Chapter 4

Chapter

Four

Destin

K ael's scent hit me first—familiar but distant, like something from another life. My wolf stirred, a flicker of recognition buried beneath the exhaustion and rage. But it wasn't enough. The snarl slipped out before I could stop it, a low, guttural warning that rumbled through my chest. My jaws twitched, lips curling back over my teeth. He was too close. Too familiar. And right now, nothing familiar felt safe.

Kael took a slow step forward, his voice low and steady, like he was trying to coax a wounded animal. "It's me, Destin. You're safe now."

Safe. The word meant nothing. Safe was a lie people told to make you drop your guard, and the wolf in me knew better than to fall for it. My glowing eyes locked on him, wild and full of warning. I hated the way he crouched in front of the bars, calm and patient, like he still believed I was something that could be reasoned with.

My muscles screamed as I pushed against the cold concrete, trying to lift myself. My paws scrabbled against the floor, useless and weak, my body too starved to obey me. I barely got my head an inch off the ground before it dropped back down, a growl of frustration rumbling deep in my throat. Every inch of me should've been aching. But I felt nothing.

Kael crouched closer, his gaze steady as if daring me to snap. His hand moved slowly, careful not to spook me, fingers brushing the lock on the door.

"Easy, Destin," he murmured, keeping his voice soft. It grated against my ears—too kind, too steady. He was treating me like something fragile. I wasn't fragile. I was broken. There was a difference.

My wolf shifted restlessly inside me, torn between the instinct to lash out and the faint flicker of trust buried somewhere in my chest. Kael wasn't the enemy . The truth floated, slipping through my thoughts before I could grasp it.

And then I caught the scent. Kael wasn't the only shifter in the room. He'd brought another—his mate. I could smell their bond. And . . . there was one more. Her scent burned through me like whiskey. Where was she? I searched but couldn't see her.

He was hiding her from me. I couldn't trust what I was seeing. Kael wasn't alone. They could say all the words they wanted, but words meant nothing. They hadn't fed me, hadn't helped me heal, they'd left me here to rot, and my body was still paying the price for it. The growl in my chest deepened.

Kael ran a hand through his hair, frustration clear in the way his shoulders tightened. "Last time I saw him, he was already slipping," he muttered to the others. "More wolf than man. I don't know what the alphas did to him, but they might've pushed him over the edge."

I tried again to push myself from the floor, and when I dropped, the concrete bit into my jaw. Kael's voice kept coming, calm and patient. "We're going to help you, Destin. Just stay with me. Trust me." He made himself small—hand visible, shoulders relaxed—but it grated against my nerves.

Then the light changed, and she stepped into view. The second she-wolf. Her scent swirled through the bars in my cell. My eyes snapped to her, and something inside me stilled. It was like falling into cold water, a jolt that froze my thoughts mid-motion. My paws rooted to the stone floor, muscles locking as I stared. Everything around me blurred for a second, narrowing to just her.

She stepped forward, her gaze flickering between me and Kael, confusion mixed with unease. Kael watched me, his dark eyes boring into me, noting the change in my demeanor. "Don't even think about it," he hissed. His jaw clenched as he put out a hand to stop her from moving any closer to my cell.

The woman cleared her throat. "How do we get him out of there?"

"I'm not touching this door until he pulls himself together."

She glanced over her shoulder, and the other woman appeared. Kael's mate. Kael had a mate. That thought sent warmth flickering for a brief moment within me.

"He's not going to do anything. Look at him." The first woman glanced at me, then dropped her eyes to the floor. "He can't even lift his own weight."

Kael scoffed. "Yeah. Don't underestimate him."

Kael ran his hand over the door's edge, tracing the heavy bolts securing it in place. "It's reinforced. They weren't playing around." He glanced at his mate, who stood beside him, her brows furrowed. "We should check for keys."

The other woman in black—it wasn't only her hair, she was clothed in it—nodded, already scanning the walls. I tracked her carefully, curiosity biting at the edges of my mind.

Kael's mate sifted through a metal box mounted on the wall, her fingers brushing over loose tools and random junk. She shook her head. "Nothing here."

