Chapter 39: Chapter Thirty-Eight

DAX

A howl of agony echoed within me, my wolf’s pain seeping into my own. My vision blurred, the edges darkening, threatening to pull me into unconsciousness. I crumpled to my knees, my fingers curling around the cold steel bars of my cell. I fought the encroaching darkness, my head hanging low.

The sight of Liam and Amber carrying Savannah away from the dungeon was like a knife to my heart, each step they took away from me tearing another piece away.

~“Get up,”~ my wolf growled, his voice a harsh whisper in my mind. ~“Get up and get out.”~

With a grim determination, I grasped the bars of the cell, pulling myself up slowly as my strength waned. I’d never felt Savannah’s pain so acutely before, and it fueled my wolf’s fury.

I knew the cell door was unbreakable—I’d tried—but I hadn’t attempted the window. Using the cell as leverage, I scaled the wall and pressed against the Plexiglas.

With a grunt, I hoisted myself higher and struck the window with my elbow until it shattered. Clearly, this place wasn’t originally designed to contain the supernatural.

But the window was too small for me to fit through. ~Damn my well-developed deltoids and these biceps.~

The cool September air brushed against my face, carrying the scent of an impending rainstorm.

People were outside, which meant they’d taken Savannah into the woods behind the pack house, away from prying eyes.

Suddenly, a pair of small legs raced past the window. “Hey!”

The child stopped, probably looking around in confusion.

“Hey! Down here.”

A little girl peered down, her curly blond hair framing her wide, doe-like eyes.

“I need you to go get an adult. Please.”

She bit her lip and took off, running in the direction she’d come from. I waited, each passing moment feeling like an eternity, until I heard the heavy footsteps of an adult approaching. I scrambled back up to the window.

Wesley’s face appeared, confusion etched across his features. “They took Savannah. Liam is going to take her wolf. Let me out. Please.”

Wesley disappeared from the window, and minutes later, the dungeon door creaked open and my cell was unlocked. I bolted out, but Wesley grabbed my arm. “Where did they take the queen? I’ll rip his head off and put it on a stake.”

I shot him a deadly glare. “Calm down, Vlad. I’m her mate, not you.”

“There’s no time for jealousy. She’s the queen. I vowed to protect her,” he retorted.

I eyed him skeptically. “~Mm-hmm~. Well, you can help me. Come on. We have to get to her before they take her wolf.”

Wesley and I followed her scent out of the building and into the woods directly behind the main house. The overgrown shrubbery blanketed the trees, making it more difficult to get through.

“What do you know about Liam?” Wesley asked, batting away vines from his face.

Thorns tore into my skin as I did the same, but I barely felt it. The adrenaline coursing through my veins had numbed me. “I know he took his mother’s wolf. She was a hybrid.”

“That’s heartless. His own mother? And now his daughter. What is his goal?”

“To rule over werewolves and lycans,” I said, breaking through the final wall of vines into the vast expanse of the forest. Her scent still lingered in the air nearby, and my wolf whimpered every time I stopped to look around.

“He has the marks of taking his mother’s wolf. He impregnated Savannah’s mother on purpose, to create a hybrid.”

Wesley raced forward with me, closer and closer to Savannah. The lingering smell of Trent hovered in the air. But, after being in the forest, I wasn’t sure if Trent would even make it out alive without a sense of direction.

The sound of distant voices made me pause, and my wolf paced restlessly, his cries churning my stomach.

Wesley stilled. “Someone else is with them.”

I continued forward. “It’s Amber—”

“No,” he interrupted sharply. “Someone else. Someone I’ve never smelled before.”

Wesley had the nose of a bloodhound apparently, because I didn’t pick it up.

“I’m a tracker,” Wesley said. “It’s my job to know.”

The trees began to thin, and a clearing came into view. In the center of it, stood three people, but none of the ones standing were Savannah.

My heart plummeted when I noticed Savannah lying in front of them on what looked like a makeshift altar. Wesley stepped forward, but I stopped him.

“We need some kind of plan, Wesley. Liam is more powerful than he lets on. I don’t know how he did it, but when he shifted to kill the lycan king, he didn’t look like Savannah. He didn’t look like he was a hybrid.”

