Chapter 50 Blood on the Shore
Lycian was out of bed before I could blink. Eyes pure gold. Wolf surface-close.
“Get dressed,” he said. Voice clipped. Alpha command. “We’re leaving. Now.”
“They know we’re here. They’ll follow wherever we go.”
“Then we keep moving until we lose them.” He threw clothes at me. Started pulling on his own. “Or until backup arrives.”
“You called for backup?”
“Called my father while you were sleeping. He’s sending Cade and a team, but they’re three hours away.” He checked his phone. “We need to survive three hours.”
I dressed fast. My shoulder protested, but fear cut through the pain. Lycian armed himself. A knife. A gun I hadn’t known about. It reminded me who he really was. An Alpha. Dangerous when threatened.
“Stay behind me,” he said, opening the door slowly. “If I tell you to run, you run.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Elowen.” He cupped my face. “If it’s you or me, I choose you. Promise you’ll run.”
“I promise.”
He kissed me hard, then moved into the hall. I followed, gripping his shirt. The house was silent. Waves outside. Our breathing.
In the living room, he checked the windows. Empty.
“Maybe it was a bluff,” I said.
Then the glass shattered.
A dark gray wolf crashed through. Lycian shifted instantly. They collided, snarling. More windows broke. Three more wolves poured in.
They came to kill me.
I backed toward the door. One wolf broke away. Black coat. Yellow eyes. I grabbed a lamp and swung. It shattered against its head, barely slowing it down.
The wolf lunged. I stumbled back. Hit the wall. Nowhere to run.
Then Lycian was there. Ripped the black wolf away from me. Threw it across the room with terrifying strength.
Run, his voice came through the bond. Urgent. Commanding. Now.
I ran.
Out the front door. Down the steps. Onto the beach. Sand grabbed at my feet. Slowed me down. My shoulder screamed. I kept going anyway.
Behind me, snarling. Fighting. The sounds of violence.
I ran along the shoreline. No destination. Just away. Away from the house. From the wolves. From danger.
My lungs burned. My legs shook. I couldn’t keep this pace. Couldn’t run forever.
Through the bond, I felt Lycian fighting. Felt his pain as teeth found him. His rage as he fought back. He was holding his own but barely.
I needed to help. Needed to do something.
But I was human. Injured. Useless in a wolf fight.
Ahead, I saw rocks. Large ones jutting into the ocean. I could climb. Get height. Make it harder for them to reach me.
I changed direction. Headed for the rocks. Scrambled up. The rough surface bit into my hands. My shoulder protested. I climbed anyway.
At the top, I could see the house. Wolves are still fighting. Lycian’s golden coat stands out. He’d taken down two. But three remained. And he was bleeding. A lot.
My phone was in my pocket. I pulled it out with shaking hands. Called Thaddeus.
“They found us,” I said when he answered. “Five wolves. Attacking now. Lycian’s fighting but he needs help.”
“Cade’s thirty minutes out. Can you survive thirty minutes?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” I watched Lycian get hit. Felt his pain spike through the bond. “We’ll try.”
“Stay hidden. Don’t engage. We’re coming.” He hung up.
Thirty minutes. An eternity.
I looked around. Found a rock. Heavy. Sharp. Not much of a weapon but better than nothing.
Movement below. A wolf. Small. Rust-colored. It had found me. Started climbing. Careful. Determined.
I waited until it was close. Then threw the rock. Hard as I could.
It hit the wolf’s shoulder. The wolf yelped. Lost its grip. Fell back to the sand.
But it got up. Started climbing again.
I looked for another rock. Found nothing big enough.
The wolf reached the top. Snarled. Crept closer.
I backed up. Ran out of rock. Just the ocean behind me. Deep. Cold. Deadly with my injury.
The wolf lunged.
I jumped.
Cold water shocked my system. Salt burned my wounds. My shoulder went numb. Useless.
I kicked hard with my legs. Tried to surface. The ocean pulled at me. Heavy. Insistent.
I broke through. Gasped for air. Went under again.
Swimming one-handed was impossible. I was drowning. Actually drowning.
Through the bond, Lycian felt it. Felt my terror. His panic exploded across our connection.
Then something grabbed me. Pulled me up. Dragged me back to shore.
