Page 30 of Heart of the Rebel Mate (Wolf Billionaire #5)

CHAPTER 30

ELARA

T he night is thick with the scent of blood and earth. The air hums with anticipation, the kind that coils in the gut like a live wire, tightening, waiting for the inevitable snap.

We move like shadows, the rebels fanning out along the treeline, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Ahead, the Council's stronghold looms—tall, impenetrable, a monument to their tyranny. The stone walls are reinforced with silver plating in places, meant to keep us out. I scan the perimeter, noting the blind spots, the structural vulnerabilities I mapped out days ago. They built this place to keep threats at bay, never considering what would happen when those threats came from within.

Cassian crouches beside me, his wolf form bristling with tension. Adrian is on my other side, his presence a steady anchor in the chaos. His black fur ripples in the wind, muscles tight, ready to strike.

A single signal—a low, guttural growl—and the night erupts.

The rebels charge forward, a wall of fury and fangs. Howls split the air as we crash against the stronghold's defenses, slamming into the enforcers waiting for us. The Council's wolves are bigger, battle-hardened, their ranks drilled into perfect, merciless formation. But we have something they don't. Desperation. A cause worth dying for.

I launch myself forward, claws raking across the first enforcer I meet. He snarls, rearing back, but I'm already moving. A quick pivot, then I sink my fangs into his throat, tearing through fur and flesh. Warm blood sprays against my muzzle. He crumples. I don't stop.

Adrian is a force beside me, his massive frame colliding with an opponent, sending them sprawling. Cassian is a blur of movement, tearing through the enemy with ruthless precision. The rebels fight with everything they have—some falling instantly, others pressing forward, pushing the Council's wolves back, inch by inch.

We reach the outer walls. I shift back into human form for a second, my breath ragged, eyes locked on the weak points I memorized. There. A section near the eastern side where the stone has eroded just enough. If we can breach it, we create an opening big enough to get through.

"Adrian!" My voice cuts through the chaos. He pivots, his golden eyes sharp even in the frenzy of the fight. "We need to bring down that wall!"

He nods, shifting back in an instant, muscles flexing as he grabs one of the explosive charges we prepared. A last resort, but necessary.

Cassian covers us, lunging at an enforcer who barrels toward Adrian. They collide, snapping jaws and slashing claws. I don't have time to see who lands the killing blow. Adrian plants the charge against the wall, his hands moving swiftly, precisely.

More enforcers pour from the stronghold. We're outnumbered. I shift again, my wolf form slamming into a guard who tries to reach Adrian. My teeth sink into his hind leg, yanking him back. He howls in pain, twisting, claws aiming for my throat.

I dodge—barely. His claws graze my side, burning deep, but I don't let go. With a vicious twist, I drag him to the ground, snapping his neck with one decisive bite.

The explosion shatters the night.

The force sends bodies flying, debris scattering in a cloud of dust and fire. The eastern wall buckles, then collapses in on itself, leaving a jagged gap just big enough for our forces to pour through.

The rebels surge forward, pushing through the opening. The stronghold is compromised, but the battle is far from over.

Inside, the corridors are a labyrinth, twisting halls filled with waiting enforcers. The Council was ready for this. They knew we would come.

A massive wolf lunges at me from the side, knocking me into the stone wall. The impact rattles through my ribs, but I recover fast, rolling just as his claws carve through the space where my throat was seconds ago.

I spring up, snarling, circling him. He's a brute—bigger than most, his dark fur streaked with scars, his red eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. A veteran. An executioner.

He lunges again. I don't meet him head-on. I'm faster, lighter. I duck beneath his strike, twisting behind him before sinking my teeth into the base of his skull. He thrashes, trying to throw me off, but I hold on, biting down harder until I feel the snap of bone.

He goes limp.

Blood drips from my muzzle as I lift my head, scanning the battlefield. Rebels and enforcers are locked in a brutal dance of survival, the air thick with snarls, screams, the sickening crunch of breaking bones.

