Chapter 174 174

Chapter 174 174
  XANDER
  Seren stood there like she wasn’t the same witch who swore to the moon she wasn't getting involved in wolf chaos again, like she wasn’t supposed to be a continent away from all this insanity by now.
   Her hair was tangled, her clothes wrinkled, her eyes cold in that witchy way that always made me feel like she could see straight through bone. But there was something else in them too. I could sense fear, anger, something tight and brittle.
  Zayne and I told her everything. All of it. No pause, no filter. The drug. The betrayal. Fiona. Liam. The antidote. The empty vial. 
  Seren didn’t interrupt once. She just drifted closer to Milicent’s bed, her fingers trembling slightly as she placed her palm over Milicent’s forehead. A soft glow pulsed under her skin, faint, like a candle struggling to stay lit in the wind.
  Then Seren’s breath stuttered and her eyes snapped open.
  “Oh no.” Zayne leaned in so fast the bed creaked. “What do you mean ‘oh no,’ Seren?” His voice was rough, dangerous, like he’d already accepted someone’s death and was ready for the next.
  Seren stepped back a little, rubbing her hands together as if trying to shake off whatever she felt. “I can’t sense her.” My stomach dropped. “What are you talking about? She’s right there.”
  “I can’t sense her,” Seren repeated, louder this time. “I can’t sense her mind. I can’t sense her wolf. There’s nothing. It’s like… like they’re lost. Separated. Not gone, but not reachable either.” Is that why we couldn't track her?. “She’s stuck somewhere inside herself.”
  Zayne cursed, turning away like he couldn’t bear to look at the bed for another second.
  Seren paced, fingers in her hair, breathing fast. “The drug—gods, I thought it wasn’t real. It’s called Nullshade. A forbidden sedative that was banned before I was even born. The kingdom wiped it out. Or so we thought.” She shot a furious look at the door, like Fiona might magically appear for her to strangle. “Without the antidote, Milicent’s mind and her wolf will keep drifting apart until only one stays.”
  I stiffened. “Meaning?”
  Seren swallowed hard, her jaw tightening. “Meaning she could shift. Unconsciously. And stay that way. Forever.” She looked at Milicent like she was staring at a ticking bomb. “Her body might live, her wolf might live, but her mind? Milicent? The girl you love?” Her voice cracked. “She’ll be gone.”
  Zayne punched the wall so hard the medical instruments rattled. The nurse hissed from across the room, but no one cared.
  “She trusted Fiona,” I whispered, staring at her pale face. “She trusted her like a sister.”
  Seren’s expression darkened, hard enough to carve stone. “And after hearing this… after what Liam put me through…” Her hands balled into fists. “Fine. I’ll get myself into wolf matters one last time.” Her eyes softened when she looked at Milicent. “For her. I actually liked her. She didn’t treat me like a danger or a joke. So I’m in. Don't stop me.”
  Zayne looked at her, surprised. “Seren—”
  She raised a hand. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not doing this for you two. I’m doing it because someone needs to.” Then she blinked and corrected herself. “Okay maybe a little for you both because you look like you're about to chew through metal, but mostly for Milicent.”
  The witch nurse cleared her throat, stepping closer. “What’s the plan, boys?” Before either of us could answer, the infirmary door slammed open so hard it bounced off the wall.
  General Gregory Sawyer walked in like a storm given legs.
  His eyes swept the room, pausing only when they landed on Milicent. His expression showed just how deeply he loved his daughter but that was before the iron slammed back into place.
  Then his gaze stabbed into me and Zayne. “I just confirmed the name of the drug.”
  “Yeah we did too. Nullshade” I said dryly.
  “That drug is banned and if the girl had managed to get a hold of it and it's antidote then the rumours of Dranox pack being involved with illegal dealings against the superior Alpha's orders are true and my brother will face justice.”
  Zayne stared at him. “You’re saying Silverfang pack's rival pack's leader... is your brother.” Gregory didn’t blink. “Yes.”
  A chill crawled across my spine. He stepped closer to Milicent, brushed a strand of hair from her face with a tenderness that didn’t fit the aura of death he carried. Then he turned to us, eyes sharp enough to gut someone.
  “We'll get that antidote,” he ordered with barely-contained rage. “By all means necessary.” Zayne swallowed hard. “Do you know what they want with her?”
  Gregory looked away. “I do.”
  “And?” I pushed.
  “It’s a family matter,” he repeated. “One that won’t make sense until she wakes. And she will wake. Because if she doesn’t…” He paused, eyes turning into cold fire. “I will burn Dranox to ash.”
  Silence again. Ice-cold, suffocating silence.
  Seren suddenly spoke up, “General Gregory Sawyer?” she echoed softly, staring at him like she’d seen a ghost. “Gods… you’ve grown a lot since the last time I saw you.” Gregory’s eyes snapped to her.
  Not warmth. Not familiarity. Curiosity. Cold, cutting curiosity.
  “…Do I know you?” he asked, monotone. The witch paled instantly and scurried behind me like I was a wall. “N-no sir. Forget I spoke.”
  Zayne sighed. “Of course you’d say something weird,” he muttered. “Shut up,” she hissed at him.
  Gregory continued talking like none of that happened. “I’ve already contacted your father. I just got off the phone with him.” He announced. “It’s war. Silverfang has declared war against Dranox.”
