Chapter 38 The Wolf’s Gambit

Chapter 38 The Wolf’s Gambit
The first light of morning found Rael already in motion. His plan depended on absolute precision. He couldn’t be in two places at once, and Annalise’s safety was the key that unlocked Selene’s cage.

He found Nara by her jeep, engine already running. Since her talk with Lucien, Nara had become a reluctant but eager ally, approaching Rael with a curiosity he didn’t find in the other pack members.

— You know what to do — said Rael, his voice tense.

— Yeah, yeah — said Nara, chewing gum. — I’ll go get the human. I’ll tell her Selene had an emergency, blah blah blah. Since she saw me with Selene’s psycho cousin, she’ll probably find me suspicious enough to believe it.

— Don’t scare her — said Rael, remembering Valerius’s threat. He still assumed Annalise was just a civilian caught in the middle, not knowing Selene had already told her everything. — She’s innocent in this. If she resists...

— Rael, relax — interrupted Nara with a wide grin. — I can transport a human without breaking her. Now go. Your princess is waiting.

Nara drove off in the jeep. Rael got on his bike, heading in the opposite direction. The plan was for Nara to fetch Annalise and take her straight to the farm, while Rael intercepted the car that would take Selene to the university.

Annalise was trembling so hard she could barely hold her house keys. She’d said goodbye to her mother with a lie about going early to the library. As she walked toward the university, she felt like a lamb heading to the slaughter, Valerius’s threat the only thing in her mind.

An old, dented jeep stopped beside her. The window rolled down, and Nara looked at her through dark sunglasses.

— Annalise! — called Nara, with exaggerated cheer. — Heading to campus?

Annalise froze, her heart pounding in her throat. This wasn’t a coincidence. She remembered Selene’s warning: If something strange happens, if one of Rael’s allies looks for you, trust them.

— Get in! — said Nara, trying to sound casual, though urgency bled through her tone. — Selene needs us. She had a... family emergency. She asked me to take you somewhere safe.

Annalise looked around. The street was empty. She opened the door and got in, her face pale but strangely calm.

Nara drove off, heading out of the city toward Cedric’s farm. She glanced sideways at the silent human in the passenger seat, genuinely confused by the lack of panic. Weird, Nara thought. She didn’t even ask where we’re going or what kind of emergency. Most humans would be screaming by now.

— So... — said Nara, breaking the silence with forced lightness. — You didn’t even blink. A girl you barely know pulls up in a jeep, says something about your best friend’s emergency, and you just hop in? No questions?

Annalise tightened the strap of her backpack, staring ahead.

— Selene told me to trust her friends if anything happened — said Annalise, her voice surprisingly firm. — And you’re her friend, right?

Nara was momentarily speechless. Her friend? Rael was the “friend.” But she decided to go along.

— Uh... yeah. Of course. Friends — Nara agreed quickly. — And you’re really brave to trust like that. Selene’s lucky to have you.

Nara focused back on the road, still puzzled by the girl’s calm. She’s stranger than she looks, she thought. Or maybe she just really trusts Selene.

— Okay. Buckle up — said Nara, deciding not to push further. — It’s gonna be a bit of a ride. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe where we’re going.

Rael was hidden on a side road among the trees, watching the main path leaving the Dark Blood estate. Tobias had taught him: never wait in plain sight.

At exactly 8:15, a sleek black sedan appeared — the same one Selene had described, probably with a Night Eternal Clan guard at the wheel, just as Valerius had promised. She’s my pupil.

Rael let it pass. He waited three seconds, then gunned the engine, his bike roaring to life. He sped past the car and, in a daring move, braked diagonally, blocking the road.

The sedan screeched to a halt. The driver’s door opened, and a tall vampire in a suit stepped out.

— Get out of the way, mutt.

— I’m taking the girl — said Rael.

The vampire smiled — an ugly, cold smile. — Who do you think—

He struck with supernatural speed. Rael was ready. He didn’t try to block the hit. He dodged, using his hybrid reflexes, and applied what Tobias had taught him.

The vampire slashed with claws. Rael didn’t back off. He stepped forward, grabbed the vampire’s wrist, and in one smooth motion drove the silver-coated wooden stake Tobias had given him straight into the pressure point beneath the vampire’s jaw.

The vampire froze. His eyes widened — not in pain, but in systemic shock. He wasn’t dead, but the chemical cocktail paralyzed him instantly. He collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

Rael rushed to the back door and opened it. Selene was there, pale as a ghost.

— Rael! — she gasped in a panicked whisper. — What have you done?! You have to go! They’re watching me! Annalise... they’ll kill Annalise!

— Shhh. — He pulled her out of the car. — Listen to me. Annalise is safe.

— What?

— Nara went to get her. By now, she’s already at Cedric’s farm. Valerius can’t touch her. I took her off the board.

Selene’s eyes filled with tears, weeks of terror melting into overwhelming relief. — You... you took her out?

— I told you I’d get you out of this — he said, holding her face. — This is the first step.

She grabbed him, and he kissed her. It wasn’t a soft kiss — it was raw, real, almost angry, a kiss that said I beat them. Selene kissed him back with equal intensity, all her fear and frustration dissolving in that moment.

— Come with me — he said, pulling her toward the bike. — Just for today. I’ve prepared everything.

She didn’t hesitate. She climbed onto the bike, wrapped her arms around his waist, and Rael sped off down the road toward the neighboring city — long before the paralyzed driver could even twitch a finger.