Chapter 36: One Hour
"What are you talking about?" Rhea asked, her silver eyes narrowing into razor-sharp slits. She refused to back down, even as his frame pinned her against the wood.
Adam completely ignored the question. He merely stared down at her, the heavy silence stretching between them like a bowstring drawn to its snapping point. His gaze dropped slowly from her fierce eyes, tracing the curve of her jaw down to her lips, before locking back onto her gaze.
The raw heat of his stare was intoxicating, thick with a dark, primal pull that made the wolf beneath her skin pace restlessly.
"You are still not going to say a damn thing, are you?" Rhea said, nodding slowly as a cold, bitter certainty settled in her chest. She forced her voice to remain steady, masking the tremor of her racing pulse. "I just hope to the heavens you had nothing to do with any of this. By the Moon Goddess, Adam, I truly hope so. For now, I have to go."
Adam let out a soft sigh, the heavy muscle in his jaw ticking against his dark stubble. He didn’t release her wrist right away, his grip a warm bracelet. "Stop being so stubborn," he murmured, his deep baritone dropping.
"I have no desire to keep you caged within these walls against your will, but you are forcing my hand." He slowly uncoiled his fingers, finally stepping back to give her air. "Get some rest. Please."
Rhea snapped her chin up, her shoulders squaring as she leaned into the newfound space. "I am meeting Kaleb at Eli’s grave in an hour," she blurted out.
The color drained from Adam’s face, his entire body locking into stone. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked genuinely shaken as he snapped around. "No."
"I already struck a deal with Kat. I told her the boy would be there." Rhea rushed out, tracking the dangerous flare of his nostrils as his alpha scent turned sharp and volatile. "So it is entirely left for you to decide whether you will bring his heir or not. Either way, I am crossing the border to meet him, and I will get my answers. Even if it costs me my life."
Before the final word could fully leave her lips, she whirled sharply, twisted the brass knob, and tore out into the corridor. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped beast.
Adam let out a low, venomous growl the moment the heavy oak door banged shut, the faint, intoxicating scent of winter rain and silver pine evaporating with her. He knew the feral look in her eyes; she wasn’t bluffing.
For the first time since he had pulled her from the hands of death, a cold knot of genuine fear tightened in his chest. He lunged across the solar and yanked the door open.
"Bernard!" he roared, his voice booming through the stone corridors like thunder.
Within a heartbeat, the Beta appeared from the shadows of the hallway, his posture instantly rigid. "Yes, Alpha."
"Where did she go?" Adam demanded, his jaw locked, his knuckles whitening against the doorframe. "Rhea."
Bernard’s thick brows furrowed, his nostrils flaring as he tried to catch her trail in the hall. "I didn’t see her pass, Alpha. She must have gone back to her chambers."
Adam pressed a hand against his forehead, a rare flash of vulnerability cracking his stoic facade. "Oh, Rhea. You reckless wolf," he muttered under his breath.
He snapped his head up, his amber eyes burning with absolute command. "We need to stop her before she does something stupid. Gather the elite guard. Sound the horn if you have to. Just bring her back to me unharmed."
Bernard gave a single nod, rising to the command as he blurred down the corridor with supernatural speed. "Sound the alarm!" his voice echoed through the lower barracks, sharp and unyielding. "The Ironfang Luna is attempting to breach the perimeter! Lock down the gates!"
Rhea had just reached the shadow of the eastern fortress wall when the deep, agonizing wail of the horn shattered the night air. The sound vibrated right through the soles of her boots, sending a jolt of adrenaline straight to her heart.
She knew exactly who that horn was calling for.
Her silver eyes darted back toward the central courtyard just as the heavy iron gates began to groan shut. Ahead of her, three guard details were already shifting into a dead sprint, their torches cutting through the thick mountain fog.
Moving with pure wolf speed, a blur of silver and black wool, Rhea lunged through the narrowing gap of the eastern postern gate, pulling the heavy wood shut with a silent click just before the latch locked.
She dissolved into the dense foliage of the boundary woods, taking cover beneath the low-hanging branches of an ancient pine. Crouched in the damp dirt, her chest heaving silently, she watched the perimeter guards scramble above her on the ramparts.
Once the immediate heat passed, she slipped deeper into the black forest, using the darkness as her ultimate shield.
One hour. The words echoed in her mind.
—
Meanwhile, across the border, the master bedroom window of the Ironfang packhouse slithered open. Kat scrambled over the sill, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she prayed to slip back into her quarters the same way she had escaped.
The moment her boots hit the plush carpet, a click shattered the silence. The crystal chandelier flooded the room with blinding light, freezing her instantly in her tracks.
Kaleb sat in the velvet armchair in the corner, his long legs crossed, his golden eyes blazing with a dark, unstable amber. The weight of his Alpha aura instantly filled the room, making the air feel thick as sludge.
"Where the hell are you coming from, Kat?" Kaleb asked, his voice dangerously low.
Kat swallowed hard, her heart skipping a beat as she instinctively brought both hands up to cradle her swollen belly.
"Answer me!" Kaleb barked. The sheer force of his dominant command slammed into her like a physical blow.
Kat shuddered, her eyelids snapping shut as tears finally spilled over her lashes. "I went to look for my son!" she screamed back, her voice cracking with a mother’s raw panic. "I went to find my baby!"
"And where is he?" Kaleb asked, pushing his towering frame out of the chair. He took a slow step toward her, his fingers trembling against his belt. "Did I not look you in the eyes and tell you that I would bring him home myself?"
"You seemed far more engrossed in making Rhea bleed for your humiliation!" Kat shot back, her chin lifting with a sudden, desperate flash of defiance, though her scent remained sour with fear. "I could not just sit in this empty room and do nothing while my son is in a cage!"
Kaleb closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, his shadow completely engulfing her small frame. The metallic scent of his fresh battlefield failure rolled off his leather vest.
"What did you really go to BloodVeil for, Kat?" he hissed, his face inches from hers. "And you better pray to the goddess that you have something worthwhile to say. Because right now, the only logical conclusion in my head is that you are the one who sold us out to my uncle."
Kat’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor, her eyes widening in absolute horror.
