I couldn’t wait for dawn to make my move. The air was heavy, shadows clinging to every door and window like unseen watchers, waiting for the wrong step.

The only sounds were the soft chirping of night birds and the distant howls of wolves, faint, eerie, and unnaturally deliberate.

Every howl felt like a warning. Or a threat aimed squarely at me.

I tiptoed through the hallways, careful to silence even my breath. I didn’t know the exact entrance to the underground prison, but I was certain it was close to the guards’ quarters.

If Thorne truly lay beneath this place, chained in stone and shadow, then tonight… Tonight I will find him.

I crossed the threshold into the West Wing. The guards here rotated posts before dawn, and that sliver of time was all I had. Every heartbeat counted.

The faint scent of pinewood and cold steel filled the air as I neared the outer corridor leading to the guards’ quarters. Torches flickered along the walls, casting jagged shadows that slithered and coiled like serpents.

The guards moved with unease, their whispers too shallow for me to hear. I pressed myself against a lamp pillar, straining to catch every word.

I wasn’t supposed to be here. And if I were caught, Killian wouldn’t overlook it, not this time. But I had already chosen my path.

I pressed a palm to my chest to steady my hammering heartbeat and slipped behind the next pillar, listening intently.

“I think they’ll move him before dawn. It’s the Alpha’s command.”

My blood ran cold.

Move who?

Every muscle tensed. I pressed my back to the cold stone wall, my senses sharpening as their conversation continued.

“If Sire Killian finds out about this, there will be bloodshed. He hates when the Alpha interferes in his business.”

My heart didn’t race from fear. It raced because I knew.

They were talking about Thorne.

And if they were relocating him, this could be my only chance to reach him before he vanished again.

“Sire Killian hates being seen as incompetent. I think..”

The rest was swallowed by lowered voices, secrecy thick in the air.

I inched forward, desperate to hear more, when a figure yanked me backward, a strong hand clamping over my mouth. My scream was silenced in an instant.

“One step closer, and they’ll sniff you out. Trust me, you don’t want that experience,” the voice warned.

My chest leapt.

I looked up slowly, and my breath caught.

“Harry…” I almost gasped his name, but his hand pressed harder, silencing me.

“Shh.” His eyes softened at mine, the corner of his mouth lifting despite the tension in the corridor.

“Why are you here?” he asked, his voice low, dangerous even in its calmness.

“Sightseeing,” I mumbled, knowing it sounded ridiculous.

“You’re here for Sire Thorne?” His gaze locked onto mine, unblinking.

“I just want to see the face of the one who almost killed me,” I whispered. Truth floated between us, and he nodded, as if he understood without question.

“You shouldn’t be here. I’ll escort you back to your chamber,” he said, releasing me with a gentle shove.

“How are you even… fine?” I asked, my eyes flicking to the faint scars of his wounds.

“Are you really asking? I’m a beta. We heal faster than others,” He replied, pride lacing his voice.

Before I could ask more, a shadow detached itself from the darkness. Someone was watching. Killian.

My heart pounded like a war drum as he stepped forward, his presence filling the corridor with menace.

“What are you doing here?!” he snarled, voice sharp enough to summon the nearest guards with a glance.

“I… I was…” My words dissolved. Fear and adrenaline tangled into panic, leaving me speechless.

“She was taking a stroll with me,” Harry interjected swiftly. “A nightmare had her shaken. I only guided her through the guarded halls to remind her she’s safe.”

Killian’s raised brow didn’t ask questions. It promised danger.

“And that is all?” he growled, eyes narrowing.

“Yes, Sire,” Harry replied firmly.

Killian’s gaze swept over me, lingering like a predator sizing up its prey. “I never got that taste,” he muttered, inhaling slowly, a shadow of desire flickering in his dark eyes.

My stomach twisted. I knew he was about to act. But just then, new footsteps rang out, commanding, sharp, unmistakably authoritative.

A troop of guards entered, their uniforms unmistakable. They carried the weight of royalty in their bearing.

“Greetings, Sire. The Alpha has sent us to take charge of Sire Thorne,” their leader announced, bowing.

Killian’s eyes flared. “Go back and tell the Alpha I have everything under control.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible. We were ordered to take him, by any means necessary,” the commander replied, locking eyes with Killian.

“Then get past me first,” Killian growled.

The corridor became a battlefield in stasis. Harry and the royal guards braced. I could feel the tension crackling, sparking, threatening to ignite at any moment.

And I couldn’t let Thorne be taken, not this time.

“I can’t let him go. I have to act,” I whispered to myself.

Something old and buried stirred within me. Fear, desperation, resolve… they fused into something powerful, something I didn’t fully recognize.

Heat coiled beneath my skin. My vision sharpened. My heartbeat slowed, replaced by an electric pulse that surged through my veins.

The walls themselves seemed to quiver. The torches flickered violently as if sensing the awakening within me.

And then it happened.

The ground shuddered beneath my feet. The stone pillars groaned. A force, raw and ancient, surged through the corridor. I could feel it clawing outward, demanding release.

I had tapped into something I didn’t know I possessed. Something that didn’t ask permission. Something that wasn’t just mine… yet obeyed me.

A deep rumble rolled through the walls, echoing like the growl of a thousand beasts.

The royal guards froze. Killian’s gaze snapped to me, eyes blazing with fury and recognition.

And then, from the shadows of my heart, a faint echo whispered my name.

“Elysian…” It was Arlie’s voice but she sounded different.