Page 46

Ares growled. "Here's what's going to happen.

You will surrender Titan to us, bound in silver.

You and the others who attacked will present yourselves for judgment.

The rest will be evaluated individually, as the High Luna has requested.

" His voice hardened again. "But make no mistake, those directly responsible for harming my mate and killing Alphas, Betas, and mates at our ceremony, will face the harshest penalties our laws allow. "

Kane closed his eyes briefly, relief and guilt washing through him. "Agreed."

"One hour," Ares said firmly. "I'll order the Alphas to stand down until then. If Titan isn't delivered by that time, we come in with full force."

"Understood."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Vanessa is to surrender herself as well if she wants to live. If she tries to escape, she dies."

Kane looked at Vanessa.

The line went dead, and Kane lowered the phone.

"Well?" she asked.

"We have one hour." Kane moved toward the door. "Get Titan ready for transport. Silver restraints, heavy sedation. I want him secured in the transport van. You stay with him and make sure it's done right."

Vanessa nodded, but hesitation flashed across her face. "Some of the others won't agree to this. They still believe in Titan and what he promised."

"Then they'll die for nothing," Kane said grimly. "Because Titan's promises died the moment he decided the High Luna was more important than our cause." He paused at the door. "Gather everyone in the main hall. I need to explain what's happening."

She nodded. "As soon as he's prepared, I'm going to find somewhere to hide until it's over, and then I'm out of here."

Kane nodded. "You do what's best for you. You always do."

Vanessa took her phone from him, spun on her heels, and marched out of the room.

Kane watched her go for a moment before sagging against what was left of Titan's desk, the weight of his decision pressing down on him like a physical force.

Traitor. The word echoed in his mind, bitter and accusatory.

After everything they'd been through together, he was handing Titan over to his enemies, like a cow to slaughter.

Memories flooded back unbidden. Titan as a young wolf, fierce and proud despite the rejection from his father.

The way his mom, Deleah, had extended a hand to Kane when no one else would, pulling him into their family.

Teaching Titan to fight, to swim, to drive.

Their days of planning together, strategizing, and dreaming of the future they'd build for everyone. All of it, gone. Over. Because of him.

"We're the same, you and I," Titan had told him one night. "Abandoned by those who should have protected us. But we'll make our own family. Our own pack."

Kane's wolf continued pacing. He couldn't tell if his wolf was irritated with him, with Titan, or with the Kings. Most likely, his wolf didn't want to die. Kane understood that. But if that's what it took to save the others, that's what he'd do. It was the least he could give them.

Kane shut his eyes. They had built something together. A refuge for the rejected, a home for those society had deemed unworthy. It hadn't always been about drugs and guns and revenge. Once, it had been about equality. But it had never been enough for Titan.

He remembered Deleah, Titan's mother, her elegance and kindness when she took Kane in.

She had been a vision of grace, hosting dinners for other displaced wolves, creating a network of support for those with nowhere else to turn.

But something had changed. The rejection by the king, the humiliation of being cast aside for another woman, had eaten away at her like battery acid, corroding her once-gentle heart.

"They think they can discard us," she would say, her voice growing harder with each passing year. "That we'll disappear into the shadows and accept our fate. But we will show them. We will take back what's ours."

Kane had watched as her obsession with revenge consumed her, transforming her. And Titan, desperate for his mother's approval, had absorbed her bitterness, letting it shape and harden him.

"First, we build our numbers," Deleah had told them over dinner one night. "Then, when the time is right, we strike."

The drugs had started as a means to an end. Funding for their growing community of outcasts. The weapons came later, as Deleah's plans grew more militant. And through it all, Kane had stood by Titan's side, convincing himself they were still fighting for the right cause.

But Deleah's death had changed everything.

Without her tempering influence, however twisted it had become, Titan's obsession had grown unchecked.

The focus shifted from building a sanctuary for rogues to punishing those who had wronged him personally.