The other woman crouched near the far wall, running her hands along a row of hooks and shelves cluttered with old equipment. "Got something." She held up a small ring of keys. They jingled softly, the sound echoing off the concrete walls.

Kael stepped toward her and took them. "Let's see if one of these damn things works." He tried the first key, sliding it into the lock. It turned halfway before jamming. He cursed under his breath and moved to the next. The woman in black stayed beside him, her sharp gaze darting between the lock and the hallway.

"No good," Kael muttered, tossing the keys aside with a frustrated growl. "We'll have to break it."

He grabbed a crowbar, wedging it into the frame. The metal groaned, giving slightly under the pressure. Kael grunted, but the lock didn't budge. The door fought back, stubborn as hell, and the grinding of metal on metal made my ears twitch. "This isn't going to work," Kael growled.

I stayed where I was, watching them through narrowed eyes. Then the woman in black stepped away, and a low whine left my muzzle without permission. Kael's nostrils flared.

"Umm, how about this?" The woman stalked across the room like she owned the place, her boots soft against the concrete. She stopped in the corner, crouched, and dragged out a heavy, portable hydraulic jack.

Kael's mate gave a skeptical snort. "What is that?"

The woman grinned, setting the jack down near the door. "This is a jack. I knew there was a reason I took shop." She adjusted the arms with ease, sliding the jack into place beneath the doorframe as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

Kael pulled his hand from his pocket. "I can?—"

"I've got this." She flicked his hand away. "This little beast can lift a truck. A door's nothing."

That flicker of warmth flared to life within me. She didn't listen to him. She knew how to work a damn jack.

The woman grabbed the handle and began pumping, the arms extending slowly, inch by inch, pushing against the steel. The door groaned under the pressure, and the lock pulled tight, then twisted, straining against the moving pieces it was connected to. The metal frame shifted, and then the lock shattered with an abrasive snap.

She twisted the valve, folding the jack's arms neatly as they released. Kael pushed his mate behind him and forced the now-jammed door open. He stepped back, breathing hard, his gaze fixed on me. "Come on. And if you make one wrong move, I'll put you right back in there."

The door stood open, but my body refused to move. Every second of hunger, every ache and bruise, dragged me down. My paws scraped weakly against the concrete as I tried to lift myself, but the weight of exhaustion pinned me to the ground like chains.

Kael stood by the door, his patience like a storm about to break. "Come on, Destin. We don't have all night."

I pushed again, harder this time, my legs trembling under the effort. My claws scraped uselessly against the cold floor, and the room swayed around me. I hated this—hated being weak, hated having them see me like this. I snarled at the indignity, but there was nothing left to give.

Kael stepped forward, and his mate moved closer. Kael's expression hardened, his jaw clenching. "Stay back," he said, his voice a low warning. She stopped, tension radiating off her, but she obeyed.

The woman in black stood off to the side, arms crossed, her sharp gaze tracking my every movement. Watching me with pity.

I growled low in my throat and forced myself upright again. Pain screamed through my limbs, but I got one paw under me, then another. I loped on shaking legs to the door.

And then, Kael was no longer small. He stood, spreading his arms and legs, glowering down at me as he planted himself between me and the she-wolves. Message received.

He herded me like a sheep, and as my eyes adjusted to the light filtering from the upper level, I took in the stairs ahead of us. My body sagged. Impossible.

Kael crouched beside me, his arm reaching out, his hand landing on my pelt. I snapped my teeth at him—a weak attempt, but enough to make him jerk back. His face darkened with frustration. "You bite me, and I'll crush your jaw."

I snarled again, but it was all noise, no bite. Kael knew it, too. He grabbed my muzzle with a firm grip, squeezing just enough to get my attention. His voice was sharp now, all patience gone. "I'll drag you up by the scruff like a pup if I have to."

The indignity of it made my fur bristle, but my limbs were jelly beneath me, and I had no choice. I went still, my breath coming in shallow bursts through my nose. Satisfied, Kael let go of my muzzle and slid his arm under me, grunting with the effort.

He hauled me up, dragging my limp body toward the stairwell. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest, but Kael didn't stop, didn't slow.

