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Kevin dragged Rosa through the underground corridor, breathing hard and shaking. His grip on her arm tightened as he pulled her along the rocky ground. Blood dripped from her side where he had stabbed her. She struggled to stay on her feet, but every step hurt. Her breath came out uneven and soft.
“Move,” Kevin snapped. “You will not slow me down.”
Rosa tried to speak. “Please… stop. The children…”
“Do not speak to me,” Kevin shouted, shaking her. “Keegan thinks he can take my place. He thinks he can fight me. He will fail once he sees you in my hands.”
Rosa looked toward the place where she had hidden the children earlier. She prayed they stayed quiet. They were pressed under the old debris, scared and shaking, holding each other in the dark corner of the chamber.
Outside the chamber, the sound of fighting kept growing. Heavy footsteps, metal hitting stone, and angry shouts echoed through the tunnels. Kevin paused at the noise and looked around with wide eyes.
“What are they doing?” he hissed. “Why are they so close already?”
Two guards near him shifted nervously. One whispered, “Alpha, maybe we should fall back. Keegan’s forces… they broke through the traps.”
“There are too many,” another guard said. “We cannot hold them. We should escape now.”
Kevin snapped his head toward them. “You want to run? You cowards. You think Keegan will spare you? He wants you dead just as much as he wants me dead.”
The guards exchanged worried looks.
Rosa used the moment to pull her arm a little, trying to slip free, but Kevin yanked her back.
“Do not try that again,” he warned.
Far down the tunnels, a loud crash echoed, followed by Keegan’s voice shouting orders.
“Push forward! Do not stop! Find Rosa! Find the children!”
Rosa’s heart jumped at the sound.
Kevin cursed under his breath. “He is getting closer. Move!” He pulled her again, dragging her toward a narrow corridor that led to a hidden passage.

Keegan and his warriors reached the main entrance of the underground chamber. The place was filled with fallen fighters from both sides. Some were unconscious, others wounded and trying to crawl away from the danger. Keegan stepped over a broken trap, his face tense.
“Check every corner,” Keegan ordered. “Split into two groups. One follows me. The other searches for the children.”
A warrior asked, “Alpha, do you think Kevin still has them?”
Keegan’s voice shook with anger. “He has Rosa. And if the children are not with her, then they are hiding. We must find them before Kevin does.”
He pressed his hand against the wall where he saw blood smeared on the stone.
“This is Rosa’s,” he whispered. “She is hurt.”
His eyes darkened. “We do not stop.”
They moved forward fast, pushing through the last set of guards who tried to block the path. The corridor grew tighter, the air colder. Faint screams echoed from deeper in the tunnels.
“Alpha,” one warrior said, “that sounded like Rosa.”
Keegan’s heart pounded. “Move faster!”

Kevin pushed Rosa through the narrow passage. She could barely walk, falling forward more than stepping.
When they reached the hidden passage, Kevin froze.
The ceiling had collapsed. Rocks filled the path completely.
“No,” Kevin whispered. “No. It was open. It was open before.” He dropped Rosa’s arm and ran to the pile of stones, trying to move them. “Why is it blocked? Who did this?”
Rosa leaned against the wall, breathing slowly. Her hand pressed against her wound.
One of Kevin’s guards stepped forward. “Alpha… we cannot go through that. We should find another way.”
“There is no other way!” Kevin shouted. He grabbed a rock and threw it at the guard. “This passage was mine. It was made for me. Why is it gone!”
Rosa tried to push herself away from him. Her legs shook, and she fell to her knees.
Kevin turned to her. “You did this,” he said without reason. “You ruined everything.”
Rosa shook her head weakly. “I did nothing. Please… the children…”
“Silence!” Kevin yelled.
Footsteps echoed again from farther down the corridor. Loud, steady, growing closer.
A guard’s eyes widened. “Alpha… they are here.”
Kevin looked around the blocked passage, then grabbed Rosa by her hair and pulled her up.
“If I cannot escape, then Keegan will not win either,” he said. “He will watch you die.”
Rosa cried out from the pain.
“Please,” she whispered. “Do not… do not hurt them.”
Kevin pulled her toward the corridor. “If I cannot leave, then I will take you with me. Keegan will fall apart. He always cared too much about you.”
Rosa tried to claw at his arm, struggling to breathe.
“You do not have to do this,” she said. “Stop. It is over.”
“It is not over until I say it is!” Kevin roared.
He dragged her toward the center of the corridor as the sound of running feet grew loud. Warriors shouted commands, and battle cries mixed with metal hitting metal.

Keegan reached the tight corridor, breathing hard. His warriors followed behind him. He held his sword in one hand, ready for anything.
“Alpha,” a warrior whispered, pointing at the ground. “Blood.”
More streaks of Rosa’s blood led toward the narrow path.
Keegan swallowed hard. “She is here. I feel her. Do not let Kevin escape.”
The warriors nodded and prepared to move.
“Spread out,” Keegan said. “Block every turn. He will not run from me.”
They moved ahead slowly, checking for traps. The noise of the battle outside grew louder. The entire underground chamber shook from the fighting in the forest above. Dust fell from the ceiling as more clans loyal to Keegan clashed with Kevin’s last fighters.
Keegan pushed forward until he heard a weak cry.
“Keegan…”
It was Rosa.
He sprinted forward.

Kevin heard the footsteps and dragged Rosa back, using her body as a shield.
“Stay back!” Kevin shouted. “If any of you come close, she dies!”
Rosa gasped for air. “Keegan… don’t…”
Keegan stepped into the narrow space, eyes fixed on Rosa. “Let her go.”
“Do you think I will listen to you?” Kevin laughed, voices shaking. “You ruined everything. You took my power. You took my pack. You took my future.”
“You did that to yourself,” Keegan said. “Let her go.”
“I will leave here with her,” Kevin said. “Or no one leaves at all.”
Keegan moved a step forward.
“Stop!” Kevin squeezed Rosa tighter. “One more step and I slit her throat.”
Rosa’s legs trembled. She forced herself to speak. “Keegan… find the children…”
“They are safe,” Keegan said, lying to keep her calm. “Rosa, I am here.”
Kevin pushed her toward the center of the passage, breathing fast. “All of this is your fault. You made me do this.”
A guard behind Kevin whispered, “Alpha, we cannot win. Keegan has too many warriors. We should surrender.”
“Never!” Kevin shouted.
He shoved Rosa into the wall, then grabbed her by the neck.
Rosa gasped, trying to push his arm away.
Keegan stepped forward again. “Kevin, enough!”
Kevin’s eyes twitched, and he lifted his knife. “Then watch her bleed.”
Rosa let out a weak cry.
Keegan’s voice turned dark. “Touch her again, and I will end you.”
Kevin laughed quietly. “You came too late.”
He raised the knife to strike again.
But Rosa slipped out of his grasp for a second and fell to the ground.
Kevin stumbled, losing balance, and Keegan rushed forward.
“Now!” Keegan shouted.
His warriors charged from both sides of the corridor, blocking Kevin’s exit. Kevin swung his knife wildly, screaming, but Keegan pushed him back with pure strength.
Kevin fell against the blocked passage.
Keegan stood in front of Rosa, breathing hard.
It was the moment everything changed.
Rosa looked up at him with weak eyes. “Keegan…”
Keegan reached down to hold her, but Kevin screamed, “She is mine!”
He lunged forward again and Keegan raised his sword.