Elara's POV
There had been a man. I couldn't remember his face, and the worst part was, it was in my head. I could feel it there. Like a word sitting on the tip of my tongue that I couldn't quite say.
He had stood outside my cell. I knew that much. I also knew it wasn't Malakor or one of the guards.
"You're a mistake, Anchor. You make Lucian soft and mortal. Do you know what that makes you?"
I had swallowed, my throat dry. "Human?"
"A liability. And for the sake of the pack, you have to be erased."
And after that, he had gone.
"Hey."
The voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I turned my head slightly. A guard stood just outside the bars. He was younger than the others I had seen, and there was something off about the way he held himself, like he didn't quite belong here.
I closed my eyes instinctively, bracing for the familiar sting of the needle.
"I can't do this anymore," he whispered. "My mate was human. I can't keep pretending this is normal."
My eyes opened again. I stared at him, searching for the trick, for the cruelty I had learned to expect. "What?"
"I'm getting you out," he said quickly, glancing behind him.
"Is this a joke?"
"It's not."
"Did Malakor send you?" I asked. "Is this some kind of game? I won't—"
"As I said before, it's not," he cut in, sharper now.
I stared at him, trying to weigh the possibility of someone here actually helping me.
"Why now?" I asked anyway, clinging to the doubt. "Why not yesterday? Or last week?"
"Because Malakor's occupied," he said. "And because I've waited too long already. If you don't go now, you never will."
"And you just… decided to grow a conscience?"
His jaw tightened. "Believe what you want, but I'm unlocking these chains."
I hesitated. "What's your name?"
He blinked, like he hadn't expected that. "Does it matter?"
"Yes," I said quietly. "If I'm risking my life, I'd like to know who I'm trusting."
"…Erin."
He unlocked my shackles first. The iron fell away, leaving raw sores on my wrists. Pain flared as blood rushed back into my hands.
I tried to stand and immediately collapsed forward, my legs useless.
Erin caught me, his hands trembling. "Easy. Easy. You've been restrained too long."
I sucked in a sharp breath, gripping his arm.
"Unlock him too," I said, pointing toward the next cell.
"We don't have time. He's—"
"Please," I cut in. "I can't… leave him."
Erin hesitated, then moved to the next bars.
Hush didn't move when the door swung open. He just stared.
I pushed myself forward, my limbs protesting with every inch. Pain flared along my spine, but I kept moving.
"Hush," I called.
"What?" he groaned.
"We're leaving."
"You've finally lost it."
"I've not," I insisted, my legs trembling like they would give out any second. "Can you move?"
"I'll manage," he muttered.
Erin moved quickly, unlocking Hush's chains. Hush staggered forward, catching himself against the wall.
"This is a bad idea," he said under his breath.
"Staying is worse," I replied.
"And getting caught would be a death sentence. Get moving," Erin hissed.
We began to walk, if it could even be called that. I leaned heavily on the wall, sometimes on Erin when my legs refused to cooperate. Every step felt like my body might simply give out beneath me.
Erin led the way, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his eyes darting toward every sound.
Everything felt too loud; the scrape of our feet, the uneven rhythm of our breathing, even the distant drip of water echoing through the tunnels.
"Where are we going?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"There's a side exit," Erin replied.
"How far?"
"Not far."
"You said that already," I murmured weakly, struggling to keep up. "Are there guards?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
He didn't answer. "Just keep moving."
"What happens… if we make it?" Hush asked.
"You run," Erin said. "But for now, just keep moving. Quietly."
So we did. We kept moving because stopping wasn't an option anymore.
And then—
"Going somewhere?"
The voice cut through everything.
We froze.
"I wondered which of the guards would break first."
Malakor stepped out from the shadows, his expression almost bored, like he had been expecting this all along. His gaze moved over us slowly before settling on Erin.
"Disappointing," he said.
Erin stepped in front of me despite the tremor in his stance. "Let them go."
Malakor didn't even look at him before he moved.
The strike was fast. Erin's body hit the ground before I fully understood what had happened.
"No—"
Pain exploded across my face as Malakor struck me. The force sent me crashing to the ground, the taste of blood flooding my mouth instantly.
"You really thought you were worth a betrayal?" Malakor asked coldly.
I tried to stand, my fingers digging into the dirt. "Let us… go."
His hand hit me again, harder. My vision burst into stars.
"You're an anchor, Elara. Not a person," he said, grabbing my hair and forcing my head back. "Remember that."
Then the world exploded.
Dust and stone rained from the ceiling as the wall itself seemed to burst inward. Through the rubble stepped something that shouldn't exist.
It was a wolf, no, it looked more like a demon. Massive. Grey. Its eyes burned gold as they locked onto me.
Malakor dropped me, stepping back.
The creature stepped over the rubble, its claws gouging deep furrows into the rock.
"Little… Anchor."
The voice came from its mouth.
I scrambled back, my heart hammering. I had never heard of this. Wolves didn't speak like that.
"What… what are you?"
"So," Malakor muttered,his bravado returning as he reached for a blade. "You either found your way here or that coward broke."
The creature's gaze snapped to him. "You… took… her."
"I took the only thing keeping you sane," Malakor replied, stepping forward without fear. "I watched you murder my brother..Your own father and for what? A throne you aren't fit to sit on? You killed the only man who could control that beast in your blood, Lucian."
"He… was… a… tyrant," the beast snarled.
"He was a wolf, and you're an abomination," Malakor shot back. "Every alpha who requires an anchor is a freak. I took her because I wanted to see you lose it. I wanted to watch you go mad before I ripped that stolen crown from your head."
"I… will… kill… you…" Vraal rasped.
They collided with a force that shook the ground. Stone cracked as they slammed into the wall. The fight was brutal, close, no space between them, just raw force meeting force.
Malakor drove his elbow into the beast's side, twisting free just as massive jaws snapped inches from his throat.
"Look at you!" Malakor spat, dodging a snap of jaws. "The power is eating you alive because she isn't there to hold your hand!"
The beast lunged again, slamming him into the ground.
"Go ahead," Malakor snarled, shoving against him. "Lose control!"
Pinned to the ground, Malakor reached into his coat and pulled out a small, dark vial. He downed it in a single gulp.
The effect was immediate.
His movements sharpened, faster, more dangerous.
Around them, the fight spread. More wolves, more men, crashing into each other in a storm of growls and screams.
Hush grabbed my arm, dragging me back. "Stay down," he muttered.
I caught flashes, silver blades, bodies falling, another wolf tearing through the chaos towards us.
The fight intensified.
I couldn't keep up anymore.
Everything blurred, the noise, the movement, the pain still ringing through my head.
The last thing I saw was the creature stepping toward me again, slower now, its golden gaze locked on mine.
"What are you to me?" I whispered.
Then—
Darkness.