Chapter 1 - THE CARNAGE IN THE SNOW
The roar that shattered the howling storm was not human, nor was it the cry of a simple beast. It was the primordial, terrifying fury of an Alpha King whose soul had just been ripped in two.
Gideon did not merely attack; he erupted into the clearing like a hurricane of pure violence. The snow beneath his massive form blew outward in a blinding white cloud. Before Kael could even raise his iron mace to defend himself, Gideon was upon the first mercenary.
A single blow from Gideon’s clawed fist shattered the man’s sternum. Blood sprayed across the fresh snow, brilliant and crimson against the blinding white. The second mercenary tried to flee, scrambling through the drift, but Gideon leaped with terrifying speed, crushing the man beneath his sheer weight. Bones snapped like dry twigs under the heavy frost.
Kael stood frozen, his face drained of all color, the iron weapon slipping from his trembling, leather-gloved fingers. "Your... Your Grace..." Kael gasped, his voice cracking with sheer terror. "It was an order from Lord Bastion! She was a traitor—she tried to flee—"
Gideon didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His gold eyes flared with an unholy, demonic light. In one fluid, agonizing motion, Gideon closed the distance, his massive hand closing around Kael’s throat. He lifted the grown man completely off the ground with one arm.
"You placed your filthy hands on my mate," Gideon rasped, his voice a low, vibrating growl that shook the frost from the pine branches above.
Kael’s eyes widened in horror. Mate. He hadn't known. Bastion hadn't known.
With a brutal twist, Gideon ended Kael's life, tossing the limp body into the snowdrift like garbage. The forest suddenly fell dead silent, save for the whistling wind and Gideon's ragged, heavy breathing.
The Alpha King turned instantly. His terrifying rage evaporated, replaced by an agonizing, crippling terror.
There, slumped in the stained snow, was Adelaide. Her pale gown was torn and ruined, smeared with dirt and her own blood. Her ribs were crushed, her face bruised, and her breath came in terrifying, shallow rattles.
Gideon dropped to his knees, not caring about the blood or the ice. He pulled her battered, fragile body into his arms, gathering her against his massive, fur-draped chest. Her head fell back, dark hair spilling over his arm, completely limp.
"WHO LAID A HAND ON YOU?!" the Alpha King thundered into the empty night, his voice echoing across the endless snow-covered mountains of the North as his shattered Omega fell bleeding into his arms.
"Adelaide... stay with me. Look at me!" Gideon pleaded, his rough hand trembling as he wiped a trail of crimson from her lip. The white wolf behind him let out a mournful howl into the storm.
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Adelaide’s eyelids fluttered open just a fraction. Amber met glowing gold. "Clara..." she whispered, her voice barely a breath against the freezing gale. "Save... Clara..."
Then, her body went completely limp, and her scent—heather and cedar—began to fade into the terrifying quiet of death.
