*Noah*
My heart thundered in my chest. I had never felt such a mix of negative emotions before. Fear gripped as I thought about my mate and infant daughter.
When I received the horrifying news that Serena kidnapped my daughter, I shook with an uncontrolled rage that nearly destroyed the inside of my father’s office.
I feared for my little Briella, but I was also extrely desperate to get to Zara. Since Serena had infiltrated Crowstar, there was no telling what other dangers could be lurking near my vulnerable mate.
I was terrified of losing my family but also furious that I allowed this to happen. Regret threatened to consu . I sent the two most important people in my life away so that they would be safe. Sohow, I let them travel with a dangerous enemy.
I couldn’t dwell on that now. Blaming myself wasn’t going to turn back ti. All I could do now was focus on rescuing my daughter and protecting Zara from further threats.
I straightened as myself and my battalion of elite warriors approached the gates of Drogomor. A part of worried for my parents as I left them behind to fight the war, but my father understood that I needed to get to my family.
He would have done the sa.
My n and I strode purposefully through the gates. The air was crisp and cool, seeming to reflect the direness of our situation. I stiffened, suddenly feeling as if it was too quiet and peaceful out. There weren’t even birds chirping around us.
It was that quiet, which was a little disconcerting.
“Be on high alert,” I barked at my n sharply, my eyes scanning the terrain warily. “Sothing doesn’t feel right.”
The n glanced at one another a bit apprehensively, but we pressed on, the gate shutting behind us with a forboding clack.
I felt them before I saw them. They fell from the trees like shadows, dropping to the forest floor before terrifying battle cries burst from their lips. It was clear by their quick movents and their tight-fitting armor that they were highly trained assassins.
Thankfully, my n were prepared due to my previous warning. We were outnumbered by at least double, but my n fought well, swiping at the assassins with their swords and fists. Chaos ensued as vicious yells filled the air along with the ear-splitting clacking from tal on tal.
I imdiately fell into the zone as I fought my opponents, swinging my sword left and right, watching with grim satisfaction as bodies fell at my feet.
One assassin, who was clearly faster and more skilled than the others, lunged at so quickly and suddenly that I barely had ti to dodge the poison-tipped blade he held at his hip. I felt like a man possessed as I lunged back at him with my blade, feeling the anger and fear from before surge through .
The rage I felt from finding out my little girl had been kidnapped and that my mate was likely in danger drove forward. It was almost as if I was having an out-of-body experience as I fought this highly-trained assassin. His face was almost entirely covered save for a strip that left his dark eyes exposed. They were dark and laser-focused on .
They were empty eyes that only served to make even angrier. This man had no drive. He was killing mindlessly. It was his job to do so, an empty occupation. I wasn’t going to let him defeat . My sole focus was survival so that I could rescue my infant daughter from Serena’s sinister clutches.
In one quick movent, I drove my blade through his chest, watching as blood burst from the wound, dripping heavily onto the ground beneath our feet. I withdrew my weapon a second later, causing the man to gasp his last breath before falling in a heap before .
I kicked the now motionless body aside and looked up at the chaos continuing around . That’s when I saw him in the distance. My blood froze briefly in shock before igniting in a hot fury that caused my entire body to sizzle.
Alpha Daven.
He hardly deserved that title. Even now, he was fighting like a coward, sneaking up on one of my n from behind before killing him brutally. The sight caused to shake with unbridled anger. He was the ultimate scum hiding behind his army.
No more.
He was going to face man-to-man, even if I had to burn the rest of the world so that he had no choice but to do so.
Daven looked up, and our eyes t. His were such a light blue that they were nearly white. I narrowed mine, my teeth grinding at how much more inhuman he seed at that mont. The corner of his mouth tilted up when he saw , and he wiped a streak of blood off of his face.
My n and Daven’s assassins froze as they realized their two leaders were preparing to duel. I straightened, and Daven and I began to stride purposefully toward one another. I kept my eyes trained on him, waiting for him to make a cowardly move.
When we were just a few feet from each other, he dove, his glimring blade extended. I sidestepped him easily and slamd my shoulder into his chest, shooting him backward. It wasn’t enough for him to lose his footing. He righted himself easily before coming at again.
