The hoofbeats grew louder as we crested the ridge. Too many. The faint scent of Shadowpine smoke was being carried in the wind, the smell of wood and pitch and the sharp tang of their war banners. I pressed my palm harder against my belly, the small spark inside me fluttering like it already knew trouble was coming.
Darius reined in hard beside me. His arm stayed locked around my waist, claws pricking through my cloak. "An ambush. At least thirty of them. They're moving fast up the pass."
Kane drew his long knife without a word, his eyes scanning the tree line below. Rylan circled his horse closer, his grin sharp but eyes flat. "Your old pack finally grew balls. They smell the witch's mark on you and think we're weak."
I tasted blood where I'd bitten the inside of my cheek. The bond surged hot between us, feeding me their rage and the new, sharper edge of protectiveness that had settled in since the witch's hut. They weren't just guarding their mate anymore. They were guarding what was growing inside me.
"We don't run," I said. My voice came out steadier than I felt. "They came for me. Let them find out what I am now."
Darius's breath brushed my ear. "You stay between us. No hero shit. Not with the child. You hear me?"
I nodded once, but my fingers tightened on the knife at my belt. The latent alpha blood pushed harder, a low growl building under my ribs. I wasn't the girl they'd shipped north in chains anymore. I had teeth now. And I was done being prey.
We rode down the slope in tight formation. Darius in front, Kane and Rylan flanking me. The pass narrowed, sheer rock walls rising on both sides. The hoofbeats echoed louder. Then the first riders appeared with Shadowpine banners dancing in the wind, at least two dozen wolves in partial shift, claws and fangs already out.
Their leader rode at the front. A Beta Thorne, one of my father's closest dogs. He spotted me and bared his teeth. "The traitor bitch returns. Gamma Voss sends his regards. Hand her over, Blackthorns, and we'll let you keep your cursed hides."
Darius didn't slow. His voice carried down the pass like ice cracking. "She's ours now. Touch her and you die screaming."
I felt the bond tighten. Rylan laughed low beside me, the sound reckless and hungry. Kane said nothing, but his knife was already out, the edge gleaming.
Beta Thorne laughed. "She's still Shadowpine property. She's a framed murderer and a human-tainted whore. The pack wants her back to finish what we started."
The words hit like a slap. 'Human-tainted.' The same sneer I'd heard my whole life. The same one my father used while he spat on the prison bars. Something inside me snapped clean in two just like it had with Marek in the wagon.
I kicked my mare forward before the brothers could stop me. The bond screamed in protest, but I rode straight at the line of Shadowpine wolves. "You want me? Come and get me if you can."
Thorne's eyes widened. He spurred his horse forward, claws out. Behind him the others charged.
The fight exploded.
Darius shifted in a blur of black fur and bone, slamming into the first rider and tearing him from the saddle. Kane met two at once, knives flashing in precise, brutal arcs. Rylan laughed as he leaped from his stallion, half-shifted, claws ripping through armor and flesh.
I didn't stay back.
The nearest Shadowpine wolf lunged at me. I dropped low in the saddle and drove my knife up under his ribs the way I'd learned in the ravine. Warm blood poured over my hand. He howled and fell. Another came at me from the side. I twisted and slashed his throat. The bond roared with pride from all three alphas, feeding me their strength like fuel.
Thorne broke through and charged me directly. "Your father said you'd break up here. Looks like he was right."
I bared my teeth. "Tell him I said hello when you're rotting in the snow."
He swung a clawed hand at my head. I ducked and slashed at his horse's flank. The animal screamed and reared. Thorne tumbled off. Before he could rise I was on him, knee on his chest, knife at his throat.
"Gamma Voss sends his daughter north to die," I hissed. "Now his beta dies in the north instead. Tell him the human stain is done being weak."
I drove the knife inside him. Once. Twice. Blood sprayed across the snow. Thorne's eyes went wide, then empty.
