After retrieving a moonstone from my ancestors that could bring Yeosang back, San and I race down the mountain to the enemy camp. I stare out at the dense sea of wolves, all thirsty for my blood.
"San, this is dangerous."
"I know. But we have to try. We only have until dawn to place this stone in Yeosang's heart. And hopefully…bring him back."
I can feel the hope pouring off of San. His fists are clenched white, shaking at his side.
"Getting through here undetected will be a miracle. And even then, we don't know where they're hiding Yeosang's body."
"Don't worry about that. I've know his scent for as long as I can remember."
"And you can still smell him?"
San closes his eyes.
"It's fading. But yes. I can still smell him."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"You're right. Let's go."
Ducking low, I begin to weave through the enemy territory. I pass tents where barbaric wolves are scolding their Omega slaves, and others where I hear women crying.
"We can't ever let Dimitri come into power. Look what he would allow."
"You say that as though we have been much better."
"San?"
I look up at him as you sneak through the camp. He bows his head, shame enveloping him like a cloak.
"Don't forget how we treated you when you arrived. Don't forget how we treated our own Omegas. We may not have called them slaves, but they were treated like they were. Just look at how my father treated my mother."
"You are still better than Dimitri."
"Not by much."
San shuts his eyes and sighs. I place my hand on his shoulder.
"(Y/N)—"
"What's this? A little dog walk before battle?"
Three drunk, swaying wolves amble toward me, grinning sharply at San.
"You taking your little pet out for one last swing before dawn, eh? Cutting it a little close."
They don't recognize him. Thank God.
San's fists grow tighter. Deadlier.
"She's a cute little claim. You wouldn't mind if some superiors took her for a spin, would you?"
San snarls under his breath, his eyes glinting with the threat of flashing silver.
"You dare…!"
If he loses his cool right now, we're done for.
"You think I belong to him? How adorably naïve."
My cocky tone slices through the tension, immediately distracting both the drunk wolves and my angry Alpha. I pat San on the head, shoving him down to his knees.
"I am Karena Petrov of the Eastern Tundra. Where I come from, no male is Alpha. We take them only as our breed mates."
The men cower at the sight of I, stroking San as though he is but an object to me.
Doesn't look so fun from his angle, does it, boys?
"I—I've never heard of you."
"No? Would you like to get…acquainted? My mate here can attest… I know how to have a very good time."
I lick my lips and yank San's hair. He leans into the act and gasps. The men step back.
"Uh, no. Afraid we have somewhere to be actually."
With that, they turn tail and run. As soon as they're out of view, I release San and he stands.
"That was brilliant. Your acting skills never cease to amaze me."
"It's a gift. I know I'm talented. Now use your gift and find Yeosang for us."
San sniffs the air, angling to the north.
"Yeosang is that way."
We sneak further into the camp, careful this time to keep to the shadows. When we reach the largest tent, I hear a struggle inside.
"No! Please, I'm sorry, Master!"
"I'm not sure that apology's sincere. Let's see if we can do better." Dimitri growls.
"Don't!" Noor begs.
I hear a deafening SMACK and a body hits the floor. Bile rises in my throat.
He brought his women with him. And he's torturing them.
Fighting every muscle in my body that wants to move, I stay where I am. The smallest girl starts crying. Her tears turn to screams. And this is when San lunges.
"That sick piece of—"
"San!"
I follow him as he bursts into the tent, tackling Dimitri before he can strike the girl again.
"Don't touch her!"
Several guards burst from hiding and slam San and I to the ground. Dimitri chuckles.
"It appears you've fallen right into the trap I laid. How pathetically predictable, you two."
His wives all look at me with dismay. I see thick chains around each of their swollen, bruised ankles.
"Let them go, Dimitri." I command
"Who? My wives?"
A maniacal laugh bursts from his mouth. He takes Noor by the hair, pulling her up to his chest.
"They aren't prisoners, you moronic girl. They are mated to me. They are my property."
He licks a slow path up Noor's neck. She grits her teeth.
"I can do anything I want to them. They're as much mine as your false King's body."
That's when San and I see it. Yeosang's cold, mangled body is tied to a pole in the tent.
"No…"
Bite wounds from countless wolves marred his flesh. Worse still, fresh arrows and knives are buried in his chest.
"You…you've been using my brother's body…for target practice?"
"San, we'll make him feel this pain tenfold."