And when River entered the picture, Titan's fixation had become all-consuming.

Kane had tried to reason with him, to remind him of their original purpose. But like his mother before him, Titan had become fixated on a single goal: taking River as his mate, proving his superiority over the royal twins who had everything he believed should have been his.

And now it had come to this.

Kane pushed to his feet, preparing to face the rogues who had trusted them. To tell them their leader had failed. The man who had promised protection had endangered them with his obsession.

The main hall buzzed as Kane entered. Everyone gathered, their faces drawn with fear and uncertainty. Some in small groups, whispering to one another. Others alone, weapons clutched in white-knuckled grips. All eyes turned to Kane.

"Brothers and sisters," he began. "Our situation has changed."

He explained the deal he made with Ares, watching as expressions shifted from disbelief to anger to resignation. Some nodded in understanding. Others shouted accusations of betrayal.

"You can't do this!" a young wolf named Marius yelled, pushing to the front of the crowd. "Titan took us in when no one else would. We can't just hand him over!"

"Titan is the reason we're surrounded by Alphas ready to slaughter us all," Kane replied. "His obsession with the High Luna put everyone here at risk."

"So we fight!" another voice called out. "We've been fighting our whole lives!"

Kane shook his head. "This isn't one we can win. And it's not worth dying."

An older wolf came forward, her gray-streaked hair pulled back in a severe bun. "What happens to us?" she asked, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "If we surrender?"

"The kings have agreed to evaluate each case individually," Kane explained. "Those not involved in the High Luna's kidnapping will get to plead their case for amnesty."

"And you believe them?" Marius demanded. "After everything the Alphas have done to us?"

Kane met his gaze steadily. "I believe in the High Luna. And she has convinced her mates to give us this chance. She gave me her word. And I gave her mine." He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of wolves he had fought alongside, trained, and protected. "It's the only choice we have."

“It’s true.” Austin stepped forward. “I know River Whitetail. We grew up in the same pack, and I spoke to her when she was here. If she says we will be okay, then we will. River doesn’t lie. It’s not in her nature.”

Outside, the sounds of the Alphas testing the perimeter had ceased. Ares had kept his word about the temporary stand-down. It was a start.

"What about you?" a voice called from the back. "What happens to you, Kane?"

He didn't hesitate. "I'll face whatever punishment comes. I was Titan's lieutenant. I helped build all of this." He gestured around them. "But I also didn't stop him when he took River and allowed Alphas and mates to die in the process."

"I'd rather die free than live at their mercy!" Marius shouted, pulling a gun from his waistband. Others followed suit, weapons appearing throughout the crowd. "After everything they've done to us, you want us to surrender?"

The room split almost instantly, those not wishing to fight backing toward Kane, while the more militant rogues clustered around Marius, their faces hardened with resolve.

"This isn't freedom, Marius," Kane argued, keeping his voice level despite the escalating tension. "It's suicide. The kings are offering us a chance-"

"A chance to be judged by the same Alphas who cast us out in the first place!" a female rogue named Lydia called out, her gun trained on Kane now. "You've gone soft, Kane. Titan would never agree to this."

"Titan has lost his damn mind," Kane countered, his patience wearing thin. "He's willing to sacrifice all of you for his revenge."

"Better to die fighting than on our knees begging." Marius' finger tightened on the trigger. "You're a coward, Kane."

An older woman, with a teen girl hugging her, stepped forward. "My daughter and I had nothing to do with the kidnapping. We came here for sanctuary, not war."

"Then go," Marius spat, gesturing toward the door with his gun. "All of you who want to surrender, get out. But Titan stays with us. We'll defend him to the death."

"That's exactly what will happen if you try," Kane warned, his voice hardening. "Death. For all of you. Is that what you want? To die for a man who was ready to sacrifice you for his obsession?"

"Get out!" Lydia shouted, firing a warning shot into the ceiling. Plaster rained down as screams erupted from the more peaceful faction. "Take the cowards and go!"

