The hall trembled with growls and shifted bodies, but no one dares to move without the Alpha's command.
"You were banished, Dante." the Alpha said, each word slow. "Your blood was stripped from this house and you took an oath never to return."
Caius's wolf snarled, pacing, and held back only by his father's command.
Dante didn't flinch.
His eyes met the Alpha's.
"Banished?" he said, voice harsh.
"Mind your tongue, Dante." The Beta warned sharply. "You speak with disrespect."
"You were fooled," he continued, his eyes flickering briefly toward Caius. "While you trusted his loyalty, he murdered the council and their mates and laid the bodies at my door."
The Luna gasped, barely audible.
"You banished your heir because you could not imagine your favorite son was a monster."
Caius roared, struggling against the Alpha's command.
"So, you return for revenge? Is that why you're here?"
He shook his head once.
"No," his voice was low, stripped raw. "I return because your son has my mate."
The Alpha's face changed.
"What proof do you have? The council will look into it."
"Your mate?" Caius interrupted. "You bit her to get to me and you think the moon choose you?"
"Until you get the proof and clear your name, Dante, you are still banished." The Alpha said with authority.
Caius lips curled slowly, victory sharpening in his eyes. "That's right, brother." he breathed, venom sweet in his voice. "Run back to the dirt you crawled out from. You'll die there just the same."
The Alpha opened his mouth to speak again, but Dante shifted, took Elara by the waist as if she weighed nothing, and lifted her onto his back in one smooth devastating movement .
"Stop him!" Caius yelled.
The Beta lunged, guards followed. Elara clung to him, breath ripped from her lungs, wind tearing through her hair.
The forest swallowed her whole.
Wind tore through her hair, the world blurring into streaks of green and grey. She couldn't tell where he was taking her. Only that she was pressed against him, her hands fisted into fur as soft as silk and warm as fire. Her body trembled. The mark pulsed, thrumming in perfect rhythm with his heartbeat beneath her palms. The sound of his breathing filled her ears.
"Put me down," she tried to say, but her voice came out in whisper, swallowed by the wind.
He didn't stop.
Branches whipped past them. Roots broke under his paws. He moved like he belonged to the forest. No hesitation, no wasted motion. When he finally slowed, silence struck louder than the wind. He lowered himself slowly. She slid from his back, her knees weak, her breath trembling. Before her eyes, his shape blurred again, fur receding, until she saw him as a man once more.
She turned as he fixed his robe.
White hair fell across his forehead, catching glints of gold from the dying sun. His face was slightly carved, dangerous in its beauty.
"We're alone. You can drop the act now," she whispered.
He stared at her for a long time, his chest rising and falling. "Its not an act." he said quietly.
"But you wanted to punish your brother. Or, for whatever games you were both playing,"
"This is no games," he said sternly. "The moment I saw you, my wolf decided before I could."
She took a step back, but the pull between them snapped taut, dragging her soul closer.
"You're my mate. Any deal you made with Caius is void."
Her jaw tightened. "I didn't make any deal. He took me and my parents."
"I don't want to hear any of it."
Neither of them spoke for a while. The silence between them stretched, raw and heavy.
Elara swallowed hard. "Then, why save me?"
He turned away. "Because even when I didn't want to, I couldn't watch you suffer."
Elara stared at him, confusion and longing warring in her chest.
The tower still trembled from the rogue's disappearance. Silence followed, until the Alpha rose slowly from his seat.
Caius stood where his brother had been moments ago. His father's gaze found him.
"Tell me, Caius." the Alpha said sternly. "Your brother claims you murdered the council. That you framed him. Is there truth in what he said?"
Caius straightened. "Father, you would take the word of a rogue over me?"
"Answer him," the Luna whispered. "For once, Caius... tell us it isn't true." her eyes glistened, searching her son's face.
"He lies," he said. "Dante always envied me. He couldn't stand that you chose me as your heir after he lost his way. You remember his temper, Father. You remember the blood bath."
The Alpha studied him. "So you say." His voice dropped lower. " And yet, your brother's eyes carried no deceit."
"My conscience is pure,"
"Until you bring me proof of your brother's guilt, he remains banished, but if I discover one truth in what he said, you will wish the wild had taken you instead."
Caius bowed, but his eyes burned with quiet fury. "And my mate?"
"Find her."
The world jolted beneath her as Dante finally slowed to a stop. When he lowered himself, she slid from his wolf form, her legs weak, her throat burning in that strange, traitorous way the mark always stirred around him.
"I could have shifted," she muttered, adjusting her gown.
"You're still weak," he replied.
An old tower rose from the barren ridge ahead. Narrow, and built of dark ancient stones that looked older than any pack settlement she had ever known. One window was half broken, and the iron gate hung slightly off its hinge, whining whenever wind brushed through.
