Chapter 97 The Alpha’s Rage
The forest didn’t feel right.
It was supposed to be alive. There were usually sounds layered over each other, leaves shifting, distant animals moving, wind weaving through the trees. Even the air carried meaning.
But today… nothing.
It was too quiet.
Unnaturally quiet.
I slowed my pace, my paws sinking slightly into the damp earth as I lifted my head, scanning the trees ahead. My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin, restless and on edge in a way I couldn’t ignore.
Something was wrong.
Jaxon ran beside me, his wolf keeping pace with mine, but I could feel his tension too.
You feel that? he asked through the link.
Yeah, I answered. Something’s off.
We kept moving, pushing toward the north ridge where the report had come from.
There were no signs of anything.
No broken branches.
No unfamiliar scents.
Nothing.
I stopped first, shifting back into human form, the change snapping through me as I straightened and ran a hand through my hair.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” I muttered.
Jaxon shifted a second later, already scanning the area with narrowed eyes. “So we came all the way out here for nothing?”
“It wasn’t nothing,” I said, sharper than I meant to. “Someone reported it.”
“Yeah? Well, whoever did must’ve been seeing things.”
A branch snapped behind us.
I turned instantly.
My father stepped out of the trees, calm but commanding as always. Jaxon’s father followed, along with a group of warriors spreading out behind them.
“Anything?” my father asked.
I shook my head. “No scent. No tracks. Nothing recent.”
Jaxon let out a dry breath. “If rogues were here, they were very covert.”
My father’s expression tightened slightly as he looked around, like he didn’t trust the stillness either.
“That’s not like them,” he said.
“No,” I agreed. “It’s not.”
This felt planned.
A thought hit me hard.
“Who reported it?” I asked.
My father hesitated.
And that hesitation told me everything.
“We’re not sure,” he admitted.
My jaw clenched. “What do you mean you’re not sure?”
“The call came through a patrol channel,” Jaxon’s father added. “No name.”
“So we just came running out here blind?” I snapped.
“Kier,” my father warned.
“No,” I said, stepping forward. “Someone sends us chasing nothing at the edge of our territory, and nobody thinks that’s a problem?”
No one answered.
Because they knew I was right.
My wolf shifted uneasily.
And then it clicked.
This wasn’t random.
It was a distraction.
My stomach dropped.
Sable.
I turned toward the direction of the pack house without thinking, a cold weight settling in my chest.
“Something’s wrong,” I said.
Jaxon frowned. “What?”
“I don’t know,” I said, already shifting again. “But I don’t like it.”
And then I ran.
Jaxon followed immediately.
Behind us, our fathers shifted too, warriors falling in as we tore through the forest, faster this time. Harder.
Every second felt wrong.
I shouldn’t have left her.
The thought repeated over and over, hitting me harder each time.
I should’ve stayed.
I should’ve known.
Kier.
My mother’s voice slammed into my head.
Sharp.
Urgent.
Wrong.
I froze mid-stride.
What is it? I demanded.
There was a pause.
Too long.
They took her.
Everything inside me went still.
The forest disappeared.
The air left my lungs.
Who? I asked, but my voice didn’t sound like mine anymore.
The council, she said. They came while you were gone. Warriors. They said it was by order.
Something inside me broke.
I didn’t think.
Didn’t stop.
I ran.
Faster than I ever had.
Branches tore at my skin as the ground blurred beneath me. My wolf surged forward, rage burning through me like fire.
They took her.
They took my mate.
Jaxon caught up beside me, his voice cutting through the chaos. Kier, what happened?
The council took Sable.
What?
They took her while we were out here. This was a setup.
A growl ripped through him. I knew something was off.
So did I.
And I still left her.
The guilt hit harder than anything.
My father’s voice came through next, steady but firm. Kier. Slow down.
No.
You need to think.
They took her, I snapped. I’m not slowing down.
You don’t go into the council blind, my father said. You are an Alpha. Act like it.
I kept running that's when I felt it. My father used his alpha command forcing me to shift.
I shifted back mid run and continued to run on my human feet.
“I don’t care about being Alpha right now,” I growled out loud.
Jaxon shifted beside me mid run and grabbed my arm just enough to slow me.
“Kier, listen,” he said, breathing hard but focused. “If you go in there like this, you’ll get her killed.”
I yanked my arm away. “They already touched her.”
“And you think losing control is going to fix that?” he shot back.
I stopped.
Not because I wanted to.
Because he was right.
And I hated it.
My chest rose and fell as I stood there, fists clenched so tight they shook.
“They had no right,” I said, my voice low.
“They didn’t,” Jaxon agreed. “But they’ll use your reaction against you.”
I dragged a hand down my face, forcing myself to think.
My wolf snarled inside me, pacing, ready to tear everything apart.
Let me out, he pushed.
Not yet, I forced back.
Barely holding on.
My father stepped forward, gripping my shoulder. “You have to go in there as an Alpha,” he said. “Not just as a mate.”
“I’m both,” I snapped.
“Then control both,” he said evenly.
Silence settled between us.
I took a slow breath.
Then another.
Forcing the rage into something sharper.
“They’re going to answer for this,” I said.
Jaxon nodded once. “Yeah. They are.”
“Let’s go.”
We didn’t run this time.
We moved together with purpose.
And as the pack came into view, one thing burned clear in my mind.
They had just started a war.
And I was going to finish it.