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In the split second after the sound, I watched the attacker with the silver bullet collapse, blood blooming from his chest.
I twisted around to see Lysandra in the doorway, her gun still raised eyes cold and focused. Behind her stood Kaius, his face a mask of such terrifying rage that I barely recognized him.
What followed happened so quickly I could hardly process it. Kaius moved with bestial speed, tearing into the attackers with savage efficiency. Frost and several other soldiers poured in after him, engaging the remaining assailants.
Blood sprayed across the walls. Screams filled the air. I remained frozen on my knees, watching the slaughter unfold around me.
“Frost, take her away.” Kaius’s command cut through the chaos, his voice thick with barely controlled fury.
Frost was at my side instantly, helping me to my feet and guiding me through the carnage toward the door. I caught a glimpse of Kaius as we passed–his hands stained red, his eyes blazing amber like molten gold, his face spattered with blood that wasn’t his
own.
Frost led me swiftly through the corridors to another room. A maid was inside, turning down the sheets. She gaped at my disheveled
state.
“You. Get out.” Frost’s tone allowed no argument, and the girl scurried away.
Once the door closed behind her, Frost guided me to sit on the edge of the bed. His face was tight with concern as he knelt before
- me.
“What did they do to you? Are you hurt?” His eyes searched me for injuries.
“No, I am not. They didn’t do anything; you all arrived in time.” My voice sounded distant to my own ears, shock distorting my perception.
“Tell me everything that happened.”
I took a shaky breath. “Someone came in… I had thought it was Kaius, but it wasn’t. I knew something was wrong, and so I went to hide in the bathroom. They broke the locks, and they found me, the guy… I had seen him before.”
“That’s Vespasian,” Frost supplied, his jaw tightening.
The name meant nothing to me, but Frost’s reaction told me he knew the man. “Vespasian, he had threatened to… he wanted to rape me, Frost.” The words caught in my throat.
Frost’s expression darkened with fury, his hands gently squeezing mine. “You are fine now, and they will pay–all of them. I should have been there.”
“It wasn’t your fault. They said something about a false trail.” I remembered the attackers mentioning Kaius was far away, following false information.
“Yes, we got some news that some of the pack storages and warehouses would be robbed; we had been on our way there when Lysandra told us that she believed it was only a ploy to make us leave the pack. We’ve been tracking signs of rebellion within the pack for weeks now.”
This new information startled me. “Has this been what’s been keeping you busy?”
“Partly, yes, and that’s why I was worried when I couldn’t find you earlier when you went to pay your mother a visit.”
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I processed this, still confused about Lysandra’s role. “Lysandra had spected this?”
Strange, right? I hadn’t expected that she of all people, would care, Frost’s tone suggested he shared my skepticism about Lysandra’s motives.
“Earlier, I suspected she had a hand in this.” The admission came easily; after all, she’d made her dislike for me clear during our
confrontation.
“That wouldn’t be surprising to me either. Kaius seems to trust her though.”
Oh, Kaius trusted Lysandra. How shocking. What else was new in this bizarre nightmare I was living?
The cynical thoughts evaporated as my body suddenly began to shake. “I hav
“I thought I would die.”
been so afraid, Frost,” I confessed, my voice breaking.
His expression softened. “Don’t worry, Elowen; no one in this pack would ever attempt to touch you without your permission ever again. At least not after the example Kaius sets.”
There was a dark promise in those words that sent a chill through me. What exactly was Kaius doing to the surviving attackers?
We sat in silence for a while, Frost allowing me time to collect myself. Eventually, he rose and checked the time.
“It is time,” he announced.
“Time, for what?” I asked, unease creeping through me.
His expression was solemn. “The Ravenhollow Pack is known for their cruelty and feared for their bloodlust. But we don’t kill innocent people; only those who cross us, and tonight, one of our own had done just that, a lesson would be shared with the whole pack.”
My stomach tightened. “What would Kaius do to them?”
“You will see.” His tone was neutral, but something in his eyes warned
me
Dread pooled in my stomach. “Frost… they won’t die, right?”
to
prepare myself.
“Elowen, you are about to see another part of Kaius, one you’ve heard about but never bear in mind, they wanted you dead.”
cen,
it
is
a
part of us all, but you should
I swallowed hard, conflicted. Yes, they had tried to kill me. Yes, they deserved punishment. But the way Frost spoke sent shivers down my spine.
“Let’s go,” he said, extending his hand.
“Where are we going?” I asked, taking his hand and rising unsteadily to my feet.
“The hall, but it’s commonly known as the Judgement Grounds.”
The name alone was ominous. I followed Frost through the corridors, noticing how pack members hurried in the same direction, their faces tense with anticipation. Whatever was about to happen, it seemed the entire pack would witness it.
The hall was already crowded when we arrived. Frost guided me to a position near the front, where I would have an unobstructed view of whatever was to come. The murmuring crowd parted for us, eyes wide as they took in my presence.
My gaze fell on the center of the hall, where the surviving attackers knelt in a row. I gasped, unprepared for the sight. Six men–all bloodied, all bearing signs of brutal beatings. Some were missing fingers, one was missing an ear, another seemed to have had his
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eye gouged out. They knelt in growing pools of their own blood, trembling with fear or pain or both.
“They were more than six,” I whispered to Frost, remembering the crowd of at least ten who had surrounded me,
“Kaius wanted them breathing at least so he could use them as examples for others, but I guess he slipped.” The casual way he referenced Kaius killing four of my attackers sent another chill through mo“!
Movement in the crowd caught my eye. My mother stood among the spe across the distance, and I read her expression clearly: I told
you so.
her
face
a mask of stoic resignation. Our eyes met
I tore my gaze away, only to find Lysandra on the opposite side of the hall. She stood with perfec
composure, her posture relaxed as she watched the proceedings. Despite firing the shot that had saved my life, she appeared completely untouched by the violence -no disheveled clothing, no blood spatter, not even a hair out of place. Nothing in her demeanor suggested she’d been involved in the savage fighting that had followed.
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