Six days had become five.
And the witch's mark on my chest burned hotter than ever, like she was laughing while she watched the clock run out.
I woke before the horns sounded again, already bent over the basin, stomach emptying what little I'd ate the previous night. Darius held my hair back caressing me without a word. Kane pushed a cup of water into my hand to rinse. Rylan paced by the window, axe in his grip, staring south like he could will my father's army to disappear.
"Enough," I rasped, wiping my mouth. "We're not doing another dawn scrap on the ridge. He's bleeding us dry with these little hits and we're letting him."
Darius's palm settled low on my belly, warm and steady. The flutter answered, stronger this morning. "Then we change the game. Tonight. Small team. We go for your father directly."
I looked up at the three of them. The bond pushed their fear and that new, sharp protectiveness straight into my chest. Kane's jaw was locked so tight I could see the muscle jump. Rylan's grin was gone.
"You're carrying our child," Kane said quietly. "You stay behind the walls."
"Like hell I would." I stood, my legs still shaky but the latent alpha blood pushing back hard against the sickness. "He framed me, beat me, shipped me north in chains. He thinks the unborn child makes me weak. I want to look him in the eye when I prove him wrong."
They didn't argue this time. The bond hummed tighter, all three of them feeling the same mix of rage and terror. We ate fast, dressed faster, and went to meet the beta in the war room while the pack still slept.
* * * * * * *
By midday the plan was set. Thirty wolves for the night raid. Hit the heart of my father's camp and end this before the witch's deadline. I would ride with them, but in the middle where the brothers could close around me if it went bad.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of weapons checks and quiet tension. My nausea came in waves, but the flutter in my belly kept me grounded. Every kick reminded me what we were fighting for.
We left after dark, cloaks dark, horses' hooves wrapped in cloth. Snow fell soft and silent, muffling everything. The bond pulsed within us like iron, feeding me Darius's cold focus, Kane's quiet readiness, Rylan's reckless hunger. My hand never left my belly.
We reached the ridge overlook just after midnight. The Shadowpine camp sprawled below us, fires low, sentries moving lazy. I saw my father's tent sat dead center, his banner limp in the snow.
Darius gave the signal. We moved down like shadows.
The fight was fast and ugly, but different this time. No full charge. Just blades in the dark. I stayed in the middle like I promised, knife out, dropping two sentries who got too close. The mark on my chest burned, but the latent alpha blood burned hotter. I felt the child kick hard when I drove my blade into the third guard's throat.
We reached the tent.
My father stepped out before we could cut the flaps, two betas at his sides, silver chain dangling from his fist like a trophy.
"Elena," he said, voice flat. "You're still alive and still spreading your legs for these cursed dogs. Hand over the brat when it comes and I'll let your kings live. Refuse and I burn Frostfang with the witch's help. She already sent word. She wants the child. I want you in chains. We both win."
The bond exploded in my head. Darius growled low. Kane's knife was out. Rylan's claws punched through his fingertips.
I stepped forward before any of them could move. The nausea was gone. All I felt was cold, bright rage.
"You threw me away once," I said. "You don't get to bargain for what's mine now."
I charged towards him and drove my knife straight into his shoulder before he could raise the chain. He staggered. His betas lunged but my Alphas brothers tore into them in a heartbeat.
My father looked at me, his eyes wide with something I'd never seen before. Fear.
We didn't kill him. Not yet. We left him bleeding in the snow with a message carved into his banner: five days left.
We rode back hard, snow flying under hooves. My chest burned. The mark felt like it was cracking open. The child kicked like it was celebrating.
By the time we reached Frostfang the pack was waiting. They cheered when they saw us. I rode between the brothers, blood on my hands again, but this time it felt like the beginning of the end.
Inside the chambers Darius pulled me close, forehead against mine. "Five days. We end the witch next."
Kane's hand joined his on my belly. Rylan pressed in from behind.
The bond hummed fierce and warm.
Five days.
We had five days to make the North remember who the hell we were now.
And I planned to use every single one of them.
[The weeks blurred into one long stretch of preparation…]