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23 Gathering Storm
- Gathering Storm
Kade’s POV
Luna Celestine stood in the grand hall of the pack house, her grey eyes sharp as winter frost. The air was thick with tension, the weight of Ara’s absence pressing down on us.
“It’s been more than a week. No news of Ara. Only if I were there to help!” Amara said, her voice strained. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, nails biting into her palms.
I clenched my jaw. That was right! I was weak. I let him take her away.
“Yeah. As if she vanished into thin air,” my voice was rough, raw with frustration. “Her scent was haphazard after one point- like she was dragged, then carried. We scoured the woods near Carsten. Nothing.”
Guilt filled in my heart. I promised to protect her, to take care of her but I’d failed her instead. She was taken by a monster. What did he want from Ara? My wolf became restless at the possibilities.
Celestine placed a steadying hand on my shoulder as if she could hear my thoughts. Her touch was cool and grounding. “We will find her, Kade.”
“Why would that wolf take her?” I muttered, more to myself. Ara’s terrified face flashed behind my eyelids- the way her eyes had locked onto mine before she was ripped away. f**k! She even tried to protect me. Her tiny frame was trembling still, she pulled out the dagger. Her screams had become my nightmare.
“Especially if he’s a lycan, like you suspect,” Amara added, her voice dropping.
No doubt about that. The wolf took me down with just only blow, that too when I was in my wolf form.
Where are you, Ara! Are you okay!
Celestine’s gaze darkened. Before she could respond, her body stiffened. A ripple of awareness passed through her, her grey eyes glinting like polished steel.
“There has been a breach,” she said abruptly.
My head snapped up. “Where?”
“Northmost entrance.” Her voice was eerily calm. “Kade, take the warriors and go. Now.”
She didn’t have to repeat. I moved through the tunnels like a ghost, Amara and a handful of warriors at my back. The air was stale, thick with dust and the scent of damp stone.
What was happening these days? The northmost entrance was a relic, a forgotten passage sealed off for years. No one used it. It even led to the furthest corner of the woods above.
“Five of them,” Amara whispered, her nose twitching. “Rogues.”
My muscles coiled. “How the hell did they find this place?”
No one answered. I gestured to the warriors to prepare for attack Our pack was hidden for years and this was the first–time someone breached it.
I eyes were sharp, my warriors were ready when a slow clumsy movement took us off guard.
A shadow shifted at the end of the tunnel. I raised a fist, signaling the warriors to hold immediately.
(23 Gathering Storm
And a moment later, what emerged wasn’t a threat.
A woman, emaciated, her hollow eyes wide with desperation. She stumbled forward, clutching a feverish
child to her chest. Behind her, three more pups clung to her tattered skirts, their faces gaunt with hunger and fear.
“Pups… and a woman,” Amara breathed, her voice thick with pity.
She looked broken, scared, just like Amara was when she came to this place. I ran my fingers through my
hair.
The woman’s gaze locked onto me.
“Please… help my pup. I beg you,” she rasped.
I lowered my guard, but kept the mask, “Who are you? How did you get in?”
“Ara… she showed me. She said, the Luna would help us,” the woman, Myra, whispered.
My blood turned to ice.
Ara! The name hit me like a physical blow! After days of searching, finally a clue had surfaced. My wolf howled in joy.
“Ara? Where is she? How is she?” I asked frantically.
Myra flinched but didn’t answer, her arms tightening around her child. “Please… he’s dying.”
Amara stepped forward, her voice gentle but firm. “I’ll take him to the medic. Kade, bring her to Celestine.”
Myra hesitated.
“Don’t worry. You are safe here,” Amara gave her a smile.
Myra’s lips shivered, her fingers trembling as she reluctantly passed her child over. “Please… be gentle.”
Amara nodded, cradling the boy before vanishing down the tunnel. I watched her silently.
Then I gestured for Myra to follow. “This way.”
I guided Myra back through the tunnels. The woman stumbled twice, her legs weakened by whatever ordeal had brought her here. But my mind was racing back to Ara again and again.
Where was she? Was she alright? That lycan. Why was he after her?
The luna was waiting in the great hall. Her gaze was unreadable as Myra stood before her, the three remaining pups huddled close.
“What is your name?” Celestine asked
“Myra,” the woman whispered.
“How did you find us?” The luna questioned.
“Ara… she opened the door for us. She was coming with us. But then-” Myra’s voice broke.
“Then what?” My wolf was on the verge. I let out an involuntary growl.
“The warriors came. She shut us inside and ran… to lead them away. She saved us. Oh Goddess! She
sacrificed herself to save us!” Myra broke into tears.
23 Gathering Storm
My stomach dropped. Ara sacrificed herself. Did I lose her again? Her emerald eyes flashed before my eyes.
“She sent a message,” Myra continued, her voice barely audible. “She said… the second prince is hunting
rogues.”
“The lycan prince?” I hissed.
