Chapter 35: Chapter 35: We Keep Hunting
The bond tightened when I read it in the war room. Darius’s claws punched through the table. Kane’s knife slammed into the wood beside the note. Rylan’s axe came down on the map, splitting it clean in two.
"He’s close," I said. "He’s not running far. He’s waiting for the right moment."
Darius’s voice was ice. "Then we stop waiting. We take the fight to him. We burn every trail he might use. We find the beta and make him talk."
Kane pulled the knife free. "I’ll lead the team. Rylan comes with me. We leave at dusk."
I looked at the three of them. The bond was straining again, the curse pushing harder as the next full moon drew closer. My belly was round and heavy with the twins, but I felt the latent alpha blood surging under my skin, hot and ready.
"I ride with you," I said.
Darius started to speak, but I cut him off.
"I’m not staying behind. The pack needs to see me out there. They need to see all of us together. I’m carrying our children, but I’m still the queen who stood in a hall full of blood and held this keep together. I’m still the one who’s going to end this."
The bond surged. I felt their fear, their protectiveness, and underneath it their respect. They knew I wasn’t asking permission.
Rylan’s grin came back, sharp and mean. "Then we ride together. All of us. Like always."
Kane nodded once. "We leave at dusk."
I looked at the three of them, then at Lila playing on the furs with her carved wolf. The bond hummed fierce and warm between the four of us, the curse quiet for now, but the shadow was thicker than ever at the edges.
My father was out there.
The traitor was still breathing.
And the next full moon was coming.
The hunt was no longer just about finding them.
It was about ending them before they could end us.
The wind howled through the ridges as we prepared to ride.
This time, the wolves that answered were ours.
But my father was waiting in the dark.
And he had already proven chains couldn’t hold him.
**********************
We rode hard for three days straight. The mud sucked at the horses’ hooves, the spring thaw turning the southern passes into a slick mess of black rock and melting snow.
Lila stayed back in the keep with Mara and the strongest guards we had, but the twins in my belly kicked with every jolt, reminding me exactly why we were out here.
The bond between the four of us stretched thin but held, the curse quiet for now, but the memory of the last full moon still lingered in the way Darius’s claws twitched when the wind shifted or the way Kane’s eyes scanned every shadow.
The first trail we followed led to nothing. A dead end at the river, hoof prints washed away by the current.
The second trail took us deeper into the passes, only to circle back on itself. Rylan cursed under his breath and kicked a rock into the water. Kane rode ahead in silence, knife in his hand, checking every broken branch and disturbed patch of mud. Darius stayed beside me, his arm ready to steady me if the twins made me sway in the saddle.
By the end of the first week we had nothing but cold camps and empty leads. The beta who had helped my father escape knew the hidden trails too well. He had planned this for weeks, maybe months. The gold pouch the wounded guard had mentioned was probably already spent on fresh horses and allies in the outer packs.
We returned to Frostfang at dusk on the eighth day, horses lathered, cloaks caked in mud. The pack was waiting on the walls, faces tight. No cheers this time. Just the low murmur of relief mixed with the same fear I felt in my own chest.
I slid off my horse and walked into the bailey with my hand on my belly, the twins kicking hard as if they could sense the frustration rolling off the brothers.
The war room felt smaller when we gathered around the map that night.
Lila was already asleep in the cradle, her small fist curled around the edge of the blanket.
Darius paced the length of the table. Kane leaned against the wall, sharpening the same knife he had sharpened every night since the escape.
Rylan dropped into a chair and stared at the map like it had personally betrayed him.
"He’s gone to ground," Darius said. "Hiding in one of the old smuggling caves or with one of the outer packs he paid off before we captured him."
Kane tested the edge of his blade with his thumb. "The beta is with him. They have gold. They have time. Six weeks until the next full moon. He will use it."
Rylan slammed his fist on the table. "Then we don’t give him six weeks. We burn every trail. We question every scout who ever rode south. We find the beta and drag him back in pieces."
I looked at the three of them. The bond was tight and raw, the curse pushing harder as the next full moon drew closer. My belly was round and heavy with the twins, but I felt the latent alpha blood surging under my skin, hot and ready.
"We keep hunting," I said. "But we do it smart. No more blind rides into the passes. We send small teams. We watch the outer packs. We change the guard rotation every night. And we make sure the keep is ready if he comes back with friends."
The days blurred into weeks. Spring took hold of the ridges, turning the mud into soft earth and the black rock into patches of green that pushed up stubborn and bright.
Lila was about four months now crawling faster now, pulling herself up on furniture and babbling at everything.
The twins in my belly grew stronger every day, their kicks turning into full rolls that made me stop mid-step and press a hand to the curve of my stomach.
The nausea had eased, but the tiredness sat heavy in my bones. I moved slower through the halls, one hand often resting on my belly, the other adjusting the sling when Lila demanded to be carried.
The pack trained harder in the yard. Women and older pups drilled with blades until their hands blistered. I sat in council every morning, Lila in the sling, ruling on disputes and pushing the next law through. The keep felt like home now, the stone walls no longer a prison but a fortress we had earned.
Two months after the escape, the first real lead came.
A scout rode in at dusk, horse lathered, cloak torn. He didn’t make it to the war room. He collapsed in the bailey, blood soaking his side. I reached him first, Lila in the sling, Darius and the guards closing in around us.
"The river camps," the scout gasped. "They were waiting. The beta... he was there. He knew we were coming. He had wolves from three outer packs. They killed six of ours. Kane and Rylan are fighting a rear guard to buy time. They sent me back to warn you."
Darius’s hand tightened on my shoulder. The bond surged with raw fury. I felt Kane and Rylan through it, distant but alive, the fight still raging south.
I looked down at the scout. "How many?"
"Too many. They’re coming north. Your father is with them. He’s regrouping. He’s bringing everything he has left."
The bailey went silent. The pack gathered, faces grim. The twins kicked hard in my belly, as if answering the news. Lila fussed in the sling, sensing the tension.
I looked at Darius. "We ride south. All of us who can fight. The keep stays guarded. The mothers and pups stay inside the inner walls."
Darius started to argue, but I cut him off with a look. "I’m not hiding. Not anymore. The pack needs to see me out there. They need to see all of us together. I’m carrying our children, but I’m still the queen who stood in a hall full of blood and held this keep together. And I’m the one who’s going to end this."
The bond tightened. I felt his fear, his protectiveness, and underneath it his respect. He knew I wasn’t asking permission.
We rode out at dusk, with twenty wolves strong, the rest staying to guard the keep. The bond stretched as we left the walls, but it held.
I rode between Darius and the guards, Lila left safe with Mara in the inner chambers. The twins kicked harder with every mile, the pregnancy making my balance shift, but the latent alpha blood kept me steady.
The river camps were burning when we arrived. Smoke rose black against the twilight sky. Kane and Rylan were still fighting, backs to a rocky outcrop, blades flashing in the firelight. The beta stood behind a line of outer pack wolves, his face pale but determined.
Darius gave the signal. We charged towards the camp.