"I can help." The woman in black strode toward us.

"No," Kael snapped, his voice clipped and sharp. "You stay with her."

The woman in black gave him a slow, measured look but said nothing. Just crossed her arms and waited. Kael cursed under his breath as he dragged me up the first step, then another. My claws scraped uselessly against the wood.

"Stop fighting me, damn it," Kael muttered through gritted teeth. His arm and shoulder trembled with the effort, but he didn't let go. He kept hauling me upward, step by painful step until the stairs finally ended, and the dim light of the exit glimmered ahead.

As soon as we hit solid ground, I wrenched myself free. My legs skittered awkwardly beneath me, but the wolf gave me just enough strength to stumble forward and through the door Kael slammed open, yelping at the bright sunlight.

The open air wrapped around me, sharp and cold, and it was like taking the first breath after drowning. I didn't look back. Didn't care about Kael or his mate or the woman in black. All that mattered was the forest—freedom. I struggled forward into the undergrowth, my paws hitting the soft earth like a heartbeat, the scent of pine and damp soil flooding my senses.

I needed to get far, far away from that place, but as I caught the scent of a rabbit, hunger caught me by the balls. I doubled back and lurched unsteadily, barely catching it between my jaws. Its bones snapped, the warm gush of blood coating my tongue as I tore into it. There was no hesitation, no thought—just survival.

I looked up from the kill, my eyes locking onto the woman in black again as she stood watching next to Kael and his mate. The taste of the rabbit filled my mouth, hot and metallic, but it wasn't enough. I wasn't sure anything ever would be. They didn't understand. They couldn't.

Kael waited for me to finish, then set down a small bucket, emptied his water bottle into it, then tossed a set of clothes on the ground near me as I licked the blood from my muzzle. "When you're ready," he muttered, stepping back.

I ignored him, rushing to the bucket, desperately lapping up the water. When I thought I might be sick, I stumbled back, dropping onto my haunches. The food and water were already working their magic. Strength surged through me, making me heady.

I dropped to my belly, panting as relief flooded through me and, with it, clearer thoughts. I looked up and blinked. It was Kael in front of me. There weren't any alphas. Until proven otherwise, these wolves weren't my enemies.

I shifted in one fluid motion, bones snapping into place as fur receded. I didn't care about their stares. I pulled on the pants without ceremony but didn't bother with the shirt. I needed a bath. I wasn't going to ruin it with the week-old sweat, blood, and grime.

When I was decent, the woman in black stepped forward despite Kael's look of warning. There was that feeling again. That strange stillness. I hated it. It made my skin itch. "Do you know anything about Lava Forks?"

I blinked at her. Lava Forks? I'd been starved and beaten half to death, and she was asking me about the national forest? I turned and stalked into the trees.

"Destin," Kael called after me, and I heard the warning in his voice. He was like a son to me, and that tone made me want to knock him to the ground.

I turned. "I'm going back." My tongue was slow to form words. Thankfully, I didn't need to say more. He knew what I meant. I'd been kept here without any way to communicate with the wolves in my territory. They were loners and rogues, and they relied on my help.

"There's more at play here." Kael's eyes were dark.

"Did you give it back to them?" I asked. It would explain why the alphas were gone, though how it had taken Kael a week to find me?—

"This is Lana. The dagger belongs to her." He pointed to the woman in black.

Lana. Her name echoed through me. She reached under the hem of her shirt and pulled the blade from a leather strap around her waist. "You know what this is?"

I spit on the ground at my feet. "That blade doesn't belong to anyone. You should melt it down. Destroy it.

"We found information about another relic." Lana spoke as if she hadn't heard me. "We think the alphas might be?—"

"Destroy that, and they have nothing." My words came out sharp, slicing through the air between us.

Lana's eyes narrowed. "These relics aren't going away. If you know the prophecy?—"

I turned back to the trees, not even waiting for her to finish. The relics, the prophecies, all of them, were only given for one purpose. Control. A way for packs to prove their value, their goodness. I didn't want any part of it.

I thought about turning back. About thanking them. But my feet kept moving forward into the trees, and I didn't try hard enough to stop them.