Chapter 6 - The Blood Moon Rises
Three days later, the forest grew deathly still. The wind died down entirely, replaced by an eerie, unnatural quiet that made the hair on the back of Lena’s neck stand up.
Cael woke her shortly after midnight, his hand gently resting on her shoulder.
"Get dressed," he commanded softly, his face tight with tension.
Lena sat up instantly, throwing on her wool trousers and cloak. "What happened? Did Victor come back?"
"Worse," Cael muttered, pulling his heavy broadsword from its scabbard. "Dominic."
A howl rolled through the valley—deep, commanding, and saturated with an aura of absolute dominance that made Lena’s knees buckle. Dominic Valen had come personally to finish the hunt.
They fled the cabin into the freezing darkness, sprinting through secret mountain ravines that only Cael knew. But the king's tracking pack was too vast, too coordinated. Within twenty minutes, twenty massive elite alphas emerged from the shadows of the pines, cutting off their escape route.
The snow parted, and stepping through the circle of wolves was Dominic himself.
His eyes glowed like twin furnaces in the dark. A cruel, triumphant smile curved his lips as he spotted Lena cowering behind Cael.
"There you are," Dominic purred, his voice dripping with false affection. "Mated omegas shouldn't try to run from their kings, Lena. It’s unbecoming."
Lena stepped out from behind Cael, her chin raised despite the terror gripping her heart. "I was never yours! That forced bite means nothing!"
Dominic’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a mask of cold fury. "You carry my child and bear my mark. You belong to the Northern Crown until your last breath."
He snapped his fingers. "Take them!"
Five elite alphas lunged forward.
Cael didn't hesitate. With a roar that shook the snow from the pine branches, he shifted mid-stride into his massive, glowing white wolf form. He met the charging alphas head-on, tearing into their ranks with ferocious strength, fighting like a creature straight out of northern mythology.
But there were too many. While Cael shredded two of them, a third viciously clamped its jaws into his white flank, and another dragged him down by his hind leg. Blood stained the pristine white fur crimson.
"Cael!" Lena screamed, watching him fall beneath a pile of snapping jaws.
Dominic ignored the brawl, his heavy boots crunching through the snow as he closed the distance toward Lena. Before she could run, his hand shot out and closed like an iron vice around her throat.
The forced mate bond surged to life inside her mind, a spike of burning, agonizing pain that paralyzed her limbs.
"Mine," Dominic whispered triumphantly, his other hand reaching out to press heavily against her stomach. "And this child is mine to harvest."
Something snapped inside Lena. The terror, the grief, the desperate need to protect her unborn baby reached a boiling point.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of silver light erupted directly from the bite mark on her neck.
Dominic shrieked in agony, releasing her throat as he stumbled backward, clutching his palm where his flesh was literally smoking from the pure, ancient energy radiating from the mark.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Cael ripped himself free from the remaining wolves, letting out a deafening howl that sent the attackers scattering in terror. He leaped between Dominic and Lena, blood dripping from his shoulder.
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"RUN!" Cael roared in a distorted, half-shifted voice.
Lena didn't look back. She turned and fled north into the blinding snow, running until her lungs burned and the sounds of the battle faded completely into the howling wind.