Adrian is near the stairwell, holding his own against two enforcers. One of them catches his side with a slash of claws, but he doesn't slow. He moves like a storm—calculated, relentless, his jaws closing around the throat of one opponent while he rips into the other with his claws.

Cassian is near the west wing, leading a group deeper into the stronghold. He glances back, meets my eyes for a second. A silent message: Keep moving. No stopping now.

I push forward, weaving through the carnage. I don't think about the fallen, about the rebels who won't rise again. Not now. If we stop, if we hesitate, we lose.

A deafening roar echoes through the halls. Not a wolf. Something else.

Then I see him.

A towering figure steps through the haze of battle—human in shape but monstrous in presence. Council armor gleams beneath the blood splattered across his chest. His expression is calm, controlled. Too controlled.

Isaac.

My breath stills. The Council's enforcer. Their deadliest weapon. He scans the battlefield, assessing, then his gaze locks onto me.

A slow, deliberate smile spreads across his face.

The battle is about to take a deadlier turn.

I barely have time to react before something massive crashes into me, the force sending me sprawling across the blood-soaked ground. The impact rattles through my bones, sharp pain lancing up my side as I slam against the unyielding stone.

Too fast. Too strong.

I scramble to my feet, ignoring the fiery ache in my ribs, but the moment I lift my head, he's already there.

A colossus of a wolf, fur black as shadow, eyes like molten gold. His presence alone is suffocating—power bleeding from every inch of him. I don't need to ask who he is.

An enforcer. One of the Council's elite.

And he's hunting me.

He moves with terrifying precision, closing the distance between us before I can regain my stance. I lunge, aiming to slash at his throat, but he's faster—so much faster. His massive paw catches me mid-strike, claws tearing through my shoulder in a burning arc of pain.

I snarl, twisting to break free, but he's already behind me, slamming his full weight into my back. I hit the ground hard, breath knocked from my lungs.

His voice slithers into my ears, low and mocking.

"You're weaker than I expected."

I push up, ignoring the sting in my limbs, but he doesn't let me move. His paw presses down, claws digging into my shoulder, pinning me beneath his crushing weight.

"This resistance of yours?" he murmurs, his hot breath ghosting over my ear. "It dies tonight."

I thrash, snapping at him, but his claws sink deeper, sharp enough to make my vision blur. Blood seeps into my fur, matting it, the pain sharpening with every second.

I hate that he's right.

I'm losing.

Not because I'm not strong enough, but because he's been trained for this. Enforcers don't fight with brute force alone—they're strategic, merciless, and conditioned to break rebels like me before the kill.

I try to shift back, to slip free of his hold, but he anticipates it, his jaws closing around the scruff of my neck. He wrenches me up and slams me down.

Stars explode behind my eyes.

Ribs crack.

I choke on a pained growl, my vision swimming as he leans in, pressing his muzzle close.

"I'll make this quick," he whispers. "Consider it mercy."

Then his fangs descend for my throat.

No. No. No.

But before his teeth sink in?—

A black blur slams into him with the force of a hurricane.

The impact is sickening, a brutal collision of muscle and fury. My captor is ripped from me, sent skidding across the ground in a tangled mass of claws and snarls.

I suck in a ragged breath, blinking past the haze.

Adrian.

He doesn't hesitate.

He's on the enforcer in an instant, relentless, savage. There's no strategy to his attack—just sheer violence. His fangs tear into flesh, claws raking deep enough to shred through muscle.

The enforcer roars, trying to shake him off, but Adrian doesn't let go.

He sinks his teeth deeper, locking his jaws around the enforcer's throat. A violent wrench.

The sound that follows is wet. Final.

The enforcer crumples.

Blood spills into the dirt, his golden eyes still wide—but lifeless.

Adrian steps back, his massive black form panting, his muzzle drenched in red. His golden eyes find mine, wild and burning.

I try to push up—my limbs tremble.

"Elara," he growls. His voice is raw, barely human. He shifts mid-stride, and suddenly his hands are on me, gripping my shoulders, checking, searching.

Still breathing.

