Chapter 20

Chapter 20
In the Crosshairs
POV: Darius

The ground shook.

It was faint—barely more than a ripple—but I felt it deep in my bones. I dropped the knife I was cleaning and stood, eyes narrowing as the tremor passed through the soil beneath my boots. Across the camp, heads turned. My wolves were already alert, scanning the forest line. Something unnatural had just rippled through this place.

Something powerful.And I knew exactly who it came from.A second later, Eren—one of the outer scouts—burst through the tree line, panting, eyes wide.“South ridge,” he gasped. “It came from the southern ridge. Trees are scorched. Air’s humming with magic. And—” he swallowed, voice dropping, “it smells like her.”I didn’t move at first.

Alice.

My fingers curled into fists before I even realized I was doing it. I’d felt her. The power. It didn’t belong to any foreign being. Not yet. That—what just happened—was raw, untrained… human. Which meant she was still fighting the change.Which meant there was still time.

I was moving before Eren finished speaking.“Caleb,” I called, already grabbing my coat. “You’re with me.”A voice behind me answered. “Already on your six.”I turned, locking eyes with my beta. Caleb was already strapping a blade across his chest, a dark grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Nothing rattled him, and that’s exactly why I trusted him to watch my back.“Mira too,” I added. “I want her watching the shadows.”“She’s already outside,” he said.I nodded once and stalked toward the clearing. The others would handle the camp. Right now, I had one goal—and one threat.

Kael.

The bastard had taken her. And now she was breaking open the world with power she didn’t understand. If he thought dragging her into the wilderness would keep her safe, he was wrong.Worse—he was putting her in danger.I was halfway to the ridge when I heard the whispers. Not actual whispers—but the kind that pass from wolf to wolf in a pack too large to control. The kind that carried through the bond like wildfire.

Rogues.I stopped cold.“They know,” I muttered.Caleb caught up beside me. “What?”“They felt it. The pack. The ones that broke away last season. The ones still loyal to Oran’s memory. They felt that power and now they’re moving.”

Moving where?”“Where else?” I spat. “To her.”Caleb swore low under his breath. “You think they want her for themselves?”“They don’t need her. They just don’t want Kael to have her.”“Or you.”I shot him a glare.He shrugged. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not saying it’s smart. I’m saying it’s politics.”Politics. That word always tasted like blood in my mouth. And this time, it might end with Alice’s.

I broke into a sprint, shifting partially, enough to give me speed without losing focus. Trees blurred past. The smell hit me before the fire came into view—burnt earth, ozone, blood, and her.

We reached the southern ridge just as the sun dipped behind the treetops, casting long, sharp shadows across the clearing. Mira was already crouched low near a tree trunk, sniffing the air, her twin daggers drawn.“They were here,” she said without looking back. “Her scent is strong. Him too.”

“Kael?”

She nodded once. “But they’re gone now. Not long though. Thirty minutes, maybe less.”

I stepped into the blackened ring at the center of the clearing. The earth was cracked, dry. It pulsed with a strange heat still lingering beneath the surface. Whatever Alice had done here—it hadn’t been clean.“She’s not controlling it,” Mira added quietly. “I think she tried. I think she lost it.”“She didn’t lose it,” I muttered. “She panicked. There’s a difference.”

“Same outcome either way,” Caleb said, his voice grim. “That energy was like a beacon.”“And the rogues?” I asked Mira.“Already sniffing around. Two I saw. Probably more on the way.”

I crouched, brushing my fingers through the scorched grass. Then I saw it—something glowing faintly, half-buried in the soil. I reached for it and pulled out a thin, jagged shard. Crystal. Warm to the touch. My skin tingled where it met my palm.

Alice.

She must’ve dropped it—or left it behind in the blast. It filled with energy. Her energy.

I stood slowly, the shard glowing brighter now that it was free of the ground. The light flickered in rhythm with my heartbeat.Kael had taken her away again. He was always one step ahead.But this time? I had a piece of her.Something snapped behind us.

We turned instantly—Caleb throwing a blade, Mira vanishing into the trees.A rogue staggered out of the shadows, eyes wide, hands raised. He was young. Too young to be out here alone. Unless—“Where are the rest?” I growled.The kid hesitated. “North slope. Moving fast. Maybe five minutes out.”

“Looking for her?”He nodded.I was across the space in a second, gripping the front of his jacket, lifting him off the ground.“If you see her,” I said, my voice ice, “you stay away. You tell the others to stay away.”“She doesn’t belong to you!” the boy hissed.I tightened my grip. “She doesn’t belong to anyone.”

“Then why are you chasing her?”He grinned through split lips. “Because you want her just as bad.”I dropped him.He landed hard, coughing.Caleb kicked dirt at him. “He’s right, you know.”

I turned.“You’ve crossed lines for her,” Caleb said. “Betrayed orders. Broken laws. Hell, you’ve started a war without saying the word.”“I didn’t start any war.”“No. But you’re going to end it.”He pointed at the shard still in my hand.“With that.”

I looked down at it again. Her power buzzed through my skin, crawling up my arm like static. My wolf stirred in my chest, wild, restless.“She’s slipping through our fingers, Darius,” Mira said from the trees. “If Kael gets her to his pack, if she chooses them—”“She won’t,” I said, jaw tight.

“How can you be sure?”I met her eyes. “Because I know her. I know her heart.”“Then go get her,” Caleb said, stepping forward. “Before someone else does.”I looked toward the horizon. The air still sizzled with the aftershock of her power. The forest itself felt altered—like she’d left her mark on it.

Like she’d left a path.She was out there. Somewhere between who she used to be and who they wanted her to become.And Kael? He thought he could protect her. Keep her safe. But the moment he took her with him, he made her a target.

I looked down at the crystal in my palm again, then closed my hand around it until the light died inside my fist.Then I crushed it.The shards fell to the ground like glass.“No one will take her from me.”