45

45
The darkness beyond the iron door felt alive.

Kai stepped through first beside Lucian, every instinct in his body screaming that they had crossed a line they could never uncross. The corridor beyond wasn’t really a corridor at all. It was a cavern carved into the mountain itself, vast and unnatural, lit by strange blue flames that burned without heat.

The smell hit them immediately.

Blood.

Rot.

Despair.

Rows of iron cages stretched into the shadows.

And inside them were wolves.

Kai froze.

“Oh God…”

Some were barely recognizable as wolves anymore.

Their bodies had been twisted by Orion’s experiments. Bones protruded beneath stretched skin. Veins glowed with the same sickly energy that pulsed through the fortress walls. Some growled mindlessly from behind bars while others sat completely still, staring into nothing.

One male lifted his head as Kai approached.

His eyes were empty.

Not dead.

Empty.

Like everything that made him who he was had been ripped away.

Kai’s stomach turned violently.

“What did he do to them?” Mira whispered.

No one answered.

Because the answer was standing at the far end of the cavern.

Waiting.

Orion.

He sat casually on a stone throne carved directly into the mountain wall, one leg crossed over the other, looking completely relaxed.

Like he had been expecting them.

Like this was all part of the plan.

A slow smile curved his lips.

“Took you long enough.”

Lucian immediately stepped forward.

Orion’s smile widened.

“Alpha Lucian.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Kai could feel the power radiating from Orion now. During their meeting at the camp, it had been overwhelming.

Now it was horrifying.

It felt older.

Bigger.

Like standing before a force of nature instead of a wolf.

Orion rose from his throne.

His red eyes swept across them before settling on Kai.

“There you are.”

Kai’s chest tightened.

The attention felt physical.

Possessive.

Wrong.

Lucian moved slightly, placing himself between them.

Orion laughed.

“You still think you can protect him.”

“Try me,” Lucian growled.

The air exploded.

Orion moved first.

One second he was twenty feet away.

The next he was directly in front of Lucian.

Their collision shook the entire cavern.

Stone cracked beneath their feet.

Lucian’s sword flashed toward Orion’s throat.

Orion caught the blade with his bare hand.

Blood dripped from his palm.

He smiled.

Then punched Lucian hard enough to send him crashing through a stone pillar.

“Lucian!”

Kai started forward.

Kieran grabbed his arm.

“No.”

Before Kai could protest, another figure appeared from the shadows.

Selene.

The female Beta smiled coldly.

“Looks like we finally get to finish our fight.”

Her gaze locked onto Kieran and Rhett.

Then she attacked.

The battle erupted instantly.

Rhett met Selene head-on, claws flashing.

Kieran shifted beside him, joining the fight.

The three wolves collided with enough force to shatter stone.

Kai wanted to help.

Wanted to move.

But he couldn’t stop staring at Orion.

Orion wasn’t even trying.

Lucian was one of the strongest Alphas Kai had ever known.

And Orion was treating him like a nuisance.

Lucian surged from the rubble, blood running from a cut above his eye.

He shifted partially, claws extending.

Orion grinned.

“Better.”

The two Alphas collided again.

Shockwaves blasted through the cavern.

Stone shattered.

Several cages exploded apart.

The imprisoned wolves inside screamed.

Kai’s heart pounded.

This wasn’t a battle.

It was a massacre waiting to happen.

Then Anna cried out.

Kai spun toward her.

She had fallen to her knees.

The mark on her arm was glowing brighter than ever before.

Dark veins spread across her skin.

“Anna!”

She looked up.

Her eyes were glowing.

Not red.

Silver.

Pure silver.

Power exploded from her body.

The entire cavern shook.

Every cage rattled violently.

The wolves inside screamed.

Orion froze.

For the first time since the fight began, genuine surprise crossed his face.

“No…”

Anna rose slowly.

Energy swirled around her like a storm.

The mark on her arm burned with blinding light.

“You don’t own me anymore.”

The words echoed through the cavern.

Not loudly.

Powerfully.

The silver light erupted outward.

It slammed into Orion.

He staggered.

Actually staggered.

Kai’s eyes widened.

Lucian saw the opening immediately.

He attacked.

His blade sliced across Orion’s chest.

Blood sprayed.

Orion roared.

The sound shook the mountain.

Rhett laughed wildly from across the chamber.

“That’s more like it!”

Kieran drove Selene backward.

Mira joined the fight, striking from the shadows.

For one brief moment, victory seemed possible.

Anna’s power continued pouring into the cavern.

The glowing chains of influence binding the imprisoned wolves began to crack.

Some of the captives collapsed, gasping as if waking from a nightmare.

Orion dropped to one knee.

Fury twisted his features.

“You stupid girl.”

Anna stood trembling.

Blood trickled from her nose.

But she didn’t stop.

The silver light intensified.

Orion’s power weakened.

Kai could feel it happening.

The oppressive weight that had filled the fortress was lifting.

Breaking.

“Keep going!” Kai shouted.

Anna screamed.

The mark exploded with light.

Every wolf in the cavern felt it.

The cages burst open.

Chains snapped.

Orion was forced backward.

For the first time, fear flickered in his eyes.

Then everything changed.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Orion turned his head.

And looked directly at Kai.

The fear vanished.

A smile appeared.

“Oh.”

Kai’s stomach dropped.

“No.”

Orion rose to his feet.

Despite the blood.

Despite the wounds.

Despite Anna’s attack.

He smiled.

“Now I remember.”

The air shifted.

Every instinct Kai possessed started screaming.

Run.

Run now.

Orion extended one hand toward him.

Kai couldn’t move.

It felt like invisible chains wrapped around his body.

Lucian saw it immediately.

“Kai!”

He tried to move.

Orion flicked his wrist.

Lucian was thrown across the cavern like a ragdoll.

Kieran and Rhett attempted to break away from Selene.

Orion’s power slammed into them too.

All three crashed into the walls.

Anna gasped.

“No!”

Orion ignored everyone.

His eyes remained locked on Kai.

Red.

Ancient.

Hungry.

“You’ve been fighting it for so long.”

Kai’s legs shook.

The voice wasn’t just in the room anymore.

It was inside his head.

Inside his soul.

“You feel it too, don’t you?”

“No.”

Kai forced the word out.

Orion took another step forward.

“You belong with me.”

Every light in the cavern flickered.

The freed wolves began screaming.

The mountain itself seemed to tremble.

Kai dropped to one knee.

Pain exploded through his skull.

He heard Lucian shouting his name.

He heard Kieran growling.

He heard Rhett cursing.

But all of it sounded distant.

Because Orion’s voice was becoming louder.

Stronger.

Closer.

The world blurred.

The fortress disappeared.

The cavern disappeared.

There was only darkness.

And Orion.

Smiling.

Waiting.

Reaching.

“Stop fighting, Kai.”

Kai’s heart pounded wildly.

Something was breaking.

Something deep inside him.

Something Orion had been pulling on since the very beginning.

And for the first time since meeting him…

Kai was terrified that Orion might actually win.