Chapter 32 BLOOD FOR BLOOD
MONTY’S POV
Silver burns different than regular fire.
Regular fire consumes. Silver corrodes. Eats through skin and muscle straight to the soul, making every nerve scream in ways that shouldn't be possible.
The chains around my wrists are pure silver. So are the ones around my ankles. And the collar they locked around my neck after dragging me to this courtyard.
I've lost track of how long I've been here. Hours maybe. Long enough that the burns have gone from screaming agony to a dull roar that never stops.
Davis circles me again, fist raised. "Last chance, traitor. Renounce your bond with Vincent's daughter. Swear loyalty to Blood Moon. And we'll let you live."
I spit blood at his feet. "Go to hell."
His fist connects with my ribs. Something cracks. The pain is distant compared to the silver eating through my wrists.
"Stubborn bastard." another guard joins in, kicking my legs out from under me. I collapse, held up only by the chains. "You really going to die for her? For some halfblood abomination who's bringing war to our borders?"
"She's not an abomination." My voice is rough, damaged. "She's my mate. And I'd die a thousand times before I betray her."
Another kick. This one to my stomach. I taste bile and blood.
They've been at this for a while now. Trying to break me. Trying to get me to renounce Alicia, to give them information about Dark Night's defenses, to prove that mate bonds can be broken through pain.
They don't understand. The bond isn't something you can beat out of someone. It's woven into every cell, every breath, every heartbeat. Hurting me just makes me feel her more strongly through the connection.
And right now, she's terrified. I can feel it bleeding through our bond like ice water in my veins.
"Where is she?" I manage to ask through split lips.
"Your Luna?" Thomas laughs. "Jake's got her. Making her watch this. Every time we hit you, she feels it through the bond. Convenient, isn't it?"
Rage surges through the pain. They're using me to torture her. Making her feel every blow, every burn, every moment of agony.
"You're cowards." I lift my head, meeting Davis’s eyes. "All of you. Hiding behind torture because you're too afraid to face her power directly."
"We're not afraid of some girl with delusions of grandeur."
"Then why are six of you needed to beat one chained wolf?" I smile through bloody teeth. "Seems like fear to me."
Davis hits me again. Harder this time. My vision goes white, then grey, then slowly clears.
Through the haze, I see Alicia being dragged into the courtyard. Her face is pale, eyes wide with horror as she sees me. Jake's behind her, blade already drawn.
Our eyes meet. And through the bond, I feel everything she's feeling. Terror. Guilt. Desperate determination to save me even if it costs her everything.
Don't, I try to send through the bond. Don't give them what they want.
But she's already on her knees, begging Jake to let me go.
And I realize what's happening. They're using me as leverage. Going to force her to reject the mate bonds, to give up the only things keeping her power stable.
This was always the plan. Capture me. Torture me. Use me to break her.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, not sure if I'm saying it to Alicia or to Ray or to myself.
Sorry for volunteering to come here. Sorry for thinking diplomacy would work with wolves who only understand violence. Sorry for being the weakness they're exploiting to hurt the woman I love.
The woman I love. When did that happen? When did wanting become loving?
Maybe it was always love. Three years of watching from a distance. Three years of hiding feelings that should have been obvious when every fiber of my being screamed that she was mine.
The memory hits without warning. Not of pain but of pleasure.
TWO NIGHTS AGO
Alicia's room. Soft light from candles. Her eyes looking up at me with trust and desire and something that might be love.
"I choose you, Monty."
Four words that changed everything.
I'd imagined this moment for three years. Dreamed about it. Woken up aching with need and guilt in equal measure because wanting your pack’s enemy’s daughter was the worst kind of betrayal.
But fate led her to me and she chose me. Not Ray. Not Kai or Logan. Me.
"Are you sure?" My voice had been rough with barely contained need.
"I'm sure." Her hand touched my face. "I want this. I want you."
Permission. Finally.
I'd kissed her slowly at first. Savoring. Learning the taste of her mouth, the softness of her lips, the little sound she made when I deepened the kiss.
Then slowly became desperate. Clothes disappeared. Her skin was silk under my hands. Every touch, every kiss, every whispered word built the heat between us higher.
When I finally entered her, when our bodies joined and the mate bond flared golden and perfect between us, I'd known complete rightness for the first time in my life.
This. This was what I'd been waiting for. Not just physical pleasure, though that was overwhelming. But connection. Belonging. Being chosen.
"Mine," I'd whispered against her neck.
"Yours," she'd gasped back. "And you're mine."
The claiming bite had completed the bond. My teeth sinking into her neck, marking her as mine while she marked me in return. The taste of her blood mixed with pleasure and power and absolute certainty.
She was mine. I was hers. Forever.
PRESENT
The memory fades. I'm back in the courtyard, chained and bleeding, watching Jake threaten the woman I finally claimed.
But the memory leaves behind strength.
They can hurt me. Can torture me. Can even kill me.
But they can't make me renounce her. Can't break the bond we forged that night. Can't take away the fact that she chose me, and I chose her, and nothing in heaven or hell can unmake that choice.
"I won't do it," I tell Jake clearly. "Whatever you're planning, whatever you want from her, I won't help you get it."
"Noble." Jake presses the blade to my throat. "And stupid. You're going to die for nothing."
