Chapter 126 My Wolf Is Waking Up

Chapter 126 My Wolf Is Waking Up
~ Caelen's POV ~

The moment Alistair pointed toward the mountain house, I broke into a run with my wolves close behind me. I expected to pull Allene out of Lyra's hands, but gunfire and explosions reached us before we even crossed the clearing.

Several armed men were already surrounding the property and exchanging fire with wolves near the entrance. My wolf snarled inside me because these men carried neither pack scents nor Lyra's followers.

The smell of smoke mixed with blood as bullets struck the walls of the house. Then another scent reached me, and every other sound disappeared from my mind.

Allene was inside. The mate bond hit me so hard that I could almost feel her heartbeat through it.

"She's alive," I growled.

Kieran caught up beside me and looked toward the burning house. His expression hardened the moment he understood why I had stopped.

"Caelen, this is a trap," he warned.

"I don't care."

"The extremists want someone alive," Alistair said as he reached us with a rifle in his hands. "If they wanted her dead, this place would already be empty."

His words only made my blood run hotter. Nobody was taking my mate anywhere.

"Move!" I ordered.

My wolves charged without hesitation while I rushed straight toward the front entrance. Bullets flew past us as the extremists turned their weapons toward our position.

Several wolves shifted completely and threw themselves into the fight. They ignored the gunfire long enough to reach the attackers before claws and teeth finished what the bullets could not.

I burst through the front gate with Kieran covering my left side. The front yard was filled with bodies from both sides.

An extremist aimed his rifle at me from behind a truck. Before he could fire, Alistair shot him through the shoulder and forced him to the ground.

I looked at him for only a second before continuing forward. Never in my life had I imagined seeing Alistair Voss fighting beside wolves.

Another explosion shook the side of the house. Flames climbed across one section of the roof as smoke poured into the night sky.

More howls echoed from the forest behind us. At first I thought another enemy group had arrived.

Then familiar scents reached me. Ordinary pack wolves poured out of the trees alongside younger warriors I recognized from Dravik Territory.

Several female wolves ran with them carrying weapons and medical bags. None of them had been summoned.

Kieran stared in disbelief. Even he had not expected them.

"They came on their own," he muttered.

I nodded once before rushing ahead again. They were no longer fighting because of my title or Duno's challenge.

They were fighting because they refused to let strangers decide what happened to Allene. That truth gave every wolf around me even more determination.

We forced our way through the entrance as more extremists retreated deeper into the house. My wolf continued pulling me toward the strongest trace of Allene's scent.

"Upstairs," I said.

Kieran followed while several wolves secured the lower floor. Gunfire echoed through every hallway as walls splintered around us.

I kicked open the first bedroom and found it empty. My wolf pushed me toward the next door without hesitation.

I slammed my shoulder into it. The lock snapped immediately.

Allene turned the moment I entered. Relief filled her face before either of us spoke.

I crossed the room in seconds. She ran toward me at the same time.

I wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly against my chest. For one brief moment, nothing outside that room mattered.

She held onto me just as firmly. Neither of us wasted time asking questions.

The mate bond surged through my body stronger than it had ever been before. I felt every heartbeat she did, and I knew she felt mine.

A loud crash downstairs broke the moment apart. More extremists had entered the house.

"We have to go," I said.

She nodded immediately. There was no hesitation in her eyes.

We rushed into the hallway together. Kieran appeared from the staircase with blood on his shirt but still standing.

"The back exit is clear," he reported.

Before I could answer, Allene suddenly grabbed my arm. Her eyes widened as she stared toward the hallway behind us.

"Down!" she shouted.

I reacted without thinking and pulled both of us to the floor. A burst of automatic gunfire ripped through the hallway where our heads had been only a second earlier.

Kieran spun around and tackled the attacker before the man could fire again. The struggle ended with the extremist lying motionless against the wall.

I looked at Allene in surprise. I had not even heard the man approaching.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I don't know," she answered quietly. "I just felt him."

There was no time to question it further. We hurried toward the rear exit while the battle continued around us.

Outside, another group of armed men blocked our escape route. Before they could surround us, someone stepped between both sides.

Lyra raised her weapon toward the approaching extremists. Her expression was filled with anger.

"They're not taking her," she snapped.

I stared at her without understanding. This was the same woman who had hated Allene from the beginning.

She looked directly at Allene. Her voice remained cold despite everything happening around us.

"I still hate you."

Allene stayed silent. She simply watched Lyra with confusion.

"But nobody else gets to decide your future," Lyra continued. "Go."

Without waiting for an answer, she opened fire on Elder Magnus's advancing men. The sudden attack forced them to take cover while we escaped into the trees.

I glanced back only once. Lyra remained standing in the middle of the smoke as more extremists surrounded the house.

I could not understand why she had chosen that path. Nothing about her decision made sense.

The fire spread quickly across the roof behind us. Within minutes, flames swallowed almost every part of the mountain house.

We reached the waiting vehicles as more wolves formed a defensive line around them. Several of the younger wolves were injured, and fear spread through those who had never fought extremists before.

As frightened wolves gathered near Allene, something caught my attention. Her eyes briefly glowed with soft gold before returning to normal.

The frightened wolves slowly relaxed without anyone speaking to them. Their breathing steadied as if someone had removed the fear from their minds.

I watched the same thing happen twice more while everyone climbed into the vehicles. None of the wolves seemed to understand why they suddenly felt calmer.

We drove away from the burning mountain as explosions echoed behind us. The fire disappeared farther into the distance with every mile we covered.

No one inside the vehicle spoke for several minutes. Everyone was exhausted and trying to understand what had just happened.

I reached across the seat and took Allene's hand. She squeezed mine gently without looking away from the window.

Then she leaned closer until only I could hear her voice. Her next words left me completely speechless.

"I think my wolf is waking up."