The cell was dark, smelling of mold and stale air. Heavy chains rattled as Alitzel Valtor shifted against the rough stone wall, her eyes narrowing at the sound of boots echoing down the corridor. A sliver of light cut through the gloom as the door creaked open, and three figures stepped inside.
"Valtor," a deep, gravelly voice greeted her.
She squinted against the lantern's glow. The man in front was a bear of a figure—short, stout, with a thick beard that framed a round face. Jack McConnell.
He smirked, his beady eyes gleaming with malice. The two men flanking him, his lieutenants, stood tall and imposing, their gazes hard as steel.
"Jack," Alitzel replied flatly, yanking her chains just enough to make them clink. "What brings you to my little dungeon hideaway? Finally got tired of seeing me rot?"
Jack chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "Hardly. We've got bigger plans for you."
One of the lieutenants, a lean man with a scar slicing across his cheek, stepped forward, holding a rolled-up parchment.
"A series of raids," he announced in a clipped tone, unfurling the map to show the marked points. "Starting from the border towns, pushing inward to New Columbia."
Alitzel's eyes flicked over the map, absorbing the details. Towns circled in red, connected by jagged arrows. An ambitious plan, risky. But then, Jack had never been one for caution. He preferred brute force, chaos, and letting the pieces fall where they may.
"So, you're going on a rampage," she mused, keeping her expression neutral. "What's that got to do with me?"
Jack grinned, leaning in closer, the scent of cheap whiskey heavy on his breath. "You're going to lead it."
A tense silence filled the cell. The two lieutenants exchanged uneasy glances, but neither spoke.
"Lead?" Alitzel's laugh was harsh and hollow. "You're trusting me to lead your men? The woman you've kept in chains for, what, two years now?"
"Three," Jack corrected, his voice cool.
"And no, I don't trust you. But I know your skill. I've seen what you can do when given the right… motivation."
His eyes shifted pointedly to the chains, and Alitzel's gaze darkened. She could feel the old anger rising, a familiar burn in her chest. But she swallowed it down, keeping her tone even.
"And what's to stop me from running off the moment I'm free?"
Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "My men will be watching. And if you do well… you'll get something in return."
She raised an eyebrow. "Freedom?"
"Better. Revenge." Jack's grin widened, wolfish. "On everyone who put you in here."
Alitzel's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't let it show. Instead, she leaned back against the wall, her expression turning calculating. "You're serious?"
"Deadly," Jack said. He stepped back, nodding to his men. "Make sure she's ready. We move at dawn."
The lieutenants moved quickly, one unlocking her chains while the other retrieved a satchel from outside the cell.
Alitzel rubbed her raw wrists, eyeing the men as they dropped a bag laden with clothes before her.
She examined the bag and warned softly, "You're making a mistake,"
"Probably," Jack agreed. "But desperate times call for desperate measures. And right now, Valtor, I need a weapon like you."
The cell door swung open wider, and Alitzel stepped through, feeling the weight of her freedom—temporary though it might be—settle around her shoulders.
She turned to face Jack, her eyes sharp.
"I'll play along," she said quietly. "But remember, Jack—there's a fine line between using a blade and getting cut by it."
Jack's grin never wavered. "We'll see, won't we?"
With that, she followed the lieutenants out, the sound of their footsteps fading as they ascended the stone steps. The cell door closed behind them, sealing the silence. Outside, the air was cold and biting, but Alitzel barely noticed. Her mind was already racing ahead, calculating, planning.
As they reached the sunlit clearing where their worn-out vehicles were lined up, prepped for the raid, Jack glanced at Alitzel as she slid into the backseat of one. One of his men took the driver's seat and started the engine with a low growl.
Jack had known her since she was a seven-year-old child, orphaned by the wars with the humans long before North Columbia became a state. From the moment he realized the raw potential in her, he had shaped her to serve his needs. He made her see herself as nothing more than a weapon—a beast to be unleashed. And today, he expected to see that beast in action.
The six beaten-up vehicles roared onto the dusty road, kicking up a thick cloud of dirt as they sped away from the crumbling remnants of Bellaxir. Jack sat in the last car, eyes fixed ahead on Alitzer, who was seated in the lead vehicle, her expression empty, giving nothing away as they pressed on toward the border town of Zephyr.
The outline of Zephyr came into view, its jagged buildings casting dark shapes against the uneven horizon. Jack's hand hovered over his holster, ready for the fight ahead. He glanced over at Alitzer and caught the flicker of excitement on her face. Her eyes gleamed, and she let out a wild shout—adrenaline coursing through her veins. It was clear she was craving the chaos and bloodshed that awaited as they closed in on the town.
