Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 117: 117

If I were fully conscious, I would try to absorb how disturbing his words were.

Hunter hissed, his voice heavy with hate and desperation.

"That was my pack!"

Fenrir smirked with an air of superiority, his golden eyes gleaming with a dark glow.

"You're smart, using the verb in the right tense; past. It was, because there is no pack anymore." His response was laced with disdain.

Fenrir gave me a look. As he analyzed all the blood covering the floor and the knife embedded in my wrist, pinning me to the wall, something shifted in him. He was no longer the man in control but the beast of over three hundred years who loved to kill, felt the need for death, and reveled in bathing in the blood of his enemies.

Hunter also sensed the change that crackled in the air like lightning. He took a step to the side, distancing himself from me, his instincts screaming at him to do so.

Another shadow appeared beside Fenrir, and then Andrei came into my view. A relieved sigh escaped my lips. He ran toward me and pulled the knife out of my wrist. I screamed, crying out in pain. Fenrir’s growl made my hairs stand on end. Andrei looked at him, apologizing.

"Stop exhaling pheromones, damn it, I just freed her," he snarled at his friend, who, at that moment, was more animal than human. "Kill that bastard, he’s the one who hurt her."

Andrei gently pulled me, scanning me with his eyes, trying to find more wounds beyond the visible ones.

"I’ve got some good news for you," Hunter said, pointing with an accusatory finger at the container on the table. "She’s already lost enough blood; now all you have to do is drink that blood right there, and the mark will disappear, and you’ll be free of it."

Fenrir leaned in. He looked like a predator in his most primal, relentless form.

His golden eyes glowed with fierce intensity, reflecting the anger burning inside him. Every movement was calculated and fluid. His tense, powerful muscles contracted under his skin as he advanced toward Hunter with wolf-like grace.

Hunter dodged, realizing he was the prey in this encounter.

My breath caught in my throat as I watched Fenrir’s transformation into a true lord of chaos, a being dominated by savagery and the determination to protect me.

Andrei swallowed hard.

"I’m glad you’re surviving," he whispered, but the arms around me were gentle, and the furrow on his brow showed concern.

"Why?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder.

He grabbed the chains that held my wrists. His palms burned, and the skin sizzled when it touched the silver. He ignored the pain, contracting his arm muscles as he exerted sudden force against the chains, breaking them and freeing me from my restraints.

I felt the relief in my wrists, no longer feeling the silver biting into my skin.

"Thank you," I said, relieved.

"I’ve never seen Fenrir like this, at least not in a long time. He’s... wild, dominated by the beast inside him," he commented, not taking his eyes off his friend, who was circling Hunter. "What he just did to Eclipse will be nothing compared to what he’ll do if something happens to you."

"I’m so tired..." I whispered, snuggling closer to him.

It felt so good to smell someone who was important to me, someone who made me feel comfortable after so many days with strangers, with wolves I hated and never felt at ease beside.

I had to cross the entire forest, face so many challenges, to discover where my true family was, in Dăneşti.

I faced the alpha, my destined mate, my bonded companion, the other half of my soul.

He moved toward Hunter like a shadow, silent and lethal. The air around him seemed to vibrate with the promise of imminent violence.

He delivered a blow to Hunter, who dodged. In the next second, he struck the weaker alpha’s abdomen, tearing through skin and blood. Hunter grunted in pain and tried to retaliate, but Fenrir was faster, stopping him.

The scent of the alpha Eclipse shot through the air, mingling with the others that filled the environment. Every move Fenrir made was calculated, every step precise, as if he were the manifestation of primordial fury.

Andrei cradled me in his arms, examining my injuries closely.

"Will he come back?" I whispered, tilting my chin in the direction of the wolf.

I really wanted to see him kill Hunter, but he scared me a little in that form.

"Only after he kills everyone who hurt you," he sighed.

The female behind me let out a strangled scream of fear, reminding me of her existence. I avoided looking at the pup's body.

"Kill her when it’s all over. She’s not worthy, she let her pup die without fighting, fearing for her own life more than his precious one."

Andrei nodded.

"It will be done."

I blinked the moment Fenrir launched himself at Hunter, striking him like a true predator.

***

"I hope you liked the gift I brought you," Alpha Dăneşti murmured, his voice heavy, supernatural.

Hunter frowned, showing his fangs.

"You'll regret this."

Fenrir tilted his head to the side, his eyes half-closed, focused on the male before him.

"He made me a rather interesting offer..." he commented, circling Hunter. "If I freed him, with a female of his choice, so he could procreate and start a new pack, he would give me his location."

Hunter growled.

"You're lying."

Fenrir shook his head.

"I'm not. He also told me you're a complete idiot and a great frustration." Their steps were calculated and light, as if they were dancing. "So, I killed him and ate his heart, breaking the blood pact sealed by your families."