"Yeah. Right fucking now!"
San lunges for Dimitri, but several guards put knives to his throat, shoving him back to his knees.
"Stop. Stop this!"
"What's the matter, (Y/N)? Are you afraid of losing both your Alphas?"
He walks up to me, stroking a cold, clammy hand down my cheek. Fury boils within me.
If I can summon my power…
I close my eyes and try to call my power forward. I strain every muscle in my body. But nothing happens.
No. I still don't have control over it.
"You have nothing to fear. Because you'll have me to warm your bed at night."
With lightning speed, Dimitri grabs the back of my neck and slams me into the floor.
"GET OFF HER!"
The girls all wince as the wind is knocked out of me. Angry tears rise in Noor's eyes.
"You should be thanking me, little bastard prince. I'm going to call off this war now. I've got what I want. So, you can just relinquish the throne to me, and we can save many lives."
"San…don't give in. Please."
"I would never!"
San lunges again, this time ignoring the knives at his throat. He strains, letting them cut into him.
"No!"
"You seem to still think you have a say in this, boy. Pity."
Dimitri grabs my clothes at my back, threatening to tear them away.
"I guess we'll have to pick up where we left off. I'll claim her right here in front of your bastard eyes."
San fights but it's no use. I can't call my powers to me.
This was stupid. Why did we ever think…
I feel my clothes start to tear…but then a huge THWACK knocks Dimitri back. I look up to find Noor has pounced on Dimitri, throwing her chain over his neck to choke him. He claws at her, but he is unable to reach her. Forgetting San, the guards leap for their leader, but the other women of his harem are faster.
"Get them!" the smallest woman blurts.
The women jump on the guards, clawing at their faces and beating them with their chains.
They're buying us time. I need check on San.
"San!"
I run for San. He is on his knees, clutching his bleeding throat.
"Don't worry about me. Get to Yeosang."
The cut in his neck looks shallow. Satisfied, I turn and sprint for Yeosang's body, feeling the moonstone in my pocket. But I am knocked off course when something heavy slams into me from the side. It is Noor's body.
"Oh my God. Noor."
She is bleeding and barely conscious. Dimitri staggers up to her, his claws outstretched.
"At least your tired little body is good for something. I think I'll catapult it at the castle walls when I'm done. But first. I'm going to rip the life out of you!"
He dives for Noor.
"No! Please!"
Completely helpless, Noor clutches my back, shaken and battered.
This girl stepped in when no one else could. She saved my life.
"You won't ever touch her again!" I bare my teeth.
Remembering a favorite scrappy move from back in the city, I bring my palm up into Dimitri's nose as he lunges. It crunches easily and he staggers back. I bend low, defensive in front of Noor.
"(Y/N). Thank you."
"No. Thank you."
"You can't keep me from what's mine!"
"She was never yours!"
With a surge of strength I didn't know I had, I spin and kick him right in the mouth. He flies into the fray of guards and women.
"GET HIM!"
The girls all begin to beat Dimitri with their chains and the weapons they've stolen from the guards.
"Get off! Agh!!"
I turn to Noor.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"(Y/N)! The sun!" San shouts.
My head snaps to the opening of the tent. The very first hints of sunlight are glinting over the horizon. I sprint for Yeosang, every part of me praying there is still time. When I reach the body, I pull the arrows and knives free of him and rip his shirt off. Then, I pull the moonstone free of my pocket.
The old woman said I need to place this in his heart
I take up one of the fallen knives and bring it to his chest. But as soon as I start to make the incision, I feel a dark presence at my back.
Dimitri: Whatever it is you're doing. Stop.
I turn slowly, and my stomach drops when I see Dimitri. His cruel smile has returned and he is holding a wolfsbane-laced dagger to San's cut throat.
"(Y/N), don't listen to him. Just forget me and—"
"No. Dimitri…let him go and I'll spare your life."
"Haven't you learned by now, little girl? Your pathetic threats only make me hotter."
"You son of a—"
"One more sound and I touch this to your bloody throat. That's all it would take, you know. Without an antidote, this poison would burn through your bastard body so fast you'd be dead in minutes. But you would feel everything."
Dimitri inches the knife closer.
"I've heard it feels like acid boiling your blood from the inside. I've also heard it's like being flayed alive. You'll have to tell me what you think. If you have the strength to speak through your screams."
