Chapter 176

Ronan

I crashed into them with a fury I hadn’t unleashed in years. My claws raked through the first Rogue before he even registered the attack. His body crumpled into the mud, and I spun, teeth bared, to meet the next.

The air reeked of blood and damp earth, of sweat and fear. And through it all, her.

She looked at me and something in my chest clenched hard enough to steal my breath. If I’d been even a heartbeat later, she would have been gone.

We fell into a rhythm without speaking. I moved left, she moved right. When I struck high, she slashed low.

For one savage moment, her back pressed to mine. I could feel her shaking, feel her trying to stand against the tide of her fatigue, and Gods help me, it anchored me.

But these weren’t ordinary Rogues. They didn’t fight like scattered dogs, they moved with coordination, circling, and herding. And when I caught the words take her alive, a cold dread sliced through me.

It confirmed what I already feared. Asher’s hand was in this. He had told Damon what I had done, and now he was trying to capture Damon’s mate.

I gutted another rogue and turned in time to see one twice my size barreling at me.

His fist caught my ribs, but I slammed my elbow back into his jaw. The crack echoed, satisfying and grim. He staggered. I pressed, claws tearing across his chest until he fell.

In the corner of my eye, Lila moved like a storm barely holding together. Her blade flashed, clumsy but effective, driven more by desperation than technique. But she held her own.

Blood streaked her face, her hair stuck in damp strands to her cheeks. And still she fought. She refused to let them take her.

I caught her glance and gave her a look that said: Keep fighting. Don’t give them what they came for.

We fought until finally the Rogues began to falter.

Then came the barked command. One I couldn’t make out in full, but the tone was enough. They disengaged in unison, slipping back into the mist.

I stayed crouched, chest rising and falling, every muscle tight. My eyes scanned the trees, waiting for the next wave.

When none came, my fury slowed, leaving only exhaustion carved deep into my bones.

From the corner of my eye I saw the knife slip from Lila’s hand. Her knees buckled. She staggered back against a tree trunk, breath ragged.

Blood smeared across her arms, her clothes, her hair. She looked so small in that moment, and the sight of it tore at me.

I crossed the space in three strides and caught her before she hit the ground. She sagged into me, cheek pressing against my chest. My heart hammered loud, betraying more than I was ready for it to.

My arms steadied her despite the tremors running through them.

For a breath, all I felt was the sharp relief that she was still alive, still here, still breathing against me. I had imagined finding her broken in the dirt too many times.

But the relief twisted fast into dread. She was injured. Badly.

Lila’s fingers curled weakly into my torn cloak, clinging as though she knew I might vanish if she let go.

I knew I shouldn’t have stayed away for so long, but it was harder to slip away than I had anticipated. And then when Damon asked me if I had betrayed him… I couldn’t lie to him again.

I knew Asher wasn’t wandering blind, he wanted Lila. If and when he discovered she carried Damon’s child, he would want her, too. He would use them as a weapon against Damon, against the kingdom. And nothing would stop him.

Damon and I weren’t the only ones in love with her, though. I had a feeling Asher – if he still had a heart – was taken with Lila too.

I pressed my face briefly into her hair, just long enough to steady myself. “You’re safe,” I whispered. My voice was ragged, though the words felt like a lie.

She might never be safe again.

I adjusted my grip, lifting her more fully against me. Her weight was too slight for someone carrying life inside her. Rage swelled again at the thought of how close I’d been to losing her.

Lila breathed against me, shallow and unsteady. Gratitude radiated off her, but suspicion lingered too. I could feel it in the way she tensed even as she clung to me.

Her body shivered against me, not from the cool air but from shock. I lowered my gaze, really taking in the state of her.

Blood soaked through her tunic at her shoulder and streaked down her arm. Her wrist bent at an angle that wasn’t right, and her breathing rattled in a way that made my stomach twist. She was losing too much blood, she’d fought past her body’s limit.

I crouched with her still in my arms, pressing two fingers to her throat. Her pulse beat weakly against my touch. Relief cut through me; it was still there, but it wasn’t steady.

“You stubborn little wolf,” I muttered, though my chest ached with something closer to fear than anger. I lightened my tone with a hint of sarcasm, as I had countless times to fellow warriors, “You’ve gotten yourself torn to pieces.”

She stirred faintly, but her eyes stayed closed. I shifted, tearing a strip from my ruined cloak and pressing it tight against the gash at her shoulder. She hissed at the pressure but didn’t fully wake.

The hideout I’d used before wasn’t far, but it wasn’t safe anymore. The Rogues knew where to look now. When they came back, they’d bring more numbers, and I couldn’t fight them off with her half-conscious in my arms.

My eyes swept the wood around us. The forest was too open here, too many ways for sound to carry, too many places an enemy could hide.

I needed stone around us, something that would muffle scent and sound alike. I thought of an old hunter’s lodge tucked into the cliffs, a ruin I’d passed when I first tracked her trail. Its entry had sagged but it still had a roof, and the cliffs offered cover from three sides.

It would have to do.

I shifted her carefully, sliding her higher into my arms. She weighed too little. My wolf growled at the feel of her bones under my grip, fury sparking again at how close I’d been to losing her.

The path to the cliffs would be rough, but I could make it if I kept to the riverbed, washing away the trail of our scent. It would slow the Rogues if Asher sent another hunting party.

I pressed my cheek briefly to her hair, drawing strength from her nearness. “Just hold on, Lila,” I whispered, my voice low and ragged. “I’ll get you somewhere safe. You don’t have to fight alone anymore tonight.”

Rising to my feet, I started toward the river, every muscle aching but my grip steady around her.

I would find shelter. I would mend her wounds. And if the rogues came again, they would have to tear me apart before they touched her.

Lila was safe for the moment, and I knew one thing with certainty: whatever it cost me – my loyalty, my honor, my life – I would do everything in my power to keep her that way.

I held her tighter and knew exactly where I belonged.