48

"He's losing a lot of blood!"

"Keep pressing this to his stomach."

"Where is Tas? He was meant to bring the car around."

"We're running out of time! We need to get him to a hospital, stat!"

"Not a hospital. We need to find the Captain."

"Then let's do that. Sure. The Captain is the easiest person to find on the planet."

"We don't need your snark now, Chay! Just get in the car and drive."

"Did you just hot-wire this?"

"Do you see anybody else who coulda dunnit?"

The onslaught of voices was painful to his ears. The words were rushed, garbled, tangling over each other like many octopus in a small fish tank.

Why did the car smell like fishy octopus? Why couldn't it smell like chips and calamari rings?

At the thought of hot chips his stomach growled, suddenly demanding food. He felt famished, a hollow feeling enveloping his gut and climbing up his esophagus.

"He's about to vomit!"

"Then give him a bag!"

"You're assuming there's one magically in the backseat of this rusted piece of junk metal?"

"So sorry I couldn't find a Rolls-Royce for his royal highness! Just use your shirt to catch it. I don't care."

His throat felt like it was burning; his mouth on fire. Something was shoved over his face, and he couldn't breathe. Why was Niko trying to suffocate him?

"Not like that, you dufus--you're smothering him!"

Rough hands grabbed at his face, his chest, his stomach--each tough feeling like sharp spikes against his skin. Every bump of the road and jostle of the car beneath him was torture. He'd never been in so much pain. He was supposed to be invulnerable, impervious, practically bulletproof... So why was he hurting so bad?

He was drowning. His body was on fire while his insides melted within, filling his lungs and choking the bronchioles of oxygen.

"Come on, brother, stay with us!" Chayton's voice cut through the fog in his mind.

"Hey, I got a hit!" Niko's voice was loud and excited, like a pup on his birthday. "Looks like the Captain was last seen in Fairfax, at a small convenience store. Traffic cameras have him heading to what appears to be an industrial estate. Take a left up here and head north on M1."

He could have told them that. All they had to do was ask. Only he and a few others knew where his father lived off the grid, secretly supporting himself and his comrades through aliases and a lucrative spare parts business.

It would be good to see his father again. Maybe he could help him find Leila.

No, wait...

Leila was dead, wasn't she? Shot through the chest while she was in his arms as they swam together in their favourite swimming hole. Her blood was warm against his own skin, caressing him now like a phantom of horror. The face of that monster, Alpha Bastien, still grinned at him from through the trees, inviting him to come and make his move.

He had, now all he needed to do was make the same move on the mastermind behind Leila's brutal murder--Lucifer.

He had the ruby, he just needed to use it to draw the devil out.

So why was it so hard to move, and enact his plans? Why was it so hard to even breathe?

If Leila was gone, why was he still fighting to live? Maybe he should just...just let death take him and end the pain. He'd see his soulmate again, feel her in his arms, hear her heartbeat against his chest.

So what was holding him back?

Savannah...

Her name was spoken more clearly than any of the muffled sounds around him. And accompanying it was her image, the smile on her face bright as she turned her head and looked back at him as they ran through the streets of Hierapolis together.

Don't give up yet, my son. I've got you.

He wouldn't give up. He may be just a rogue without land or title, but he was not a quitter. He would fight for everything that remained his in this world.

Savannah...

She needed him; he knew that as clearly as he knew his own name. The look of undisguised love and agony on her face as she was dragged away by the Saints was forever etched into his memory. She'd come back for him despite all his attempts at pushing her away. The least he could do was save her from the deadly hands of Lucifer.

But he was so tired. He'd been sapped of all energy, like a lightning bolt had ripped through his body and short-circuited every nerve and burnt every synapse.

His last thought before darkness consumed him was that he had to find Savannah before his world crashed down on him again.

___🖤🖤____

"That's what I keep telling you! Going after him would be suicide."

"But they have Willow, or do you need reminding of that?"

"And Cale. Can't forget Cale."

"What are these salad greens you speak of?"

Zion tried sitting up at the sound of his father's voice. It dragged him from the murky depths of pure blackness, and like a beacon of light it guided him to awareness.

"Whoa, boy, take it easy. You've lost a lot of blood, not to mention the poison still in your system."