Not a wolf. A person. Arms around me. Hauling me onto the sand.
I coughed. Spit out water. Looked up at my rescuer.
Madison.
She was soaked. Breathing hard. “You really can’t swim, can you?”
“What are you doing here?” I gasped.
“Saving your life. Apparently.” She helped me sit. “Thaddeus sent me. Said you might need backup before Cade arrived.”
“You came alone?”
“I’m fast. And I owe you.” She looked toward the house. “Your mate’s in trouble. Can you stand?”
I stood on shaking legs. We ran back together. Madison shifted mid-run. Her wolf was smaller than the attackers. Cream-colored. But fast. So fast.
We reached the house. Two wolves down. Not moving. Lycian is fighting the last one. Barely standing. Blood matting his golden fur.
Madison hit the attacking wolf from the side. Gave Lycian an opening. He took it. Went for the throat. It was over in seconds.
Then he was shifting. Human. Naked and bleeding. Running to me.
“You jumped in the ocean?” His hands were everywhere. Checking me. “With your shoulder? You could have died.”
“I was going to die either way. Water seemed better than teeth.”
“That’s the worst logic I’ve ever heard.” He pulled me close. Held tight. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“Can’t promise that.”
Madison shifted back. Grabbed clothes from somewhere. “More might be coming. We should go.”
She was right. Five wolves meant an organized attack. There could be more. Waiting. Planning.
Sirens in the distance. Getting closer. Cade’s team maybe. Or regular police. Either way, we couldn’t stay.
Lycian grabbed our bags. We piled into his car. Madison is in the back. Me in front. Lycian driving like demons chased us.
Because they did. Real ones this time.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Pack lands. The estate. It’s the only place fortified enough.” His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “No more running. No more hiding. This ends now.”
“How?”
“We find whoever’s coordinating these attacks. And we end them.” His eyes were still gold. Still deadly. “No more mercy. No more second chances. They came after my mate. They die.”
The drive back took two hours. Cade met us at the estate entrance. Took one look at us and cursed.
“Inside. Now. Medical is ready.”
Dr. Rivera patched us both up. Lycian’s wounds were already healing. Wolf metabolism. Mine would take longer.
“You’re lucky,” she said. Rewrapping my shoulder. “The salt water could have caused a serious infection. But it looks clean.”
“Can I have a minute alone with Lycian?”
She nodded. Left us in the medical room. Private. Quiet.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I ruined the beach trip.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. They did.” He pulled me carefully into his arms. “But you’re alive. We’re both alive. That’s what matters.”
“What happens now?”
“Now we stop hiding. Stop reacting. We go on offense.” His voice hardened. “And we end this. Permanently.”
A knock on the door. Sienna entered. She looked grim.
“We identified the attackers. All five wolves were from the Shadowcrest Pack. Marcus’s old allies.”
My blood went cold. “Shadowcrest declared war on us?”
“Not officially. This was rogue members acting independently. But yes. Essentially.” She pulled out files. “Marcus has been rebuilding support from exile. Gathering wolves who share his views. They’re calling themselves the Traditionalist Movement.”
“How many?” Lycian asked.
“Unknown. Could be dozens. Could be hundreds.” Sienna looked at me. “And they all want one thing. You're gone. By any means necessary.”
The room felt too small suddenly. Too hot. Dozens or hundreds of wolves. All hunting me. All are willing to kill.
“Then we need to end Marcus,” Lycian said. “Cut off the head. The body falls.”
“He’s in exile. Protected by old laws. We can’t just execute him.”
“Watch me.”
“Lycian, no.” Thaddeus entered. Must have been listening outside. “We do this legally. Through proper channels. Or we risk war with every pack that values tradition.”
“They already started a war. We’re just finishing it.”
The tension in the room was suffocating. Father and son stared at each other. Neither is backing down.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Everyone went silent.
I opened the message with numb fingers.
A video. I pressed play.
Aunt Clara. Tied to a chair. Mouth gagged. Eyes wide with terror.
And Marcus’s voice. Cold. Triumphant.
“Hello, future Luna. We have something of yours. Come to me alone by midnight, or she dies. Don’t keep me waiting.”
The screen went black.