ASSASSINS STORMED THE PALACE—THEN THE “WOLFLESS” OMEGA LOCKED HERSELF IN WITH THE ALPHA KING’S HEIR

"Reena, please!" Jacob stepped forward, his eyes burning with a mixture of raw guilt and desperate agony. "When I brought you here, I viewed you only as a tool to save my son! I was mad with grief! I didn't care who lived or died, as long as Samuel survived!"

"And now?" Reena sobbed, backing away until her spine hit the thick stone wall. "Now that I've fallen in love with him? Now that I've fallen in love with you?"

"Now I am trying to find a way to break the spell without killing either of you!" Jacob shouted, reaching out toward her, but he stopped himself when she flinched away as if his touch burned her. "I have scholars in every library across the continent searching for an alternative! I swear to you on my blood, I will not let you die!"

"You lied to me every single day," she whispered, her heart breaking into irreparable dust. "You made me feel human. You made me feel loved. But to you, I was just a disposable cup waiting to overflow."

Before Jacob could reply, the heavy doors of the war chamber crashed open.

Beta Cornelius rushed in, his armor splattered with dark blood, his face pale with dread. "My King! The southern wall has been breached! Rogue forces—they're wearing the sigil of the Blood-Moon Syndicate! They're already inside the courtyard!"

Jacob’s Alpha aura erupted instantly, filling the room with a suffocating pressure that made the stone walls vibrate. "How did they breach the warding stones?!"

"A traitor opened the lower gates!" Cornelius yelled over the distant sounds of clashing steel and agonizing screams echoing from the lower levels. "They aren't here to negotiate, Jacob! They came for the prince! They want to extinguish your bloodline!"

Jacob turned to Reena, his eyes flashing a bright, terrifying crimson. The king was gone; the apex monster had taken his place.

"Take Samuel," Jacob ordered, grabbing a hidden lever behind a tapestry. A secret stone passageway ground open, revealing a dark, winding staircase leading upward. "The highest tower—the Panic Room. It is reinforced with dragon-glass and iron wards. Once you are inside, pull the golden lever. The door will lock from the inside, and nothing on this earth will be able to break through."

"Jacob—" Reena choked out, her panic warring with her profound heartbreak.

"Go!" Jacob roared, drawing two massive steel broadswords from his waist. "I will tear every assassin on these grounds to pieces! Protect my son, Reena! Protect our son!"

Reena didn't hesitate. Whatever her pain, whatever her heartbreak, she looked at the innocent baby in her arms, who was now crying softly, terrified by the loud noises. She turned and sprinted into the dark staircase just as the main doors were blown off their hinges by an explosive blast of rogue magic.

Behind her, she heard the terrifying roar of Jacob shifting into his monstrous Alpha wolf form, followed by the sickening crunch of bones and the shrieks of dying assassins.

Reena ran. Her lungs burned, her legs screamed in agony, and her chest felt tight—a sharp, stabbing pain radiating from her heart. The absorbed magic inside her was reacting to her panic, surging through her veins like boiling oil. But she pressed forward, taking the winding steps three at a time.

Behind her, the sounds of battle didn't recede—they were coming up the stairs.

The assassins were fast. They were bypassing the King, driving straight for the heir.

Reena reached the top of the tower. A massive, iron-studded door stood open at the end of a long, narrow stone corridor. The Panic Room.

"There she is!" a voice rasped from the dark staircase behind her.

Reena turned her head and saw three shadowy figures emerging onto the landing. They were clad in black leather armor, their eyes glowing with wild, rogue wolf light, their dripping blades covered in royal guard blood.

"The wolfless bitch has the kid!" the leader snarled, raising a heavy crossbow loaded with a black-tipped bolt. "Kill her and take the prince!"

Reena dashed forward, ducking as a crossbow bolt whistled past her ear, shattering against the wall. She lunged into the Panic Room, shoved the heavy door closed, and slammed her hands onto the golden lever.

CLANG!

Massive iron bars crashed down inside the stone doorframe. Ancient runes flared to life along the perimeter, sealing the room in a dazzling flash of blue light.

Outside, the assassins slammed against the heavy door, cursing and hacking at the metal with their weapons, but the dragon-glass and ancient wards held firm. They were trapped out there.

Reena collapsed to her knees on the cold stone floor, gasping for air, clutching Samuel tightly against her chest.