The dawn is edging closer now, the faint flow of sunlight glinting off of the poisoned dagger at San's throat.
No. I can't lose them both. And I won't choose one over the other.
Suddenly, a plan forms in my mind. I don't hesitate in executing it. Putting my hands up, I make my eyes wide.
"Okay, Dimitri. You win. Just please don't kill San."
"(Y/N), no! Get to Yeosang!"
"He's already gone, San! Accept it! All I need is for you to survive instead."
"No. NO!"
San fights, but Dimitri is enamored with my submission. He moves the knife away from San's throat.
"Mmm, I think the rumors are true. You will taste sweeter after all this effort to win you."
As soon as Dimitri's knife is close to his own throat, I make your move.
Here goes nothing!
I grab the knife with two hands and plunge it up into Dimitri's chin. He staggers back in pain, and his harem jumps on him again, fighting him all the way out of the tent. But the orange glow of dawn is almost upon us.
"(Y/N)—"
The old woman said we need to put this stone in his heart. If I'm right, then—
I shove San towards his brother. At the final second, I put the stone between their hearts.
"What are you—"
"Just tell him you love him."
"What?"
"You never told him before. You need to tell him now."
San's breathless body is pressed against Yeosang's lifeless one. After a long moment, he bows his head and whispers.
"I do. I love you, brother. Please. Please come back."
Just as the dawn floods the tent, a burst of light envelopes the Alpha brothers. It blinds us, knocking us back, as a rush of warm wind swirls through the tent. Then, everything goes still. San falls back. The stone is gone, leaving only Yeosang's lifeless body hanging from the pole.
Did…we fail?
I don't dare move. I don't dare breathe. It feels like decades pass in seconds as I stare up at Yeosang.
"Please. Brother."
Then, a pulse like a heartbeat—like the pulsing of The Stones—thrums through the tent. Everyone feels it. The chained women behind me gasp and whisper. But my eyes are trained on Yeosang. Still, he lies dormant, his once powerful face pale and lifeless.
"San…I'm so sorry."
"No."
"I don't think it worked."
"No!!!"
San pounds the ground, tears splashing from his silver eyes. But then…
"B-brother?"
The world feels like it shifts on its axis as Yeosang's eyes flicker open. San and I gasp.
"Y-Yeosang…" San stutters
"You're…"
"What? What am I doing here? What is this?!"
His confusion turns to panic, his eyes bulging wide. He forgets to breathe and turns blue before taking a massive gulp of air.
"No. This isn't—I should be—I was—!"
He retches, straining against his bonds, screaming.
"We're surrounded by enemy wolves. If he keeps this up…"
"Brother, please!"
"WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"
His tortured screams grow louder and tears fall down his face. My heart breaks.
He doesn't think we're real.
"San. Hug him."
"What?"
"You were his connection back to the living. You love him. So, support him and hold him through this."
San looks from me to Yeosang. Then, he wraps his arms around Yeosang's thrashing, powerful body.
"Yeosang, it's me. San. Feel this?"
He rubs his back and for the first time, Yeosang pauses.
"I'm real. This is real. You're alive."
"Brother…? (Y/N)…?"
He huffs into San's shoulder, breathless with shock. I touch his hand and look deep into his crimson eyes.
"Yes. It's me. San and I were able to bring you back. It's all thanks to an old woman's magic."
Yeosang looks from me to San, completely shocked.
"Th-this is. This is real? I'm…alive?"
"Yes."
"We don't have much time, (Y/N). Dimitri will be back soon."
"Right. We need to untie him."
I move to unbid his hands. When they are free, he completely collapses on me. San stares at Yeosang, laid out over my body. I feel heat rise in my face.
"H-his feet. Get his feet."
Without a word, San unties Yeosang's ankles. But when he does, he still can't stand.
"My…my body is…"
He tries to get off of me but he stumbles.
"Jesus, brother. Your muscles are weak."
"And my chest. It's…heavy. Like there's—"
"A stone inside it?"
He looks up at me, his mouth slack in shock. He nods. Then, a deafening explosion rocks the very foundation of the tent. In the distance, I hear screams.
"No. Our people."
"I told you, little bastard prince. I have much bigger artillery."
From outside the tent, Dimitri's haunting voice sounds like it comes from every direction. San snarls.
"We need to get back. We need to set those traps and—"
Another massive explosion throws us all off balance as Dimitri bombs the castle.
