LIORA POV
The horse was terrifying.
It was enormous and breathing hard and stomping its hooves like it wanted to shake her off. Liora had never ridden before. Servants didn't ride horses. They walked. They carried things. They existed in the lowest parts of the pack compound where horses didn't go.
She had no idea how to sit on one without falling.
Kael appeared beside her with his hands raised in a calming gesture. His voice was steady and patient like he was talking to a spooked animal.
Grab my shoulder. I'll help you up.
Liora reached for him and he lifted her onto the horse like she weighed nothing. His strength was casual. Easy. The kind of power that didn't need to prove itself because it was so complete it didn't question its own existence.
He swung up in front of her on the same horse without making it seem difficult. Then he guided her arms around his waist.
Hold on to me. If you fall, I will catch you.
His voice carried absolute certainty. Like catching her was as natural to him as breathing.
Liora wrapped her arms around his waist and held on. His body was warm and solid and real in a way that nothing else had been since the stone exploded. She pressed her face against his back and tried to steady her breathing.
Around them, Shadowpeak warriors mounted their horses. Vex was barking quiet orders. The warriors responded with professional efficiency. They had done this before. They had ridden into danger together. They knew how to move as a unit.
The horns were still sounding in the distance.
Kael urged the horse forward and they plunged into the dark forest. The trees closed around them like the mouth of something alive. The moonlight barely penetrated the canopy. They were riding blind through territory Liora didn't know, with people hunting them from behind, toward a place she had never been.
Everything about this was wrong.
Everything about this was her only choice.
They rode hard through the night. The horse's muscles moved beneath her in a rhythm she was starting to understand. The fear lessened slightly as she realized she wasn't going to fall. Kael's back was pressed against her front. His heartbeat was steady and sure.
After an hour of riding, Kael slowed the horse.
He pulled off his heavy cloak without dismounting and wrapped it around her shoulders. It was enormous on her frame and it draped like a shelter. It smelled like him. Like leather and mountain air and something wild that she couldn't name.
It smelled like safety.
Liora wanted to ask him questions. So many questions. Why had he claimed her when they had never spoken before? Why would he risk war with the council for a servant girl he didn't know? What did claiming a mate even mean beyond the words he had spoken?
But she stayed quiet.
That was how you survived in a pack full of predators. You didn't ask questions. You didn't draw attention. You made yourself small and invisible and forgettable.
Even now that she was visible to everyone, the instinct to be silent was stronger than her need to understand.
Kael kept glancing back at her.
His silver eyes would flick to check on her like he was making sure she was still there. Like she might vanish. Like the mating bond between them might be a dream that would dissolve when he looked away.
His warriors rode around them in a tight protective circle. They moved with practiced precision. Their weapons were drawn but lowered. They were ready for attack but not expecting it yet. Not while they were in the forest. Not while they were still moving.
Vex rode beside them occasionally.
He would nod at Kael like they were communicating without words. Like they had done this a hundred times before. Probably they had. War and danger and protecting their pack.
The moon hung above them as they rode.
It was following them through the trees like a witness to everything that was happening. The same moon that had called to Liora's power. The same moon that had been bright when the stone shattered.
And her power had changed since the stone broke.
It was still there inside her. Still burning. Still demanding attention. But it wasn't burning like molten fire anymore. It was simmering like coals. Dangerous but controlled. And somehow, with Kael riding in front of her, with his presence steady and real, the power was easier to manage.
It was like he was an anchor.
Like his strength gave her something solid to hold onto while her own power found its shape.
They rode through the rest of the night.
By the time dawn was starting to lighten the sky, Liora was exhausted. Her legs ached from gripping the horse. Her arms were sore from holding onto Kael. Her mind was foggy from lack of sleep.
But they were still riding.
Kael finally slowed the horse as the forest began to thin out. The trees were getting smaller. The undergrowth was thinning. They were moving from dense forest into more open territory.
Shadowpeak territory.
Liora could see it in the landscape. The way the pack had carved out a presence here. The subtle markers that meant they had passed into a different Alpha's domain. The warriors around them seemed to relax slightly. Just slightly. Like they had made it to the first checkpoint but danger was still everywhere.
Kael guided the horse toward a small clearing.
The other warriors fanned out to scout the area. Vex checked the perimeter with practiced efficiency. They were stopping for water and rest. Maybe for food.
Kael helped Liora dismount.
Her legs buckled when her feet touched the ground. The muscles in her thighs screamed in protest. She would have fallen but Kael caught her, wrapping one arm around her waist to steady her.
His voice was apologetic.
You did well. Most people who have never ridden before would have fallen within the first hour.
Liora looked up at his face.
His silver eyes were searching hers like he was trying to read something written inside her. Like she was a puzzle he was desperate to solve.
She wanted to ask him again. Why her? Why claim someone who was going to bring danger to his pack?
But before she could speak, Vex ran up to them.
His face was hard. His hand was on his weapon.
Kael. We have a problem.
Kael's entire body went tense.
What?
Hunters. Coming up from the south. Maybe an hour behind us. They're organized and moving fast. This isn't just Marcus's pack. These are organized teams. Professional killers.
Soren.
Kael said the name like a curse.
The elder must have prepared this. Must have been waiting for the moment she showed power.
Vex nodded grimly.
There's more. We've got hunters coming from the east too. Different scent signature. Different pack markers. Word is spreading faster than we thought.
The entire werewolf world is hunting her.
Kael looked down at Liora.
His expression hardened into something cold and absolute. The protector became the predator. The mate became the Alpha.
How long before they reach us? he asked Vex without looking away from Liora's face.
Thirty minutes if we don't move. Maybe forty-five if we hide and let them pass.
Kael pulled Liora close.
We're not hiding. We're not running. We're going to meet them at the ridgeline. We're going to show every hunter in three territories what happens when they come for what's mine.
Liora's power spiked in response.
The violet light flashed across her eyes for just a moment. She could feel it waking up inside her. Could feel the potential for violence and destruction and absolute command.
Kael tilted her chin up with one finger.
Can you fight?
I don't know how.
Then you stay with Vex. He will keep you alive. And I will keep you safe.
He kissed her forehead.
It was brief and fierce and desperate. Like he was memorizing the feel of her in case this was the last moment they had together.
Then he was gone.
He was already moving toward his warriors. Already giving orders. Already becoming someone different. Someone harder. Someone who knew how to make other people dead.
Vex grabbed her hand.
Come on. We need to move to higher ground.
Liora looked back as they were running toward the ridge.
Kael was at the front of his warriors. His silver eyes were scanning the forest below. His hand was on his weapon. His entire posture was absolute readiness.
The hunters were coming.
And Kael was going to meet them head-on.
The first arrow came from the trees before they even reached the ridgeline.
It whistled past Vex's head and buried itself in a tree trunk behind them. The sound echoed through the forest.
The hunt had begun.