"I'm okay," he protested, blinking his eyes and finding five pairs staring down at him inquisitively. "Just tell the vultures to back off, will ya? I'm not dead yet."

"You almost were."

Zion turned his head at the familiar voice. Persia stood close by, her arms crossed stiffly over her chest, her face set sternly almost as if rebuking him for going near death's door.

It wasn't his fault that Lucifer and the Hell's Saints had been one step ahead of him, just lying in wait for him to snatch the ruby. They'd laid the trap and had it set all along, but maybe ... Maybe if Zion had been smarter and used his head more, he wouldn't be in this mess, and Willow wouldn't be missing, and his mate—

"Savannah!" he gasped, turning wild eyes to his father. His chest tightened like a heavy fist was gripping his heart, squeezing it mercilessly. Still, he clutched at hope like a starving man.

"One step at a time, son." Victor frowned, pushing him back down. "You can't run off to save her until you're healed.

Looking around him, he noticed his father's staff kitchen had been turned into a makeshift medical room, bloodstained utensils and gauze lying on a baking tray nearby while water boiled on the stove. A clear bag was strung up on a pole beside him, a tube trailing down and connecting to his arm.

Tugging on the needle, he was surprised how much it stung his skin as he pulled it out. He wasn't used to this much surface pain. The bandages around his torso were also stained crimson, evidence of how weak he'd become from those poisoned darts the Saints had riddled him with. How long until the deadly cocktail filtered out of his bloodstream? How long until he could race out of here and hunt down the monsters that dared touch his second-chance mate?

"What were you thinking, stealing the ruby in broad daylight and surrounded by so much security?" Persia asked, her voice incredulous.

Ignoring her for now, Zion looked over at Chayton. "Tell me you have it."

His second in command nodded grimly. "But at what cost? Willow took a poisoned dart for you. If this is how badly it affects you, I can't imagine how she's feeling."

Guilt wracked him, knocking the limited oxygen from his lungs. Sharp pain like knives prodded his chest as he sucked in another breath, indicating multiple broken ribs.

"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left Niko behind. Maybe if we had more intel..."

"Now is not the time for 'what ifs'," Persia interrupted. "You need to tell me exactly what happened, so I can help."

He shook his head, looking at her closely and wondering how she'd found them. It was one thing for Niko to work his magic and find Victor's location. But for the Princess of Vinlarhk to follow them here, it probably meant their secret hideout was severely compromised. "This isn't your fight. Our deal is finished. You can go now."

Persia rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Are you serious? You really mustn't know what my brother is capable of if you're just so happy to send me home. You need me. Now more than ever."

"Your brother?" Zion frowned, confused. Maybe it was the poison in his body, or the knocks to his head that made him feel so disoriented, but normally he'd be able to make sense of Persia's riddles. "You wanted the trade deal between our nations vetoed. With Alistair gone, no one will step up to push it with your province. What else is there that you want from me?"

"You don't get it, do you? I guess I'll be lenient given your current condition," she waved a hand at his bruised and weakened body. "I want to protect you. My brother, Parthia, has been after the Lava Mount Ruby for months. I'd bet my crown he hired the Hell's Saints to track you, try and kill you, or at the very least take the ruby before you could. Seeing as how brilliantly you stood in his way, he's taken Savannah instead. He knows how highly you value her, and would do anything to get her back."

"You're damn right," Zion growled. "I'd do anything, including ripping his head off," he threatened, forgetting momentarily they were now talking about the crown Prince of Vinlarhk. He was too angry to care about diplomacy. "But why would your brother want me dead? I'd gladly give him all the rubies in the world if he just gave me Savannah back. Why is he doing this?"

"He doesn't really want the ruby." Persia shook her head, frowning as she chewed on her lower lip. "It's you he wants. Parthia wants to eliminate you from the picture once and for all since you're a threat to his throne."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Zion pondered this. His head was pounding like it was about to split open. His hands and feet felt numb while the rest of his body crawled with something insidious. He couldn't wait to rip the guts out of whoever concocted this dastardly poison.

Bracing his hands on the wooden table beneath him, he fought off a wave of dizziness. "I'm just a rogue. I know I have Alpha heritage, but I don't have land, territory, a pack, or anything he'd want. Why is a royal Prince of Vinlarhk bothering himself with someone like me? I've never met him in my life, let alone threatened him."

