Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 129

Elowen

The battle was chaos incarnate.

Each of us faced one of the golden wolves—artificial constructs given life by Morgath's twisted magic. Mine lunged with coordinated precision, its regeneration abilities keeping it in the fight no matter how many wounds I inflicted.

My white flames helped—each strike leaving burns that couldn't heal as quickly, disrupting its supernatural recovery. But it was *tanky*, absorbing punishment that would have killed normal wolves ten times over, its assault never slowing.

I risked a glance at Kaius.

His black wolf was magnificent in combat—every move calculated, every strike purposeful as he battled his own golden opponent. Years of training and natural talent made him a formidable opponent. But he didn't have my advantage. His attacks couldn't suppress their regeneration. And I could see him beginning to tire, his movements a fraction slower, his breathing heavier.

*He's losing ground.*

I couldn't let that happen.

While fending off my own opponent with claws and lightning, I periodically launched fireballs toward Kaius's fight—disrupting lunges, forcing his enemy to dodge, buying him precious seconds to recover. It was exhausting maintaining two battles simultaneously, but I couldn't watch him get overwhelmed.

"Fascinating!"

Morgath's voice rang out from somewhere above and behind us. She lounged in the air itself, reclining as if on an invisible throne, watching our struggle with the detached amusement of someone watching a performance.

"So this is what humans find entertaining in their gladiatorial arenas!" She clasped her hands together delightedly. "Four beasts fighting to the death! The desperation! The violence! It's positively intoxicating!" Her masked face tilted toward me. "And you, White Wolf—I'm dying to test your limits. To see exactly how much punishment that legendary body can endure."

Rage boiled over. I gathered lightning in my throat and hurled it at her.

She vanished, reappearing directly above Kaius in a blink. "Oh my! Such spirit!" Her voice dripped with mockery. "And Kaius—how pathetic. You can't even defeat cheap copies of your father. How disappointing." She leaned down, her mask mere feet from his wolf form. "If you keep dragging the White Wolf down like this, she'll fall into real danger. Is that what you want? To be the reason she dies?"

Kaius's snarl intensified. His attacks became more aggressive, more reckless—exactly what she wanted.

"Ah, yes! The game is getting interesting now!" Morgath's laugh was sharp and cruel. "But why wait for a natural climax? Let's accelerate things, shall we?"

She began chanting. The language grated against my ears—old magic, the kind that warped reality itself.

My opponent suddenly *changed*. Not physically—but something in its eyes shifted. Intelligence bloomed where there had been only instinct and rage.

And it stopped attacking me.

Instead, it pivoted and charged directly at Evelyn.

*No. NO!*

I launched fireball after fireball, trying to block its path. But the golden wolf didn't even flinch. It ran straight through my flames, its hide smoking, burning, but its determination absolute.

It knew. Somehow it *knew* that Evelyn was my weakness.

I abandoned my defensive position and threw myself between the charging wolf and my friend. Our bodies collided with bone-shattering force. My claws found purchase in its shoulders, holding it back through sheer strength of will.

*You want to hurt my Evelyn? Fuck that. Not while I'm breathing.*

But I'd forgotten about Kaius's opponent.

The second golden wolf disengaged from Kaius entirely, circling wide. I saw it coming—saw the angle of approach—but I was committed. I couldn't release the wolf I was holding without leaving Evelyn exposed.

It hit me from the side like a battering ram.

Pain exploded through my ribs. I felt bones crack. Blood filled my mouth. But I didn't let go. Couldn't let go.

Instead, I sank my teeth into the nearest wolf's neck and summoned my wind ability. The air around us became a vortex, lifting all three of us off the ground. I used every ounce of strength to carry both golden wolves away from Evelyn, dragging them high into the violet sky.

Then I let the wind die.

We plummeted together—a tangle of snapping jaws and raking claws. We hit the crystalline ground with devastating force, the impact driving the air from my lungs.

"Bravo!" Morgath's applause echoed through the realm. "What a beautiful sacrifice, White Wolf! So selfless! So noble!" Her voice took on a sickeningly sweet tone. "If you became my pet, I would treasure you. Give you a place of honor in my collection. You'd never have to suffer like this again."

I struggled to my feet, every movement sending fresh waves of agony through my body. Blood dripped steadily onto the crystal floor, forming small pools of crimson that reflected the purple sky.

