Chapter 69: Blood in the Shadows

Alexander’s POV

The first blade came fast.

I twisted, narrowly avoiding the strike, my own weapon flashing as I countered. Steel met flesh—a grunt, a stumble—and then the enemy was gone, swallowed by the darkness of the forest.

But more took their place.

They weren’t fighting like rogues. Their movements were precise, tactical. No frenzied attacks, no reckless lunges. Every strike was meant to kill.

I snarled, driving forward. My wolf clawed beneath my skin, urging me to shift, to tear through them with tooth and claw. But I couldn’t afford to lose control. Not yet. To my left, Eva fought with deadly efficiency. Her daggers flashed, cutting through the night, but even she was being forced back.

“We need to regroup!” she called.

She was right. We had walked into their trap, and now we were surrounded.

“Fall back!” I commanded.

The order barely left my lips before something slammed into me from behind. A weight, a body—too strong, too fast. We crashed to the ground, and suddenly, cold steel pressed against my throat.

A growl rumbled deep in my chest. My wolf surged forward, my muscles tensed to throw my attacker off—

Then I saw their eyes.

Not the wild, rabid gaze of a rogue.

No. This was something else.

Calculated. Measured. Waiting.

“You’re not the only Alpha on this battlefield,” a voice murmured.

And then a sharp pain exploded at my side.

Something was wrong.

I had tried to sleep. I had tried to convince myself that the mission would go as planned, that Alexander would return before sunrise with answers.

But sleep never came.

And now, as I stood at the castle’s balcony, staring toward the eastern forest, a cold unease wrapped around my ribs like a vice.

I wasn’t the only one.

The village was too quiet. The pack was awake, pacing in restless silence. They felt it too.

A presence. A shift.

A storm about to break.

Then— A horn sounded from the watchtower.

My heart lurched.

Warriors rushed into motion. Torches blazed to life. I turned on my heel, already moving, already running—

Because I knew.

I knew Alexander was in danger.

And I was done waiting.

Pain seared through my side.

I gritted my teeth, forcing my body to move despite the wound. The enemy’s blade had cut deep, but I didn’t have the luxury of slowing down. Not now. Not when my warriors were still locked in battle.

I threw my attacker off with a surge of strength, rolling to my feet just in time to block another strike. My body protested, but I didn’t let it falter. Blood dripped onto the dirt beneath me, the scent sharp in the cold night air.

Whoever these people were, they weren’t here to test our strength.

They were here to break us.

Eva’s voice cut through the chaos. “Alexander, move!”

I barely ducked in time as a dagger flew past me, embedding itself in the chest of an enemy sneaking up from behind. The attacker fell with a strangled sound, and Eva was already turning to face another.

“We’re losing ground,” she said between breaths. “They were waiting for us.”

I knew. I’d felt it the moment they struck.

This wasn’t just an ambush—it was a message.

And as my gaze flicked over the battlefield, past the flickering shadows of our enemies, I realized something else.

They weren’t trying to kill us all.

They were trying to capture me.

A new kind of fury burned in my chest. They thought they could take me? Take my pack? Over my dead body.

I surged forward with renewed strength, cutting down another enemy as I called to my warriors. “Form up! Defensive positions—now!”

We needed to hold them back. Long enough to escape. Long enough to—

It wasn’t one of ours.

The enemy froze. A moment’s hesitation, barely a breath—but it was enough.

Their leader, the one who had whispered to me before driving a blade into my side, lifted his head toward the sound. Then, with a sharp whistle, he gave the order.

They were retreating.

Just like that, the enemy melted back into the forest.

Leaving us bleeding, gasping, and without a single damn answer.

I rode hard.

The moment the warning horn had sounded, I had gathered a small force and left the castle at a full sprint.

I didn’t care if I wasn’t meant to be here.

I didn’t care if this wasn’t my fight.

Alexander was out there. My people were out there. And I wasn’t about to sit back and wait for more bad news.

The scent of blood hit me first.

Then, the shapes of warriors in the clearing—the wounded, the standing, the ones who would never rise again.

And then—

He was on one knee, breathing hard, his blade slick with blood. Eva stood beside him, gripping her own wounds, her sharp eyes scanning the trees.

The moment Alexander’s gaze met mine, something inside me twisted. Relief. Fear. Something deeper.

I dismounted before my horse had fully stopped, my boots hitting the dirt hard as I rushed toward him. “Alexander—”

“I’m fine,” he ground out, but the blood soaking his side said otherwise.

“Liar,” I muttered, kneeling beside him, already pressing my hands to his wound. He hissed at the contact, but didn’t pull away.

“What happened?” I demanded.

Eva answered first. “It was a trap. A damn good one.”

I looked around at the fallen, my stomach twisting. “Who were they?”

“We don’t know,” Alexander said darkly. “But they didn’t fight like rogues.”

I swallowed hard. “Then what were they?”

He exhaled slowly, wincing as he shifted. “Organized. Trained. And they wanted something.”

My chest tightened. “What?”

His eyes met mine, the weight of his next words pressing down on me like a stone.

“They wanted me.”

The words settled like ice in my veins.

“They wanted me.”

Alexander’s expression was unreadable, but I could feel the weight of what he wasn’t saying.

This wasn’t a random attack. This wasn’t about the pack.

This was about him.

My grip on his wound tightened slightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to keep him grounded. “Then we need to figure out who they are before they try again.”

Eva exhaled sharply, wiping blood from her dagger. “No symbols. No markings. Nothing that ties them to any pack we know.” She glanced at Alexander. “Whoever sent them isn’t ready to reveal themselves yet.”

I looked back toward the treeline, my heart pounding. “Then why attack now?”

Garrick, one of the warriors who had survived the ambush, stepped forward. “To test our strength.” His voice was grim. “To see how we react. To see if we panic.”

And if they had captured Alexander…

I swallowed the thought. I couldn’t allow it to take root.

Alexander pushed himself to his feet with a sharp inhale. I moved to steady him, but he waved me off. “We’re heading back.”

Eva hesitated. “What about the bodies?”

Alexander’s jaw tightened. “Ours will be brought home. Theirs?” He glanced at the nearest corpse, expression unreadable. “Burn them.”

A silent message to whoever had sent them.

The enemy had played their hand.

Now, it was our turn.

By the time we returned to the castle, the pack was already awake and waiting. News of the battle had spread fast, and though the streets weren’t filled with outright fear, a new kind of tension had settled over our people.

Whispers followed us. I could feel the weight of their eyes as we entered the war room, where the council was already gathered.

Alexander stood at the head of the table, his hand braced against the surface to keep himself steady. The wound at his side had been bandaged, but I could tell he was still in pain.

I took a step closer, just enough to remind him I was there.

He didn’t acknowledge it, but he didn’t move away either.

Eva spoke first. “Whoever they were, they knew exactly how to hit us. They knew our patrol routes, our weak spots. They weren’t just guessing.”

Someone scoffed. “Then that means—”

“Yes,” Alexander cut in. “It means we have a traitor.”

The room went silent.

The council members exchanged uneasy glances, but no one spoke.

I exhaled slowly. “Then we need to flush them out.”

Garrick nodded. “And we need to prepare for another attack. Because this wasn’t the end of it.”

I turned to Alexander. “What’s our next move?”

His eyes flicked toward me, searching, as if weighing his options.

Then, finally, his voice came, steady and unshaken.

“We stop waiting.” His gaze swept the room, filled with quiet authority. “We hunt them first.”

The battle wasn’t over.

It had only just begun.