Crowned by Fate Chapter 79

Skye's POV

Kane's patience was visibly wearing thin, his earlier smugness giving way to thinly veiled irritation.

"You need to guarantee no factories will be built in this region," Adrian said, pointing to a section of the document with deliberate slowness. "Any industrial development would pollute the entire ecosystem."

Kane drummed his fingers against the stone table, checking his watch for the third time in as many minutes.

"For someone surrendering their territory, you're remarkably concerned with details that won't matter to you in three days."

Three hours into the negotiations, Kane finally cracked. He slammed his palm against the table, startling his own warriors.

"This is becoming tedious," he growled, rising abruptly from his chair. "I need a smoke. Reyes," he gestured to his Beta, a broad-shouldered man, "watch them. Don't let them leave this room."

No! Panic flared in my chest. We couldn't let Kane out of our sight. Ryder would be moving into position by now, and if Kane disappeared, we'd lose our leverage.

As Kane strode toward the door, I stood quickly.

"Wait," I called, my mind racing for a plausible reason to keep him here. "There's still the matter of personal possessions."

Kane paused, one eyebrow arched in skeptical amusement. "Personal possessions?"

I nodded, gesturing toward the document. "The agreement specifies infrastructure and resources, but not personal items. My personal library—every book I own—has cultural significance to my original pack."

"Cultural significance?" Kane echoed mockingly.

"They're family heirlooms," I insisted. "Traditional werewolf histories passed down through generations."

Adrian caught on immediately, picking up my thread. "Any items of personal significance need explicit protection under section 7.4.3."

Kane rolled his eyes. "Fine. Add a clause for 'cultural artifacts' if it'll shut you up. But this is the last amendment."

As they resumed their discussion, I felt for the ring Lydia had given me before we left Oasisborn. It looked like an ordinary gold band, but contained a hidden needle coated with a non-lethal dose of wolfsbane. Kane's guards had searched us thoroughly for weapons, but they'd dismissed my jewelry as harmless decorations—a critical oversight.

Twenty minutes later, Kane's phone rang, breaking the tedious discussion. His expression shifted subtly as he glanced at the caller ID.

"What is it?" he snapped, answering the call.

Through the relative silence of the room, I could hear the panicked voice coming through Kane's phone.

"Alpha Kane! We have a breach in the lower levels! Intruders in section D near the holding cells!"

My eyes met Adrian's across the table. This was it - Ryder had found Nadia. The moment Kane's attention shifted to his call, I locked eyes with Adrian—our signal. Years of leadership had taught him to read situations instantly. He moved with supernatural speed, circling behind Kane's chair and locking one arm around the Alpha's throat in a precise chokehold.

In the same fluid motion, I twisted the face of my ring, exposing the hidden needle, and lunged forward to drive it into Kane's temple. The wolfsbane-coated needle punctured his skin with a satisfying hiss.

"What the—" Kane's roar of pain was cut short as Adrian tightened his grip.

The phone slipped from Kane's fingers, clattering onto the table. Panicked shouting echoed from the speaker—guards reporting a breach somewhere in the compound.

Ryder. He's found Nadia.

Kane's warriors started forward, weapons drawn, but Adrian's voice cut through the chaos.

"Nobody moves!" he commanded, tightening his hold until Kane's face began to redden. "One step closer and I'll snap his neck."

Kane struggled against Adrian's grip, but the wolfsbane was already taking effect, dulling his supernatural strength. His eyes bulged with impotent rage as he gasped for air.

"Kill them!" he wheezed to his warriors, desperation replacing his earlier confidence. "Don't let those Oasisborn thieves escape!"

Adrian's arm constricted further around Kane's throat, cutting off his commands. "Everyone stands down or your Alpha dies right here."

The guards hesitated, weapons still aimed but unwilling to risk their leader's life. Kane's Beta, Reyes, raised a hand, signaling the others to hold their positions.

"What do you want?" Reyes demanded, his eyes never leaving his Alpha's reddening face.

"We're walking out of here with Kane," I stated, retrieving Kane's fallen phone from the table and sliding it into my pocket. "Once our people are safely across your border, he'll be released."

With careful coordination, Adrian maneuvered Kane to his feet, maintaining the chokehold while I kept my wolfsbane ring poised near his carotid artery for a second injection if needed. We backed toward the exit with our warriors flanking us protectively.

"You'll never make it off our territory," Kane rasped, his voice strained from Adrian's grip. "My wolves are everywhere."

"We'll take our chances," Adrian replied coldly. "Now move."

We progressed through the corridors in tense silence, Kane's warriors following at a safe distance, their expressions promising violence the moment their Alpha was secure. The compound had erupted into chaos—guards running in all directions, alarm sirens wailing from distant buildings.

Outside, our SUV waited, engine running. Adrian shoved Kane into the back seat, sliding in beside him with one hand firmly gripping the Alpha's throat. I took the driver's seat, fumbling with the keys as adrenaline made my fingers clumsy.

"Drive," Adrian ordered. "Head straight for the border."

I gunned the engine, tires spitting gravel as we accelerated down the access road. In the rearview mirror, I saw Kane's Beta organizing a pursuit team, shouting orders as wolves piled into vehicles behind us.

"They're following," I reported, pushing the SUV to its limit as we sped toward Oasisborn territory.

"Expected," Adrian replied grimly. "Just get us to the border crossing."

The miles stretched endlessly as we raced through Gravestone territory, the dusty landscape blurring around us. Kane had gone quiet in the back seat, the wolfsbane's paralytic effects spreading through his system. His breathing remained steady but his eyes blazed with murderous promise.

When we finally reached the border zone—a barren stretch of no-man's-land between our territories—I slammed on the brakes, sending us skidding to a halt in a cloud of desert dust.

"Now what?" I asked, scanning the horizon anxiously for signs of Ryder and Nadia.

"We wait," Adrian replied, his grip on Kane never faltering. "They'll come."

Minutes passed like hours as we sat in tense silence, the pursuing vehicles drawing closer behind us. I could make out at least five SUVs in our rearview mirror, packed with Kane's warriors.

"Adrian..." I warned, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Just a little longer," he insisted, though I detected the first hint of doubt in his voice.

The pursuits vehicles had nearly reached us when movement on our left caught my eye—two figures emerging from behind a rocky outcropping, one supporting the other.

"There!" I gasped, pointing toward the approaching pair.

Relief washed over me in a dizzying wave as I recognized them—Ryder, his young face streaked with dirt and blood, half-carrying Nadia, whose legs seemed barely able to support her weight.

They had made it. Against all odds, our desperate gambit had worked.