**********
The low rumble of engines echoed through the darkened woods as Cassian peered through the windshield, his eyes narrowing at the sight up ahead. Six Bellaxair vehicles snaked through the winding roads, their taillights glowing like red eyes in the distance. His grip tightened around the steering wheel. They had been tracking them for over twenty minutes, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Beside him, Milo loaded his rifle, the sound of the bolt action snapping into place with a metallic click. "Think they know we're onto them?" he asked, his voice calm, though tension simmered beneath the surface.
"Doesn't matter," Cassian replied, his gaze fixed on the cars ahead. "They're not getting past Zephyr."
Brock leaned forward from the back seat, his massive frame nearly filling up the entire space. "We have ten more men waiting in position. If they think they're gonna slip through, they're in for a surprise."
Cassian nodded once, eyes narrowing as the Bellaxair convoy picked up speed. "Ready yourselves," he murmured, his voice low but carrying a note of finality. "We're going in."
The vehicles roared to life, engines revving as he slammed his foot on the accelerator. The sudden burst of speed shot them forward, headlights cutting through the night as they closed in on the convoy. Cassian could feel the thrill of the hunt thrumming in his veins. There was no turning back now.
The Bellaxairs must have noticed their approach because the lead car swerved violently, trying to break formation. "Don't let them scatter!" Cassian barked, swerving sharply to the left to block off one of the escaping vehicles. The sound of squealing tires and roaring engines filled the night as the chase erupted into chaos.
Zara, driving a few cars behind, pulled up alongside Milo's vehicle. "Flank them from the side," she shouted through the open window, her eyes blazing with determination. "We'll box them in."
"Got it!" Milo responded, steering his vehicle to the right. The Blackthorn cars moved as one, coordinating with brutal efficiency. They weaved through the Bellaxair convoy, forcing them off the narrow road and onto the dirt trail that led toward Zephyr.
But the Bellaxairs weren't going down without a fight. One of their cars veered off and spun around, tires kicking up dust and gravel as it turned to face them. Cassian barely had time to react before the car accelerated straight toward him.
"Cassian, look out!" Brock shouted.
Cassian jerked the wheel to the side, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision. The Bellaxair car skidded, its side slamming into a tree with a crunch of metal and wood. But the impact barely slowed it down. The driver revved the engine, pulling back onto the road in a cloud of smoke.
"Persistent bastards," Cassian muttered, adrenaline pumping. He glanced to his left and spotted Drake, his vehicle tearing through the underbrush as he tried to outmaneuver another Bellaxair car. Cassian clenched his jaw. They needed to end this — now.
Spotting an opening, he gunned the engine, accelerating until he was almost parallel with one of the Bellaxair cars. With a swift jerk of the wheel, he rammed into its side. The car wobbled, tires screeching as it struggled to regain balance. Cassian didn't let up. He slammed into it again, harder this time, sending it careening off the road and into the ditch.
A shout of anger erupted through the radio. "Enough, Cassian!" Jack McConnell's voice crackled through the speakers, harsh and furious. "Stop this madness before you get more of your men killed!"
Cassian's eyes narrowed. "Not until every last one of you is off my territory," he snarled into the mic.
"You want to do this the hard way?" Jack's tone turned icy. "Fine. Let's settle this like real wolves."
Cassian watched as the lead Bellaxair vehicle jerked to a halt. One by one, the others followed suit, skidding to a stop on the dirt path. The Blackthorn cars surrounded them, engines idling, headlights cutting through the night like spotlights on a stage set for violence. Silence fell, tense and electric.
Cassian threw open his door and stepped out, his gaze locked on Jack, who was already striding toward him. "This ends now," Jack growled, his eyes blazing with fury.
Cassian let out a low, humorless chuckle. "I couldn't agree more."
The other Blackthorn lieutenants disembarked from their vehicles, fanning out behind him in a show of force. The Bellaxairs did the same, forming a tense line opposite them. Then, as if in unspoken agreement, they began to shift.
Bones cracked and reshaped, fur sprouting where there had been only skin. Within moments, the clearing was filled with massive, snarling wolves, muscles coiled and ready to spring. Cassian's eyes never left Jack as he transformed, his own body elongating and growing until he stood on four powerful legs, a beast of shadow and sinew.
But before they could clash, a deep, guttural growl echoed wuseenly, stopping everyone in their tracks. All eyes turned to Alitzel. Her form convulsed, shifting and expanding, until the ground shook beneath her massive weight. She loomed over the pack, a monstrous behemoth unlike anything they'd ever seen. Her eyes glowed with a savage, otherworldly light as she bared her teeth in a feral snarl.
The Bellaxairs hesitated, uncertainty flickering in their eyes. Jack stepped back, ears flattened against his skull. "What the hell is she?"
"Your worst nightmare," Cassian growled, baring his teeth in a vicious grin.
And then Alitzel moved, a blur of muscle and fury as she launched herself into the Bellaxairs, tearing through them with merciless precision.
The fight was on.