Chapter 22 Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Chapter 22
The alarm cut through the air like a knife, its high-pitched wail making my teeth ache. Students froze around us, then chaos erupted as everyone scrambled toward exits.
"That's the territory breach alarm," Caspian said, his voice tight with tension. He grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the door. "We need to get to the safe rooms."
I yanked away from him. "My grandmother..."
"Will be fine. She's with the elders." His eyes flashed gold, his wolf rising close to the surface. "Imogen, please."
The voice in my head laughed, cold and mocking. -Run all you want, little princess. I've found you at last.-
My legs nearly buckled again. Caspian caught me before I hit the floor, his arm strong around my waist.
"It's him," I gasped. "He's here. The voice in my head."
Caspian's face went rigid with fury. Through our bond, I could feel his protective instincts flaring like a wildfire. "Stay with me," he ordered, his voice dropping to that Alpha tone that made my wolf want to submit despite myself.
We pushed through the panicking crowd in the hallway. Teachers were shouting instructions, trying to herd students toward the basement where the safe rooms were located. Through the windows, I caught glimpses of movement at the tree line, dark shapes darting between trunks, too fast and coordinated to be normal wolves.
Kyle and Asher appeared suddenly, cutting through the crowd with supernatural speed. Kyle's eyes found mine immediately, relief washing over his face when he saw I was alright.
"Dad's mobilising the warriors," Asher reported, his voice clipped. "Hunters. At least twenty of them."
The word 'hunters' sent ice through my veins. Memories flashed, blood on hardwood floors, screams cutting off mid-note, my bow frozen mid-stroke. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
"Imogen." Kyle's voice broke through the panic. He was in front of me suddenly, his hands on my shoulders, anchoring me. "Look at me. Just me."
I focused on his amber eyes, using them as a lifeline to pull myself back from the edge of a full-blown panic attack.
"We need to get her out of here," he told his brothers. "Now."
"The safe rooms..." Caspian started.
"Won't help," Kyle cut him off. "Whoever's in her head knows she's here. They're coming for her specifically."
My blood ran cold. "How do you know that?"
Kyle's expression was grim. "Because they're bypassing the main buildings and heading straight for this one."
Through the windows, I could see he was right. The dark shapes were converging on the school building with deadly precision. This wasn't a random attack. They knew exactly where to find me.
I wanted my violin, but it was in my locker, and they were after me, not it. So I nodded, it would be safer in my locker for now.
\-Why do you think we’re hunters, my little Marble wolf?-
I whipped around, searching for the source of the voice, my heart pounding against my ribs. "They're not hunters," I whispered, the realization dawning on me with horrifying clarity.
"What?" Kyle's grip on my shoulders tightened. "Imogen, what are you talking about?"
"The voice in my head. He just said they're not hunters." My voice sounded strange even to my own ears, detached and hollow. "They're something else."
Asher's expression darkened. "Rogues? Another pack?"
I shook my head, trying to make sense of the fragments floating through my mind. The cold voice, the knowledge of my wolf's colouring, the way he'd called me "little princess" like it was a title I should recognise.
"We need to move," Caspian cut in, his voice sharp with urgency. "Whatever they are, they're getting closer."
Through the windows, I could see dark shapes moving with unnatural speed across the school grounds. Teachers were herding the last of the students toward the basement, their faces tight with fear. This attack was nothing like the chaotic bloodbath that had claimed my parents' pack. This was calculated, precise—a surgical strike aimed directly at me.
"The back exit," Kyle decided, already pulling me toward the service hallway. "We can cut through the gym and make it to the tree line before they circle the building."
I let myself be guided, my mind still reeling from the voice's words. Not hunters. Then what? Who would target me specifically, know about my wolf's colouring, and call me by a title that felt strangely familiar?
We burst through the gym doors, the large space eerily empty. Our footsteps echoed on the polished floor as we ran for the emergency exit at the far end. Almost there. Just a few more yards and we'd be outside, able to shift and run if necessary.
The doors ahead of us slammed open with enough force to dent the wall behind them.
A man stood in the doorway, tall and imposing, with silver streaking his dark hair. His eyes, a piercing blue that seemed to glow in the dim light of the gym, fixed on me with an intensity that made my wolf cower.
"Imogen Lancaster," he said, his voice matching the one that had invaded my mind. "Or should I say, Princess Imogen of the Lancaster Pack? My, how you've grown."
I froze, the name hitting me like a physical blow. Lancaster. My father's pack. A name I hadn't heard spoken aloud in six years.
The Williams brothers immediately moved to form a protective wall between the stranger and me, their stances shifting subtly as their wolves rose to the surface.
"Who the hell are you?" Kyle demanded, his voice dropping to a growl.