. Blood.

"Who could have injured him?" I asked. "And why wouldn't he heal?"

"Silver," Cole said grimly. "It's the only thing that prevents werewolf healing. Someone stabbed him with a silver blade."

"Who?"

"I don't know, but it means he's vulnerable. Weakened." Cole's mind was clearly working. "This might not be an ambush. This might be a desperate play from someone who's running out of options."

Before I could respond, Dante's voice came through the vehicle's radio. "Sera, I need you to stay calm. Marcus is playing games. Don't engage."

But Marcus was still talking, his voice carrying across the clearing. "I know what you think of me. I know I've done terrible things. But that baby inside you is mine, Sera. My heir. You can hate me, you can be with Dante, I don't care. Just let me have my child. That's all I'm asking."

The rawness in his voice surprised me. This wasn't manipulation. This was genuine desperation from a man who saw everything slipping away.

"He doesn't know," I whispered. "About the accelerated pregnancy, about the timing. He still thinks the baby is his."

"Should we tell him?" Cole asked.

"No." Because the moment Marcus learned the truth—that the baby was Dante's, that his last claim to me was gone—there was no telling what he'd do.

Movement in the trees caught my eye. More wolves, but these weren't Marcus's. They were positioned behind his group, quiet and hidden. Dante's wolves, I realized. Somehow they'd flanked Marcus while he was focused on our vehicle.

The trap had a trap.

"Last chance, Sera," Marcus called. "Come out and talk to me, or I'll assume you're being held against your will and act accordingly."

The radio crackled. Dante's voice, quiet and deadly calm. "Cole, when I give the signal, you get Sera to the ground and cover her. Don't let her leave that vehicle no matter what she says."

"Understood, Alpha."

My heart hammered. "What's he planning?"

"I don't know, but—"

The forest exploded into motion.