KADE’S POV
Alpha Prince Darius approaches me after staring at me for what feels like a long time. With that cocky smile, he bows slightly to me. It's a shallow bow, barely respectful, but I acknowledge it with a nod.
"Prince Kade," he says, his voice tight with barely controlled anger. “Ivy is a slave and has been one since forever.”
"Darius," I reply calmly. "I'm curious about something."
"What's that?"
I point toward the girl who's still being held by his guards. "Why is she being dragged around like a criminal?"
Darius glances at her with disgust. "She's nothing but a slave. She was probably trying to escape her duties."
I laugh. The sound seems to surprise everyone in the crowd, including Darius.
"A slave?" I ask, still chuckling. "What did she do? How exactly did she become a slave?"
Darius's jaw tightens. "That's confidential pack business."
"Confidential?" I raise an eyebrow. "Or embarrassing?"
"It's none of your concern, Prince," Darius says stiffly.
I take a step closer to him. "Actually, I think it is my concern. Tell me, does her enslavement have anything to do with the Fenrir empire?"
The question hits its mark. I see Darius's eyes flash with anger and something else. Guilt, maybe. Or fear.
"What are you suggesting?" he asks.
"I'm not suggesting anything," I reply. "I'm asking a direct question. Did this girl or her family have connections to my people?"
"Even if they did," Darius says, his voice getting louder, "it wouldn't matter. Traitors get what they deserve."
"Traitors?" I laugh again, but this time there's no humor in it. "Or people who were smart enough to see the future?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Darius demands.
"It means," I say, stepping even closer, "that maybe her family understood something your pack was too stubborn to accept."
The crowd around us is getting restless. I can hear murmurs and whispers as people try to understand what's happening.
"You're talking about the prophecy," Darius says coldly.
"I'm talking about inevitability," I correct. "The old ways are ending, Darius. One way or another."
"Never," he snarls. "We'll never bow down to you or anyone else."
"Even if it means destroying innocent people?" I ask, glancing toward the girl again.
"She's not innocent!" Darius shouts. "Her father was a traitor! He tried to ally with you behind our backs!"
"So you killed him for it," I say. It isn't a question.
"We executed him for treason," Darius replies. "Just like we'll execute anyone else who betrays this pack."
The tension in the air is getting thicker by the second. I can see my guards shifting their positions, ready for trouble. The pack members are looking nervous too.
"You know what I think?" I say quietly.
"What?" Darius asks.
"I think you're scared."
His face turns red with rage. "I'm not scared of anything!"
"No?" I smile coldly. "Then why are you planning to poison me tonight instead of facing me honorably?"
Gasps ripple through the crowd. Several pack members take steps backward.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Darius says, but his voice wavers.
"Of course you don't," I reply. "Just like you don't know about the meeting you held with your elders. Just like you don't know about your plan to use the healer girl during your attack."
Darius's face goes pale. "How did you—"
"How did I know?" I finish for him and smirked.
I look directly at the girl. She's trembling, but there's courage in her eyes.
"Stop this!" Darius suddenly shouts. "Guards! The the slave girl!"
His soldiers start moving forward, but my guards are ready. Steel rings against steel as weapons are drawn.
"Darius," I say calmly, even as the fighting begins around us, "call off your men before someone gets hurt."
"Never!" he snarls, drawing his own sword. "I'll kill you myself!"
He lunges at me with his blade raised high. I sidestep easily and draw my own weapon. I hear the scream of Ivy as she is been led back to the dungeon.
"You should have accepted the peaceful option," I tell him as our swords clash.
"I'll never accept defeat!" he replies, swinging wildly.
Darius attacks me. He is strong, but he's sloppy. Anger makes him careless. Within moments, I have his sword knocked from his hand and my blade at his throat.
"Yield," I command.
"Go to hell," he spits.
I press the sword a little closer to his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Yield," I repeat.
Darius falls to the ground, clutching his throat. The wound isn't deep, but it's enough to make my point.
As he lies there, my wolf suddenly shot to his feet, pacing nervously. This is not the aggressive snarling I'm used to during fights. This is different, softer, like a calling.
The elders back home always said this was a sign. When your wolf calls like this, it means your mate is near. Your true mate.
"What the hell?" I mutter, momentarily distracted.
Darius uses the moment to land a punch to my jaw. Stars explode across my vision.
But the wolf feeling is getting stronger. There's a scent in the air. Sweet and wild, like pine forests and spring rain.
I throw Darius off me and stand up, looking around desperately.
"Where is that coming from?" I whisper.
The scent is leading me somewhere as I move away from Darius. My wolf is practically vibrating with excitement.
I follow it, ignoring Darius's shouts behind me. My guards call my name, but I don't stop.
The scent leads me away from the crowd, through the pack grounds, toward the main building.
Down a hallway and down stone steps that lead underground.
My heart pounds as I realize where I'm going.
The dungeon.
The scent is stronger now, almost overwhelming. My wolf is howling with joy inside me.
I reach the entrance to the underground cells and stop dead as I see my men and Darius's men still fighting there to rescue Ivy.
My eyes lands on Ivy and I froze.
"No fucking way.”