KADE’S POV
"There it is," Derek whispers, pointing through the trees at the old stone estate ahead of us. "Darius's stronghold."
The building looks like a fortress. High walls, narrow windows, guards patrolling the perimeter. Smoke rises from several chimneys, and I can see torches burning along the battlements.
"How many men do you count?" I ask Captain Ryan.
"At least twenty on the walls," he replies, studying the defenses through a spyglass. "Probably more inside."
"And we have ten," Marcus says grimly.
"Ten good men," I correct. "That's all we need."
My wolf paces restlessly inside my chest. I can smell Ivy's scent on the wind, faint but unmistakable. She's in there. She's alive.
"Remember the plan," I tell my men. "Derek and Marcus take the east wall. Joel and Gary hit the west side. Captain Ryan and I go through the front gate."
"The front gate?" Michael asks. "Isn't that suicide?"
"It's direct," I reply. "While they're focused on us, the rest of you get inside and find Ivy."
"What's the signal?" Samuel wants to know.
"When you hear me roar, that means I've found her. Come running."
David looks nervous. "Your Highness, what if this is a trap?"
"Then we spring it," I say simply. "I'm not leaving without my mate."
I look at each of my loyal fighters. These men are risking everything for me. For Ivy.
"Anyone who wants to leave can go now," I tell them. "No shame in it."
"We're with you," Derek says firmly.
"All the way," adds Captain Ryan.
"Then let's go get my queen."
We split up, moving through the forest toward the estate. Captain Ryan stays with me as we approach the main gate.
"You sure about this direct approach?" he asks.
"Sometimes the best way through a problem is straight through it."
"That's very philosophical for someone about to charge a fortress."
"I'm not charging a fortress. I'm coming home to get my mate."
We reach the edge of the tree line. The main gate is fifty yards away, with guards visible on either side.
"Ready?" I ask.
"As I'll ever be."
"Then let's announce ourselves."
I step out of the forest and walk directly toward the gate. No sneaking, no hiding. Just a prince coming to reclaim what's his.
"Halt!" one of the guards shouts. "State your business!"
"My business is with Darius," I call back. "Tell him Prince Kade is here."
The guards exchange glances. One of them runs inside while the other keeps his weapon trained on me.
"You're either very brave or very stupid," the remaining guard says.
"Probably both."
More guards appear on the walls. Arrows are nocked and aimed at me. But I keep walking.
"That's close enough!" the guard shouts.
"I don't think so."
"Stop or we'll shoot!"
"Go ahead. But you better make sure you kill me with the first shot."
The guard hesitates. Something in my voice, in my posture, makes him uncertain.
That's when all hell breaks loose.
Derek and Marcus attack the east wall. The sound of steel on steel rings through the air as they fight their way up the ramparts.
Joel and Gary hit the west side at the same time. Shouts and screams echo from that direction.
"Now!" I roar to Captain Ryan.
We charge the main gate together. My sword cuts down the first guard before he can loose his arrow. Captain Ryan takes the second one with a perfect thrust to the heart.
"Open the gate!" I shout, grabbing the heavy wooden bar that secures it.
"Your Highness, behind you!"
I spin around to see more guards pouring out of the main building. At least a dozen men, all armed and ready for battle.
"Come on then!" I bellow, raising my sword. "Let's finish this!"
The first three guards reach me together. I dodge the first sword thrust and bring my blade across in a wide arc. It catches one guard across the throat, nearly taking his head off. Blood sprays across the stone courtyard.
The second guard swings at me from the left. I grab his wrist and twist until I hear bones crack. He screams and drops his weapon. I drive my knee into his chest, sending him flying backward into the wall.
The third guard tries to stab me in the back, but my wolf senses warn me. I spin and catch him by the throat, lifting him off the ground with one hand.
"Where is she?" I snarl.
"Who?" he gasps.
I throw him against the stone wall so hard that his skull cracks. "You know who!"
More guards are coming. I can see them streaming out of the buildings, weapons drawn and faces grim.
"IVY!" I roar at the top of my lungs. "IVY, I'M HERE!"
My voice echoes off the stone walls like thunder. Even the attacking guards pause for a moment at the raw power in that shout.
"She can't hear you," one of them taunts. "She's probably already dead."
Rage explodes through me like lightning. My wolf takes over completely.
I grab the nearest guard and literally throw him into a group of his companions. They go down like bowling pins, crying out in pain and fear.
Another one swings a mace at my head. I catch it in mid-swing and rip it from his hands. Then I use it to crush his ribcage.
"He's not human!" someone screams.
"Kill the monster!" another shouts.
But I'm beyond caring what they call me. I'm beyond fear or pain or anything except the need to find Ivy.
I tear through their ranks like they're made of paper. My sword cuts through armor and bone with equal ease. My hands break necks and crush windpipes.
Blood splashes across the ancient stone of the courtyard. The very foundations of the estate seem to shake under the violence of our battle.
"IVY!" I roar again, louder than before. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
“Kill them all!" Darius screams, his voice carrying across the battle-torn courtyard. "I want the Prince's head!”
I look up to see Darius standing on a balcony above the courtyard.
EPILOGUE
KADE’S POV
My sword cut through another one of Darius's guards as we fought our way through the estate. Blood splattered across my face, but I didn't slow down. Every second we wasted fighting these men was another second Ivy remained in danger.
"Simon!" I shouted to my captain as he battled two enemies at once. "Take Erik and Gary around the back! We need to surround Darius!"
"Got it!" Simon called back, slashing at his opponent's sword arm.
The courtyard was chaos. Steel rang against steel, men screamed in pain and rage, and bodies fell on both sides. But we were winning. Darius hadn't expected us to attack so quickly, and his forces were scattered and unprepared.
