Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 174

Kaius

The Lycan form felt both familiar and foreign—like putting on armor you'd sworn never to wear again.

Power coursed through me, raw and primal. My muscles could tear through stone. My claws could rend steel. This form made me nearly invincible, a force of nature given flesh and fury.

But it also made me dangerous. Unstable. The last time I'd transformed into a Lycan, I'd lost control. Hurt people I loved. Done things that haunted me still.

*But at least now I can protect her. At least now I have a chance.*

"Frost," I growled, my voice rough and bestial even in this semi-human form. "Take her. Get her out of here. Now."

Through the bond, I felt Elowen's immediate protest. Her terror and determination crashed over me in waves.

*No! Kaius, come with us! We can all leave together!*

But I couldn't. Wouldn't. The rage burning in my chest wouldn't allow it.

I'd spent days trying to reach her through a blocked bond, thinking she was ignoring me. Days of growing panic and desperation. And when the block finally shattered—I'd felt everything. Her pain. Her fear. Her absolute certainty that she was going to die.

And I'd felt *his* hands on her. His threats. His intentions.

"I'm not leaving without killing him," I said, my eyes never leaving Zane's transformed figure. "Not after what he did to you."

Zane laughed, the sound echoing across the square. "How touching. The loyal mate comes to save his damsel." His Blood Lord form rippled with crimson energy. "But I'm afraid no one is leaving. Not yet."

He raised both hands, and the air itself solidified. A dome of blood-red energy erupted from the ground, encasing the entire square in a translucent barrier. The magic was so powerful I could feel it pressing against my skin like a physical weight.

"A blood barrier," Frost hissed. "Kaius, he's sealed us in—"

"I can see that." I bared my fangs in what might have been a smile. "Good. Means he can't escape either."

Through the bond, Elowen's fear spiked. *Kaius, please—*

*Trust me,* I sent back. *I'll end this. And then we'll go home together.*

I hoped I wasn't lying.

Zane circled me, his movements predatory. "Such confidence. Let's see if it's warranted, shall we?"

"You touched my mate." My voice came out as a growl. "You imprisoned her. Threatened her. Tried to break her."

"Touched?" Zane's smile turned vulgar. "Oh, I did far more than touch, King Kaius. I dressed her. Adorned her. Had her draped across my arm at gatherings while other lords salivated." He licked his lips slowly. "Such soft skin. Such beautiful curves in that emerald silk. The way the fabric clung to her body—"

White-hot rage exploded through me. "You fucking—"

"She looked absolutely radiant warming my bed chambers," Zane continued, his tone dripping with implication. "Though she did resist my more... intimate overtures. Such spirit. Such fire." He sighed theatrically. "I was looking forward to breaking that spirit. Slowly. Thoroughly."

I lunged forward, claws extended. "I'LL KILL YOU—"

"Temper, temper." Zane dodged lazily. "Though I must say, her protests were quite arousing. The way she'd tremble when I got too close. That little gasp when I'd—"

"BASTARD!" 

My vision went red. The Lycan rage that I'd been barely controlling snapped its leash completely.

I attacked before he could speak again.

In Lycan form, I was faster than any wolf, stronger than any human. My claws raked across Zane's chest, tearing through his Blood Lord defenses like they were paper. Actual blood—dark and viscous—welled from the wounds.

Zane stumbled back, looking down at the injury with something like surprise.

Then he smiled.

"Oh," he breathed, his pupils dilating. "Oh, that's *delicious*."

He touched the blood, brought his fingers to his mouth, and licked them clean. The gesture was obscene, perverse. His entire body shuddered with what looked disturbingly like pleasure.

"Lycan blood," he murmured. "Pure. Primal. Unfiltered by the witch magic I absorbed." His smile widened. "Do you know how long it's been since anyone drew my blood? Centuries, King Kaius. Centuries of invulnerability, of battles won without a scratch." He laughed. "This is *exciting*."

*Goddess, he's insane. Completely insane.*

I'd dealt with vampires before, but they were usually coldly rational. Calculating. This—this enthusiasm for violence, for pain—was something else entirely.

