Chapter 83: The Siege Begins

Mariana’s POV

The stronghold trembled as something heavy slammed against the doors. A collective gasp rippled through the gathered pack members, fear thick in the air.

“They’re trying to break through,” Damien growled, his back pressed against the door. Blood streaked his arm, but he ignored it, gripping his sword with white-knuckled determination.

A second impact cracked through the wood.

“They won’t hold forever,” Eva said as she stumbled inside, panting. Blood splattered her clothes, but none of it seemed to be hers. “Lucian’s forces aren’t just attacking—they’re tearing through our defenses.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the panic at bay. “How many made it inside?”

Eva’s jaw clenched. “Not enough.”

Damien turned to me. “What are your orders?”

Orders. They were looking to me.

I forced myself to think through the haze of fear. If the stronghold fell, we lost everything—our people, our future. We had to hold our ground, at least until Alexander returned.

“We barricade the entrances,” I said. “Eva, take a team and secure every hidden passage. If they get through one of them, we’re done.”

She nodded and was gone in an instant.

I turned to Damien. “Get our best archers on the upper levels. If they’re swarming the gates, we need to make them pay for every inch.”

Another crash against the door, this time splintering part of the wood.

Damien’s expression darkened. “They’ll be through soon.”

I inhaled sharply. “Then we make sure they regret it.”

The moment I spoke, another sound cut through the chaos.

A long, eerie howl.

And then—silence. The attacks on the door stopped. The shouts outside faded.

Damien stiffened. “Why did they stop?”

The silence stretched, thick with unease.

Then, from the darkness beyond the broken door, a voice drifted through.

Low. Smooth. Amused. “Come out, little queen,” the voice called. “Let’s talk.” My stomach dropped. Lucian had arrived. The silence after Lucian’s words was worse than the battle. It sank into the walls of the stronghold, stretching every second into something unbearable.

Damien tensed beside me, his fingers flexing over the hilt of his sword. The pack warriors on the upper levels stayed deathly still, arrows nocked but waiting—because none of us knew what would happen next.

Lucian wasn’t a man who wasted words. If he was here, standing beyond our shattered gates instead of ordering his men to tear through them, it meant he had something more sinister in mind.

“Do not go out there,” Eva’s voice came from the shadows. She had returned, slipping back through the barricades like a ghost. “He’s baiting you.”

I knew that. And yet, standing in this fortress while he waited outside felt wrong. I didn’t want to cower behind walls while he dictated the terms of this war.

Another moment of silence. Then—

“Are you afraid, little queen?” Lucian’s voice curled through the air like smoke. “Has the weight of your stolen throne made you weak?”

A growl rumbled from deep in Damien’s chest. “I’ll kill him myself.”

I stepped forward, forcing my breath to steady. “No. He wants a reaction. We don’t give it to him.”

But I needed to know what he was planning.

I glanced at Eva. “How many of his forces did you see?”

She hesitated. “Dozens at least. But that’s not what worries me.”

Something about the way she said it sent a chill through me. “Then what does?”

She glanced toward the broken entrance. “They’re not attacking anymore.”

I frowned. “What?” “They could break through.” Eva’s voice was low, urgent. “But they aren’t. They’re waiting.”

A sick feeling coiled in my stomach. Lucian wasn’t a man who hesitated. He struck, fast and brutal, without mercy.

So why was he giving us time?

Lucian’s voice cut through the night again, smooth and taunting. “I won’t wait forever, Mariana.”

I clenched my fists. He was toying with me, trying to draw me into a battle on his terms.

But I wasn’t the same woman I had been when this war started.

I would not play by his rules.

I turned to Damien and Eva. “Get everyone into defensive positions. We prepare for an ambush.”

Damien’s brows furrowed. “You think he has another plan?”

I nodded, my gut twisting with certainty. “Lucian never waits unless he’s already won.”

And that terrified me more than anything.