Lennox’s knees hit the dirt with a heavy thud. It was the sound of a heart breaking. Beside him, Levi fell too, pressing his hands into the grass and bowing his head.
They were Alphas, leaders of thousands, but they had never felt so weak. In this mont, they were just two n forced to watch their mate, Olivia, struggle to breathe.
"That’s it," the Rogue King cooed. He stepped toward the edge of the pit and looked down at Olivia. her face was pale and her eyes were rolling back. "See how the mighty fall? Your father told you were soft. He said you would always choose a woman over a kingdom."
"Stop the magic," Lennox choked out. His pride tasted like ash. "We are on our knees. Just stop hurting her."
The King laughed—a sharp, crazy sound. "I think I’ll do both. I’ll kill her slowly, and I’ll blow up the house anyway. I want you to feel the exact mont your bloodline ends."
A cruel smile twisted the King’s face as he moved his thumb over the red button. Levi and Louis closed their eyes, a scream building in their throats. They waited for the roar of the mansion exploding.
the King pressed it.
Click.
Nothing. Only silence.
The Rogue King frantically slamd his thumb onto the detonator, his face twisting into a mask of confusion and panic. "Why isn’t it blowing?! Blow, damn you!"
"It won’t work," a gravelly voice rang out from the shadows behind him. "I’ve cut the frequencies. The signal is dead."
A man stepped into the torchlight of the camp, dressed in the tattered furs of a rogue. His face was partially hidden by a hood, but his eyes were sharp and focused. He held a small, glowing device—a jamr. Before the King could react, the man pressed a final sequence on his remote.
With a heavy tallic clack, the enchanted vines in the pit snapped. The ground vibrated as the magical binding holding Olivia and Louis vanished.
"Attack!" the stranger yelled, his voice a commanding roar that sliced through the chaos. "Kill them all!"
Lennox didn’t need to be told twice. The mont the pressure on the bond lifted and he felt Olivia’s breath return, the beast inside him took complete control. He didn’t just shift; he exploded into his wolf form, a mass of obsidian fur and pure, unadulterated rage.
The Rogue King tried to drop the useless detonator and shift, but Lennox was faster. His massive paws slamd into the King’s chest before fur could even sprout. They tumbled into the dirt in a whirlwind of teeth and claws. The King finally managed to shift into a mangy, grey-furred beast, but he was no match for a Trinity Alpha fueled by the terror of nearly losing his family.
Around them, the forest beca a slaughterhouse. Levi was a blur of silver-grey, intercepting the King’s guard. He caught rogues mid-air, snapping spines and throwing them aside like rats.
Olivia didn’t stay in the pit for a second longer. With the dampening spell broken, she teleported in a flash of white light, reappearing on the edge of the clearing. Louis jumped out beside her, claws extended, joining the vanguard warriors who were being freed by the mysterious stranger.
As the hooded man moved from cage to cage, Olivia stared at him for a heartbeat. He slled like a rogue, he looked like a rogue, but he was fighting with them; he was releasing the warriors.
Lennox turned his full attention back to the King beneath him. The rogue snapped at his throat, but Lennox dodged, his jaws finding the King’s shoulder and tearing through muscle and bone. The rogue king whimpered, reduced to a terrified animal. Lennox didn’t give him a second chance. He lunged forward, fangs sinking deep into the soft flesh of the King’s neck. He felt the pulse thrumming against his teeth before giving one violent, bone-snapping jerk—tearing the head clean from the shoulders.
The King was dead.
Lennox stood over the carcass, blood dripping from his muzzle, and looked toward Olivia. She stood in the center of the camp like a goddess of destruction, her eyes glowing like white stars. She stretched her hands apart, and massive balls of red-hot fla erupted from her fingertips.
They streaked through the air like teors, seeking out every rogue fighter. Tents ignited in seconds. The rogues scread as the fire consud them, but the flas were sentient; they danced around the Trinity’s warriors and completely avoided the stranger who was still busy releasing their n.
The fire was like a living thing, fueled by Olivia’s anger. The red balls of fire chased the rogue fighters through the trees. No one could escape. The Dark Forest, which was usually very dark, was now filled with a bright light that people could see for miles.
In nearby lands, other Alphas watched the glowing sky. They could feel a strange, powerful energy in the air. They knew it was Olivia, the "Special One," using her full power.
When the fighting stopped, the Trinity’s warriors walked through the ruins of the camp. They did exactly what Lennox ordered: they killed the fighters but did not touch the won, children, or old people. The battle was over. The rogue army was gone, and only smoke and ash remained.
Lennox, Levi, and Louis changed back into their human forms. They were covered in blood and very tired. They stood around Olivia as her flas died down. They all looked at the man in the hood—the rogue who had jamd the signal and freed their n.
The silence was thick. Olivia stepped forward, her eyes still shimring with the remnants of her power. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice steady but demanding. "And why did you help us?"
The man slowly lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender, his expression weary but relieved. "My na is Zane," he said, his voice gravelly. "I am—or was—the Rogue King’s cousin."
Lennox’s jaw tightened, his Alpha instinct still on high alert. "A cousin of the King? Why betray your own blood?"
"Because blood doesn’t make a King, and it certainly doesn’t justify a monster," Zane spat, looking at the headless corpse of his kinsman. "My cousin was evil. He didn’t just want a kingdom; he wanted to break people. He raped the rogue won, he took what he wanted, and he slaughtered those who showed a shred of rcy. I stayed because I had to protect what was mine, but I knew his reign had to end."
Lennox nodded slowly, the tension in his shoulders finally beginning to bleed away. "You saved my family tonight, Zane. For that, we owe you a debt."
Just as the words left his mouth, a young woman and a girl of about six years old broke away from the group of rogue survivors. They ran through the soot-covered clearing, their faces streaked with tears.
"Father!" the little girl cried, throwing herself at Zane’s legs.
Zane’s hard expression crumbled instantly. He dropped to his knees, catching the child in a fierce embrace and pulling his wife close to his side. He buried his face in the little girl’s hair, his hands shaking.
The girl pulled back slightly, looking into her father’s eyes with admiration. "Father, you did the right thing," she whispered.
Zane managed a small, bittersweet smile, his eyes glistening. "Yes, Scarlett... I did what you wanted. We’re free now."
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