"What did you say?" Marcela’s tear-streaked face went white. The words hit her like a physical blow. "Explain this to ."
She shot up from her chair, nearly knocking it over as she rushed toward the young alpha.
"Wasn’t the pack under attack?"
Alpha Wallace looked genuinely confused by her panic. "Yes, but we contained the breach within an hour. It was the remaining Valerium warriors—what was left of them. They launched one final assault on our territory."
His voice carried the calm of soone reporting routine pack business.
"A suicide mission, really. They were vastly outnumbered. No real chance of success."
Alpha Wallace’s words ca faster now, animated by the recent victory.
The surviving Valerium warriors had struck without warning. Three to four hundred of them. All focused on a single point of attack—the south gate.
The south gate sat closest to their position. That explained the chaos Marcela had heard so clearly.
The screaming. The clash of weapons. The scent of blood carried on the wind.
"But it’s over now. I had warriors positioned for exactly this scenario. They never anticipated our preparedness." Pride crept into his voice. "This was their death rattle—desperate survivors with nowhere left to run."
The Valerium Kingdom was gone. King Perry had crushed their realm entirely.
These warriors were cornered animals, lashing out in their final monts.
But Marcela was shaking her head violently. "No. No, you don’t understand." Her voice climbed toward hysteria. "The attack was a diversion."
Alpha Wallace’s confident expression cracked. Sothing cold slithered down his spine.
"Where is the queen?"
The question exploded from him with sudden, terrible urgency. He’d co here expecting to find Phoebe with the healer. Instead, he’d discovered the royal beta’s corpse.
Marcela’s hands trembled as she tried to form words. "Those—those three warriors. They said they had orders. They took her to the safe haven."
Alpha Wallace’s face went stone-cold.
"I never issued evacuation orders. Especially not for the queen." His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "Moving her would require my explicit command."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"Then where—" Marcela’s voice cracked completely. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
Alpha Wallace was already moving, his mind racing through possibilities, each one worse than the last. He reached out through mindlink to every warrior in his pack.
Check the safe haven. Now.
Search every building.
Find the queen.
The responses ca back like hamr blows.
She wasn’t in the safe haven.
She wasn’t anywhere.
Phoebe had vanished.
——
Phoebe’s POV
This was wrong. Everything about this felt wrong.
I might not rember every detail about the pack’s safe haven—Alpha Wallace had only briefed once about its location. But I was certain of one thing.
We were heading in the opposite direction.
Deeper into the forest. Away from safety.
Another detail gnawed at : we were completely alone. No other pack mbers fleeing to safety. No families with children. No elderly wolves seeking shelter.
Just and these three warriors.
I tugged hard on the nearest warrior’s sleeve. "Where exactly are we going?"
"The safe haven," he replied without looking at . Sa flat response he’d given the last three tis I’d asked.
My stomach dropped. They were lying.
Whatever they were taking to, it wasn’t sanctuary.
The afternoon sky had turned black with storm clouds. Rain would start falling soon—I could sll it in the air.
Perfect.
My mind raced back to nearly two years ago, when I’d planned my escape from my birth pack. Every detail of that preparation ca flooding back.
Rain would mask my scent. Since I couldn’t shift into wolf form—since I’d never had a beast to begin with—I’d never outrun them in a straight chase.
But I was excellent at hiding.
I just needed to disappear and wait for a chance to make it back to the pack.
The plan was simple. Dangerous. The odds of success were terrible.
But it was the only option I had.
Because wherever these three warriors intended to take , I wouldn’t be walking away from it.
Less than ten minutes later, the first raindrop splashed against my cheek.
I looked up at the darkening sky and smiled grimly.
Ti to disappear.
I scanned the area, looking for my opportunity.
There—a massive oak tree with a hollow at its base, partially hidden by thick undergrowth.
My chance.
——
Alpha Wallace had deployed every available warrior to search for the queen. He’d swept the pack grounds personally and was now leading several teams deep into the forest.
Back at the pack house, Marcela sat vigil beside Elder Tricia’s body. His skin had gone gray, lips blue. The room felt like a tomb.
She couldn’t stop the tears. Couldn’t stop the terrible scenarios playing in her mind about what might be happening to Phoebe.
Five hours had passed since she’d last seen her.
Outside, rain hamred against the windows. Thunder rolled across the sky like the footsteps of angry gods. The storm was making the search nearly impossible.
"Please stay safe," Marcela whispered to the empty room. "Please..."
The temperature suddenly plumted. Ice crystals seed to form in the air.
She felt eyes on her. Predator eyes.
Marcela looked up slowly.
King Perry stood in the doorway.
"My—my king..." The words barely ca out as a whisper.
His piercing blue eyes swept the room like searchlights. They lingered on the blood-soaked sheets. The dical supplies scattered across the floor.
Finally, they settled on the man lying motionless on the bed.
His royal beta. The man who’d been more father to him than his own blood ever was.
——
Perry’s POV
"What happened here?"
My voice ca out darker than a winter night. I moved to the bedside, and the full reality hit .
I’d lost him. I’d lost the one person who’d never failed .
I had raced back ahead of schedule, desperate to see my mate again. To hold her. To convince myself she was safe.
Instead, I’d found this nightmare.
The royal beta was dead. And my queen was missing.
Soone was going to pay for this in blood.
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