Chapter 42

Y/n Pov.

"Sleep, my love. Morning will come soon."

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The night grows dark, masking the haunting tune of the sparrow. My beautiful mate stirs but does not wake from his deep slumber while I slip out of the sheets and press my lips to his temple.

Taehyung and Jimin do not notice my ghostly figure exiting the room and heading down the steps.

The night is moonless and full of the void, giving no shadow to my wolf. My path to the palace is clear and straight. No guards, no wandering souls, nobody. This is intentional, I'm sure. Seoyeon is waiting for me to come to her.

My wounds have barely healed, but it would have to do. Fate spares no time for me, and my wolf is starved for vengeance.

The ground burns beneath my claws; stone and dirt cutting into my skin every time I dig into the earth. It is a solemn reminder of the blood that will spill tonight, the velvet red that will stain the floors, seep through the walls, and join those who have died by the hands of the monarchy.

Want her dead. Want her blood.

I do too.

I arrive near the palace, changing my path towards the dungeons. There are no wolves to stop me and I enter the dungeons without any resistance. Everything feels wrong, this is all wrong, I think to myself.

The stench of something rotten fills the space. I pray it is not my Betas.

Stalking forward, I finally notice the decaying corpse lying on the stone floor. This is undoubtedly the corpse of the dead Alpha. His body is pale without much blood, and the muscles at the neck are absolutely crushed. He lays almost mockingly on the dungeon floors, left all alone with what appears to be an amusing smile.

"She took your blood, didn't she. I bet those are her teeth marks..." My eyes fall on his neck once again, "I am sorry I could not save you, Alpha Namjoon. May your soul finally rest with the Moon Goddess."

Above his body, there is a parchment pinned to the wall by a blade. I rip the paper from the dagger's hold and read the contents of the message.

You will find me in the Alpha's chamber.

—Alpha Seoyeon

"Y/n! Alpha! Where are you?!.... Please don't tell me you went to the palace.....why..why aren't you responding to me...?" My mate cries through the mind link. I try my hardest to block out his voice, returning my sight to the paper in my hand.

Seyeon wants a fight and she is going to have one. Fire burns in my eyes as I turn towards the palace. She has not endured hours of training as I have. She has not spent her days fighting and killing wolves with her own hands. She has only committed murders behind the curtains of manipulation.

I take my time walking through the palace halls. She would not send any wolves for me. The new Alpha is going to wait, I know her.

The darkness suffocates the closeness of the walls, pressing harder to squeeze my straining throat. I shake off the feeling and focus on the coursing fire brought upon by my wolf. I could almost imagine the floors being set on fire from the fury in my blood.

I arrive at the Alpha's chamber. I recollect when I first saw these grand luxurious doors, costing what looks like a fortune of bloodshed and money. It was the day I found out the partial truth about this pack; I saw a glimpse of the horrors hidden beneath. A violent thought enters my mind, wondering what these doors would look like if they were coated with the new Alpha's blood. I suppose they would need to be replaced.

The first things I notice while entering are the open curtains,  the many torches, and the flickering candlelights illuminating the room. "Already making yourself at home, Seoyeon?"

I see for the first time, her eyes glow thrillingly red like a reflection in the mirror, "That is Alpha Seoyeon. Have you lost your manners, Alpha Y/n?"

My fingertips graze the furniture, "Correct me if I am wrong, but it was your idea to drop formalities, Luna....my bad... I mean Alpha."

"You are still very amusing," She sways, not ever losing the overzealous glide in her steps, "But I suppose you are not here just to make jokes, right?"

She is baiting me, I think to myself. "Where are my Betas?" A growl leaves my throat, deep from the wolf fuming in my lungs.

She laughs, "They are on their way to be executed. Encased in wolfsbane, so helpless and weak like your pack. But, I'll strike a deal with you..."

"If you give yourself up, relinquish your power as Alpha to me. I will release your Betas and spare your pack. I would not harm any one of those pathetic wolves in the Shadow Pack in exchange for keeping your soul locked up and rotting away here beneath wolfsbane and stone."