*One versus two. Great odds.*

Kaius's black wolf form stood frozen, watching me face down both opponents. I could see the anguish in his eyes—the guilt, the rage at his own inadequacy.

Morgath drifted closer to him, her voice a poisonous whisper. "Look at her, Kaius. Your mate. Bleeding because you're too weak to protect her. Just like your father was too weak to protect your mother." She circled his wolf form like a vulture. "Tell me—what's the difference between you and Aldric? Both of you watch the women you love suffer while you stand by helplessly. Pathetic."

I felt it through our bond before I saw it—something in Kaius *breaking*.

*No. Kaius, don't listen to her—*

"Keep being useless, and you'll both become my treasured pets tonight," Morgath continued, her tone light and conversational. "Of course, I could always help you. Let you tap into that power sleeping in your blood. The same power your father possessed. But you're too afraid of it, aren't you? Too scared of what you might become."

*Kaius!* I sent desperately through our mindlink. *She's manipulating you! Playing with your emotions! We just need to hold on a little longer—Evelyn's almost done!*

But his eyes had already gone blank. Whatever I was saying wasn't reaching him anymore. All he could see was my blood on the ground. All he could feel was his own powerlessness.

And buried deep in his bloodline, something ancient and terrible *answered*.

The transformation started with sound—bones cracking, reforming, breaking and healing in rapid succession. His howl wasn't wolf or human—it was something in between, raw and agonizing and *wrong*.

His body began to change. Muscles bulged grotesquely, skin splitting to accommodate the expansion. Fur receded in patches, revealing flesh that looked more like armor plating than skin. His claws elongated into black talons the length of daggers. And his eyes—

His eyes became pools of pure blood-red light, with no trace of recognition or sanity.

*Lycan.*

"Fuck," I breathed. "What have you done?"

The Lycan that had been Kaius stood at least eight feet tall, hunched but radiating overwhelming physical power. For a moment, he simply stood there, adjusting to his new form. Testing the strength in his limbs.

Then his gaze swept the battlefield. Locked onto Morgath's floating form.

He *launched* himself at her with speed that shouldn't have been possible for something that size. His claws tore through the space where she'd been—but she'd already vanished, reappearing across the chamber.

"Wonderful!" she called out. "But I'm not your target right now."

The Lycan's head swiveled. His red eyes found the two golden wolves preparing to attack me again.

And for a brief, terrifying moment, his gaze passed over me. I saw something flicker in those crimson depths—recognition? Awareness?

*Please. Please still know who I am.*

He made his choice. The Lycan surged forward, not toward me, but toward the golden wolves.

*Thank God. Thank you, thank you—you still recognize allies from enemies.*

With his new form came power that defied comprehension. He didn't need strategy or technique anymore. Just pure, brutal force. He grabbed the first golden wolf by its throat and simply *crushed*. The wolf's spine snapped like kindling.

Before the second could react, the Lycan's other hand caught it mid-lunge. He slammed it into the crystal ground hard enough to create a crater, then tore it apart with his bare hands.

Golden blood—so much golden blood—sprayed across the chamber. Within seconds, both wolves lay in pieces, their regeneration unable to cope with the catastrophic damage.

*God. He's ten times stronger. Twenty times.*

*Kaius?* I sent tentatively through the mindlink. *Are you okay? Can you hear me? How do you feel?*

No response. Just eerie silence in the place where his thoughts should be.

"I did it!" Evelyn's triumphant shout cut through the tension. "The ward's broken! The gemstone's completely vulnerable now! Elowen, get over here and destroy it!"

Relief flooded through me. *Finally. This nightmare is over.*

I limped toward the gemstone in my white wolf form, my injuries severe but manageable. Just one more task. Reach the stone and destroy it with everything I had left—

*Movement behind me.*

My instincts screamed a warning, but my battered body couldn't react in time.

The Lycan—the thing that had been Kaius—moved faster than my eyes could track. His massive clawed hand caught me across the torso, talons piercing deep into my shoulder and abdomen. The force of the blow lifted me off my feet and sent me crashing into the crystalline floor.

Pain beyond description. The impact forced my wolf form to shatter, my body reverting to human as the severe injuries overwhelmed me. The world went white, then red, then dark at the edges.

I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe properly. Blood was everywhere—my blood, pooling beneath me, soaking into my skin.