Knotted By The Three Feral Alphas

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: You’re Not Doing This Alone

I looked out over the southern ridges. The snow was thinning, revealing black rock and the faint green of early spring pushing through. My father was still out there, regrouping, promising gold for my daughter’s life. The witch’s shadow waited for the next full moon. And now my own pack was starting to weigh the price of keeping us alive.

"We don’t wait for them to come to us," I said. "We change the guard schedule every night. No one outside the four of us knows the real pattern. And we start training the women and older pups to fight. If my father wants to use fear, we give them something better to hold on to."

Darius nodded once. Kane, who had been silent behind us, spoke for the first time. "I’ll handle the training. Rylan can take the scouts south and start burning those hidden supply lines."

Rylan’s grin was sharp when he joined us. "Finally. I was getting bored watching the snow melt."

We spent the rest of the day in the war room, maps spread across the table, Lila sleeping in a basket beside me. I marked the new guard routes myself, changing them every few hours so even the brothers had to check with me before moving. The pack watched from the edges of the hall, some nodding in approval, others exchanging uneasy glances. The beta who had questioned me before stood near the door, arms crossed, but he didn’t speak against the plan.

That night in the chambers the brothers were quiet. Darius sat by the fire, sharpening his blade with slow, deliberate strokes. Kane leaned against the wall, watching Lila sleep in the cradle. Rylan paced, axe in hand, but his eyes kept drifting to the window.

I sat on the bed, rubbing the faint scar on my chest. The mark was still there, a reminder that the curse was weakened but not gone. The next full moon was seven days away now, and I could already feel the bond tightening, the wolves pacing closer to the surface.

Lila stirred in the cradle and let out a small cry. I lifted her and held her against my chest. She settled immediately, her tiny hand curling into my tunic. The bond hummed between the four of us, fierce and protective, but I could feel the strain underneath it. The curse was still testing them. My father was still coming. And now someone inside these walls was willing to take gold for my daughter’s life.

Darius looked up from the blade. "We’ll find the ones who are listening to him. We’ll cut them out before they can act."

I nodded, but the words felt heavy. "We have to. Because if we don’t, the next time the moon rises, it won’t just be the curse we’re fighting. It’ll be our own people turning on us."

Kane crossed the room and rested his scarred hand on my shoulder. "Then we make sure they understand what happens when they do."

Rylan stopped pacing and looked at Lila in my arms. His voice was low. "She’s the reason we’re still here. We don’t let anyone forget that."

The fire crackled low. Outside the window the moon was already climbing, not full yet but getting closer. I held my daughter tighter and felt the bond wrap around the four of us like iron.

Seven days.

We had seven days until the next full moon.

And somewhere inside these walls, someone was already sharpening a knife for my child.

I pressed a kiss to Lila’s dark hair and whispered against her skin.

"They’ll have to go through all of us first."

The wind howled outside, cold and sharp.

Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled back — not one of ours.

I stayed by the window long after the brothers had gone to their own beds, Lila warm and heavy against my chest. Her breathing was steady, little puffs of air against my skin, but I couldn’t settle. The distant howl lingered in my ears, low and wrong, like it knew exactly where we were. I pressed my lips to the top of her dark hair and whispered the same promise again, softer this time.

"They’ll have to go through all of us first."

The keep was quiet, but the quiet felt wrong. Too still. I could hear the guards changing shift on the wall, boots scraping stone, the low murmur of voices. Somewhere below, a door creaked open and shut. Normal sounds. But my skin prickled anyway.

I turned away from the window and carried Lila back to the big bed. Darius was already there, lying on his back with one arm thrown over his eyes. Kane sat on the edge, sharpening the same knife he had sharpened earlier. Rylan paced near the hearth, axe propped against the wall within easy reach. None of them were sleeping.

Darius lowered his arm when he heard me. "You feel it too."

I nodded and eased Lila down between us. She stirred, made a small discontented sound, then settled again when my hand rested on her back. "The howl. It wasn’t a scout. It was a signal."

Kane’s blade paused mid-stroke. "Torin is dead in the cells. We made sure of that. But someone else is still talking to your father. Someone inside these walls."

Rylan stopped pacing. "Then we find him before the full moon. Seven days. That’s all we have before the curse starts pushing harder. I can feel it already."

I felt it too. The bond was tighter tonight, the wolves closer to the surface. Darius’s eyes had that faint ice-blue glow when the firelight caught them. Kane’s knuckles were white around the knife hilt. Rylan’s grin had an edge that wasn’t laughter.

I lay down beside Lila and stared at the ceiling beams. "We change the guard rotation again at dawn. No one outside this room knows the new pattern. And we start checking every wolf who leaves the walls. If my father is paying gold for my daughter’s life, someone is stupid enough to take it."

Darius rolled onto his side, his hand finding mine over Lila’s small body. "You’re not doing this alone."

"I know," I said. "But I’m not hiding either. The pack needs to see me out there. They need to see all of us together."

The night passed in fits. Lila woke twice to nurse. Each time I held her close and felt the bond wrap tighter around the four of us, fierce and protective, but the shadow of the curse was thicker now, pressing against the edges like something alive. By the time the sky lightened, I was already dressed and ready.

We took breakfast in the war room. Bread, dried meat, weak tea. Lila sat in a basket on the table, chewing on a soft leather strip Rylan had knotted for her. The brothers ate in silence while I marked the new guard routes on the map.

A knock sounded. Kane opened the door. The beta who had questioned me more than once stood there, face grim.

"My queen. One of the night guards is missing. We found blood on the eastern wall. No body. Just blood and a piece of Shadowpine cloth pinned to the stone with a knife."

The room went still.

I stood slowly. Lila made a small sound in the basket, but I kept my voice calm. "Show me."

The eastern wall was slick with melting snow. The blood was dark against the stone, already freezing at the edges. The Shadowpine cloth was pinned high, the knife driven deep. On the cloth was a single word scratched in charcoal.

"SOON." freēwēbnovel.com

Darius pulled the knife free and turned it over in his hand. "One of ours is dead. Or taken. And whoever did this knew exactly where to leave the message."

Kane crouched beside the blood. "Fresh. Last few hours. The guard was alone on this section."

Rylan’s voice was low. "Someone inside helped them. Someone who knew the old rotation before we changed it."

I looked out over the ridges. The snow was thinning faster now, revealing the black rock and the faint green of new growth pushing through. Spring was coming, but my father wasn’t waiting for it. He was already here, inside our walls, buying loyalty with gold and fear.

Lila fussed in the sling I had strapped on before we left the chambers. I rocked her gently while the bond tightened in my chest. The brothers closed in around me without a word, their bodies shielding us from the wind and from whatever was watching from the trees below.

"We find the traitor today," I said. "And when we do, we make an example. The pack needs to see what happens when someone chooses gold over us."

Darius nodded. Kane sheathed the knife. Rylan’s hand tightened on his axe.

We started with the guard rosters. Every wolf who had been on the eastern wall in the last week. Every wolf who had spoken to Torin before he died. Every wolf who had family in the south. The list was longer than I liked.

By midday we had three names.

By dusk we had caught one.