I gasped, unable to breathe properly, feeling my body weaken more with each passing second.

Fenrir had taken revenge for me.

Eating a wolf's heart was a brutal and primal act of power display, and a clear message to any other leader daring to challenge him. It was an act of pure humiliation for a leader, symbolizing Alpha Dăneşti’s supremacy over the rival pack.

Moreover, he had also broken the blood pact made by Caspian and my father by ripping out the wolf's heart and killing him as if he meant nothing.

"You didn’t do that," Hunter howled.

A lupine smile spread across Alpha Dăneşti's face.

"Yes, I did. And the taste was as bad as he was as a leader."

Hunter growled and lunged toward Fenrir, driven by blind hatred and rage. The Alpha Dăneşti struck him, hitting his abdomen and throwing him across the cave, where he slammed his back into the damp stones. The sound of impact echoed through the cavern. Hunter groaned and shook his head, rising quickly onto his knees.

"I’ll finish you," he growled, then turned his dilated pupils toward me, lifting his lips in a smile. "But I know an even better way to hit you." He finished speaking and advanced toward me.

Andrei pulled me into his arms, pulling me aside, away from his claws. Fenrir hissed in warning and leaped onto Hunter, sinking his claws into the wolf's calf, tearing it open and shredding the muscles. The scent of his blood floated through the air, strong like rust. Hunter screamed in pain and turned, trying to strike the Dăneşti leader. Fenrir dodged the blow, kicking the injured leg.

"Get close to her again, you bastard, and you’ll see what it’s like to be torn apart alive," he howled.

The Alpha Eclipse rose, dragging his leg with the open wound. He leaned against the cave’s rocks to stay upright.

"She’s going to die, anyway," he laughed, sweat shining on his forehead, the pain evident. "She lost too much blood before you arrived, she's weak and debilitated."

Fenrir stared at me, and something like fear shone in his golden eyes. He swallowed, moving his Adam's apple, his muscles tensing.

Something in him changed; the hatred turned to fear, and the rage into vengeance.

Hunter seized his second of hesitation, charging at him. Fenrir was faster, kicking him against the wall a second time. Dust swirled through the air, dancing in spirals of golden ash, as stones detached from the wall.

My companion didn’t wait for him to rise. In the blink of an eye, he was on top of the Alpha Eclipse, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him off the ground. Hunter scraped his claws against Fenrir’s forearm, but he didn’t even seem to notice the injury or the pain caused, too focused on his rage to care.

"He went into my territory, killed my best friend, a pup, and even kidnapped my female," he growled, glaring at him closely. He pulled him away from the wall, only to crush him against the rocks again. "In return, I wiped out your pack and took your father’s title as leader by eating his heart. But you’re so despicable that you won’t even give me that pleasure, since your father was still the alpha of the pack."

Hunter smiled, his teeth stained with blood.

"My pleasure was killing your little friend Anton," he ran his eyes over me. "If you could see Sava’s suffering, how sad she was about his death." He laughed. Fenrir tightened his grip on his throat, making him choke. "If I were you, I’d look into that. My father was a cuckold and didn’t even know it. Savannah acted like a widow."

"You'll never understand what true friendship is, since it’s beyond nurturing real feelings," I gasped.

He pressed his lips together, pretending to ponder.

"You’re right, my love."

A warning growl rumbled through Fenrir.

I coughed, feeling my strength leave my body as if each breath was a colossal effort. My limbs felt heavy as if they weighed tons, while my mind sank into a murky fog of exhaustion.

My heart beat weakly and rhythmically, each pulse a painful reminder of my frailty. I struggled to stay conscious, but it was becoming harder.

Andrei noticed this, sensing my muscles soften in his arms. He lowered his head, scanning me, before lifting his gaze to the battle unfolding before us.

"Fenrir!" he shouted, as a warning, a plea, his voice pure desperation. "She’s weak."

The Dăneşti leader looked at me, and all the blood seemed to drain from his face.

He felt it. He noticed, through our bond, my weakness, the life slowly slipping away from me. I would die, and he would follow me.

No! That couldn’t happen.

He had an entire pack to lead and... I wouldn’t be able to die in peace knowing I’d drag him with me.

Turning back to Hunter, Fenrir seemed even more consumed by savagery.

"I had many plans for you, so many that I can't even elaborate right now," his fingers tightened around the male’s neck, whitening. "But you hurt my mate so much, to the point of risking her life. And no one touches my female. No one."

With his free hand, he pulled his arm back, claws extended, then shot it forward, sinking his claws into the male Eclipse’s abdomen. Hunter shuddered and spat blood, which trickled from his lips, coating his chin.

The smell of metal filled the air again, strong and pungent.

Fenrir twisted the hand inside him, holding some vital organ. Then he pulled it out, dragging his intestines between his fingers, which looked pink and sponge-like.

I pressed my lips together, feeling the urge to vomit.