Myra nodded. “When they first caught me, there were only three of them. But now… their warriors are everywhere. And the prince… he is terrifying. Even though we are not bound to bow before him, his aura makes my wolf uneasy.”
Celestine’s expression remained calm, but I saw the flicker of something dangerous in her eyes.
“Was Ara their captive?” Celestine pressed.
“I… don’t know. She didn’t act like a prisoner. But-” Myra swallowed hard. “She coughed blood. More than once. And she looked… sick. Pale. Weak.”
My fists clenched. Why would Ara be coughing blood? She was definitely a captive. Probably even been tortured. Otherwise why would she look pale? She was just fine even a week ago! When we went out… she
was happy!
“Do you know where their base is?” Celestine asked.
“Yes. Near the entrance we came through. An abandoned pack house.” Myra replied.
The moment the newcomers were escorted to the infirmary, I whirled on Celestine. “We have to go now. If they’ve hurt her…”
“You think I don’t know that?” Celestine’s voice dropped to a whisper only lycan ears could catch. “But charging in blindly gets us all killed. Most of our fighters are wolfless, Kade. The rest are half lycans like you.” She didn’t flinch from the truth, even as it pained them both. “Against full–blooded royal lycans? It’s slaughter.
It’s a suicide.”
My claws dug into his palms. What was she suggesting? A snarl left my lips, “So we abandon her?” “Never.” Celestine rose from her throne, the torchlight catching the silver streaks in her dark hair. “Ara is family now. We will save her. But I’ll go alone. My bloodline gives me a fighting chance.”
The protest died on my lips as I recognized that look, the same unshakable resolve she’d worn when rescuing me from my stepmother’s scheming pits years ago.
She planned to go alone, in this dangerous den shen loosing Ara was my fault! I couldn’t sit back and watch
her.
“Then I’m coming too,” I said simply. “Even if all I can do is die buying you time.”
For Ara, for our luna!
For the first time that night, something like warmth flickered in Celestine’s eyes. “Stubborn as always.” A sigh left her lips. “Very well. We leave at midnight.”
☆☆☆
Ara’s POV
The door slammed behind Damon with enough force to rattle the walls, leaving me alone in the suffocating
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- Gathering Storm
silence of his room. My fingers trembled as I pressed them to my lips, still tasting the bitter copper of blood
from my earlier coughing fit.
I can’t stay here.
The realization settled over me like a shroud. It was only a matter of time before Damon connected the dots- before he realized where Myra and the pups had truly gone. Before he tore through the forest like a storm and
found the hidden den.
Oh goddess.
The image of Celestine’s kind eyes and Kade’s stubborn loyalty flashed in my mind. The underground halls where they’d given me shelter when the world had thrown me away.
I won’t let him destroy them too.
I had to leave, creating distraction, even if for a little while. With me gone, Damon would look for me, for sure. He would hold back the search. It would give them some time. Maybe just enough to move, to run away from
his grip.
I moved to the window, the cold night air biting at my skin as I pushed it open. Moonlight spilled over the sill, painting my hands silver as I gripped the frame. Below, the ground seemed impossibly far- a lethal drop for someone without a wolf’s grace.
But the pipe.
Rusted and uneven, but sturdy enough.
My breath came in shallow gasps as I swung one leg over the ledge, then the other. The metal groaned under my weight as I wrapped my arms and legs around it, descending inch by terrifying inch. Every scrape of my palms sent jolts of pain up my arms, but I clenched my teeth and kept moving.
Almost there.
My feet hit the earth with a soft thud.
For a heartbeat, I allowed myself to believe it might work. The woods loomed ahead, dark and welcoming. If I could just reach the trees-
“Miss.”
The voice came from nowhere.
I whirled, my heart slamming against my ribs as a warrior materialized from the shadows. His uniform was
crisp, his posture rigid. Probably one of Damon’s personal guards.
No. No, no, no- It was too soon! I couldn’t get caught now.
“We can’t let you leave,” he said, his tone apologetic but firm.
I didn’t think twice before I moved.
Ducking under his outstretched arm, I bolted for the tree line. But his reflexes were lycan–fast. A hand clamped around my shoulder, yanking me back with terrifying ease.
“Please don’t make this difficult for us,” he murmured, as if scolding a child.
I thrashed, my nails raking his wrist. “Let me GO!”
< 23 Gathering Storm
My scream tore through the night, raw and desperate. But the packhouse remained silent, its windows dark.
No one came.
The warrior didn’t so much as flinch.
Before I could twist free, he hauled me inside, my struggles useless against his strength. The study door loomed ahead, a maw of polished wood and inevitability.
It swung open before we reached it.
And there he was.
Damon.
Seated behind that massive desk like a king holding court, his storm–grey eyes lifting as I was dragged before
him.
The warrior released me with a respectful bow. “Your Highness, we caught her by the garden.”
Then he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
Leaving me there.
With him.
Damon’s fingers steepled under his chin, his gaze dragging over me- the torn dress, the dirt on my knees, the wild panic in my eyes.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then his icy voice rang in the room.