“Because he isn’t,” Wesley said. “He was born a lycan, but he more or less absorbed the power. It didn’t change his wolf. It just made him more powerful.”

I nodded. “That makes sense,” I mumbled, crouching down when the small woman with them looked over her shoulder. “Who is that?”

“Someone that is going to perform the ritual to take her wolf.”

My anger began to grow inside of me. “We need a distraction,” I said. “How fast can you run?”

Ten minutes later, Wesley’s howl echoed through the woods, signaling all the lycans. It seemed to put fire underneath their asses, and the small woman bent down in front of Savannah.

Amber raced toward Wesley’s howl, and I took the opportunity to shift and barrel toward Savannah. My heart raced, and my wolf thirsted for blood.

~“Kill him. Kill the Lycan,”~ my wolf growled.

~“We need to reach Savannah first,”~ I insisted, my voice firm. ~“We can deal with him later.”~

I couldn’t stand by and let them harm her. Liam whirled around, a snarl curling his lips in a way that was so unlike his usual calm demeanor.

A petite woman came into view, and I quickly realized she was human. But that wouldn’t deter me. As an alpha, I was often faced with the decision of who to kill and who to spare.

I’d tear this woman apart if it meant saving Savannah. There was no question about it. Liam transformed and lunged at me, his claws sinking into my side just as I lunged for the woman’s throat.

His claws tore into my flesh, and I could feel the warm blood seeping into my fur, but I didn’t flinch. I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back several feet.

My wolf reveled in the sound of his collarbone snapping under our powerful jaws. The soft murmur of the old woman’s whispers brushed against the back of my neck, but I kept my focus on Liam, circling him as he did the same.

Amber’s wolf howled in the distance, momentarily distracting Liam. I seized the opportunity, sinking my teeth into his thigh and pulling.

He yelped and retaliated with a powerful backhand. For the first time since I’d known him, I felt the full extent of his power, and it sent me sprawling onto the ground.

My gaze shifted to Savannah, who was floating above the altar. The witch—or whatever she was—was kneeling, chanting and waving some sort of beads in the air.

“Come here,” she commanded Liam, but I was determined to prevent that.

Liam and I lunged simultaneously, him towards Savannah and me towards him. He howled in pain as my teeth sank into his side, his dark fur becoming slick with blood.

The witch shot me a venomous glare, her icy blue eyes standing out starkly against the setting sun. I bared my teeth at her, continuing to circle Liam as he staggered to his feet, clutching his side. His fiery gaze burned into me.

“It’s time, Liam,” the woman repeated.

Liam froze, and I wasn’t sure if he’d finally realized I wouldn’t let him harm Savannah, or if he had something else in mind.

Time seemed to slow as Liam lunged at me, his claws sinking into my ribs. My wolf howled in agony.

He withdrew his claws, and I collapsed, struggling to rise as he approached Savannah’s levitating body and knelt beside the witch.

~“Get up! He’s taking her wolf!”~ my wolf roared. ~“Get up!”~

I tried to rise, but my strength failed me, and I collapsed onto the damp earth as rain began to fall.

My vision blurred, and I couldn’t help but think how pathetic I must look. My mate was being stripped of her power, her very essence, and I was helpless. I was nothing like the alpha I aspired to be.

With a Herculean effort, I managed to get to my feet, limping towards them with every last bit of strength I had. Liam was shaking as the witch cast some sort of spell over them.

The distant howls of wolves and lycans filled the air, a response to Wesley’s cry. I didn’t know why they were here, or who had summoned them, but I’d never been so relieved to hear them.

Just as I reached them, I lunged for the witch’s throat. Her shriek echoed through the air as Savannah fell onto the altar, her limbs going limp. Liam sprang up and sank his teeth into my shoulder.

I collapsed for the final time, whimpering in pain as I watched the rain fall from a cloudy sky. Another wolf leapt over me, finishing off the witch, while a second attacked Liam.

Unable to fight it any longer, I closed my eyes, feeling fingers running through my blood-soaked fur and the familiar scent of my mate filling my senses.

“Daxton. Hang on. They’re getting the pack doctor. You’re going to be okay. I’m here, and I’m safe. Hang in there, Alpha. I love you.”