Page 3 of Wild Fated

“Isn’t your friend inside? That’s why we’re here, right?” I snapped, then pursed my lips. I wasn’t angry with Kael or Callista. I was just on edge.

Kael stepped back, giving me a look. We both knew I wasn’t there for his friend. I was there because the alphas were ten steps ahead of us in searching for these relics. They’d already found the dagger. There was a good chance they had a lead on another one, and I needed to know what they did.

“Give me a couple of minutes.” Kael set down his pack, then stalked off before either of us could argue. He was learning. I had to give him that.

Callista watched him go, then started twisting her fingers together.

“He’ll be fine,” I murmured.

“They’ll kill him if they find him.”

I scoffed. “I doubt they trap like I do, and with you here, I think he’d cut through all three of them without blinking.”

Callista gave a nervous laugh. “How are you holding up?”

I shrugged. “Fine. How’s Blake?”

“He’s good. Honestly, I think he likes feeling needed. He drifted in the days after Kitimat dissolved.”

I understood that. Better than anyone at the moment.

Kael appeared next to us a few moments later, breathing hard. “I can’t see any signs of life.”

“Perfect. Then what are we waiting for?”

"Lana," Kael's voice was low, a warning.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to meet his eyes. They were like storm clouds, dark and swirling with barely contained fury. "I know. I know it’s stupid to rush in. But I can’t just sit here. It's pulling me. I can’t explain it, but I have to go in."

Kael stared at me for a moment longer, then exhaled slowly. He glanced at Callista, who gave a small nod. "Fine. But we go in together. And we stay together."

Chapter

Two

Destin

Ilay curled in the corner of the cell, every part of my body aching, muscles stiff from the cold concrete floor beneath me. My wolf kept me alive, but just barely. Healing was slow without food or water, my strength slipping away by the hour. My ribs cut against my skin, and hunger gnawed at me, the kind that sat deep in my bones. More than just an empty stomach—it was weakness spreading like rot.

I’d tried to shift back to human form earlier, but my body rejected it, too exhausted to make the change. I was stuck like this, fur matted and caked with blood that I couldn’t wash away. The wounds from the last beating still throbbed, sluggish and raw.

And yet, even through the pain, a small flicker of pride burned inside me. Kael hadn’t come back with the dagger. That alone told me everything I needed to know. The northern alphas didn’t own him, not completely. He didn’t let them twist him the way they wanted, didn’t bring back that cursed blade to handover like a loyal dog. If they’d come after me for it, that meant Kael ran. That was good. Better to be hunted than leashed to them. Kael was worth more than that life, even if it had taken him years to figure it out. I just hoped he stayed smart enough to remain free.

But that thought twisted into a deeper ache. The wolves back in my territory. The rogues. The lost ones. The shifters the packs couldn’t be bothered to protect. They depended on me, and every day I was stuck here was another day they were exposed to danger.

Packs had never done anything for wolves like me or the ones I watched over. If anything, they caused more harm than good. They’d thrown me away when I didn’t fit their mold, exiled me because I wasn’t what they wanted. Kael, too. The moment they saw his malformed arm, they cast him out like garbage without a second thought. I’d seen it too many times, and each incident only strengthened my resolve. Packs didn’t care for us. We cared for each other. Full stop.

That’s why I had to stay alive. The relics were the worst of it. Power in the hands of alphas, unchecked and unchallenged. If the northern alphas thought they could bend every wolf to their will with that dagger, they were fools. No one should wield that kind of power, not over wolves like me, not over anyone.

I breathed against the cold floor, trying to think through the haze of hunger. I needed a plan. I refused to die here, not like this—starving, dehydrated, abandoned in some gods-forsaken cell. The alphas were gone for the moment. Two days, maybe more, since I’d heard anything. No footsteps. No voices. No water sloshed through the grate.

Whatever game they were playing, they’d left without finishing it. I just didn’t know why. If I couldn’t get out of this cell soon, I wouldn’t need to worry about the relics or the alphas or anything else—I’d rot right here.

My claws scraped against stone. I needed to save my strength, but the wolf inside me was restless, ready to tear through anything just for the chance to live. I closed my eyes, breathing slowly through the pain, trying to make a plan with what little I had left. Maybe if I tried again to shift back to my human form, I could break something—dislocate a joint and slip free. Maybe not. Hell, maybe I’d just smash my wolf head against the bars until something gave. It wouldn’t be the worst plan I’d come up with.

And then—footsteps. Faint, distant, but unmistakable. My ears pricked, my body tensing despite the weariness dragging me down. Someone was coming. I lifted my head slowly, every muscle in my body taut. It wasn’t the heavy thud of the alphas nor the careless shuffle of a guard. These steps were different. Intentional. My breath came slower, quieter, as I stayed perfectly still.

If this was my chance, I wasn’t going to waste it.

---