Chapter 235

We move closer to the stronghold, me staying in Caleb’s shadow. He stays in human form for my benefit, but I can tell from the red sheen in his eyes, that he is on edge. Likely, he could shift in a moment’s notice to protect us.

The wolves that hounded us seem to have all retreated. I still don’t understand what that could begin to mean. Dawn remains far off. The hunt shouldn’t be over already, but Gladys seems to have called it off.

Something has to be going on. But without any eyes or ears inside, we have no way of knowing what exactly could be going on.

For now, we have to stick to our purpose. If the hunt is called off, that means the rules are off as well, which means we can leave the forest perimeter.

Soon, we start to see the towering walls of the stronghold. Like the ruins we’ve visited before, the rebels seem to be taking advantage of forts and strongholds that are remnants of the old wars. Yet, unlike the ruins, this one appears to be perfectly intact. Perhaps Gladys and her predecessors have been looking after the place, in case a need like this were to arise.

Just how long have they been planning a rebellion?

Caleb’s arm shoots out in front of me, stopping me at once before I could step out into a clearing. We duck down in the brush, waiting as a patrol walks by. They seem mostly bored, not truly taking their job seriously. If they did, they’d likely scent a strong alpha lingering in the shadows.

When that patrol passes, Caleb sniffs the air.

All I see in front of us is the outer stone wall of the fortress, but Caleb can perhaps detect more with his keen senses.

Glancing at me, he ducks his head in one direction, indicating that we should go that way. When he starts to move, I fall in behind him once more.

We walk at the edge of the forest, following along the outer perimeter of the fortress, until we reach where one of the buildings inside hugs along the wall. There, at the base of the wall near the ground are a set of barred grates covering a few openings.

Caleb immediately stops us.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I hear them,” Caleb says.

I pause a moment, trying to hear for myself. But my senses aren’t strong enough to pick up any voices. “Them who?” I ask.

“Tristan. Bethany,” Caleb says.

Relief floods my heart. If Caleb can hear them, then they are both together and they are safe. Some of the heavy weight I’ve been carrying around starts to subside, and I feel like I can breathe again.

But Caleb isn’t done. “And Gladys.”

That stops me short. “Gladys?”

He gives me a look that tells me he is just as confused as I am, but there can be no mistaking. Caleb doesn’t make mistakes, especially not like this.

I open my mouth to question, when suddenly, Caleb grabs me by the shoulders and shoves me down. Just as he does, a series of loud howls sound once more in the distance.

My back is on the ground, Caleb towering over me, his hands on my shoulders. I stand perfectly still, trusting in Caleb.

Those howls came from the direction of the estate, but as they continue, I can tell they are growing closer.

If Gladys is here, does that make this a rescue party? None of this makes sense. Is the rebellion fighting itself?

I peek back toward the wall and through the bushes I can see a flurry of fur as shifted wolves rush from the back of the wall toward the front.

When they are gone, Caleb relaxes and helps me back onto my feet.

“They are giving us the distraction we need,” Caleb says.

“What is happening?” I ask.

“I don’t know why Gladys is here in the dungeons,” Caleb says. “But her army is now here to rescue her.”

The howls grow closer, and now there are responding, threatening howls emitting from within the stronghold.

“They are about to go to war with each other,” Caleb says.

Everything hurts after yet another beating, but Tristan rallies, believing that the pain is worth the effort of what he’s done. If his King is close, if he and Harper are truly looking for him… Then Tristan’s best course of action was to let Caleb know where he is.

He’s not just in this alone anymore, either. There’s also Bethany to consider. She’s not a warrior like him, and though she’s tough as nails, she did not sign up to be tortured.

Tristan is determined to help her escape more than he even wants to see his own freedom.

Despite the harsh beating, his wolf is strong, and it doesn’t take long before he’s pushing up to his feet once more. His healing factor is working well, and he can feel his tattered flesh and bone stitching itself together once more.

“Tristan,” Bethany says, concern in her voice. “Please stay down and rest.”

“There’s no time,” Tristan replies, shifting back into human form. If Gladys’s army is coming, he needs to be ready to fight to defend Bethany and himself, as well as Harper and Caleb if necessary. If they can manage to get out of here somehow.

Then, just as Tristan stands fully, he catches a familiar scent.

Caleb. He’s here.

Tristan makes no visible reaction to this news, not wanting to give anything away to Gladys, who sits tall and proud, gloating over the war she’s about to begin. For all her confidence, she seems to have already predicted the end of this conflict and that she will win.

She might even be right.

“I don’t understand how this infighting would help your cause?” Bethany asks. After seeing that Tristan was more or less okay, she returned her attention to the older woman. “If you kill each other, you lose numbers.”

“You saw how Samuel behaved,” Gladys says calmly. “He is not fit to rule anymore.”

“With diminished numbers, you can never hope to take over the kingdom,” Bethany counters. “Even with the civil war brewing, Caleb is a strong leader with a sizeable army. Broken, the rebellion has no chance against him.”

Gladys’s smug smile does not diminish. Instead, she looks at Bethany with the same kind of pity she might give an errant and foolish child.

Malice clings to this woman like a second skin. Though she might have become Tristan and Bethany’s temporary inadvertent ally, summoning an army to counter their captors, there is no question where her allegiances lie.

She means only to save herself in this conflict, and once she has been saved, Tristan knows she will turn on them, likely killing them for their defense of Caleb. Samuel is a foolish leader, obsessed with Harper and nothing else, but that foolishness is the main reason Tristan remains alive.

Gladys is much more cunning and ruthless. She will not take the chances that Samuel has taken.

If she controlled the rebellion, there would already be an open war.

Gladys smirks. “Oh, child. When Harper is dead, the problem of the king’s strength will resolve itself. They are mates, aren’t they? With her death, Caleb will lose what’s left of his sanity and the whole of the kingdom will side with the rebellion.”

Out in the night, Tristan hears Caleb’s low, barely audible growl.