*Cold-blooded creatures are worse than witches,* I thought grimly. *At least witches are predictable.*

But I couldn't afford to be disturbed. I pressed my advantage, attacking with everything the Lycan form offered. My claws left deep gouges in Zane's flesh. My fangs tore chunks from his shoulders. My enhanced strength let me throw him across the square hard enough to crack stone.

Blood poured from dozens of wounds, staining his red cape even darker. By any measure, he should have been severely injured, weakened, close to defeat.

But he kept smiling. Kept laughing. Kept licking the blood from his lips like it was the finest wine.

*Something's wrong. He's too calm. Too—*

"Kaius!" Elowen's scream cut through my thoughts. "It's a trap! He's—"

Zane moved.

His hands swept through the air in a complex pattern, and the blood—all the blood I'd spilled from him, pooled on the ground—suddenly came alive. It rose in crimson droplets, hardening into needle-sharp projectiles.

"Blood magic at its finest," Zane said conversationally. "Every drop I spill becomes a weapon. Thank you for being so... generous with your attacks."

Hundreds of blood needles hung in the air, all pointed at me.

Then they launched.

I moved with Lycan speed, faster than thought, dodging and weaving through the deadly barrage. The needles whistled past my ears, my face, my torso—missing by fractions of inches as I pushed my enhanced reflexes to their absolute limit.

*Too fast. Even for needles. I'm faster than—*

Then the needles changed direction mid-flight.

They curved through the air with impossible precision, abandoning their pursuit of me entirely. Instead, they redirected toward—

"NO!"

Elowen and Frost. Sitting together behind me, Elowen too injured to move, Frost trying to shield her with his body.

Kaius

The needles would reach them in seconds. There was no time for them to dodge, no time for Frost to raise a defense.

No time for anything except the choice I made without thinking.

I threw myself between the needles and my mate.

The impact felt like being stabbed by a thousand hot knives simultaneously. The needles—infused with vampire magic and corrupted blood—punched through my forearm as I raised it to protect my face and chest. Through my shoulder. Through my side.

Each needle that struck me was one that didn't hit Elowen.

Worth it. Every single one worth it.

"Kaius!" Elowen's scream was anguished.

"Bravo!" Zane applauded slowly. "How romantic. The devoted mate sacrifices himself for his lady love."

The needles were still embedded in my flesh, and I could feel something wrong spreading from them. Poison? Corruption? Whatever it was, it burned through my veins like liquid fire.

My Lycan form flickered, becoming harder to maintain. My movements slowed. The wounds weren't healing as they should have.

*Blood corruption. He poisoned his own blood. Used it as a weapon.*

I tried to focus, tried to push through the pain and continue the fight. But my body wasn't responding properly. My attacks became sluggish, easily dodged. My defenses weakened.

Zane pressed his advantage relentlessly, each strike pushing me further back, further toward defeat.

"Frost." I managed to gasp out the words between labored breaths. "Your only priority—protect her. Even if I—even if I die—you keep her safe. Understand?"

"Kaius, I can help—"

"That's an order!" I snarled with the last of my Alpha authority. "Don't you dare approach me! Protect the Queen!"

Frost's face twisted with conflict, but he stayed where he was, crouched protectively over Elowen.

*Good. At least she'll be safe. At least—*

Zane's hand made a grasping motion in the air.

Reality rippled. And suddenly he held a sword—no, not a sword. A blade made entirely of crystallized blood, red as a fresh wound, radiating malevolent power.

"This blade hasn't tasted Lycan blood in over three centuries," Zane said, his voice almost reverent. "Today, I'll feed it until it's sated."

He moved faster than I could track in my corrupted state. One moment he was across the platform, the next he was directly in front of me.

The blood blade punched through my chest with surgical precision.

Cold. So cold. The blade was like ice made from death itself, stealing the heat from my body, pulling the life from my heart—

"ZANE!"

Elowen's voice rang out across the square, clear and desperate.

"I'll give you what you want! I'll be your consort, your companion, whatever you demand! Just—" Her voice broke. "Just let Kaius go. Please. Let him live."

Time seemed to stop.

Zane paused, the blade still embedded in my chest but not yet pushed to its fatal depth. He turned his head toward Elowen, something calculating in his expression.

"Now you see reason," he said softly. "You should have offered this sooner, my dear. Could have saved everyone so much pain."

