Chapter 71 Rougues Attack
The forest exploded into chaos.
Red's sudden flight triggered the trap. Wolves burst from the undergrowth on all sides. But these weren't normal wolves. These were abominations.
Their fur was matted with something dark and viscous. Their eyes glowed with unnatural light, not the reflective shine of healthy wolves but something deeper. Corrupted. Their scent hit Red like a physical blow. It was the smell of rot and madness and something that made every instinct scream “wrong, wrong, wrong.“
They looked like the rapid wolves from the palace reports. The ones infected by the plague. But different. These wolves had intelligence in their glowing eyes. Had coordination. Had strategy.
Normal rapid wolves were mindless. These were calculating and cruel. They'd scented her from a distance. Had set a trap. Had waited patiently for her to walk into their ambush.
And now they were hunting.
Red ran faster than she'd ever run in her life. Her small size was an advantage here, letting her dart between trees too close together for the larger corrupted wolves. Her red fur blurred through the darkness.
Behind her, the rougues gave chase. Their paws thundered against earth. Their breath came in rasps that sounded almost like laughter. Their howls split the night, triumphant and terrible.
Red's heart hammered against her ribs. Her lungs burned. She'd never trained as a wolf. Never learned to fight or hunt or defend herself. She was prey, not predator. Everything her mother had always said she was.
She burst into a small clearing. Skidded to a stop.
Four corrupted wolves stood waiting. They'd circled around. Cut off her escape. Their coordination was terrifying. Unnatural.
Red spun, looking for any gap. Any weakness. But they'd positioned themselves perfectly. North, south, east, west. Boxing her in.
The wolves closed in slowly. Their eyes fixed on her small red form. Hunger radiated from them, but it wasn't the clean hunger of natural predators. This was something twisted, wrong.
They were smeared with blood. Fresh kills, maybe. Or old ones that had never been cleaned from their matted fur. Their teeth were bared. Saliva dripped from their jaws.
Red backed into the center of the clearing. Her body low to the ground. Her tail tucked. She whimpered involuntarily. The sound was pathetic. Prey sound. Defeated sound.
But she didn't transform back to human. Didn't dare. Showing human vulnerability to these creatures would be a death sentence.
The largest wolf lunged.
Red dodged but not fast enough. Claws raked across her flank. Pain exploded. Her blood, splattered across the clearing floor.
She yelped and stumbled. The other wolves moved in.
Red threw back her head and howled.
The sound that emerged wasn't the timid whimper she'd expected. It was huge, powerful. A sound that echoed through the forest like thunder. A sound that spoke of desperation and rage and something deeper. Something primal that even Red didn't know she possessed.
The corrupted wolves hesitated. Just for a moment. Confusion flickered in their glowing eyes.
“What was that sound? From that small red wolf? Impossible.“
Red howled again. The sound reverberated through her bones. Through the trees. Through the very earth beneath her paws.
And something answered.
\---
Far away, in the Northern Kingdom palace, Adrian sat in his chambers. Unable to sleep. Unable to think. Unable to do anything except stare into the darkness and feel his entire world crumbling.
The sleeping draughts had worn off hours ago. He'd refused more. Needed to stay alert. Needed to think clearly even though clear thinking led only to impossible choices and endless pain.
He stared at nothing. At shadows on the wall. At the empty space where Lila should have been.
Then it hit him.
The mate bond snapped taut like a rope pulled to breaking. Pain exploded through his chest. Not physical pain but something worse. The bond screaming. Lila screaming. Terror and agony flooding through their connection despite the walls he'd built.
"No." Adrian was on his feet. His body moved without conscious thought. "Lila."
She was gone. Miles away. Beyond the borders. Beyond his reach.
But the bond didn't care about distance. The bond knew only that his mate was in danger. That his mate was probably hurt. That his mate might be calling for him.
His wolf surged. Not a gentle rising but an explosion. It tore through Adrian's carefully maintained control like paper. Demanded to be free. Demanded to hunt. Demanded to protect what was his.
"No," Adrian gasped. "I can't. The kingdom. The curse. I can't…"
But his wolf wanted dominance. Adrain had been too stubborn and had caged Aile so much he was tired of listening. But after he heard the howl of a desperate wolf, Aile was sure it was Lila.
To make Adrain give him, Aile pushed back memories of the night after their argument when they had first kissed and when he had almost marked her.
Adrain clenched his fist, his claws dug deep into his palms and he bleed trying so hard to shut Aile out of his head.
\---
But the memory crashed over Adrian like a wave. He could still taste her lips. Still smell her scent. Still feel her body beneath his yeilding his touch at that moment
“Mate,” his wolf howled. But Adrain held tight trying to push Aile out of his head.
"Marcus!" Adrian's voice came out as a roar. "MARCUS!"
His head warrior burst through the door. "Your Majesty, what…"
"Chain me." Adrian's eyes were bleeding red. Alpha red. His wolf taking over. "Now. Before I shift. Before I tear through this palace hunting for her."
"Your Majesty…"
"That's an order!" Adrian's body was already changing. His spine arching. His muscles bulging. Fur trying to erupt through skin. "Get chains. Get guards. Get whatever you need. But chain me before I lose control completely."
Marcus's face went pale. But he moved. Shouted orders. Within seconds, the room filled with guards and servants.
"The chain room," Marcus commanded. "Move. Now."