The bond exploded with raw satisfaction. Darius tore through three more wolves in a frenzy. Kane left bodies bleeding out in lines. Rylan finished the last few with laughing, reckless violence.
When the pass went quiet again, I stood in the middle of it all, chest heaving, blood up to my elbows. My shoulder burned from the earlier wound, my body still raw from everything, but I felt alive and dangerous. The child inside me fluttered again, like it approved.
Darius shifted back, naked and streaked with red. He crossed to me in three strides and caught my face in both hands. His kiss was brutal, all teeth and hunger. "You fought like one of us. Again."
Kane wiped his blades clean and looked at me. "The curse felt that kill. It's quieter."
Rylan sauntered over, still grinning, fangs sharp. He licked a spot of blood from my cheek. "That's my girl. Told you she had teeth."
We dragged the bodies to the side of the pass. Thorne's head went on a spike facing south; another message for my father. The brothers mounted up. Darius pulled me in front of him again, arm locked around my waist, palm resting low on my belly.
"We ride hard," he said against my ear. "We reach Frostfang by nightfall. The pack needs to see what their queen did to the bastards who came for her."
'Queen'... The word still felt strange, but the bond liked it. My old life felt further away with every mile. The prison cell, my father's spit, Lila's blood on my hands. All of it still hurt, but it hurt different now. It felt like fuel.
We pushed the horses. Snow flew under hooves. My mind raced ahead to the great hall, to the eyes that would watch me ride in covered in fresh Shadowpine blood. I wondered how many wolves would still call me weak after today.
The gates came into view as the light died. Smoke rose from the chimneys. Wolves lined the walls, watching our return. Darius rode through first. I followed between Kane and Rylan, my back straight even though my shoulder screamed and my body ached.
The pack fell quiet as we passed. Someone pointed at the blood on my dress and cloak. Whispers started, then stopped when they saw the fresh heads on the saddles.
Inside the Bailey, Darius dismounted and pulled me down with him. His hand stayed on my waist like he was being protective. Kane and Rylan flanked us as we walked toward the hall.
The same beta from before stepped out. His eyes widened at the blood. "More trouble?"
I met his stare. "Shadowpine came for me. They left their heads behind."
He nodded slow. Respect this time. "The pack will hear of it."
Darius spoke loud enough for everyone. "She killed their beta herself. Thorne's head rides with us. Anyone else want to test what our mate can do?"
Silence. Then nods. A few spears thumped the ground in approval.
We moved inside and the hall smelled of roast meat and woodsmoke. My stomach growled, but the bond kept me sharp. The brothers led me straight to the chambers.
Darius turned me to face him. His fingers traced the new claw marks on my shoulder. "You need cleaning again."
Kane poured water into the basin. Rylan pulled fresh clothes from the chest.
I let them strip the bloody clothes off me. The air hit my skin cold. I stood there while they washed the blood away. Gentle on the wounds, rough everywhere else. Hands on my hips, my breasts, between my thighs. The bond stirred, heat building low despite everything.
But this time I caught Darius's wrist before the heat could take over. "The witch said the child quickens fast. I already feel it. We need to prepare. My father won't stop. He'll send more."
Darius's eyes darkened. His palm settled over my belly beside mine. "Then we make Frostfang ready. And when the full moon comes, we decide how much blood we're willing to spill to keep what's ours."
Kane's hand joined his, scarred fingers gentle for once. Rylan pressed in from behind, grin against my shoulder. "Let them come. We'll send every last one back in pieces."
I closed my eyes, the bond humming warm and fierce between the four of us. The child fluttered again, small but real.
My father thought he'd thrown me away to die.
Instead he'd given me teeth, three feral kings, and something worth fighting for.
But as the brothers pulled me toward the bed, the bond buzzing with need and protectiveness, a new sound came through the window: distant horns from the southern ridges. More riders.
Shadowpine wasn't done.
And neither was I.