Rogues appeared from the shadows around the tower, strong men with wild eyes and scarred skin. But when they saw Dante, they straightened immediately. Some bowed their heads, others placed fists to their chests. The Alpha had returned.
A man, younger than the rest, grinned at Elara with a gentle expression before leading the horses away.
Dante pushed open the tower door, the hinges groaning under the weight of years. Inside, the air was cool but not unpleasant. The hall was narrow, lit by scattered lanterns. It was tided in a rough way as though someone had cared enough to keep the ruin livable despite its age.
He led her up a tight spiral stairway to a small room warm from a stone hearth. A thick fur lay among the large wooden bed. A single window sill overlooked the rogue lands, the sky stretching far and lonely.
Elara hesitated at the threshold. "This is where I stay?"
"For now." His tone was clipped.
"Then, may I make a request? I want my servant rescued. Could you please-"
"No."
She blinked. "It's not a demand. I only-"
"You have no right to ask anything," his voice was rough, laced with anger. "This is the rogue lands. You're no princess here."
The sting of his words burned. Heat rushed to her cheeks in anger and humiliation.
"You have no right," she said, fist clenched. The urge to hit him was strong.
For a moment, his jaw worked as though he might yell again. Instead, he inhaled harshly and pointed to a door.
"There's water for bathing," he said tightly. "Use it."
And without waiting another second, he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
The lower hall of the tower was dim, lit only by torches wedged into cracked stone. Dante descended the narrow spiral staircase, his expression hard and controlled. His men looked up instantly.
"You're rattled," Riven, a short, broad shouldered man said, crossing his arms.
Dante shot him a glare sharp enough to cut granite and he lifted his hands in surrender. "Just stating facts, Alpha."
"Don't call me that," he shot back.
A ripple of quiet amusement moved through the men, but beneath it was genuine concern. He ignored them and moved to the center of the room, dropping a map onto it.
"We need proof," he said, "Proof Caius murdered the council. Proof he framed me."
Jax, a wiry wolf with a scar across his mouth, leaned forward. "And how do you plan to do that? You've fought battles for many clans hoping they'll help you fight Caius. Is it by walking back into the pack lands alone?"
"We will get this done without them,"
Riven snorted. "We all know Caius wants your head."
"And I want his more." Dante replied, exhaling once. "There were two council elders escaped before the bloodbath. One kept scrolls of every meeting and battle." he tapped the map. "Elder Norren. If we can find him, we'll have the proof."
"And if Caius already killed them?" Jax asked.
"Then we find people who saw him that night. Or the other Elder."
The men nodded slowly.
"And what about the girl?" Riven asked.
Dante stiffened.
"What about her?"
"She was dragged from her mating ceremony," Riven said. "You bit her, marked her. She's tied to you now. What do you plan to do with her while we search for proof?"
"And is it any of your business, Riven?" Jax asked. "You're such a lame wolf."
"She stays here," Dante said at last, voice strained. "Guarded and safe."
"Safe?" Jax raised a brow. "She's Caius's obsession. When he comes for her-"
His eyes glowed faintly. "He wont get within ten miles of my land. I'll rip him apart before he gets to her."
The men exchanged a single look.
Elara's hair was still damp when she left her room, adjusting the gown she had to wear again. The bath had eased her exhaustion, but not her hunger. The tower was quiet but outside was noisy.
Her bare feet met cold stone as she descended the spiraling staircase, hoping to see someone. The young man she saw earlier froze when he saw her.
"Oh, my lady," he said, straightening quickly.
"Elara, please."
His smile widened again. "I'm Rowan, they call me Ro."
He glanced behind her, as if expecting Dante to snatch her back upstairs. She ignored that look.
"Rowan...I'm hungry. Could you show me where the kitchen is?"
"Well...we don't exactly have a kitchen," he admitted. "Not like the fancy ones in pack towers." he rubbed the back of his neck. "We cook when we feel like it."
"No kitchen?"
"But don't worry, we won't starve you. Follow me."
She walked behind him as he led her through the narrow hallway. The scent of earth drift from the broken windows. Rowan pushed open a heavy door.
"This is it." he said, "Our store room. We gather what we hunt, forage what we can. Dante hates anything too fancy, so we keep it simple."
She stepped forward, eyes roaming over everything.
"Do you cook all this?"
Rowan shrugged. "Most days. Some of the others help. Rogues may be rough around the edges but we feed ourselves." He paused. "If you want something, I can make it."
Her stomach answered before she could. She hesitated, fingers grazing a bowl of soft red berries.
"Were you born a rogue?"
He paused a moment before shaking his head. " No. None of us were. We were banished, betrayed, hunted like Dante."
Something tightened in her chest.
He lowered his voice. "He saved us. Every man here would die for him."
A warmth spread through her, unwanted and undeniable.
"I'll take fruit and bread."