Chapter 104

Shit! They were closing in, and Donovan had no idea how many rogues were coming. He needed to get Lillian out—now. Spinning on his heel, he raced back down to the basement, his pulse hammering. The sight of Lillian writhing on the cage floor hit him like a punch to the gut. Her skin was flushed, her heat scent thick in the air, calling to his wolf with an almost unbearable pull.

He forced the shift back to human form before his instincts could override his logic. Nakedness meant nothing among shifters, but the urgency of the situation did. Just as he reached for Lillian, a pained groan cut through the heavy silence.

His blood ran cold.

Victoria.

She lay unconscious in the same cage, her breathing shallow, her pulse erratic under his fingertips. Wolfsbane. Damn it.

"Fuck!" Donovan dragged a hand through his hair, torn between the two women.

He could only save one before the rogues arrived.

Victoria was his ticket to power—Sebastian Blackwood’s gratitude, the Alpha title, everything he’d schemed for. But Lillian… Lillian was fire in his veins, the one he craved beneath him, the one his wolf howled to claim.

A heartbeat of hesitation. Then he made his choice.

Scooping Victoria into his arms, he bolted for the stairs.

"Donovan—" Lillian’s voice, weak but unmistakable, stopped him dead.

He turned.

Her half-lidded eyes locked onto his, lips parted as she fought for breath. The need to kiss her, to mark her all over again, nearly choked him. But he couldn’t. Not now.

"I’ll come back for you," he lied, the words ash in his mouth.

Then he was running, Victoria’s dead weight in his arms. He just needed to get her to safety first. Then he’d return.

(If there was time.)

(If the rogues hadn’t already found her.)

The basement door burst open under his shoulder. Moonlight blinded him for a split second—before the growls registered.

Cars screeched to a halt. Wolves poured out, their snarls ripping through the night. And at the center of them all, a massive Lycan with a presence that screamed dominance.

Sebastian Blackwood.

The Alpha’s golden eyes burned into Donovan’s soul.

And Donovan knew—he was out of time.

The crisp night air bit at my fur as I raced through the dense forest, my powerful paws tearing through the underbrush. My muscles burned with the relentless pace, but I didn’t slow—not when we were this close.

"Alpha, we found the house," Marcus's voice echoed through the mindlink, sharp with urgency.

My Gammas had been scouring the territory all night, tracking down the rogue’s hideout after tracing the license plate to this remote region. Ten grueling hours of searching, following the faintest traces of Victoria’s scent, had finally led us here.

A few of my warriors remained in vehicles, ready to transport anyone if needed, but the rest of us had shifted, relying on our heightened senses to guide us.

I skidded to a halt beside Marcus and the others, my golden eyes narrowing on the decrepit shack barely standing in the clearing. The wood was rotted, the roof sagging under the weight of neglect. But the scent—her scent—was unmistakable.

Victoria had been here.

The air was thick with it, mingled with the metallic tang of blood and something darker, something that made my hackles rise.

She’s inside. Or she had been.

My claws dug into the damp earth, my wolf surging forward with a snarl. If that bastard had hurt her—

"Surround the perimeter," I ordered through the link, my voice a low growl. "No one leaves alive unless I say so."

The Gammas moved like shadows, fanning out in silence.

Tonight, blood would be spilled.

And I would make sure it wasn’t hers.