"Yeah," I rasp, wincing as pain pulses through my ribs.

His jaw clenches. His gaze flickers to my bleeding arm, to the claw marks that carve deep into my shoulder. I watch his expression shift—from worry to something darker.

"We need to get you out of here," he mutters.

I shake my head.

The fight's not over.

I look around and observe the chaos on the battlefield; the air is thick with the scent of blood, fur, and burning wood. My muscles scream with exertion, my breath comes in sharp, ragged gasps, but I don't stop moving. I can't. The Council's enforcers push back harder than expected, their ranks still thick despite the bodies littering the ground.

The stronghold looms ahead—so close. We've broken through the outer defenses, but the real battle is inside those walls. We just have to reach it.

Then I hear it.

A low, predatory growl that makes my fur bristle. I spin just in time to see a blur of motion—an enforcer charging straight for Adrian's exposed back.

"Adrian—!"

But before I can move, Cassian is there.

His massive silver-and-white wolf collides with the enforcer mid-leap, the impact sending them both tumbling across the blood-soaked ground. A snarl of pure fury rips from Cassian's throat. His teeth clamp onto the enforcer's leg, and with one savage jerk, he snaps bone.

The enforcer howls, but Cassian doesn't stop. He's feral, relentless, fighting with the kind of fury that doesn't care about survival.

A second enforcer lunges for him.

He turns, too slow.

I see the flash of claws, the gleam of bared teeth, and I move on instinct.

My body collides with the attacker. We hit the ground hard, rolling, snapping, tearing. Blood sprays as I sink my fangs into their throat, but the enforcer twists violently, breaking free.

They slash at my flank.

Pain flares, white-hot and searing, but I don't let it stop me.

I lash out, knocking them off-balance, and as they stumble?—

Adrian descends like a goddamn executioner.

His massive black wolf slams into them, fangs closing around their skull. A single, sickening crack—and the enforcer goes still.

We barely have time to catch our breath before another wave surges toward us.

Cassian is still fighting, but something is wrong.

His movements are slowing, his attacks reckless—too reckless.

Adrian sees it too.

"He's trying to get himself killed," Adrian growls, shifting back to human form in a blink. His voice is raw, edged with something I don't want to name.

I force myself to shift, stumbling slightly as my injured leg protests. "Cassian!" I shout, but he doesn't hear me.

Or maybe he doesn't care.

He's bleeding heavily, fresh wounds joining old scars. But he keeps going, tearing through enemies like a man possessed.

Then I see them.

Four enforcers closing in behind him, moving in perfect formation. A trap.

Cassian doesn't see it.

But he knows.

And he doesn't run.

He lunges.

Straight into the trap.

"Cassian, no!"

The first enforcer hits him like a wrecking ball, claws slicing deep across his side. His blood splatters across the dirt.

But he keeps fighting.

Another enforcer clamps down on his shoulder, shaking viciously, but Cassian twists, ripping free—leaving a chunk of his own flesh behind.

Adrian and I charge in, but Cassian turns, panting, bloody?—

And smiles.

It's small. Broken.

A goodbye.

Then he pivots and throws himself at the biggest enforcer.

They collide.

Fangs tear, bones break, but Cassian doesn't stop.

Even when the enforcer drives a blade into his side.

Even when his legs start to give.

Even when he's drowning in his own blood.

He keeps fighting.

Until—

A final slash.

The enforcer's teeth close around Cassian's throat.

And this time?—

He doesn't get back up.

Everything stops.

The battlefield fades. The sounds muffle.

All I can hear is my own ragged breath.

I take a step forward, but Adrian grabs me.

"Elara," he rasps, his grip firm, his own eyes too dark, too lost. "We can't."

Cassian's lifeless body is already being swallowed by the chaos.

I want to scream. To tear the world apart.

But I don't.

Because Cassian gave us one last gift.

A chance.

A path.

A way forward.

I take one last look at him.

Then I turn.

Adrian and I run.

Straight into the Council's stronghold.

Straight toward the end.