I snarl at the words flowing out her mouth, "You dare challenge me and my position to rule."

"So, what is it going to be, hm, Alpha Y/n?" She muses.

"I am going to kill you. Right here. Right now."

Taehyung Pov.

"Sleep, my love. Morning will come soon."

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Wake up

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Wake up, Taehyung.

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Our Alpha is in danger. Wake up!

Y/n?

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A rush of air fills my lungs. My eyes freeze open in the darkness of the room. Y/n is nowhere to be seen, and Jimin is dead asleep.

"Jimin!" I scream out, startling the unexpected wolf. He rolls out of his bed and crashes onto the floor.

"What!? Ouch, fuck!" He groans while getting up from the floor.

"Alpha is gone! She's gone!" My eyes burn their blue fire color.

He furrows his eyes, "Contact her. Now! Through the mind link!"

My lungs can barely hold onto the air and my hands tremble in my lap, "Y/n! Alpha! Where are you?!.... Please don't tell me you went to the palace.....why..why aren't you responding to me...?" I look at Jimin and shake my head, "She..she's not answering..."

Jimin glances around the room, once and then twice. He rushes to the lights and scans the room again, rubbing his eyes for some clarity.

"Dammit!" Jimin barges out the door, while I scramble to find some clothes.

Nearly tripping over my feet, I follow him down the steps and towards the lodge owner's room.

Jimin pounds his fist against the door with no hesitation or politeness between each knock. "Open up, Byungchul! We need to talk!"

We hear a few things crashing and rolling from inside, but finally, the lodge owner opens his door. "There are no guards here, right?" His eyes tiredly shift behind us, straining with red sleepless veins.

"No, there aren't," I reply.

"Did you see Y/n leave?" Jimin barks, almost stepping into the other wolf's space.

"Woah, hey, calm down, friend," he laughs almost mockingly, "I heard the door once but that was it. I was in my room the entire night."

My eyes widen, "You don't think she—"

"She has gone to break into the palace by herself, fucking hell!" Jimin growls furiously, his eyes burning blindingly yellow.

"Why would she leave a day early...?" I mutter.

Byungchul laughs, "A day early? I only gave her one night to stay. I am glad she decided to get out before dusk."

Jimin reaches for his collar, "Say that one more time, motherfucker!"

I grab onto Jimin's forearm, "We cannot waste our time here!" My eyes rest on the lodge owner, "I need to help her," and then I look at Jimin, "and you need to find Yoongi."

He releases his grip on Byungchul, "Let's go, Taehyung."

———

The palace appears to be slightly disturbed. Something looks terribly wrong, terribly frightful. There is a misty haze, caused by the humidity of the air and the roughness of the terrain, that morphs through the deep blackness of the night and obscures the view of the top-most towers of the Alpha's palace.

We both run desperately through the streets, not caring for any onlookers nor any potential guards. I swear I see blood red mixed in with the dirt and mud on the ground.

Jimin quite abruptly halts to a stop, eyes widening, hands trembling at a sound that I can finally hear when I stop alongside him.

"That's!—"

His hands curl into fists, "That's Jungkook and Yoongi's voices" he replies, and we both hurry towards the backside of the palace.

Arriving at the commotion, I notice a handful of guards look their way towards us, completely ignoring Jungkook's nimble hand that grabs the cage cell keys.

"Hey, you two are not allowed here!" A guard shouts at us.

Jimin bares his fangs, "Release my mate!" he shifts to his wolf and carelessly charges towards the cluster. A wave of panic floods my senses. Jimin doesn't know how to fight. I don't know how to fight! They are going to beat him senseless, oh god, Jimin!

Before Jimin can even reach the hoard, Jungkook manages to unlock the cage, kicking his foot through and forcing a guard to the ground within seconds.

Yoongi limps behind him, fear flooding his eyes while seeing his mate caught in the turmoil. He shifts to his wolf. Even when injured, he has enough mobility to take down two more wolves, latching his teeth into their shoulders while they shriek in bloody pain.

