Elis
I smelled the blood before I saw her. Not mine. Hers. Time slowed. A gasp echoed, though I couldn't tell if it came from her lips or mine. The assassin's blade…meant for my heart…was buried in her stomach. Lily.
She stood trembling, her eyes wide, lips parted in a silent breath. My brain refused to process it. Her dress darkened with blood, blooming red where no red should ever touch her. She didn't cry out. She didn't even flinch. But I broke.
The assassin stumbled back, his eyes wide in shock. I don't think he meant to strike her. He wanted me. But he'd touched something far more dangerous. He hesitated. And that was his mistake. The doors burst open behind me. Steel clanged. Voices shouted. The guards surged into the room like a wave of iron and fury. I barely heard them. I didn't care. They struck the assassin down before he could flee. He dropped like a sack of bones, lifeless, forgotten.
I was already moving. My arms wrapped around her as she collapsed. Her body sagged into mine, warm and fragile, slick with blood. My hand pressed to the wound, uselessly, desperately. Her head lolled against my chest. Her blood soaked my fingers.,Her blood. No. And then…I roared. It tore out of me before I could stop it…a sound so raw, so furious, so final, it shook the stone walls. It wasn't a cry. It wasn't a command. It was a warning.
The palace stilled. Outside, wolves howled in eerie reply. Servants dropped to their knees. Warriors reached for weapons they didn't know how to use against a grief they didn't understand.
I lifted her. She felt too light in my arms. Too quiet. I didn't wait. I didn't shout for help. I ran. Half-clad, bloodied, bare feet slapping against cold floors, I stormed through the palace halls. Gasps followed me. No one dared to stop me. The Alpha King…unshaken in war, unbent by council, undefeated in battle…was now terrified. Holding his wounded mate.
Every step was agony, not from my old wounds, but from hers. I could feel her heartbeat faltering against my chest. "Stay with me," I growled. "Stay."
She stirred slightly, her fingers curling around my tunic. "Elis…" she whispered.
I nearly dropped to my knees at the sound of her voice. "I've got you. You're safe." But I was lying. She wasn't safe. Not yet. Not until someone fixed her. Not until someone saved her from this.
I kicked open the door to the forbidden healer's chamber. The woman inside gasped at the sight. She didn't need an explanation. She saw Lily. She saw me. And she understood.
"Help her," I snapped, my voice raw, cracking. "Now." The door slammed shut behind us.
But I couldn't stay. I couldn't breathe. The moment she was out of my arms, the moment her warmth left my skin…I broke again. The rage came faster this time. And I let it. My control shattered like glass under a hammer. Tika tore through me, furious and relentless. The shift burned through my body, bones snapping, muscles swelling, and fur exploding across my skin. I didn't fight it. I wanted this. I needed this.
Tika howled. The sound wasn't just a call. It was a threat. A declaration. And a death sentence. I landed on all fours, claws gouging into the marble floor, fangs bared. My vision was tinted red, pulsing with fury. My mate had bled for me. And someone was going to pay.
I stalked the courtyard like a beast unchained. They saw me. The guards. The nobles. The courtiers. They didn't see Elis anymore. They saw Tika. A monstrous shadow with fire in his eyes and vengeance dripping from his fangs. I didn't care who watched. I didn't care who ran. They should run. Because I was going to the dungeons. To the men who had dared to strike her. Their lives were already over. They just didn't know it yet.
The scent of blood and fear pulled me like a leash. I reached the dungeon gates. Massive iron doors. Reinforced. But not enough. I slammed into them. BOOM. Stone dust rained from the ceiling. Chains rattled. The prisoners screamed. The guards watching from the stairwell backed away slowly, eyes wide. I slammed again. BOOM. The gate held, for now. But I didn't care. I paced. I clawed. I growled. I wanted them. I wanted to tear through bone and scream and flesh until their blood washed the floor clean.
Tika didn't understand restraint. He only understood justice. Mate. Hurt. Punish. Kill. The words looped in my head like a mantra. They had drawn her blood. They would answer for it. They would answer me. Then…everything shifted. A scent. Faint, but mine. Lily. Her breath. Her soul. Her pain. But more than that…her pull.
Tika paused. His ears twitched. His head turned toward the palace. She needed me. Not the beast.,Me. And just like that, the rage coiled inward. The monster paused at the edge of slaughter.,I turned. Not because I forgave. But because she lived. And that was enough. For now.