  My pulse jumped. Zayne stiffened beside me. It would be our first time at the face of actual pack war.
  Gregory pointed at us. “While my personal army leads the front, you two—” he jabbed a finger at me and Zayne “—are in charge of finding the girl who betrayed my daughter. Retrieve the antidote. I don’t care how. Bring it back. Bring my daughter back.”
  Zayne nodded, eyes blazing with lethal certainty. “We will.” Gregory turned away sharply, heading for the exit. “Prepare yourselves. I expect movement before dawn.”
  Once the general left, the room felt like it exhaled for the first time.
  Seren crossed her arms. “Alright then. War. Antidotes. Betrayal. Poison. Family drama. All the good spicy things I've worked on before.” She looked at Milicent again, pain flickering in her eyes. “She better hold on.”
  Zayne pinched the bridge of his nose, pacing. “I’ll speak with my dad. Get involved with the planning.”
  I nodded, staring at Milicent’s still face, her pale lips, her faint breathing. “Good. Because whatever Fiona thinks she started…” I clenched my fists until my knuckles cracked. “We’re going to end it.”
  Zayne placed a hand on my shoulder. “And when we find Liam…” Seren smirked darkly. “Save him for me.”
  Outside, the bells of Silverfang started ringing, an alarm that shook the entire campus.
  War had begun.
  ZAYNE
  War didn’t creep into Silverfang like a whisper. It slammed into the kingdom like a door kicked open at midnight, loud and brutal and unapologetic. 
  The ground vibrated every time one of our towers released a flare. Wolves sprinted across the field like shadows breaking loose from the dark. Every corridor smelled like adrenaline and iron. Every student was ordered to stay inside. It was full lock down mode on Silverfang institute.
  But Xander and I weren’t “students” today. We were soldiers. Sons of the Alpha. Sons of a father who didn’t raise us to stand still while hell broke loose.
  And with Milicent lying unconscious, breathing like every inhale was a coin flip, I was ready to burn the world down to get her back.
  The war room was chaos. Maps spread everywhere, markers rolling across the table, the general barking orders like the air itself was running out of patience. 
  Our dad stood at the center—Alpha Ronan Brooks—towering, furious, calm in that terrifying way only he could pull off. General Gregory stood beside him, eyes blazing like he was seconds away from tearing through walls with his bare hands.
  “Dranox has moved their western division,” one lieutenant from the generals group reported, breathless. “They’re flanking the east gate.”
  Gregory snarled. “They want a distraction. They want to pull us away from the heartlands.” Dad looked up at us the moment we entered. “You two. Here. Now.”
  Xander and I stepped forward. The war table was covered in red marks that bled into the map like wounds.
  “We’re striking from four fronts. Gregory’s army is taking the southern ridge. My battalion will intercept the flanking force. But you—” His eyes pinned us like daggers. “Your mission is different.”
  Gregory leaned in, “Find the antidote. Nothing else matters. The adults will handle the war. You handle the antidote.”
   “We can fight on the field,” I argued. “We’re not—” Dad slammed his palm on the table. “Enough.”
  The sound cracked through the room like a whip.
  Gregory took a step closer. “My daughter… your mate… does not have time. You think war scares me? You think losing territory scares me? I don’t care about any of that. I want my child awake. I want her breathing without witches hovering over her bed.”
  Xander moved in beside me. “We’re going.”
  Dad nodded. “Good. A squad of our fastest scouts will escort you to the border. From there, you infiltrate Dranox territory with Gregory’s special unit. The witch will stay behind and perform old spells that help with our strength.”
  “Seren is not gonna like that,” 
  “She'll be by milicent's side to make sure they don't come after her while we're distracted. She agreed.” the general said.
  Gregory slid a folder across the table. “Our people have a back route. A hidden tunnel under the old ravine. Use it. It leads straight into what I suspect must be their research compound.”
  I grabbed the folder. “And the antidote?”
  Gregory’s eyes darkened. “It should be stored somewhere inside. Find it. Or you bring Fiona back alive and force her to give it.” His jaw flexed like he was imagining all the ways he’d make that happen.
  Xander and I exchanged a look. No jokes. No sarcasm. No debate. Just understanding. Milicent or nothing.
  ---
  Night fell like a hammer as we all set out with the plan.
  Gregory’s elite squad were in dark armor, silent movements, eyes hard as steel. They guided us to the hidden tunnel. It looked like a crack in the earth, barely big enough for a human.
  Xander crouched. “This is cozy.” One of the soldiers glared at him. “Move.” We did.
  The tunnel stank of mold and old blood. Water dripped constantly. Our boots splashed through the muddy floor. It stretched on forever, twisting and bending like it wanted to break our sense of time.
  When we finally reached the exit grate, two guards stood outside. Both Dranox. Both unaware that death was already breathing down their necks.
  Xander tapped my arm once. “Left?” I nodded. “Left.”
  We burst from the tunnel like shadows unleashed. Two quick movements. Two bodies hitting the ground. No noise or chance for alarms.
  The compound loomed ahead. It looked like a place built by people who didn’t care what kind of nightmares lived inside. Xander ran alongside me, both of us breathing hard, adrenaline eating through our veins.
  “Milicent better marry me after this,” he muttered. I snorted. “Please. She’s marrying me.”
  “Dream.” We didn’t argue more because the first alarm blared the second we kicked the door in.