Inside the war room, Kaleb stormed through the doorway with his Beta directly behind him. Then he stopped abruptly.

His wolf snarled violently beneath his skin the second a familiar scent brushed against his senses. Silver pine, rain-soaked earth, musk. Rhea.

Kaleb inhaled sharply, but the scent vanished almost immediately, too faint to fully grasp. His brows furrowed hard. Impossible.

His chest tightened unexpectedly as his gaze swept across the room. Then he spotted Kat on the floor.

"Kat." He crossed the room quickly and crouched beside her, checking her over with visible tension. "What happened?" he demanded. "Who did this?"

Kat’s breathing came unevenly as tears streamed down her face. "Someone was here," she gasped. "An intruder."

The word immediately sharpened the air in the room.

Kaleb’s eyes darkened dangerously. An intruder inside his war room was not just an insult. It was a direct threat to Ironfang itself.

"Are you certain?" he asked grimly.

Kat nodded quickly, still shaken. "Yes. A woman." Her hand tightened around Kaleb’s arm. "And an omega helped her." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Kaleb frowned immediately. "No woman would be stupid enough to cross into my territory," he said coldly, rising back to his feet. "You must’ve been mistaken."

Even as he said it, his wolf remained restless and agitated. That scent. No. It couldn’t be her.

Kaleb shoved the thought aside instantly. "In the meantime," he ordered sharply, "find the omega who helped the intruder. I want her dragged before me."

His gaze hardened further. "And take Luna Kat back to her chambers."

But no one moved. The silence felt wrong immediately. Kaleb frowned.

"Alpha," Daniel’s voice sounded strained behind him.

Kaleb turned sharply toward his Beta.

Daniel stood frozen near the strategy table, his face pale. "The war plans."

A cold feeling crawled slowly down Kaleb’s spine. He turned toward the table fully, and froze. The shelves were empty. The maps were gone. Every strategy. Every defense route. Every battle contingency Ironfang possessed.

Gone.

Kaleb’s eyes widened in disbelief. His heart slammed painfully against his ribs as he stepped toward the strategy table. "No."

The word came out rough, almost disbelieving.

He shook his head slowly, staring at the empty surface where years of war plans had once rested. "This can’t be."

He took a step forward and then the scent hit him again. Faint. Fleeting. Silver pine. Rain-soaked earth. Moonlight. Rhea. Again.

Kaleb froze mid-step. His wolf stirred violently beneath his skin, restless in a way it hadn’t been in months. He inhaled sharply, trying to catch the scent again, but it slipped away before he could fully grasp it.

His jaw tightened hard. "It’s impossible," he muttered under his breath. "She’s dead."

But even as he said it, the words felt wrong. How could it be her scent? How?

A strange unease crawled beneath his skin. Then his expression hardened instantly. He turned sharply toward the guards crowding the doorway, Alpha authority crashing through the room like a storm.

"Sound the horns," Kaleb ordered coldly. "I want that intruder found." His golden eyes flashed dangerously. "Do whatever it takes, but bring them before me before midnight."

"Yes, Alpha," Daniel answered immediately. The Beta spun toward the others, his voice booming through the corridor. "You heard the Alpha! Split up! Search every corridor, every exit, every inch of the grounds!"

The guards scattered instantly. But Kaleb remained still beside the empty table, his gaze darkening as his wolf continued pacing inside him.

If she’s alive. His chest tightened unexpectedly at the thought. Then his expression turned dangerous. I can’t let her leave again.

—

Meanwhile, Rhea didn’t stop running.

She moved through the pack grounds like a hunted shadow, slipping behind pillars and walls every time she heard approaching guards. Her lungs burned harder with every breath, sharp and painful beneath her ribs.

The strap of the scroll case dug heavily into her shoulder as she forced herself forward. She needed to get out before the entire pack surrounded her.

Finally, she slipped through the outer entrance and burst into the cold night air.

The forest stretched ahead of her, dark and endless beneath the moonlight. Wind rushed against her face, cool against her overheated skin, carrying the scent of pine, damp earth, and freedom.

For one shaky second, relief nearly made her knees buckle.

She stopped briefly near the tree line, bending forward as exhaustion slammed into her body all at once. Her chest rose and fell violently. Her legs trembled beneath her.

"You are not strong enough yet." The healer’s warning echoed sharply through her mind.

Rhea squeezed her eyes shut and braced both hands against her knees, trying desperately to steady herself. "You can do this," she whispered through ragged breaths. "You survived worse than this."

River growled low in agreement beneath her skin. "You can’t stop now, Rhea."

Rhea slowly straightened and stared into the dark forest ahead, quickly calculating the distance to the border. If she could just reach the trees.

"You!" The voice cracked through the night like a whip. "Stop right there."

Rhea froze instantly. Her pulse spiked violently. She knew that voice, and worse, she knew exactly how ruthless its owner could be.

Slowly, she turned around. Her chest heaved beneath the cloth wrapped around her face as dizziness threatened to drag her under again.

A tall figure stepped forward from the shadows near the gates, moonlight catching against the blade strapped to his side. His wolf pressed heavily against the surface, predatory and alert.

"Show your face," he ordered sharply. "And hand over that case you’re carrying."

Rhea stared at him silently, breathing hard. The cloth over her mouth trapped the heat of her breath against her skin, but she didn’t dare remove it. Not now. Not when discovery meant death.

"This is your final warning," he barked, his voice edged with Alpha dominance.

Rhea inhaled slowly, forcing strength back into her trembling body. Then she straightened fully. Even exhausted, even hunted, there was still something regal in the way she held herself.

"You’ll have to kill me," she said, her voice rough but steady. Her grip tightened around the knife hidden beneath her cloak. "Because I’m not leaving without this."

Her wolf stirred fiercely beneath her skin.

"And just so you know," her eyes hardened beneath the moonlight, "I’m fully prepared to die trying."

A cold wind swept through the trees around them.

Rhea held his gaze without flinching. "So why don’t you do the smart thing," she said quietly, "and let me go?"