Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 16: 15

POV Fenrir Dăneşti

"I caught the scent of the first one. They reeked of moss and stone, a clear mark of the pack they belonged to.

I waited silently behind a tree, watching as they advanced further into my territory. Rage coursed through me, emanating so powerfully that I could barely contain it. They had dared to invade my domain, a blatant display of disrespect. And all of this was because of Savannah.

I hadn’t formed an opinion about her yet. I couldn’t comprehend how I had lost control. It had never happened before—not once in my three hundred and thirty-eight years.

The first wolf came into view. I inhaled deeply, taking in his scent. He was an alpha.

In one swift motion, I extended my claws, slashing his throat. I felt the impact as his skin tore apart, hot blood spraying onto me, staining my clothes and splattering across my face.

He looked at me with wide, dark eyes, filled with fear.

I growled, baring my fangs.

He hadn’t expected the attack. They should have been able to smell my pack, but they had no idea what awaited them. They were here because of Savannah—blindly, without studying the territory—and they would leave in pieces.

Another wolf growled to my right and lunged at me. I dodged effortlessly, grabbing his head and sinking my teeth into the vein of his neck. I tore away a generous piece of flesh before snapping the bones of his spine.

Spitting blood onto the ground, I flung his body aside.

If they knew how furious I was about the attack, they would have fled far, far away.

I could feel everything the she-wolf felt—every one of her emotions. It intensified when we were near each other. I’d seen her fear, panic, and sorrow. I despised this connection, hated feeling what she felt.

Another wolf crossed my path.

I grabbed him by the neck, sinking my claws into his flesh. Holding one of his shoulders, I yanked his head in the opposite direction. I watched as skin tore, muscles stretched, and joints snapped, spraying blood everywhere—on his body, on me, and onto the dry leaves carpeting the ground.

Then, with a sickening crack, the bones broke, and his head was no longer attached to his body. I hurled it against a tree trunk and growled.

Their blood coated my clothes, hair, and skin. And it brought me a strange satisfaction. The pungent scent of death filled the air, dominating my senses.

Footsteps sounded to my right. I turned sharply, ready to kill another.

Andrei appeared. His dark skin was streaked with dirt and blood. He raised a thick brow.

'And you said you weren’t angry,' he teased, brushing leaves off the rolled-up sleeves of his dark shirt.

I tilted my head, cracking my neck to ease the tension in my shoulders.

'I don’t like anyone invading my territory.'

'And the girl?' Anton asked, stepping out from the shadow of a tree. The moonlight bathed him, revealing a pale face smeared with grime.

'She’s locked in my house,' I replied, running a hand through my hair. 'How many were there?'

'Eight. Not counting the one who fled when the slaughter began.'

I clenched my teeth, feeling my gums ache as my fangs extended.

'I hope next time their alpha comes personally. I’ll gladly tear out his heart and shove it down his throat.'

Anton raised a blond brow.

'Is all this because of Savannah?'

'This is because he invaded my territory, and I won’t tolerate that insult.'

I stepped out of the blood pool at my feet, leaves sticking to my skin. I scanned the area, surveying the wolf corpses.

'Bury them. Anywhere. I don’t care where, just get them out of my sight,' I snapped, resisting the urge to dismember them further.

Invading an alpha’s territory without permission was a grave offense. It meant they had no fear or respect for the leader. My pride was wounded, and my patience at its breaking point.

'Dignity?' Andrei asked.

In our pack, we burned the bodies of the dead after a proper farewell. It was a way to honor them and grant them passage to the Vale of the Dead. At least, that’s what we believed—along with a few other packs. But not all followed this tradition.

'None,' I replied.

They wouldn’t reach the Vale. Their existence had just been erased—no afterlife, no second chances.

'What’s next?' Anton asked.

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply.

'I have to notify the elders and other alphas about my current situation. The meeting is in two days, as you know.'

'And after that?'

