Alpha's Ruin: He Betrayed Me, I'll Make Him Kneel

The stench of burning hair slammed into Rhea the instant she stepped outside.

The frantic cries of terrified children filled the air. She pulled the heavy wooden bedroom door shut, locking Eli inside. She pressed her palm against the wood for one quiet breath, then whirled toward the noise.

She ran toward the screaming, her lungs burning as the black smoke grew thicker. She rounded the corner and froze. Massive walls of orange fire roared into the night sky, casting long, dancing shadows across the stone courtyard.

Then, she spotted the first intruder. He was a giant of a man, his muscles thick under dark leather armor as he marched toward a bleeding nursery warrior.

The man was a bounty hunter, his scent rolling off him like sour sweat. He carried a heavy iron sword, dark blood dripping slowly from its edge. He had already claimed one life, and he was hunting for his next kill.

"We need to tear him apart, Rhea! Let me out right now!" River barked inside her skull, thrashing against her ribs.

Rhea scanned the yard. The sanctuary was in absolute chaos.

Little pups were running and screaming in their bare feet, the nursery warriors trying to shield them. The remaining guards were fighting desperately, their teeth bared as they tried to keep the sanctuary from collapsing.

Without wasting another heartbeat, Rhea let her human skin rip away. Her bones cracked and expanded as River burst forward, her massive silver form taking over.

Before the man could raise his sword against the nursery warrior, River lunged. She hit his chest like a boulder, slamming him flat onto the hard stones. With a vicious snarl, she buried her fangs into his throat and tore his chest open, ending his life in a single spray of crimson.

She spun around, her silver coat bristling as she saw a second rogue grabbing a screaming little girl by her hair. Moving with supernatural speed, River covered the distance in a flash. She snatched the girl out of his grip with her jaws, tucked her safely behind a stone pillar, and used her long claws to slice the attacker’s throat.

River panted heavily, steam rising from her blood-stained snout as she looked at the defending guards. "Behind you!" she roared through their mind-link.

The guard reacted instantly, ducking low as a rogue wolf leaped over his head, missing his neck. One of the nearby men turned his head and locked eyes with River.

"A silver wolf? Look at the coat. That is her," one scarred man shouted to his partner, his voice rising in shock.

The partner’s eyes dilated to tiny black slits. "That is Luna Rhea," he whispered, his hands beginning to tremble on his weapon. "The Ironfang boy must be inside this building."

River growled, a low vibration that shook her massive chest. She bunched her hind legs to spring at them, but a cold voice barked from the shadows behind her.

"Take one more step, and I will drive an iron pike through your heart right where you stand," a man warned.

River whirled around to face him. Her jaws were parted, strings of saliva dripping onto the dirt as she tried to catch her breath. She was a giant among wolves, her silver fur gleaming in the firelight.

"I would love to see you try," she snarled, her ears pinning flat.

"I would love to take your pelt, Luna, but the gold is not on your head," the leader said, stepping into the light. A long scar ran down his jaw. "Just let us take the boy peacefully, and we will let the rest of these wolves live."

Slowly, four more moved through the smoke, circling her in a tight ring.

River did not back down an inch. She dropped into a low attack position, her silver eyes calculating their movements as she waited for the first lunge. "You will have to come through me first," she growled, her tone fiercely protective.

"Get out of the way now, Luna!" the scarred leader yelled, his nostrils flaring as his own wolf pushed against his skin. "This is your last chance to walk away."

"Never," River snarled.

"Look around you. There is no winning this fight," the leader said, gesturing to the fire. "I would hate to waste a Luna like you. Just let me have the pup."

"I will die before you put a single finger on him," she shot back, her voice a deafening roar that echoed off the stone walls.

"As you wish," the man muttered coldly. He turned his head and gave a sharp nod to his strongest warrior.

Without wasting a second, the large rogue shifted into a heavy grey wolf and lunged. He jumped high into the air, his yellow claws extended as he rained down toward River’s face.

River did not flinch. Her silver eyes tracked his shadow through the smoke. Just as his claws scraped the air near her ear, she slammed her massive shoulder into his ribs, sending him crashing hard onto the stones.

The grey wolf let out a sharp whimper, his bones popping as he shifted back into a broken human form.

"Who else?" she demanded, her silver eyes blazing with white fire as she glared at the remaining circle.

The men murmured anxiously among themselves, their scents souring with fear. Another rogue grew desperate and lunged with a dagger, but River did not hesitate this time. She ripped her claws across his chest, sending him to the dirt beside his comrade.

"Why don’t you turn around, leave this valley, and tell whoever put a price on my son’s head that they will have to kill me first before they touch him!" River growled loudly, the sound vibrating through the freezing night. "Tell them Rhea said so!"

Before the leader could answer, a fragile voice sliced through the heavy smoke.

"Mama?"

Rhea’s heart stopped. She instantly forced her wolf back, her bones snapping into human skin as she spun around toward the building.

There, standing on the stone threshold, was Eli. He was barefoot in the doorway, his small hands rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his oversized shirt shifting in the cold wind. He had unlocked the door.

For one terrible heartbeat, no one breathed. Not even Rhea. The air felt stuck in her lungs as she stared at her child.

No, no, no. Rhea’s heart hammered painfully.

Then, every single bounty hunter slowly turned their heads in the exact same direction.

"The heir," the leader whispered.

"It is him," another rogue muttered, quickly pulling a crumpled piece of parchment from his vest to check the drawn picture of the boy.

A slow, hideous grin spread across the leader’s scarred face as he locked his eyes onto the child. "There he is. Grab the boy."

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