Persia glanced sharply at Victor, who looked down and shifted his weight. The nervous actions caused Zion to sit up despite Chayton's efforts of keeping him down.

"What's going on?" he demanded, staring at his father.

"You haven't told him?" Persia asked Victor, talking over Zion and ignoring him like he wasn't even in the room.

"It was never the right time. Besides, it didn't change anything," Victor responded hotly, his eyes blazing, his shoulders pushing back and once more embodying the dominance Zion knew so well.

"Change what? What aren't you telling me?" Zion pushed, desperate to uncover what perhaps was the key to this sordid predicament.

Persia took a deep breath when Victor didn't say anything more. Quickly releasing it, she explained in a few short words. "You're our older brother."

Zion stood, rising so he looked down upon Persia so he could regard her more closely. Her lips were a straight line, her gaze direct as though she wasn't lying. But nevertheless, he threw his head back and laughed anyway. Clutching his broken ribs, he sank back down to the table he'd been laid upon and settled once more.

"Hilarious. Good to know whatever I'm high on is causing hallucinations. I swore you just said I was your brother." He waved his hand airily before laying it across his eyes. The bright lights bothered him, compounding his headache.

"I'm telling the truth. Don't you feel the connection?" Persia asked, laying her hand on his arm and gripping it lightly.

Sparks sizzled across his skin, a tingling vibration of familiarity. Refusing to meet her probing eyes, he stared at the ceiling and contemplated this. He had felt something with Persia the moment they first met in Hierapolis. He'd thought she was just another wannabe thief, clumsy and hapless. But despite this low first impression, he couldn't ignore the awareness of her soul; the scent of pistachios and cardamom that resonated well with his wolf; the comfortable bond that quickly grew while in her presence. "I thought it was just some weird chemical imbalance. I already had a mate, so whatever I felt with you was just fate messing with us."

"It's a sibling bond. Sometimes even stronger than a mate bond."

"But how is this possible? My mother was just an Alpha—"

He sat up again, realisation crashing in on him.

"Not just an Alpha, I'm afraid," Victor spoke up, his tone almost sad.

Zion suddenly felt anger well up inside him, and he faced his dad. "You screwed the Queen of Vinlarhk?"

"I wouldn't say it so crassly. She was my mate!" Victor defended, his shoulders once more shrinking in on themselves as though this physically pained him to talk about.

"That's right. You told me that. But why... Why couldn't you tell me exactly who she was? If I'm honestly her son, I had a right to know!"

"What would it have changed? Nothing! She didn't want anything to do with us, so knowing that such a powerful and influential woman rejected us...would only..." his voice cracked, "only hurt you even more. I'm sorry, son." Victor turned away, lifting a hand to cover his face and mask the emotion he was feeling.

"Dad, that's not... not what I meant." Pushing himself once more to his feet, Zion gripped his father's shoulder and tugged him around. Victor turned, and was immediately enveloped in his son's arms. "I'm the one who's sorry. I know you've only ever wanted to protect me. And I'm grateful, honestly I am. But now this is happening. Her next son is coming after me. He's already taken my mate...the other half of my heart. I won't let him take anything more from me. From us." He knew how much Victor adored Leila, and how she was like a natural born daughter to him. Victor was almost as broken as Zion when she was murdered.

Hastily wiping a work-roughed hand over his face, Victor sniffed back the tears he refused to let fall. "Then let's go get that monster."

"Agreed. So where is he?" Zion turned to Persia, suddenly realising that while Leila's blood cried for revenge, it would mean killing Persia's brother. His brother.

"I have a few ideas."

"Only ideas!?" Chayton interrupted abruptly, stepping forward and trying not to look too long at Zion. He was clearly affected by the news that Zion was the firstborn son of a Queen. He'd known he was an Alpha, felt and respected the dominance that emanated from him the moment they'd met, but this title and rank of Prince was a completely new ball game.

