"After you hold him, you never have to look at my face again," Adam said. His deep voice rumbled in the cold air. "But you know what leaving my protection means, Rhea."
Rhea lifted her chin. Her silver eyes blazed with a dangerous white fire. She met his gaze head-on. "Yes," she whispered. Her fangs lengthened over her lip. "It means every pack in the valley will hunt me." She squeezed her hand into a tight fist. "But no wolf will ever keep me from my son again."
Elder Seraphine leaned forward from the high dais. "I know you want your child back, Rhea. But you need to think logically. Let the Council get the boy for you."
Rhea shook her head firmly. "No one will do it for me. If anyone wanted to bring him to me, you would not have waited for me to ask. I will get him myself. I do not care about the consequences."
Adam looked at her, his eyes narrowed. Then he exhaled sharply. "If you are certain that is what you want, then I need a map."
Rhea’s chest heaved as she watched him.
"We will be reunited with our pup soon!" River barked inside her head, her mind-voice light with excitement.
"Once that location leaves your mouth, Alpha Thorne, every wolf in this chamber becomes responsible for that child’s life," Elder Magnus said, looking at Adam.
"He has no other choice," Rhea shot back before Adam could answer.
Adam looked at her once. Then he turned back to Elder Magnus. "That is not a problem. I just need a map. I will show her the location, and she can decide if she still wants to go."
Rhea said nothing. She watched as Elder Magnus signaled a servant. Her silver eyes followed the young wolf as he retrieved a heavy leather map and placed it in front of Adam.
Adam unrolled the map and pinned the edges with his hands. His hand hovered over the map, his jaw tightening. For several seconds, he couldn’t bring himself to touch the parchment. Finally, he looked at Rhea one more time. "If I do this, there is no taking it back," he said.
Rhea’s jaw hardened. "Do it!"
Adam sighed slowly and nodded. His broad fingers traced the lines on the parchment. Rhea and River leaned forward, their eyes following every movement.
Adam’s finger stopped on a spot surrounded by thick green forest markings. He tapped it. "He is here," he announced.
Rhea felt River jump inside her head. She stared at the map, her eyes stinging with tears. Her son was closer than she could have imagined. Adam had hidden him in plain sight.
"Let’s go and get him!" River barked, shaking her tail in excitement.
Suddenly, Rhea’s gaze turned cold. She looked at Adam with deep suspicion. "You are coming with me," she declared. "I do not trust you, and I will not accept any excuses."
Adam nodded. He stood up straight. "If that is what you want. Let’s go."
Rhea narrowed her eyes. He looked like he had been silently hoping she would ask him to come. She stood up and turned to the High Council. "I am ready."
"Should you two not wait until dusk?" Elder Seraphine warned. "The forest is crawling with rogues at this hour."
Rhea shook her head quickly. "No, Elder. We leave immediately," she said sharply. "I have delayed long enough."
Adam looked at her, then turned to the dais. "If rogues come, I know those woods well enough to deal with them."
The elders murmured among themselves, then they nodded.
"You may leave," Elder Magnus said.
They both nodded, turned, and exited the grand hall. Within minutes, they were mounted on their horses and riding hard. The journey was completely silent.
Finally, Adam turned his horse closer to hers. "I think we need to talk, Rhea. I don’t want you to think that I—"
"Since when do you care what anyone thinks?" Rhea cut in calmly. She kept her eyes fixed on the trail ahead. Adam opened his mouth to speak, but Rhea slammed her jaws shut. "I will not discuss anything until I have my son in my arms."
Adam sighed quietly and turned his gaze back to the path. "Fine then. We will have that conversation soon."
They rode for a few more minutes. Suddenly, River’s ears pinned back. Rhea’s eyes widened as she caught a strange scent in the wind.
"Adam!" The warning ripped out of Rhea before she even realized she had spoken.
Adam reacted instantly. He threw himself sideways in the saddle just as something silver hissed through the space where his throat had been. The knife buried itself in the trunk of an ancient pine with a violent thunk.
