Chapter 112: Captured

Chapter 112: Captured
Lia

The choice Kai demanded shattered something inside me.
But before I could answer, howls split the night—not our wolves. Enemy wolves.
"CIRCLE FORCES!" A guard's scream cut through our standoff. "Eastern border! They're everywhere!"
Kai shifted instantly, but I grabbed his fur. "We finish this later. Right now, we fight."
His wolf's eyes burned into mine. This isn't over.
I know.
We ran.
The eastern border was chaos incarnate. Hundreds of Circle warriors poured through breaks in our defenses, and these weren't the disorganized forces from before. These were trained killers, moving with precision that spoke of months of planning.
And they weren't attacking the pack house.
They were driving straight toward me.
"IT'S A CAPTURE MISSION!" Theron's voice roared above the battle. "PROTECT THE LUNA!"
But there were too many. Viktor went down under three attackers. Zara's warriors formed a protective circle that lasted maybe thirty seconds before being overwhelmed.
A wolf I didn't recognize slammed into me, and silver chains materialized from nowhere, wrapping around my wrists before I could shift.
My power cut off instantly.
"NO!" Kai's howl of rage shook the trees as he tore through enemies to reach me. But more chains appeared—spelled chains that glowed with runes I'd never seen.
They wrapped around him like living things, pinning him to the ground.
"Kai!" I struggled against my captors, but the silver burned too deep.
A figure emerged from the shadows. Female. Ancient. With eyes that held centuries of hate.
"The last Silvermane," she said, her voice like gravel. "Finally."
She wasn't alone. Behind her stood at least twenty wolves in formation, and at the center—
My blood turned to ice.
Seraphina.
"You," I breathed. "You've been working with them all along."
Seraphina's smile was a cold triumph. "Not working with them. Leading them. Did you really think your little display of power impressed anyone? You're a genetic anomaly that needs to be eliminated."
"You betrayed your own pack…"
"I saved my pack from contamination." Seraphina stepped closer, and I saw the zealot certainty in her eyes. "Lyanna was weak. Kai became weaker, loving you. Someone had to protect pure bloodlines from abominations like you."
Kai thrashed against his chains, his wolf snarling murder.
"Don't worry, Alpha," the ancient female said. "We're not killing your mate. We're taking her somewhere she can be properly studied. Dissected. Her power extracted and controlled so it can never threaten pure wolves again."
"I'll kill you," Kai's voice was barely human. "I'll kill every single one of you."
"No, you won't." Seraphina knelt beside him, her hand on his muzzle in a mockery of tenderness. "You'll grieve. Then you'll move on. Take a proper Luna—maybe me. And eventually, you'll thank us for saving you from yourself."
She stood, gesturing to the warriors. "Take her. The facility is waiting."
They dragged me toward a transport vehicle hidden in the trees. I fought every step, but the silver was too strong, my power too suppressed.
"LIA!" Kai's howl split the night. "FIGHT THEM! DON'T GIVE UP!"
But what could I do? I was human strength against wolves, chained in spelled silver, surrounded by enemies.
Theron appeared from nowhere, his wolf form crashing into my captors. "GET HER OUT OF HERE!"
The ancient female moved faster than thought, her claws finding Theron's throat. "Foolish boy. You can't save her."
"Maybe not." Theron's smile was bloody. "But I can slow you down."
He exploded into his full Alpha form—larger than any wolf I'd seen, silvery-white fur crackling with power—and crashed into the ancient female with suicidal fury.
In the chaos, the grip on my chains loosened.
"RUN!" Theron's mental voice hit me like a bomb. "For once, just RUN!"
I ran.
Blind, terrified, my wrists burning from silver, I crashed through the forest with enemies on my heels. Behind me, I heard Theron's roars of pain, heard Kai's chains breaking—finally—heard the battle intensifying.
But I kept running.
Until silver nets dropped from the trees.
I was tangled, trapped, helpless as Circle warriors surrounded me. Their leader—a scarred male with dead eyes—smiled.
"End of the line, Silvermane."
He raised a syringe, and I saw the liquid inside glow with the same runes as the chains.
"This will put you out until we reach the facility. Don't worry—you won't remember the journey. Most subjects prefer it that way."
The needle descended toward my neck.
I screamed.
And something inside me broke.
Not my mind. Not my will.
My wolf.
The creature that had been suppressed by silver suddenly erupted in a cascade of power so raw, so primal, that the spelled chains shattered like glass.
My hybrid form emerged—not the controlled version I'd mastered, but something older. Something from when Silvermane Lunas were weapons first, diplomats second.
The male with the syringe had time to look shocked before my claws went through his chest.
I didn't stop to think. Didn't stop to feel guilty.