"In case you haven't realised by now, my brother is cunning and secretive. You think he'd share with me where his evil lair is? Or how he plans to kill off his enemies one by one until no one stands in his way? No. Of course not." Persia stood proudly and admonished them with an authoritative stance. "I've had to figure it out for myself. While our advisors and governors fawned over him, pandering to his every request and demand with obsequiousness, I've had to hide in the shadows and uncover his true nature. So I'm sorry I don't just have a handbook on How to stop evil brothers 101."

"Damn, that would be a bestseller," Tas remarked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and watching the drama unfold with a cup of tea.

Victor's comrades, Rivet and Grinder, brought over a bowl of popcorn and sat with Tas on the couch. Darek and Joe sat on chairs nearby, wisely figuring it was best to keep quiet while amongst these powerful deadly wolves.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Chayton glared at Tas. "We're talking serious matters here, in case you didn't notice."

"Oh, I understand how serious it is. Afterall, it's my twin that betrayed Niko and Savannah. Princess, you should add that to your book— How to deal with an evil twin." Tas frowned darkly as he nodded to Persia, his fists clenching and unclenching as though he ached to wring Talei's neck.

"We can figure that out later. Right now, we need to find--"

"Willow! What did you let happen to her, you thoughtless brute?" The door burst open and admitted Ethan. The young wolf looked like he'd run through the night, with his dirty blonde hair sticking up at all angles and his skin slick with sweat. Gasping for air, he looked ready to collapse into a chair, but instead he ran straight for Zion and raised his fist.

"Don't even think about it," Persia commanded, stepping in his way and wrestling him down.

Zion was shocked at her quick response to defend him. It wasn't so long ago she had been the one to poison him with allergenic moth dust. Seems she had been on his side all along.

"I need to know what happened to my mate! If you led her to her death, I will never forgive you!" Ethan protested weakly, his eyes blazing with fury while his body panted in exertion.

"Save your breath, pup," Victor chided him, then offered a glass of water. "What we really want to know is how did you find us?" Turning a dark glare on Niko, the detective straightened his back as if refusing to cower in guilt.

"I asked Niko to keep me in the loop since Willow insisted on giving me the cold shoulder. When I heard what happened last night, I came here as fast as I could. I wanted to kill this bastard, but looks like someone almost beat me to it," he grumbled, looking at Zion's bandages pointedly.

"Watch your mouth! No one calls my son a bastard," Victor thundered.

"It was a figure of speech—"

"And one more thing: if anyone dares to hurt my son in payback for whatever he's done, you'll have to go through me!"

"Fine, fine, we get it," Ethan muttered, lowering his neck in submission. He felt the overwhelming dominance in the room, and didn't have the strength to bother fighting it.

"Okay, I think I may know where Luci--I mean, Prince Parthia might have taken Savannah and Willow. And Cale," Niko told them all while continuing to tap away on his laptop. Ethan looked like he was about to faint at the mention of Prince.

"Did you trace the Saints?" Zion came over to look at his work.

"Not exactly," Niko hedged, handing him his phone.

Zion went quiet, studying the image on the screen intently. His nostrils flared, his grip on the device tightening until it cracked under his strength.

"Good thing that was your phone," Niko muttered wryly.

"What is it?" Victor asked, swiftly rescuing the phone from his son's hand. "Oh my... isn't that..?"

"My mate? Yes," Zion growled menacingly.

"Who's the man she's with?"

"Her Beta Justin. I knew I should have killed him when I had the chance."

"Okay, no time for theatrics. Perhaps there's a perfectly good explanation," Chayton suggested after grabbing the phone and viewing the image for himself. He whistling lowly under his breath.

"The only good explanation for kissing someone is that you care about them deeply, right?" Zion glared at Chayton for daring to minimise the meaning of this photo. It was blurry, with terrible lighting as it was taken in the middle of the night in a dark forest, but the scene was clear.

How could Savannah betray him like this? Sure, he recognised he'd left her in a terrible position after accidentally shooting Lord Alistair. He hadn't meant to murder the lord of Council, but he'd done it to protect Savannah from a very dangerous man. He'd seen how horrified she was, and disappointed in him, but he hadn't expected her to run straight back home and find comfort in the arms of her Beta. Seeing this image of her kissing him was a solid gut punch.

"The curse. It's coming true," he mumbled, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over him. He sat down heavily on the edge of the table.

