Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 112: 112

POV Savannah Bowen

I woke up with my hair stuck to the sweaty back of my neck. I shifted on the cold, hard ground, feeling my muscles tense.

I sat up and pulled my hair, tying it into a bun at the top of my head. I tried to look through the crack in the door, and it still seemed early in the morning, with the first rays of sunlight emerging on the horizon.

My stomach growled, hungry. I placed my hands over it and let out a soft moan.

Now I could understand why my wolf was storing energy; it was to keep the pup well while I was being kept without food.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut and letting the tears spill from the sides of them.

I was a terrible mother. If it hadn't been for my wolf, I might have even lost my pup. I shook my head, unable to even think of the possibility of that happening.

I had always wanted to have my own pups, always dreamed of becoming a mother. Next to Fenrir, I dismissed the possibility, thinking it would never be possible and accepting my reality.

But things hadn't happened the way I thought they would, and now, my long-desired pup was growing in my womb. It was my duty, my obligation, to protect it.

I rubbed my fingers over my eyes, wiping away the accumulated tears.

I rested my head against the wall and looked around, feeling bored. The chains on my wrists prevented my skin from healing, burning and renewing the wounds caused by the silver.

My body ached from lying on the hard ground, and I smelled awful after so many days without a bath. The most I could do was splash some water on my face from the sink faucet.

I felt so tired. If it weren't for the pup, I would have given up on everything a long time ago.

Before, I only had to think of myself and my sister. Selena was free, safe, and well, so there was nothing else to worry about, until I found out I was pregnant.

My chest tightened.

I blinked, confused, a crease forming between my brows.

I looked down, as if I could physically see what was happening to me. There was nothing. The room remained cold and stinky, and the village around us was silent.

Could it be that the longing I felt for Fenrir was making me feel things I shouldn't?

The heat stirred inside me, as if embers were igniting through my body. I stood up suddenly, opening my lips.

"What’s happening?" I murmured, looking around.

It was the same sensation I felt when Fenrir was near.

It happened again, making me gasp.

He couldn’t be near. Hunter had said he had believed Marilyn, that they had created this whole complex story. So... how?

The silence in the village was broken by a loud signal. It was the silver bell that hung at the entrance of the village and, until then, had never been rung because it indicated... invaders.

Screams spread throughout the area, making me shudder and shrink against the wall. I placed my hand over my belly, protecting myself from the attack they were facing.

It was my chance to escape.

Fenrir's rage reverberated through me, pulling me through the bond that connected us.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to my knees on the hard floor.

It wasn't just any attack. It was him.

A sob broke from me, followed by another, and another. I spread my hands on the floor and let the tears flow like a waterfall.

He didn’t believe them. He didn’t believe Marilyn. He came after me, came to save me, to take me back home.

I couldn’t hold back the high-pitched scream that tore me apart.

I thought he might do what Hunter did, that he would betray me, forget about me, that I was just a burden to be carried. He knew Hunter would remove the mark and that our bond would be broken, but still, he came for me.

The heat spread inside me.

I heard footsteps outside as people ran in all directions. Screams of death, despair, and rage.

Fenrir was spreading chaos throughout the village.

The door was abruptly opened, exploding into the room and slamming against the wall with force. Hunter appeared in my line of sight, his hair messy, his chest rising and falling rapidly, and his brown eyes gleaming with pulsating hate.

"Your damn alpha came for you," he announced, advancing toward me. He pulled me off the floor with force, scraping the chains against my skin and hurting me. "That bitch Marilyn tricked me," he growled, pulling me out of the room. "Let’s remove this damn mark once and for all, before he gives me any more headaches."

The winter breeze hit me. I stumbled over the snowdrift and blinked, unable to see properly because of the brightness after so many hours in the dark. The sun was rising, starting to reflect in the sky. I breathed, and a cloud formed in front of my face due to the sharp cold.

"Let me go," I grunted.

He ignored me, pulling me away from the shack where I had been kept. From the street, the screams grew louder, and flames of fire rose over the village, burning in the wake of Fenrir’s attack.

"Is he... setting fire?" I whispered, terrified.

The smoke grew in the sky, rising through the treetops.

"He’s destroying my damn village," Hunter growled, grabbing my hair with one hand. "All because of you, you damn bitch!"

I tried to grab his hand that held me, feeling the tears sting through my eyelids, the burning on my scalp.

"Free me, and he’ll leave," I begged.

He let out a harsh laugh.

"Only after I remove this shit mark from you, and then make him see that you're not that important, at least not without the mark."

A head rolled toward us, leaving a trail of blood on the white snow.

I widened my eyes and held my breath, forcing my churning stomach to keep the little food that remained inside me.

The decapitated head belonged to a female with blonde hair, now stained with blood. Her green eyes were wide open, and her lips parted.

Hunter let out a furious growl and kicked the head away.

"Damned Dăneşti wolves."

We continued toward the back of the village, distancing ourselves from the chaos that was unfolding. People were running everywhere, and the pungent smell of blood mixed with the scent of burning flesh, a nauseating combination that made me feel as though I was suffocating.

The effort I was making to keep the food in my stomach was tremendous.

"Sir, I got what you asked for," one of the guards said, stopping in front of us. He was dragging a female by the neck, who had her arms around a newborn pup. She was crying and begging, while the little pup slept. "Where are we going?"

"Please," she begged. "Let my son go."

Hunter raised his arm and slapped her face, turning her with the force of the blow. Her cheek turned pink, and blood poured from her nose.

"Shut up, you whore!" the soldier roared, silencing her.

"We’re going to Bason’s old cave. It’s isolated enough that I can do what needs to be done," he said. He raised his free hand and gave orders to the males nearby. "You guys, hold the alpha as long as you can."

They nodded and scattered in small groups, heading toward the clash, toward the center of the ongoing war.

Hunter began walking, holding me so tightly that there was no chance of me escaping his grip. We advanced in the direction of the dense forest, away from where Fenrir was.

As he dragged me further, every step seemed to echo like thunder in my ears. The sounds of battle intensified in the distance, and a sense of despair grew inside me. I didn’t know what his plans were, but I knew I had to buy time until Fenrir reached us.

"Where is Bason?" I asked.

The alpha had seen me run away with Selena on the day of the fateful wedding and hadn’t opposed it. In fact, he had given me the chance to run with my sister, maybe he could be an ally.

"Dead," he answered flatly.

"What?" I whispered.

"He didn’t agree with my plan to recover you, so I had to kill him for opposing me."

The female with the pup cried non-stop, fearing the future that awaited us. Hunter was merciless and more lunatic than ever.

"What are you going to do with us?" I howled, trying to free myself from his grip, despair consuming me.

My feet sank into the soft snow, the cold penetrating my bones, and my teeth chattered in a frantic rhythm. I wasn’t dressed warmly enough for the freezing weather.

He turned to face me, a grotesque smile lighting up his face.

"I'm going to remove the mark, my love. While your wolf fights my men, I’ll break the only bond that ties you two. Then, I’ll kill you, and when your little wolf arrives, he’ll find out that he’s finally free of you."

My heart raced, echoing the frantic rhythm of fear that overtook me. Every muscle in my body tensed in anticipation as his evil intentions unfolded before me.

I shook my head and tried to free myself from him again.

"No!" I yelled.

The mark wasn’t the only bond that connected us, but he would never know that. The ritual was dangerous, I could die in the middle of it.

And if I succumbed to death, my pup would also succumb.

He laughed loudly.