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"Come back to me," I whisper against his chest. "Please."

His arms tighten fractionally around me. Then he's gone, powerful wings carrying him from the den entrance with a speed that takes my breath away. Within seconds, he becomes a darkspeck against the azure sky—beautiful and terrible as he rises to meet forces designed specifically to destroy him.

I force myself to move.

Emergency pack. Medical supplies. Weapons I pray I won't need. The familiar motions of preparation help calm my racing heart, giving my hands something useful to do while my mind struggles with scenarios too horrible to contemplate.

The sounds begin as I'm checking the northern exit route.

Distant roars that vibrate through stone. The sharp crack of binding weapons discharging. Snarls and shrieks that speak of pain and fury. Heavy impacts that shake dust from the ceiling.

The battle has begun.

CHAPTER 21

THE DEN BREACHED

Amelia's POV

The knife clatters uselessly against the tunnel wall, my terrible aim putting the blade nowhere near its target. The Feline enforcer's startled reaction only lasts a split second before training reasserts itself. His second shot won't miss.

I run.

Energy discharge scorches the air where I stood moments before, the heat singeing my hair as I sprint deeper into the tunnel system. Behind me, coordinated chaos erupts—orders shouted in multiple voices, footsteps pounding against stone, the distinctive whine of weapons charging for pursuit firing.

"Target fleeing toward inner chambers," someone shouts. "Cut off the escape routes."

My lungs burn as I push myself harder than advisable. The slight swell of my belly throws off my balance with each jarring step. Fourteen weeks pregnant and running for my life through mountain tunnels. The irony would be funny if I weren't terrified.

The passage branches ahead. Three options. Three chances to choose correctly or run straight into Council hands.

I take the middle path, following instincts honed by weeks of memorizing Vex's escape routes. The tunnel slopes upward, each step sending jolts through my overtaxed body. My heart hammers against my ribs hard enough to make me dizzy.

Behind me, pursuit grows closer. Multiple sets of footsteps now. They're coordinating, spreading through the tunnel system to cut off every exit I might attempt.

The inner chamber appears ahead—carved stone space that's become more home than anywhere I've lived since before the Conquest. Sleeping furs still warm from our bodies. Maps spread across the stone table. Weapons cached for battles we thought we were prepared for.

Empty. Vex isn't here.

Where is he? The question tears at my heart even as survival instincts demand movement. Is he alive? Fighting somewhere beyond my awareness while I flee like prey through passages he carved for protection?

No time for answers. Footsteps echo from connecting passages—too light and quick for Vex's massive frame. They're closing in.

I press against the chamber wall, scanning desperately for options. The concealed entrance to the northern escape tunnel waits behind the stone panel, but accessing it requires activating the hidden lever. In full view of anyone who enters.

Captain Kain appears at the archway, amber eyes locking onto me with predatory satisfaction. His leopard-spotted form moves with fluid grace that makes my omega biology scream warnings. Apex predator. Evolved hunter. And I'm wounded prey trapped in his territory.

"The breeding omega," he purrs, nostrils flaring as he scents my pregnant state. "Valuable asset indeed."

Two massive forms emerge from different passages to flank him. Gargoyles. Their stone-like bodies barely fit through thetunnels, wings folded tight against their backs to navigate the confined space. They carry equipment I've never seen before—sleek restraint devices with blinking lights designed specifically for claimed omegas.

My throat constricts. They came prepared for me specifically.

"Your territorial protector is currently engaged with our main assault force," Kain explains, advancing with that horrible fluid grace. "Quite accommodating of him to defend the obvious approach while we utilized intelligence his own secondary den so helpfully provided."

The words hit like physical blows. "What secondary den?"

"Three days ago. Western boundary cache." His smile shows the edge of sharp teeth. "Complete tunnel mapping. Supply manifests. Defensive preparations. Your Chimeric was thorough in his documentation."