"Not for nothing." I look at Alicia. Try to put everything I feel into that look. "For her. Always for her."
The blade digs in. Silver burning my throat. Blood running hot down my chest.
Through the bond, I feel Alicia's power building. Feel her preparing to explode again, to unleash that silver light and destroy everyone who's hurting me.
Don't, I send desperately. Not worth it. Run.
But she won't run. I know her well enough now to know that. She'll fight. She'll burn herself out trying to save me. She'll become exactly what they want, a desperate Luna making mistakes.
The blade pulls back. Jake's preparing for the killing stroke.
I close my eyes. I think of the claiming night, of Alicia's smile, of the three years of wanting and two nights of having and how even this short time was worth every second of waiting.
I love you, I send through the bond. One last message before the end.
The blade starts falling.
Then the wall explodes.
Stone and timber detonate inward in a shower of debris. I throw myself sideways as much as the chains allow, covering my face.
When I look up, a massive wolf stands in the wreckage.
Silver white fur. Ice blue eyes. Scars across his muzzle from old battles.
Kai.
He doesn't hesitate. Doesn't announce himself. Just attacks.
The first warrior dies before he can draw a weapon. Kai's jaws close around his throat and rip. The second tries to shift but Kai's faster, claws tearing through flesh like paper.
Davis and one other guard rush him together. Bad move. Kai's fought alone for five years. Knows how to handle multiple opponents. He dodges Thomas, catches Marcus mid leap, and slams him into the ground hard enough to crack bone.
Jake tries to run. Tries to grab Alicia and use her as a shield.
Kai cuts him off. Stands between Jake and Alicia, snarling a warning that needs no translation.
Touch her and die.
The remaining warriors scatter. Running from the lone wolf who just tore through their forces like they were nothing.
Kai shifts to human form. Naked and covered in blood that isn't his. He walks to me, assessing the silver chains with clinical precision.
"Hold still." His voice is calm despite the carnage around us.
He grabs the chains and pulls. His hands start smoking where the silver touches his skin, but he doesn't stop. Muscles strain. Metal groans. Then the chains snap.
I collapse. Without the chains holding me up, my legs won't support my weight.
Kai catches me before I hit the ground. "Can you walk?"
"Give me a minute." Everything hurts. The silver burns are deep, infected with metal poisoning. My ribs are broken. I'm pretty sure I'm bleeding internally.
But I'm alive. And Alicia's safe.
"Alicia." I manage to focus on her. She's standing frozen, eyes wide with shock. "You okay?"
"You're asking if I'm okay?" Her voice breaks. "Monty, you're dying."
"Not dying. Just wounded." I try to smile. It probably looks more like a grimace. "Takes more than silver and bad odds to kill a Beta."
Kai's already moving, checking exits, making sure the way is clear. "We need to leave. Now. More warriors will come."
"Can you carry him?" Alicia's beside me now, hands hovering like she wants to touch but is afraid of hurting me more.
"I can walk." I try to stand. Make it about three inches before my legs give out again.
Kai catches me smoothly. "Sure you can. Just like I can fly." He shifts my weight, getting me into a position he can carry. "Hold on. This is going to hurt."
He lifts me in a fireman's carry. Every broken rib screams. The silver burns pulse with fresh agony. But we're moving, and that's what matters.
Alicia leads the way, power glowing faintly around her hands. Ready to defend us if more warriors appear.
But the courtyard is empty except for bodies. Kai's rescue was efficient and brutal and exactly what we needed.
"How did you know?" I manage to ask as we cross into the forest.
"Felt it through Alicia's bond with you." Kai's voice is matter of fact. "Her terror. Your pain. Figured you'd done something stupid and needed saving."
"Thanks for that."
"Thank me by not dying. Ray's already furious about you leaving. If I bring you back dead, he'll kill me out of spite."
Fair point.
We run through the trees. Or they run. I get bounced around like luggage. Every step sends fresh waves of pain through my broken body.
But through it all, I can feel Alicia. Feel her resilience and fear and relief bleeding through our bond. Feel her checking on me constantly, making sure I'm still alive, still with her.
I'm here, I send back. Not leaving you. Not ever.
The bond pulses with warmth. With love
.
Worth it. Every second of torture, every moment of pain, all worth it for this connection. For being chosen. For finally having what I've wanted for three years.
Behind us, howls rise from Blood Moon territory. They've discovered the carnage. They're coming after us.
"Faster," Alicia says. "They're calling for reinforcements."
"Almost there." Kai's breathing is steady despite carrying my weight. "Another mile to the border."
A mile. I can last a mile.
I have to last a mile.
Because Alicia needs me. And I'll be damned if I survive torture just to die from blood loss in the forest.
The border marker appears ahead. Dark Night territory. Safety.
We cross it just as Blood Moon warriors burst from the trees behind us.
But they stop at the border. Won't cross into enemy territory without orders. Won't risk starting the war early.
We made it.
Barely, but we made it.
Ray's waiting on our side with half the pack. His face when he sees us is complicated. Relief. Anger. Hurt. All mixed together.
His eyes meet mine over Kai's shoulder.
And I know. Know that even though we survived, even though we made it back, things between us will never be the same.
I broke his trust. Disobeyed his orders. Chose Alicia over our brotherhood.
And I'd do it again.
Every time.