"Curse? What curse? Can someone please bring us up to speed on this? Y'all have left us in the dark long enough!" Rivet demanded, shaking his fist at Victor.

"I haven't told you because it doesn't concern you," the Captain replied gruffly.

"Dad, it's okay," Zion told him gently. His calm demeanor was almost scary as his eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. "One of our ancestors, many generations ago, was cursed for rejecting her Alpha mate. She never found peace, and instead died of a broken heart years after her mate's death. So ever since, our family line has been cursed to be rejected by our Alpha mate. One child in every generation would meet their mate and fall in love, only to be thrown out, rejected, and left broken-hearted. I thought I would be spared the pain of the curse, since Leila was my mate and she wasn't an Alpha.

But then I met Savannah, and Dad reminded me of the curse. I've been hoping ever since that Savannah would be different, that she really did care about me. But now," he paused, sighing deeply and staring absently at his hands. "Now I'm beginning to think there's nothing I can do."

Silence followed his words, as everyone sat stunned by the revelation of the ancient curse. There were rumours about it, legends told around campfires. But no one, except those affected by it, really knew it was true.

"So, I just finished tracing the text." Niko was the first to break the silence. "It came from Esztera Pack territory, just south of the Vinn border. There's an old military base nestled at the foot of the mountains near the outskirts of Mirani."

"Mirani City?" Victor interjected.

"Yep. Why?"

"It's...nothing..."

Zion looked at his father and knew it wasn't just nothing, but he didn't have the time to question him. "Alright, let's go." He stood, grabbing his jacket which hung from a nearby chair.

"It's about time! I'll just message--"

Ethan's phone was swatted from his hands, and Zion loomed over him. "Who were you just about to message? Hm?"

"T-t-" Ethan couldn't help stuttering under the heated glare the rogue Alpha was giving him.

"Tori? Is that what you were going to say?"

"Yes, Tori. You wanna know why? Because if anyone can help me get Willow back, it's her. I've heard how ruthless the Saints can be, so I'm not leaving anything up to chance. And especially not your goons." Ethan pushed himself to his feet, clenching his fists and glaring at Tas and Chayton. "They nearly got me disqualified during the Rogue Wars and I still haven't—"

"Rogue wars?" Darek's eyes widened in fright. "That's it. You people are crazy! I'm outta here—"

"Sit back down, you chicken." Rivet grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him back onto the couch.

"So as I was saying..."

"You're not telling Tori anything," Zion interrupted Ethan. He was still a bit dizzy, but adrenaline and the need to be close to his mate provided him with the strength he needed.

"Hey! You're not my boss. I'm a part of Tori's gang, so you have no right to tell me what I can and can't do."

"Actually, I do." Zion smirked, standing straighter and puffing his chest out a little. "Not only am I an Alpha, but the crown Prince of Vinlarhk, so I do have authority over you!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Zion felt disgusted by them. He never wanted to be anybody special, least of all the Prince of an affluent and resourceful province. He'd only ever wanted to keep his family safe, providing for them by any means necessary. He was sick of the greed that wealth and position bred in highly-ranked wolves. He'd never wanted that power or esteem for himself, only the respect anybody deserved. Using this newly discovered title over those around now felt like betraying his own ethics.

"That's low, man. Real low." Ethan shook his head and growled darkly. "I should really sock you good—"

"Don't push it," Chayton warned, grabbing the fist that was aimed for Zion's head. "He's under a lot of stress right now. I get you're hurting, but so is he. And you don't want to see what he's capable of when he snaps."

Pulling in a deep lungful of air, Ethan let it out slowly. "I take it you know what that's like first hand?"

Chayton nodded sadly. "When his mate was killed. You ever wondered how he earned the 'silver rogue' reputation?"

"I guess not."

"Good. That's what I thought." Chayton dropped the young rogue's fist, confident he wouldn't try anything stupid.

Zion pushed past them all and yanked the back door open. "You!" he exclaimed, coming face to face with Justin.

The Beta's hand was outstretched to open the door. "You!" Justin echoed, his face twisting with rage. But before he could pull his fist back in preparation to punch Zion, the rogue Alpha already had his fist swinging.

Justin went down immediately, the sound of his jaw cracking from the impact.