Awakening The Silver Wolf

DARIUS POV 

The heavy air of the night clung to my skin as we approached the border. 

Isabelle, still bruised and battered from Mia's interrogation, shuffled in front of me. Her hands were trembling slightly, and though she kept her gaze fixed ahead, I could tell she was trying to suppress the fear bubbling beneath the surface. But that didn't matter anymore. We were close.

Dalian and Mia flanked her, their eyes scanning the horizon, ever alert. The men I'd brought with me were scattered around the perimeter, watching for any movement, any sign that Rowan's pack had caught wind of our approach.

"Don't do anything stupid, Isabelle," I warned. "Take down the ward quietly."

She nodded shakily before she raised her hands, muttering under her breath. The air around her seemed to warp, a subtle flicker of light shimmering in the distance. I felt the hum of magic in my skin. It felt like something shifting beneath the surface, a barrier dissolving, like a dam giving way to the rushing force of a river.

The ward was gone.

I exhaled sharply, my jaw tightening with the realization that we were about to walk straight into enemy territory. 

My last foray into this land was fueled by desperation, but now I had something precious to protect. That precious thing was Ravenna.

I nodded to one of my men and he stepped forward and took Isabelle away. 

"Give the signal to others to move," I commanded before I joined Mia and Dalian. 

Before we could step into the territory, a pair of guards emerged from the trees. They were alert—sharp-eyed, weapons drawn.

We had been expecting them. 

Dalian moved like a predator unleashed. 

His body blurred as he tore through the night, a flash of silver hair and darkness. 

He was on the first guard before the man could raise his weapon, his claws sinking deep into the guard's chest, tearing through flesh and bone with a sickening crunch. 

The man's scream was cut short as Dalian yanked him off the ground, his body rag-dolling lifelessly as Dalian slammed him into the dirt, cracking his skull open like a ripe melon.

Mia was right behind him, her eyes gleaming with fury. 

She didn't wait. 

She dove at the second guard, her fist landing with a sickening crack against his jaw. His head whipped to the side, teeth flying from his mouth. 

He tried to bring up his gun, but Mia was already on top of him, her knee driving into his stomach with a force that knocked the wind out of him. She didn't give him a chance to recover.

Her claws, sharper than any blade, tore through his gut, ripping his insides out in one savage movement. Blood sprayed from the wound, coating Mia's face and chest as she grinned down at the man's twitching form. The guard's eyes were wide with shock and terror as he crumpled to the ground, blood pooling around him.

I took a step forward, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline surge through me. The first two were dead. But that wasn't enough. I needed more. I needed them all to feel it—the weight of our vengeance, of our fury. 

The sound of more footsteps reached my ears, louder this time. But we were already moving. The others had been alerted, no doubt. They would come for us. But they wouldn't make it.

Stefan, the biggest of my men, grinned and cracked his knuckles. 

His massive frame moved with surprising speed. He tore into the third guard like a bear on a hunt, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground. 

The guard struggled, but it was futile. Stefan squeezed, his fingers digging into the man's windpipe until he couldn't breathe anymore. The guard's eyes bulged, blood rushing to his face as he tried to scream, but no sound came out. With a sickening pop, Stefan snapped his neck, the body dropping lifelessly to the ground.

I turned to Mia and Dalian. I didn't need to speak before they understood. 

"Half of you come with me while the other half stay here," I shouted as we ran. 

Rowan would be at his pack house and that was where Ravenna was. I already knew the landscape from the first time I attacked this place so I knew a shortcut to the packhouse. 

My men were a blur around me as we raced to the house. They haven't shifted yet but they will. We didn't come across anybody but we knew they already knew about our presence. 

We burst through the trees and the pack house came into view. 

"Half of you surround it. No one should come in or out. The remaining half are coming inside with me." 

Dalian and Mia followed me into the packhouse, killing anybody that stood in our way. I shot a man as he ran towards me with his sword raised. 

"Kill another who stands in your way," I commanded, my voice hard. "No children." 

No matter how evil the world painted me I would never kill the innocent. And children were the only innocents in this pack. I'm sure the rest of this pack knew what Rowan was doing. And they were okay with it. They stood by it. They didn't deserve my mercy.

They were going to see that savage, heartless, bastard they all talked about today. 

"Dalian go down to the cell," I said as I climbed the stairs. "Mia, take the second floor. I'll take the up. The rest split into three and follow each of us." 

Ten of my men followed me into an elevator and up to the top floor. When the door opened a shot went off. One of my men fell beside me.

I looked at the three people who stood in front of the elevator—Lilith, the guy I assumed was Joseph, and another woman. I eyed Lilith. "You should have killed me first." 

Her upper lips lifted into a snarl. "Rowan wants the honor of killing you himself."

I smiled. "Ah." Fools. 

Before any of them could blink, I attacked. 

My gun was already raised, and in a blink, I shot the woman standing beside her right between the eyes. Her body crumpled to the floor in a sickening heap, the blood pooling beneath her.

Joseph barely had time to pull the trigger. My men were on him in seconds, daggers flying at him. 

Lilith blinked down at Joseph as he fell. I took advantage of her distraction. I lunged at her, grabbed her wrist mid-swing, and the shot rang out, the bullet embedding itself in my hand. The pain was a fleeting thing—just fuel for the fire.

I twisted her arm until I heard the bone snap. She let out a sharp gasp, eyes wide with terror as she tried to break free.

I slammed her into the wall with enough force to rattle the structure, her head striking the drywall. Her body went limp, but she tried to gasp for air, trying to speak.

"She once saw you as a friend," I snarl. 

With a brutal motion, I snapped her neck. The crack was deafening. She slumped into my grip, her body lifeless.

I let her fall to the floor with a thud.

"Clear the rest of this floor," I growled, voice low and feral. "Move fast. Take no prisoners."

My men surged forward, tearing through the rooms, clearing the way for us. I didn't waste another second. 

I tore down the hall, going from room to room, growing impatient with each empty room. But then a scent made me stop. I nearly dropped to my knees when I registered who the scent belonged to.

Ravenna. 

I ran at full speed toward the end of the hall and tore down a door where the scent was coming from.

The sight I saw nearly made my heart stop. 

Ravenna was there, her back to Rowan's chest. He had his hand around her neck and a gun pressed to her temple.