I shook my head, lacking an answer.

'Then things stay as they are. I can’t get rid of Savannah.'

'I just don’t understand how this happened,' he muttered.

I let out a bitter laugh.

'Neither do I.'

Andrei moved toward a headless body, grabbing it by one leg and dragging it through the forest.

'Sitting here, pondering unanswerable questions, won’t help. Let’s bury these bastards and get some rest,' he said, heading toward the severed head near the tree trunk.

Anton nodded in agreement and walked off in another direction to collect another body.

I turned on my heels, ready to assist them, when I felt something stir in my chest. I needed less than a second to recognize what it was.

Savannah.

The heat spread, growing stronger with every passing moment. I lifted my face, sniffing the air and ignoring the stench of blood.

Dew and wild jasmine.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a low growl.

'What’s wrong?' Anton asked.

I shook my head.

'I need to handle something,' I said, striding away.

Somehow, I knew exactly where she was—her direction pulling at me like a tether, her distance a faint pulse in my chest. It wasn’t a scent or a sound that guided me, but something deeper, an instinct stitched into my bones by the bond we shared.

She wasn’t emitting anything tangible, no flare of emotion to betray her, as if she were deliberately clamping down on her feelings, holding them tight behind a wall of willpower.

Smart little wolf, I thought.

My boots crushed the carpet of fallen leaves beneath me, the dry snap and rustle loud in the stillness of the forest as I moved toward her.

The air was crisp, tinged with the earthy decay of autumn, and each step sent a faint plume of dust spiraling upward. I quickened my pace, urgency prickling along my spine as I felt her slipping farther away, her presence stretching thin like a thread about to snap.

She was running—fleeing from me—and the realization sparked a thrill that coiled tight in my chest.

A grin tugged at my lips, sharp and unbidden, the predator in me waking with a hunger I couldn’t quite suppress.

I inhaled deeply, drawing her scent into my lungs—wildflowers and sweat, laced with the faint, metallic edge of fear. It was intoxicating, a drug that sharpened my senses and set my blood alight.

I veered right, breaking into a run, my muscles burning as I pushed through the undergrowth, branches snagging at my clothes. She could feel me now; I knew she could. The bond hummed between us, a live wire crackling with awareness.

Savannah couldn’t hide her emotions any longer—not entirely. Her panic hit me like a gust of wind, sharp and electric, its taste prickling on my tongue, bitter and sweet all at once.

She was unraveling, and I was closing in.

She was engaged. Engaged to a damn psychopath who hunted her like prey, a monster who’d turned her life into a nightmare.

The thought churned in my mind, a dark, festering weight that fueled my strides. That was just one of the countless problems I now had to wrestle with, a tangled mess I hadn’t asked for but couldn’t ignore.

If that bastard Hunter got to her first—if he laid a hand on her, sank his claws into her flesh and snuffed out her light—I’d feel it. The bond would shred me apart, and I’d die right alongside her, my life bleeding out with hers.

The stakes were higher than I’d ever wanted, and the irony wasn’t lost on me: I’d spent years avoiding attachments, and now my survival hinged on a female who wanted nothing to do with me.

I’d heard whispers of the Eastern packs, those antiquated, backward clans festering on the fringes of our world. Their alphas were utter bastards—cruel, power-drunk relics clinging to traditions that should’ve died out centuries ago.

I’d always steered clear of them, refusing to dirty my hands with their dealings, but Jax had no such qualms. He’d been running a side trade with them for years, peddling heat suppressants to their females—poor souls trapped under the thumbs of tyrants. It was a messy business, one he justified with a shrug and a claim of necessity.

He’d even killed a few of their men over it—ripped the head clean off one delivery handler who’d tried to rob him blind, leaving the body as a warning. Blood didn’t faze Jax; it was just another Tuesday for him.

The alpha had maintained dealings with their pack out of pity for the females, who would suffer without the suppressant, granting them one final chance.