Page 48

"You need a team," Lena protested. "At least wait for Malcolm?—"

"She called for me." Kieran's voice brooked no argument as he strapped a sheath to his forearm. "I felt her today, stronger than before. She's fighting, Lena. My mate is fighting alone while I've been sitting here useless."

The bond pulsed again, a desperate tug that nearly drove him to his knees. Maya was reaching for him with everything she had.

"They made her shift." Rage thickened his voice. "They forced transformations on her body without preparation and without guidance." He pulled on a black tactical shirt, wincing as it stretched over his wounds.

"You need a strong strike team for this rescue mission, Kieran. Maya is strong. She can hold them off a bit longer while you assemble a team. Our operative says she took down two guards during an escape attempt. Her wolf is powerful, just not properly trained."

Pride surged through him. Of course she had tried to escape. His mate wouldn't go down without a fight.

His wolf prowled beneath his skin, demanding immediate action, but the tactical part of his brain—the part his father had trained since childhood to lead—knew Lena was right about needing a strong strike team.

"Fine. Thirty minutes to assemble a team. Not a minute more." He pulled out his phone, dialing Malcolm while pacing the length of the safe house in three long strides. "I need you at the safe house. Now. Bring everyone who's loyal—rebels, traditionalists, I don't care. Anyone who will fight."

Malcolm's voice crackled through the speaker. "Give me fifteen minutes."

Kieran ended the call and turned to Lena. "I need weapons, medical supplies, and comms. Maya will need stabilization immediately after extraction."

Lena nodded, already moving toward her supplies. "I've prepared a sedative that should help control her partial shifts during transport. Her system is in chaos right now."

The mate bond flared again, sending a jolt of electricity down Kieran's spine. Maya was fighting against her chaotic partial shifting and possibly threats inside that medical facility—he could feel her determination pulsing through their connection. Her strength both awed and terrified him. If she pushed herself too hard before he reached her…

Kieran shoved the thought aside. Failure wasn't an option.

Twenty minutes later, the safe house was packed with wolves from various factions. Some wore the insignia of therebellion openly, while others—traditionalists who had secretly questioned the High Council for years—stood awkwardly apart, eyeing their counterparts with wary respect.

Malcolm clapped Kieran on the shoulder. "Everyone who matters is here."

Kieran stepped into the center of the room, his posture straight and his chin lifted. The black tactical gear he wore emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and the coiled power in his stance. The room fell silent as his eyes swept over the assembled wolves.

"I'm not going to waste time with politics," Kieran began, his voice filling the space without effort. "A woman with dormant shifter genes has been captured by Granite Ridge with High Council backing. They're experimenting on her and forcing transitions her body isn't prepared for."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. A broad-shouldered traditionalist—one of his father's usual supporters—stepped forward. "Why risk our lives for one woman?"

Kieran's eyes flashed, a growl underlying his next words. "Because she's my mate."

The declaration silenced the room completely.

"But more than that," Kieran continued, stalking forward, "because what they're doing violates everything our kind should stand for. Do you want our legacy to be known for force, coercion, and torture? Is that the pack you want to belong to?"

He met the eyes of each wolf in turn, challenging them to look away. None did.

"My father taught me that an Alpha's first duty is to protect. Not just those who follow his rules, but all wolves under his care." Kieran's voice hardened. "The High Council has forgotten that duty. They've forgotten that strength doesn't come from forcing others to submit, but from standing together against true threats."

Malcolm moved to his brother's side, his presence a silent endorsement.

"I'm going after Maya," Kieran stated, authority resonating in each word. "Those who come with me are choosing to stand for what our pack should be, not what it has become. My father will call it treason. The High Council will call for our blood."

He paused, letting the weight of that sink in.

"I'm not asking you to choose me over my father. I'm asking you to choose what's right over what's easy."

A young rebel wolf stepped forward first. "I'm with you."

Then another. And another. Until the entire room had pledged their support.

Kieran felt a weight lift from his shoulders even as a new one settled in its place. This moment marked a permanent shift—he would never be the heir his father wanted. The path to becoming Alpha of the Silvercrest pack had just vanished beneath his feet.