"What is going on? What—God, I'm so confused!"
Yeosang grabs his head and rocks back and forth, shivering on the ground.
"(Y/N). Take Yeosang and go. Set the traps. I'll create a distraction so you can get through."
"What? That's not happening. I'm not leaving you!"
"I'll be careful. I promise, it won't be like last time. But this is our only choice."
"No. I won't trade one brother for another and let you—"
San suddenly takes my face in his hands, pressing his forehead to mine.
"I swear. On my mother's soul. I will come back for you."
"San…"
I reach up and slide my hand over his, feeling the heat of him so close once again. Fighting back tears, I press my lips to San's. He swears and makes a fist in my hair as he returns my kiss, hard and deep. Yeosang, the war, it all fades away as I melt into a world that is just San and me. Far too soon, we separate, and he looks at me with his glittering, silver eyes.
"Don't die." He tells me.
"You either."
I move to the door of the tent, hearing hundreds of pounding footsteps as Dimitri's army begins to charge. Noor, the small girl, all of Dimitri's imprisoned wives, shiver in their chains, huddled together on the floor.
"Are we…going to survive this?"
"I…I don't know."
The smallest girl buries her face in her hands. Her knuckles are bruised and bloodied.
These girls fought so hard to help me. All of them. If he comes back…he'll…
The girls fall into Noor's lap sobbing. And that's when I spot it. The iron rod, holding their chain in place. And near it…a sword.
I can pry them free with that. I can liberate them forever.
"You're not staying here."
"What?"
I quickly take up the sword and wedge it into the rod that chains the women to the floor. Shoving my foot down hard and fast, I dislodge the rod. The chains fall loose.
"There. Now, don't stick around. You have to go and—"
My words are cut off as the smallest girl throws her arms around me, wetting my hair with her tears.
"Oh my God. Thank you. Thank you."
"Consider it a debt repaid. You all fought bravely just now."
"We'll never forget this. Or you, (Y/N)."
Breathless with joy, the women shed their chains and take each other's hands, running off into the dawn.
"(Y/N), that was—"
Another massive bomb detonates in the distance. San's face hardens.
"There's no time left. Take Yeosang and go."
"Right."
I motion for the door.
"Yeosang, we have to hurry, okay?"
Nodding, Yeosang tries to climb to his feet. But he stumbles and hits the ground yet again.
He can't even stand?
"(Y/N), you'll have to help him. It's the only way."
San arms himself with artillery from the tent, looking back at his weakened, confused brother as he moves toward the exit.
"Please. Do whatever you can to protect him."
"Don't worry. I will do everything I can."
Gathering the strength, I shift into my wolf form and lie down next to Yeosang. San helps Yeosang climb on top of me.
"Thank you, (Y/N)."
"Yes…thank you…"
Yeosang wraps his arms around my furry neck and I bolt out of the tent. I streak past shifters in human and wolf form alike. Some begin to look at us. But a commotion far to the south of us distracts them all. My heart twists.
Be safe, San.
I bound past rubble and fallen soldiers, leaping up countless flights of stairs within the castle until you reach your destination.
You: (Yeosang's room. The highest tower of the castle.)
You shift back and settle Yeosang against the side of the bed. He clutches his chest and gasps for air.
"(Y/N)?"
I spin to find I.N standing in the doorway, carrying the cut wolfsbane and firewood.
"Thank God you're alive! These bombs were brutal, I.N."
"I-I.N? Who is that?" Yeosang asks.
Horrified, I clap my hand over my mouth. But it's I.N who is distracted by Yeosang.
"(Y/N)…didn't he…didn't he die?"
"He did. I'll explain everything later."
"But. But we saw his body, he was—"
Suddenly, another person rounds the corner, their long shadow stretching over I.N before he can turn around. Shoving I.N out of the way, I growl and raise my claws at the person rounding the corner. But with a speed I didn't think possible, the man takes my outstretched hand and pins it to the ground.
"You don't want to do that."
"Like hell I don't."
I glare at the older man, sensing something in him that makes I pause.
His power…it's like nothing I've felt before.
It flickers and crackles behind his lycan eyes, like a golden fire.
"(Y/N), stop. He's an ally."
"An ally? Then tell me his name."
I.N opens his mouth to answer, but a sudden explosion knocks us all back. Through the dust and debris, dozens of wolves stalk slowly into the room, cornering me.