*No. NO!*

I tried to speak, to refuse, to tell her she couldn't make that trade. But blood filled my mouth, choking off the words.

"I'm a merchant at heart," Zane continued. "And I do so love a good deal. Very well. Your complete submission in exchange for—"

I grabbed him.

My clawed hands locked around his arms with every ounce of strength I had left. Lycan strength, Alpha will, and sheer desperate fury combined into an unbreakable grip.

Zane's eyes widened for just a moment—then he laughed.

"Really?" His tone was amused, almost pitying. "This is your grand gesture? Grabbing my arms?" He twisted, testing my grip. "You're dying, Lycan. The blade is in your heart. You have seconds left, and you're wasting them on—"

"Your deal," I forced out through blood-filled teeth, "is void."

Elowen's eyes widened—she understood. She moved, taking a step forward.

*Frost. Hold her. Don't let her come near me.*

The mindlink command hit my beta with Alpha force. I saw him move instantly, catching Elowen's arm, pulling her back even as she tried to push forward.

*This is the only way. The only chance to end him.*

I squeezed. Just a little. Just enough for him to feel the pressure.

Zane's smile didn't waver. "Pathetic. You think you can—"

Crack.

His radius fractured under my grip. The smile faltered.

"What—" He tried to pull away, yanking backward with supernatural strength. The movement should have torn me apart, should have ripped my hands free.

I didn't let go.

"Let go!" Annoyance crept into his voice now. "You're embarrassing yourself! Your mate is watching you die like a—"

I squeezed harder. His ulna splintered.

Zane's composure cracked along with his bones. He screamed—sharp and shocked. "You fool! What are you—"

He kicked out, his foot slamming into my abdomen with enough force to crater stone. The impact should have sent me flying. Should have broken my hold.

I slid back two inches. My claws dug deeper into his arms, tearing through muscle.

And I didn't let go.

"Impossible—" Zane's eyes widened, real concern flashing across his face for the first time. He kicked again. Harder. His knee came up, striking my ribs. I felt bones crack, felt the blade in my chest shift deeper.

Blood poured from my mouth. My vision swam. My Lycan form flickered.

But my hands—my hands were iron. Unbreakable. Anchored by something more fundamental than strength or magic or even life itself.

The will to destroy the thing that had hurt my mate.

"Release me!" Zane struck again and again, each blow landing with crushing force. My body was breaking. Organs rupturing. Life bleeding out. "You're DYING! The blade is in your heart!"

"Then I'll—take you—with me." 

My claws, still embedded in his broken arms, began to move. Not pulling away. Moving inward. Cutting through flesh like a surgeon's scalpel, but without the mercy.

Slicing. Burrowing. Working their way deeper into his body.

Toward his chest. Toward his heart.

Understanding finally dawned on Zane's face. His eyes went huge with genuine terror.

"No. No, wait—" His voice climbed toward panic. "You can't! You're—this is insane! You'll die!"

"Already dying." Each word cost me everything, but I forced them out anyway. Blood streamed from my mouth, from my nose, from the wound in my chest. My Lycan form was collapsing, fur receding, leaving raw flesh exposed. "But you first."

I pushed my claws deeper. Through muscle. Through bone. Into his chest cavity.

"STOP!" Zane thrashed wildly now, all pretense of control gone. "I'll let her go! I'll release everyone! Name your price! ANYTHING!"

My claws wrapped around something that beat frantically, desperately.

His heart.

"My price," I said, my voice barely a whisper now, darkness closing in from all sides, "was always—this."

I saw Elowen struggling against Frost's hold, tears streaming down her face, her mouth open in a scream I could no longer hear. Frost held her tight, his own face twisted in anguish.

*I'm sorry, my love. I'm so sorry.*

I met her eyes across the blood-soaked platform. Tried to put everything I felt, everything I could never adequately say, into that one look.

"My Queen," I said, and my voice was softer now, filled with all the tenderness I'd always struggled to express. "I love you."

The blade pushed deeper, touching my heart. Cold spread through my chest. My grip was failing. Life was leaving.

But not yet. Not quite yet.

"You will always—" My voice was fading to nothing. "—always be—my Queen."

I squeezed.