Austin moved forward, hands raised. "Put the gun down. This doesn't have to end in bloodshed."

"It was always going to end in bloodshed," she replied, her eyes wild. "From the moment they labeled us rogues, our fate was sealed."

Kane raised his arm and shoved Austin behind him, with nearly forty rogues huddled behind Kane.

Twenty or so stood with Marius and Lydia, guns drawn and faces set with grim resolve.

"You can't win this," Kane insisted, desperation creeping into his voice. "You're outnumbered, outgunned."

"We know. But we'll take as many with us as we can."

"This is insanity." Austin took a step forward. "You're throwing your lives away for nothing!"

Marius raised his gun higher, aiming directly at Austin's heart. "One more step and I'll put a bullet in you myself, traitor."

"Marius, please," a younger female wolf pleaded from behind Kane. "We don't have to die today. The kings promised-"

"Promises from Alphas mean nothing!" Marius roared. "How many times have they promised us justice? Protection? Rights? And how many times have they hunted us down like animals? Titan is the only one who kept his word to us."

Desperation shone in their eyes. The look of cornered animals who'd been pushed too far, for too long. They weren't fighting for Titan anymore; they were fighting against a lifetime of persecution.

"Take them and go," Lydia ordered, gesturing toward the huddled.

Kane looked over the group. Marius and Lydia, he could take easily, even with guns. But how many other bullets could he endure before going down?

He sighed. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't save them all. Just one more promise he'd broken.

A young female touched Kane's arm. "Please, Kane. Take us out of here."

Kane looked between the armed rogues and the frightened ones behind him. Time was running out. He had less than forty minutes to deliver Titan to the kings, or the temporary truce would end.

"Last chance," he said to Marius and Lydia. "Come with us. Live to fight another day, a better fight."

"Get out." Marius fired a shot that whizzed past Kane's ear.

Kane ducked instinctively and growled.

His wolf leapt to his feet, teeth bared. A shift ripple flowed over his skin, and his teeth lengthened.

Hurt. Teach pups a lesson.

Kane straightened. No. Leave them to their fates.

"Austin, get them to the gate."

As the larger group began moving toward the door, a shot rang out. Kane leapt in front of Austin. A bullet tore through Kane's shoulder, the impact spinning him halfway around. Blood bloomed across his shirt as he staggered, pain lancing through him.

Austin roared.

"Traitor!" Lydia screamed, her gun still raised.

Kane lobbed a knife straight at the toe of Lydia's boot. She backed up a step.

Kill. Kill them all.

"You may be okay being enemies with wolves on the other side of the gate, but trust me, you do not want to make an enemy of me right here.

" Kane removed his gun from the holster and pointed it at the floor.

For the first time in over a decade, Kane did something he never did.

He unleashed his inner wolf and leveled his Alpha gaze on the rebellious group.

The group gasped, and several stumbled backward. No one in the pack knew he was an Alpha. No one but Titan and Deleah.

"Go," Kane told Austin. "Go to the front gate and wait for me."

As they fled, Kane backed toward the door, his gun drawn but pointed at the floor.

"Feel free to tell your new Alpha masters what we think of their mercy," Marius spat.

Anger and fear radiated off the wolves standing with Marcus and Lydia, all of them driven to fight for a cause that had spiraled out of control. It was no longer just about loyalty; it was about survival.

Without another word, Kane headed to the open door, and the night air rushed up to meet him. Kane's wolf snarled at the scents of Alphas and Betas. He swallowed hard and forced himself not to shift.

"No aggression," Kane called to the others ahead of him. "We walk out slow, steady, and together. If things go wrong, return to the main house. I'll hold off as many as I can. But no matter what happens, don't give them a reason to hurt you. Your stories need to be heard. Every single one."

A nervous murmur sounded around the group. Kane headed down the front steps to the driveway below.

Please, goddess, don't let these wolves die.