"Monster," Aria whispered, blood bubbling from her lips.
"No," the woman said, standing up and holstering her weapon. "Just a soldier following orders. Same as you would do for your Alpha."
She walked away, her team following. They left as efficiently as they'd arrived, disappearing into the forest like ghosts.
Aria lay dying in the ruins of the settlement she'd been trying to help. Around her, fifty-three bodies. Friends. Family. Children.
She could hear Thessian's voice in her mind through their mate bond, he was coming, racing across the territory, but he was too far away. He wouldn't make it in time.
I'm sorry, she sent to him through the bond. I couldn't protect them. I couldn't.....
Hold on, Thessian's mental voice was raw with desperation. Please, Aria, just hold on.....
But she was fading. The silver was in her bloodstream now, poisoning her from the inside.
With her last breath, Aria Nightfang, Luna of the Shadowpine Pack, mother and mate and leader, whispered two words:
"Protect them."
Then darkness claimed her.
Thessian Nightfang arrived seventeen minutes later, his entire body vibrating with the speed of his wolf form as he raced into the settlement.
What he found was a nightmare.
Bodies everywhere. Buildings burning. Blood, so much blood, soaking into the earth.
And in the center of it all, his mate. His Aria. Lying in a pool of her own blood, her eyes still open, staring at nothing.
Thessian shifted back to human form and fell to his knees beside her. His hands shook as he pulled her into his arms, knowing she was already gone but unable to accept it.
"No," he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers. "No, no, no....."
The mate bond in his chest, the connection that had tied them together for fifteen years, was severed. Torn. Empty.
Around him, his pack members emerged from hiding, their faces stricken with grief and horror. Veyra, his Beta, had tears streaming down her face. Other pack members were finding bodies of their loved ones and beginning to wail.
"Alpha," one of his warriors approached carefully, holding a tablet. "You need to see this."
Thessian couldn't look away from Aria's face.
"Alpha," the warrior insisted. "This was a planned military strike. We pulled footage from the security cameras before they were destroyed."
That got his attention. Thessian gently laid Aria down and stood, his entire body shaking with rage so profound he could barely contain his wolf.
The warrior handed him the tablet. Security footage played, showing the attack from multiple angles. Showing the tactical precision. Showing the leader.
A young woman with delicate features and dark hair. Human. She'd removed her helmet at one point, her face clearly visible.
"Who is she?" Thessian demanded, his voice barely human.
"We're running facial recognition now," Veyra said, her own voice thick with grief. "But Alpha... there's more. One of the survivors, little Maya, she heard something. She said the leader of the attack... she said a name before she gave the order to open fire."
"What name?"
Veyra's face was grim. "Ashenbane. She said 'This is from the House of Ashenbane.'"
Thessian's blood ran cold. Ashenbane. The royal family of Valeria. The human kingdom that had been seeking peace treaties with the werewolf territories.
This wasn't a rogue attack. This was sanctioned by the highest levels of human government.
"Find out everything," Thessian ordered, his voice dead calm, the most dangerous kind of quiet. "I want to know who she is. I want to know who sent her. I want to know everyone involved."
He looked down at Aria's body, at the mate he'd loved for fifteen years, the mother of his daughter, the Luna who'd died trying to protect children.
"And then," Thessian said softly, "I'm going to make them all pay. Every. Single. One."
Three months later, he would get his chance.
King Aldric of Valeria would contact him with a treaty offer. Peace between species. Trade agreements. Reparations.
And a bride.
Princess Liora Ashenbane. The woman from the security footage. The murderer of his mate. Delivered into his hands, wrapped in diplomatic immunity and treaty law.
Thessian had smiled when he received the offer.
Because King Aldric had just given him exactly what he wanted: vengeance.
And unlike his mate, the Princess wouldn't die quickly.
She would suffer. For three weeks. Until she begged for death.
Only then would Thessian Nightfang grant her the mercy of ending her miserable life.
It was more than she deserved.
But it would have to do.