Dropping The Ultrasound On My Alpha's Mating Altar

"Did you check the perimeter?"

"Alpha Kaelen wants her gone by midnight. Check the east gate!"

I shoved a heavy wool sweater into my canvas bag. The shouts of the guards echoed through the courtyard directly below my window.

"They're going to search the rooms next," I whispered to the empty bedroom.

"We need to hurry." I placed a hand over my flat stomach. "We're getting out of here. I promise you that."

"Hey! Did someone check the armory?" a rough voice yelled from the courtyard.

"She wouldn't dare steal from the Alpha," another replied.

"She's a rejected Luna. She might do anything."

I pushed a cold silver dagger deeper into my right boot.

"They don't know me at all," I muttered.

I zipped the bag. The sound seemed deafening in the quiet room.

"Elara! Open this door!" A heavy fist pounded against the thick wood.

"Just a minute!" I shouted back.

"The Alpha said no stalling. Open up, or I break it down!"

I didn't answer. I grabbed the heavy brass lamp from the nightstand and hurled it at the glass window.

The pane shattered outward, raining shards onto the grass below.

"She's breaking the windows!" a guard yelled from outside.

"Get in there!"

The bedroom door splintered. I didn't wait to see who broke it. I slipped through the servant's exit door hidden behind the tall wardrobe.

"She's gone!"

"Find her!"

I melted into the shadows of the tree line. The storm had turned into a full-blown blizzard. Snow whipped across my cheeks, stinging my skin.

"Keep moving," I told myself. "Just keep moving."

"Where did she go?" a voice echoed through the tall pines.

"She has no car. She has to be on foot!"

The Frost River roared ahead. It formed the natural boundary of the Silver Crescent territory. Beyond it lay the Wilds.

"Check the riverbank!"

I plunged straight into the water.

Ice instantly locked around my calves.

"Damn it," I hissed through chattering teeth.

"Do you see anything?" A flashlight beam swept across the water, missing me by inches.

"Nothing but ice!"

"Keep looking!"

The current yanked at my waist. I stumbled. Freezing water soaked through my jeans, turning my clothes into heavy lead.

"Hold on," I commanded the darkness inside me. "Just a little further."

A massive wave of dizziness hit. The broken mate bond flared to life, burning my neck.

"No," I groaned. "Not now."

"I think I heard something!" a guard shouted from the shore behind me.

"Shoot if you see movement!"

I bit down hard on my lower lip. Copper flooded my tongue.

"Stay awake, Elara," I ordered.

I dragged my heavy boots through the sludge. The water pushed against my chest.

"Almost there."

My knee struck a submerged rock. I pitched forward, plunging chest-deep into the freezing rapids.

"Ah!"

"There! In the water!"

A loud crack echoed over the river. A bullet splashed into the water a foot from my head.

"I'm not dying here," I spat.

I thrashed against the water. My hands blindly searched for solid ground. My fingers snagged on frozen roots.

I hauled myself out of the river.

My wet clothes weighed a ton. I collapsed onto the sharp stones of the opposite bank.

"Made it," I gasped.

"Hold your fire! She crossed the boundary!" the guard yelled from the other side.

"Let the rogues have her!"

Their footsteps faded away.

A low, rumbling growl vibrated through the rocks beneath my ear.

"Well, well. Look what washed up," a raspy voice sneered.

I forced my head up. Three massive wolves stepped out of the blizzard. The leader shifted. Bones cracked and snapped until a scarred, naked man stood in the snow.

"You smell like a dead bond," the rogue said. "And fresh blood."

"Back off," I warned.

"Or what?" The second wolf shifted. A wiry woman with glowing yellow eyes stretched her neck. "You're trespassing, little stray."

"This is neutral ground," I shot back.

"Nothing is neutral out here," the scarred man laughed. "You belong to the Wilds now."

"I said, back off."

I reached into my boot and pulled free the silver dagger.

"A butter knife. How cute."

"It's pure silver," I challenged. "It'll burn right through that ugly scar on your face."

"You can barely stand," the woman mocked. "You're shivering so hard you'll probably stab yourself."

"Why don't you come find out?"

"You reek of rejection," the third wolf shifted, a massive brute with a missing ear. "Your Alpha threw you away like garbage. Couldn't give him a pup?"

"That is none of your business," I snapped.

"We can smell the emptiness on you," the woman taunted.

"You smell a lot of things," I replied. "But you missed the silver."

My vision swam again. The bond-sickness threatened to pull me into unconsciousness.

"She's fading," the woman pointed out. "Look at her eyes."

"Easy prey," the brute agreed.

I flipped the dagger, pressing the sharp edge directly into my left palm.

"What are you doing?" the leader frowned.

I sliced down.

The sharp sting shot up my arm. I clenched my bleeding hand into a fist. The sharp pain anchored my mind, cutting through the dizziness.

"You're crazy," the man said.

"I have nothing left to lose," I stated. "That makes me dangerous. Who wants to die first?"

Instead of screaming, a broken laugh escaped my throat.

"She's completely unhinged," the brute muttered.

"I'll take the throat," the woman snarled.

She dropped back onto all fours. Her spine contorted as she shifted back into a grey wolf.

"Take her," the leader commanded. "Leave the meat intact."

The wolves lunged. Their jaws snapped toward my face.

"Come on!" I screamed.

"Put the blade down, little wolf."

The voice didn't yell. It was deep, resonant, and cut straight through the howling wind, carrying an undeniable royal command.

The attacking wolves slammed into the mud.

They whimpered.

Right in front of me, the three vicious rogues rolled onto their backs, exposing their bellies to the freezing rain in total, absolute submission.

I kept the dagger raised, my breath rattling in my throat.

Heavy footsteps crunched against the frozen gravel.

A towering shadow emerged from the blinding white storm, a massive aura of pure power locking the entire area down.

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