Silence filled the air first. Then, leaves rustled, branches snapped.
The smell hit them first. Wet fur, old blood, and silver. Rogue wolves.
Adam swung down from his horse in one fluid motion, already pulling the heavy sword from his back. Rhea landed beside him, without discussion, or hesitation. They naturally settled back-to-back.
Adam’s deep voice dropped into a growl. "Seven."
Rhea inhaled sharply. "Nine."
Adam’s brow twitched. "You smell two more."
"I do," she replied.
A slow laugh echoed through the trees.
"BloodVeil King." A scarred rogue stepped out between the trees, and more followed. Nine in total, their weapons already drawn. "We don’t want your head." His gaze settled on Adam. "We only want the boy’s location."
Adam’s expression didn’t change. "You picked the wrong forest," he replied calmly, his eye watchful.
The first rogue lunged.
Adam didn’t wait. Bones exploded beneath black fur as his massive wolf burst forward with enough force to crack the ground beneath his paws. Almost simultaneously, River broke free, her silver-white fur flashing beside him.
For the briefest heartbeat, both wolves moved as one.
A rogue charged River from the front. Before Rhea could reach him, Adam slammed into the attacker’s ribs with a loud crunch. The wolf flew into a tree.
Another rogue came from Adam’s blind side. River intercepted him. Her jaws closed around his foreleg as she snapped it. The wolf screamed.
They weren’t protecting each other consciously, it was as if their instincts simply refused to allow the other to be surrounded.
Three rogues rushed Adam together, but the black wolf didn’t retreat. He crashed into them. One disappeared beneath his enormous jaws, another was thrown through a fallen log, and the third barely landed before Adam’s paw crushed his shoulder into the earth.
River watched for one stunned heartbeat. No wonder the western territories feared BloodVeil.
A knife flashed, not aimed at her, but at Adam. River didn’t think. She moved, her body became like silver lightning as she hit the rogue full force.
Both wolves rolled through dead leaves before River’s jaws closed around his throat. Warm blood flooded her tongue, and the struggle stopped.
Only afterward did she realize she hadn’t just protected the key to finding Eli. She had protected Adam.
Adam’s wolf looked at her. Just for a second, something passed between them. Recognition. Then another rogue attacked, and the moment disappeared.
Soon after, another howl echoed deeper inside the forest. River lifted her head. More scents. Too many, in fact.
"Adam! Twelve more!" River shouted.
Adam’s ears flattened. "They’ve surrounded us."
Before the rogues could advance, three ancient Alpha howls exploded across the forest.
The earth itself seemed to vibrate. Every rogue froze. Several immediately rolled onto their backs, while others whimpered.
The trees parted, and Elder Magnus, Elder Rowan, and Elder Seraphine emerged. Behind them were the Council executioners.
The rogues immediately broke ranks. "Run!" One of them shouted as they scattered into the forest.
Elder Rowan growled. "Leave now!"
Adam and Rhea shifted back to their human forms, panting hard.
"What are you doing here?" Rhea asked, wiping blood from her cheek as she looked at the elders.
Elder Magnus looked toward Adam. "You were correct." Then he turned to Rhea. "The bounty has already spread farther than we feared."
"We never intended to let the two of you walk into a forest full of bounty hunters alone," Elder Seraphine revealed. "We agreed to shadow you from the Council quarters."
They all turned and looked at Adam. His amber eyes were fixed on a clearing ahead. "We are here," he said quietly.
Rhea’s eyes widened. She followed his gaze through the thick trees.
She saw a hidden sanctuary made of stone and wood. Soft smoke curled from the chimneys. The sound of children laughing drifted through the air, mixed with the heavy footsteps of guards patrolling the perimeter.
For the first time in months, a familiar scent hit her nose. It was not Adam. It was not BloodVeil. It was not Ironfang.
It was her son.
River froze, taking a slow step forward. The wolf whispered inside her mind, "Our cub."
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