I fought like a man possessed, cutting down anyone who stood between me and the main building. My only thought was reaching Ivy, getting her out of this nightmare.
The man spat blood at me instead of answering, so I left him and kept fighting my way forward.
Erik appeared at my side, his sword dripping red. "The lower level is clear, Your Highness! No sign of her!"
"Keep looking!" I commanded, parrying a blow from another attacker. "She has to be here somewhere!"
I drove my sword through the man's chest and pushed forward to the main entrance. The heavy wooden doors had been barricaded from inside, but Gary was already working on them with an axe.
"Hurry!" I shouted. "We need to get in there!"
The doors splintered and crashed open. We poured into the building, weapons ready. The main hall was empty, but I could hear fighting coming from upstairs.
"Split up!" I ordered. "Search everywhere! Find the princess!"
I took the stairs three at a time, my heart pounding with desperation. The upper hallway stretched out before me, lined with doors. I kicked open the first one – empty. The second one – nothing but old furniture.
"Ivy!" I called out, hoping she could hear me. "Ivy, where are you?"
Behind me, I could hear my men smashing through doors, searching frantically. The sounds of battle continued from outside, but we were clearly winning. Darius's forces were falling back.
I reached the end of the hallway and found a door that looked different from the others – newer, stronger. This had to be it.
"Stand back!" I yelled to Marcus, who had just reached the top of the stairs.
I threw my full weight against the door. It didn't budge. I tried again, harder this time. Still nothing.
"Together!" Marcus said, joining me.
We hit the door simultaneously, and it burst open with a crash. Inside was a small, windowless room with chains on the floor and scratch marks on the walls. But it was empty.
"She was here," I said, kneeling to examine the broken chains. "These are fresh. She was here recently."
"Your Highness!" Gary called from another room. "You need to see this!"
I rushed to where Gary was standing in another small chamber. More chains, more evidence of a prisoner, but again – empty.
"Two prisoners," I said grimly. "Ivy and her maid."
"But where are they now?" Erik asked, joining us.
Before I could answer, we heard shouting from outside. Not the sounds of battle, but something else. Panic. Urgency.
We ran to the window and looked down into the courtyard. I could see several of Darius's men retreating toward the forest, and with them –
"There!" I pointed. "I can see them!"
In the distance, I could make out figures being dragged through the trees. One of them had long dark hair that caught the moonlight.
"Ivy," I breathed.
"They're taking her deeper into the forest," Marcus observed. "Away from the fight."
I was already moving, racing back down the stairs. "Come on! We can still catch them!"
We burst out of the building and ran toward the forest. The sounds of fighting were dying down behind us as the last of Darius's forces either fled or surrendered. But I didn't care about victory anymore. I only cared about reaching Ivy.
As we entered the tree line, I could hear voices ahead of us. Darius's voice, giving orders.
"Move faster!" he was shouting. "Get them to the cave! The prince won't find us there!"
"Kade!"
The sound of Ivy's voice calling my name made my heart nearly stop. She was alive, and she knew I was here.
"Shut her up!" Darius snarled.
"Don't you touch her!" I roared, crashing through the underbrush.
But they were moving fast, and they knew these woods better than we did. Every time I thought we were getting close, they seemed to slip further ahead.
"This way!" Erik called, pointing to tracks in the mud. "They went this way!"
We followed the trail as fast as we could, but it was dark and the forest was thick. Branches caught at our clothes and faces, roots tried to trip us, but we didn't slow down.
Then I heard it again – Ivy's voice, but fainter now. More distant.
"Kade! Help me!"
The sound was like a knife through my heart. She was calling for me, trusting me to save her, and I was failing.
"We're losing them," Gary panted, breathing hard from the chase.
"No," I said firmly. "We don't give up. Not ever."
But even as I said it, I could feel them slipping away. The voices were getting fainter, the trail was getting harder to follow, and soon even Ivy's calls for help faded into the distance.
We kept running for what felt like hours, following every track, every broken branch, every possible sign of their passage. But it was no use. They knew where they were going, and we were just stumbling around in the dark.
Finally, exhausted and defeated, we had to stop.
"Your Highness," Simon said gently, "we need to regroup. We need a new plan."
I stood there in the middle of the dark forest, my hands clenched into fists, rage and helplessness warring inside my chest. We'd been so close. So damn close.
"She was right there," I said, my voice barely controlled. "I could hear her calling my name."
"We'll find her," Erik said with conviction. "This isn't over."
"Damn right it isn't over," I replied, my voice hard as steel.
We made our way back to the estate, where the last of the fighting had finally ended. My men had taken control of the building and captured several of Darius's soldiers. But it felt like a hollow victory.
I stood in the courtyard, looking out at the forest where Ivy had disappeared. Somewhere out there, she was still a prisoner. Still suffering. Still calling my name and hoping I would come for her.
"Search the prisoners," I ordered Simon. "Find out everything they know about where Darius might have taken her."
"Yes, Your Highness."
I walked to the shattered gates of the estate and stared into the darkness beyond. My fists were clenched so tight my knuckles were white, and I could feel the rage building inside me like a storm.
We'd won this battle, but the war was far from over. Darius still had Ivy, and he was still out there somewhere, probably planning his next move.
"I will find you," I whispered into the night. "Both of you. And when I do, Darius, you're going to pay for every moment of pain you've caused her."
The weight of my failure pressed down on me like a crushing burden. I'd come so close to saving her, only to have her slip through my fingers at the last moment.
But this wasn't the end. It couldn't be the end.
I would tear apart every forest, search every cave, hunt down every lead until I found her. No matter how long it took, no matter what it cost, I would not rest until Ivy was safe.
The war was far from over.
THE END.