Chapter 72 Hunt and Howls
They dragged Adrian through corridors. His body fought every step. His wolf raged against the hands holding him. Against the walls keeping him from Lila. Against everything that stood between him and his suffering mate.
The chain room was deep in the palace. Underground. Built for wolves who lost control during transformation. For hunters whose blood lust grew too strong. For berserkers who needed restraint before they killed everyone around them.
Not for kings. Never for kings.
But Adrian had gone beyond king. Beyond Alpha. Beyond anything except wolf demanding to protect a mate.
They chained his wrists. His ankles. Heavy iron that should have been impossible to break. They bolted the chains to the stone walls. To the floor. Creating a web of restraint.
Adrian's wolf erupted.
The roar that emerged from his throat wasn't human. Wasn't even fully wolf. It was something primal. his beat Aile, the beast wolf.
His body bulked. Muscles rippled and grew. His clothes tore. Seams gave way. Fabric shredded.
The servants fled. Running from the monster their king had become. Only Marcus remained. Standing just beyond the chains' reach. His face pale but determined.
"Your Majesty." His voice was steady. "You need to fight it. Lila is beyond your reach. If you break free, if you hunt her down, you'll spread the curse. You'll kill thousands."
"She's hurt." Adrian's voice was barely recognizable. Half-growl, half-scream. "I feel her pain, she's calling for me."
"You can't go to her." Marcus said. Keal the best hunter we have and Delta is on the search. They will find her!“
And that was the problem. Because if Adrian broke free, if his wolf took complete control, even Keal would have to face him. Even the best hunter in five kingdoms wouldn't be able to stop an Alpha protecting his mate.
So Adrian had to stay chained. Had to let Lila suffer. Had to trust that she would survive whatever was hurting her.
Had to choose kingdom over mate one more time.
His wolf screamed. Yanked against the chains. The iron groaned. The walls trembled.
Outside the chain room, word spread through the palace like wildfire.
“The King is mad. The King has lost control. The King has become a monster.“
The curse had won, it had turned the kind to a rapid wolf. The plague had gotten to the king, driving the strongest Alpha in five kingdoms to madness.
\---
Back in the forest, Red howled again. The sound was weaker now. Blood loss making her dizzy. Making the world tilt and spin.
The corrupted wolves closed in. One lunged at her throat.
Then the bush exploded.
A massive wolf burst into the clearing. It was enormous. Gray-brown. Its coloring was strange, mottled like tree bark. Camouflaged perfectly for forest hunting.
“Hunter wolf,” Red's instincts screamed. “ A delta.“ It had the markings of the Northern kingdom. Had they been hunting for her?
The corrupted wolves turned to face this new threat. They Snarled. Prepared to attack.
The hunter wolf didn't hesitate. It moved like liquid death. Faster than anything Red had ever seen. Its jaws closed on the nearest corrupted wolf's throat. Ripped it out in one savage motion. Then more wolf's emerged out of the bush. She heard snaps and the smell of an army hit her nose.
The others attacked as one. Three against one. But the hunter was trained. Battle-hardened. It moved through them like a dancer. Claws and teeth flashing. Each strike in a precise and lethal way
Red didn't wait to see the outcome. The moment the wolves' attention shifted, she ran. She knew the clans were from the Northen palace. They were looking for her.
Her wounded flank screamed with every step. Blood dripped behind her, leaving a trail. But she didn't stop. She Couldn't stop.
She found her marks on the tree. Found the horse still tied and waiting. Transformed back to human, gasping with pain. The wound on her flank had transferred to her human side. Blood soaked through her shirt.
She didn't care. She dressed with shaking hands. Untied the horse. Mounted despite the agony.
And she rode.
Through the rest of the night. Through dawn breaking over the mountains. Through pain and exhaustion and terror.
She rode until she crossed the border into Moonstone Province. Until the Northern Kingdom's influence ended and her father's lands began.
She rode until she saw the familiar towers of her childhood home rising against the morning sky.
She rode until the horse collapsed beneath her from exhaustion.
And then she walked. Stumbled. Crawled the last hundred yards to the palace gates.
Guards found her there. Bloodied and barely conscious.
"Lady Lila?" One of them gasped. "Is that you?"
She managed a nod before darkness took her.
She was home. At least she would be safe.
But as consciousness faded, Red's last thought was of Adrian.
Then there was nothing. Just darkness and pain and the fading echo of a mate bond that refused to break no matter how hard duty tried to sever it.