“I’ve been waiting to bring you down for so long,” I said between my teeth, swiping at him and cursing when the coward moved away, slinking off like a snake.
“You’ll be waiting for quite so ti, I’m afraid,” Daven said. “Now, give back my son.”
I growled low in my throat, swinging my blade again and narrowly missing the bastard’s hip. “I hardly think I am required to do so after you brutally killed my mother.” I failed to keep my voice calm, hearing the fire burning behind it.
Daven scoffed. “Your mother was in my way, so I did what I had to.”
I saw red at his words. “Liar!” I barked, lunging forward swiftly. “She was protecting innocent children from your forces when you decided to end her life!”
Daven wasn’t prepared for to move as quickly as I did while fueled by rage. He stumbled back, and I was able to grab ahold of his neck while pressing my blade right against the pale skin of his throat. Finally, his wide eyes filled with fear. I felt satisfaction flow through at the sa ti.
Daven started to tremble in my hold. I realized that I could end him at any mont. It was clear from the look in his eyes that I had won. I had overpowered him, and there was nothing he could do. My hand tightened on the hilt of my blade. I watched as a thin stream of blood dripped from my enemy’s neck.
I could end him now. I could remove his head from his shoulders, but sothing stopped . I pulled my blade away but kept a firm hold on his neck. “Restrain him,” I snapped at a couple of my n. “We will take Daven prisoner.”
It seed to take just a couple of seconds for my warriors to chain Daven up, binding his wrists and ankles. He looked up at hatefully as he was pushed roughly to his knees.
“You think capturing is the end, but you are sorely mistaken, Black,” he spat, blood continuing to drip from his neck. The wound wasn’t deep enough for him to bleed out, and I was starting to regret that as he continued to snap dark threats at .
“Silence,” I intoned. “You will answer for all of your heinous cris against Drogomor, Daven. At long last, you will pay for your treachery.”
I realized that was largely why I didn’t want to kill him. I wanted him to suffer for what he had done to my mother and the thousands of other innocent bystanders to his tyranny. Plus, as much as I wanted his existence to end, Father would likely want him questioned.
“You’d best let go if you want your precious pack community to remain standing,” he said darkly but his voice shook. Whether it was from rage or fear, I couldn’t tell, nor did I care.
“While I’m sure you’re just as upset as I am that we cannot finish our feud,” I said, straightening so I could turn my back on him. “You need not worry. I vow to return to finish slicing your throat once I’ve dealt with your precious Serena.”
Daven chuckled darkly, causing to turn around again. He sneered at my threatening glance. “You would do well to spare us if you ever want to see your child again. I happen to know where Serena was instructed to take the little girl.”
I felt my eyes blaze with rage at his words. “Instructed by whom?” I demanded, my voice thundering.
Daven smirked, sensing that I knew I had no choice but to listen to him. “Serena and I were approached by a powerful sorcerer nad Malphas. He ordered us to capture your daughter and told us it was the only way to obtain the true prize.”
It took no ti at all to understand what he ant by that. I spoke through my teeth. “Zara.”
He nodded, smirking more widely at . “Precisely. Your little mate will be his prized possession.”
“Never,” I vowed, my tone fierce. Fear and fury warred inside of , and I had to force myself to take a calming breath. “Very well. I will spare your life in exchange for learning the location of my daughter.”
“Wise man,” he said, his voice laced with mockery, which caused to clench my teeth. “Serena was instructed to take your daughter to an abandoned seaside cave network located in the western forest.
I felt my eyebrows lift toward my hairline. That was extrely close to where we grew the Luna lilies. My stomach clenched with worry for my infant daughter.
“Have Alpha Daven escorted back to Drogomor and imprisoned,” I told my warriors.
Daven glared at as he was grabbed roughly by the chains around his wrists and essentially dragged back in the direction of our pack community.
I bit back a curse as I watched our enemy being led away.
I wondered if this intelligence was a trap. Daven said so himself that this powerful sorcerer was after Zara. I contemplated the possibility for a brief mont before deciding firmly that it didn’t matter. There were no other leads to go off of. With my precious daughter’s life at stake, I knew I had no choice but to journey to those caves.
I just had to hope and pray to the goddess that Briella was truly there.
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