"Taehyung!!" Jimin squirms on the ground while a wolf attempts to crush his frame.

Before the wolf has a chance to sink his teeth, I bite as forcefully as I can onto the juncture of his neck.

The wolf whips his head forcefully, trying to shake me off. His jaw snaps dangerously close to my face and with a yelp, his skin slips out of my hold.

My body lands with a shocking thud, rocks scabbing into my fur. Jimin lunges on top of the wolf and after several bloody bite marks, the wolf falls to the ground.

"Thanks...for the..distraction," Jungkook heaves. His eyes are raging flames as if his wolf has been starved for blood.

Yoongi desperately holds onto Jimin. His red-stained hands feel Jimin's face, unsure if what is in front of him is real or not.

"It is me...I am here-here...I have missed you.." Jimin stutters while trying to process the sight in front of him.

Yoongi hesitantly presses his thumb onto Jimin's cheek, rubbing away the wetness that had trailed down. "I am never leaving you again. We are getting out of this hell."

I look at them, "Where is Y/n?! Why is she not here with you?!"

Jungkook growls, "She is here? At the palace?"

A thunderous noise can be heard from above.

My eyes trail up the side of the palace, stopping at one of the top floors. Red velvet curtains flap outside of a particular room, set ablaze by angered flames that cannot seem to get enough of the oxygen in the air.

The back doors of the palace open up, servants and other royal members begin to flee and trip over each other while trying to escape the flames. Blood rushes to my ears and I cry out my mate's name.

"Taehyung! Wait!" Jungkook tries to grab me, but he just misses my shoulder as I race through the crowded doors.

Jimin shouts from behind, "We need to follow him!"

Inside the palace, the bone-chilling growls and violent bangs are louder to the ears. Servants flood down the stairs, some already beginning to cough from the fiery smog.

A hand grabs onto my wrist, tugging me upward against the downward flow of the crowd. "Come on!" Yoongi urges.

Together, the four of us race against the ticking of the clock and the burning of the fire. The higher up we reach, the more vacant it is and the clearer our path is to Y/n. Wooden posts begin to crash from the ceilings, setting the adjacent walls ablaze.

We find ourselves nearly blocked off in the grand ballroom of the palace. The chandelier swings from the movement of air, losing its structural integrity to the collapsing ceilings.

"I cannot believe it..." A terrifying voice echoes, "...Look who we ran into, Korain..."

At the top of the stairs stands two familiar wolves—Donghyun and Korain. Donghyun's eyes burn violently with exhilaration and aggression upon seeing the four of us. Korain simply narrows his eyes, first at me, and then he bares his teeth at the two Shadow Pack wolves that stand behind.

"What are you doing here, Taehyung?" Korain marches down the stairs, getting dangerously close, "I told you to stay out of things. Did I not?!"

"Get out of our way, Korain," I seethe, "My mate is up there!"

He pauses in his steps, "Your...mate," His eyes burn marigold yellow, "Alpha Y/n..is..your..mate. Why are you lying? That's impossible."

For the first time, I allow the fiery blue to burn willingly, "There are a lot more impossible things about me, Korain!" He stares at my eyes, paralyzed in his feet.

"What the hell are you...? Deltas do not have blue eyes..." His voice nearly comes out in a frightful whisper, his skin pale and cold.

"I'm an Omega and it's about time you realized that."

Donghyun shoves past Korian. He snaps his jaw at us, "I do not care what the hell you are mutt. We are ending your lives right here."

He shifts to his wolf. The same terrifying form that tried to hunt me down the other night. Korain's eyes shake into focus and he follows suit behind Donghyun.

Jungkook and Yoongi's wolf forms stalk in front of us, challenging the two wolves who dare to block our path. I look at Jimin who nods his head at me one last time before the two of us shift to our wolves too.

We stand at the final crossroad, and I've never been more ready to throw my life away for reaching the top of this damn castle.

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