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

River lifted her nose to the sky, inhaling, then she shook her head. "I don’t smell him," she said.

Rhea’s heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

River let out a guttural howl of pure rage inside her mind. "Something feels awfully wrong here, Rhea."

Rhea pushed her way out from beneath the shelter of the shields and stepped into the open yard, her brows furrowing deeply. Seeing that the rain of arrows had ceased, the remaining guards lowered their defense, their weapons drawn and ready.

Suddenly, the rhythmic sound of dozens of running boots echoed through the mountain pass, charging straight toward the open gates.

Rhea’s silver eyes flashed with a lethal fire as she stared through the settling dust of the broken gates. Slipping through the black pine trees, the crimson and silver banner of her former pack caught the pale light.

"Kaleb is here for me," she whispered, her voice colder than the winter wind.

"I will rip his throat straight from his body before he dares to lay a single finger on us!" River barked, her roar rattling through Rhea’s mind like thunder.

Rhea’s chest heaved, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white. Her silver eyes flashed with dangerous, lethal light.

If Kaleb had come to drag her back to Ironfang, she would fight to her very last breath. If he captured her, he would take Eli too, and that was a fate worse than death.

She anchored her boots into the dirt, her jaw set into iron as her gaze locked onto the shattered gates.

A storm of running boots filled the air. A dozen heavy warriors burst through the opening, their nostrils flaring and their lips pulled back in vicious snarls as they charged into the yard.

Before Rhea or the sanctuary guards could even react, the sound of snapping bone and tearing cloth echoed through the air.

The charging warriors never slowed. Bones cracked mid-stride, arms lengthened, spines snapped into monstrous shapes as fur exploded across their bodies. Before they reached the courtyard, a dozen wolves were already sprinting toward the sanctuary.

The sanctuary guards stumbled back a step, sweat glistening on their pale faces as they realized how outmatched they were.

Rhea stood her ground, though her chest rose and fell in frantic gasps.

"There are too many of them!" the head guard panicked, his chest heaving as his hand trembled on his sword.

Around them, the sound of cracking bones continued as more enemies completed their shift, their erratic roars shaking the stone walls.

"We cannot hold them off by ourselves," another guard swallowed hard, his voice shaking. "Luna, we need to run."

"You are right that we cannot hold them," Rhea gritted out through bared teeth, her voice thick with River’s dark rumble. "But no one is running."

"You want us to stay and die?" a younger guard cried out, looking frantically between Rhea and the advancing pack of beasts. "Unless the Moon Goddess herself steps down to help us, this sanctuary will be a graveyard by midnight!"

Rhea glared at the terrified man, her lungs burning. She knew he was right. The odds were impossible. But as her eyes caught the crimson Ironfang banner flapping in the wind, her resolve hardened into stone. I am not letting him take me.

"Stop talking and let me out!" River snarled, her furious spirit thrashing violently against Rhea’s mind. "Let me taste their hot blood on my tongue!"

Rhea’s heart slammed like a trapped bird against her ribs. Her fangs pushed past her lips, drawing a metallic drop of copper on her tongue as River fought to take control.

"Anyone who is afraid is free to run," Rhea commanded, her silver eyes glowing bright. "But I am standing right here. They will have to kill me before I let them touch this place!"

Before the head guard could reply, a loud, violent crack echoed through her body. Her bones shifted, her posture dropped, and River burst forth in a flash.

River exploded into the charging wolves, her jaws crushed one throat, and her claws ripped open another chest, and the first rank collapsed.

Behind her, the sanctuary wolves surged forward.

The sanctuary wolves slammed into the enemy line with desperate fury. Teeth met teeth. Claws scraped across stone. The courtyard erupted into a blur of snapping jaws and flying bodies.

River became the eye of the storm.

She barreled through the first rank of attackers, her massive silver body crashing into them with overwhelming force.

One wolf disappeared beneath her weight as her jaws crushed his throat with a sickening crunch. Before his lifeless body even struck the ground, she spun, her claws ripping open another wolf’s chest from shoulder to belly.

"Push them back!" the head guard roared.

Inspired by River’s savage assault, the sanctuary guards surged forward. For one glorious heartbeat, the enemy line faltered. Ironfang wolves stumbled backward beneath the unexpected resistance, and hope flickered across the defenders’ faces.

"We’re driving them back!" one guard shouted.

But River’s ears flattened. Something was wrong.

Beyond the shattered gates, more shadows moved. Then another wave burst from the forest, and another, and another. Then the mountain path filled with wolves pouring through the broken entrance, their snarls blending into one endless roar.

River’s heart sank. This was no mere attack. It was an invasion.

The fresh attackers crashed into the sanctuary wolves before they could recover. The defenders’ brief victory vanished beneath overwhelming numbers.

A sanctuary warrior cried out as three enemy wolves dragged him from the shield line. His scream ended abruptly beneath a frenzy of snapping jaws.

Another guard spun to help him, only for claws to rake across his face. He collapsed onto the blood-soaked stones, clutching his ruined eye.

The line began to buckle.

"They’re breaking through!" someone shouted.

River threw herself into the widening gap, smashing two wolves aside before they could reach the terrified defenders. Her silver coat flashed like moonlight through the chaos as she fought with relentless fury.

Then sharp fangs buried themselves deep into her shoulder. She roared and twisted violently, tearing free, only for another set of claws to slash across her ribs.

Hot blood poured down her silver fur, but she ignored it.

Another wolf lunged, and River caught him by the neck, slamming him headfirst into the stone wall with enough force to crack both skull and masonry.

But there was no time to breathe. Another replaced him. Then another.

Every wolf she threw aside was replaced by two more. Blood soaked her silver coat, and her breathing turned ragged.

The enemy simply would not stop coming.

A panicked howl echoed from behind her. "Luna!"

River whipped her head around. A massive gray enemy wolf had broken through the fighting and was sprinting straight toward the nursery wing.

Toward Eli.

"No!" River roared.

She launched after him, but before she could cover half the distance, four Ironfang wolves crashed into her from different directions.

The impact drove her into the dirt, and their combined weight pinned her massive body beneath snapping jaws and slashing claws.

River fought like a creature possessed. She ripped one wolf’s ear completely off. She crushed another’s foreleg. Still they held her down.

The gray wolf kept running. Closer. Closer.

The nursery doors were only a few strides away.

River’s vision blurred. Not him. Anyone. Just not my pup.

She gathered every ounce of strength left in her battered body, preparing to throw herself after him.

Then the mountain itself roared.

Not the howl of an ordinary Alpha. Not even the command of a king. This was something colder, something absolute.

The very earth trembled beneath the sound.

Every wolf in the courtyard froze. Enemy. Defender. All of them.

River lifted her blood-soaked muzzle, and the scent crashed over her like a storm.

Cedarwood. Rain-soaked earth. Smoked pine.

Adam.

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