Chapter 69: No One Dies Today
Rhea’s eyes darted to the spot where Eli had been training just moments ago, and her heart stopped.
He was gone.
She whirled around, her lungs seizing as her eyes swept over the scattering crowd. "Eli! Eli!" she screamed, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs. "Where is he, River?"
River lifted her nose high, her spirit catching the faint scent of pup, ozone, and warm fur cutting through the copper smell of fear. Her ears twitched toward the front gates. "There! At the perimeter!"
Rhea whipped around and spotted him. Eli was already standing in his golden-brown wolf form, his small fur bristling as he stared blindly toward the sound of approaching threat.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Without a second thought, Rhea sprinted across the stone yard, her boots kicking up dirt until she reached him and scooped his small, growling form into her arms.
"Eli! What are you doing out here?" she gasped, pulling him tight against her chest.
"No, Mama!" Eli yelped, his wolf form shifting back into a little boy as he pushed against her collarbone with his small fists. "Danger is coming! Uncle Adam said I need to fight!"
"No! You do not need to fight!" Rhea’s voice trembled with raw terror as she held him close. "Mama is here to fight for you until you are big enough to defend her. Do not ever run toward the danger again! Do you hear me?"
Eli looked at her wide, tear-filled eyes, his small body relaxing against her. "Okay, Mama. I’m sorry."
Rhea set him down on his feet, her fingers tightly locking around his small hand. All around them, terrified screams rang out as nurses and elders frantically herded the younger children toward the inner stone keep.
She looked down at Eli, a sudden cold realization washing over her. He keeps running straight toward the battle. We have to leave this sanctuary now.
"Or maybe the pup is braver than we give him credit for," River purred quietly, her eyes lingering on the boy’s resolute face.
"He is far too young," Rhea snapped back in her head. "And if we stay here, these attacks will never stop."
She crouched down to his eye level, gripping his shoulders firmly. "Listen to me, my sweet boy. I need you to run inside to your room and lock the door from the inside. Did Uncle Adam show you how to set the iron latch?"
Eli nodded quickly.
Rhea let out a fast breath. "Good. Go inside and do not open that door for anyone until you hear my voice. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Mama," Eli said. He turned and sprinted toward the residential wing, his small legs moving as fast as they could.
Rhea watched his silhouette disappear into the doorway before she turned back around, reaching to her belt to draw her silver knife.
She charged toward the main gates, where a curved line of sanctuary guards had already drawn their broadswords, bracing for impact.
Rhea stepped directly into the center of their defensive line. The male guards looked over at her, surprised, but her jaw remained locked in an unyielding line.
Inside her mind, River snarled, pacing back and forth, her claws digging deep into the dirt of their shared consciousness.
The heavy thud of marching boots began to echo through the mountain pass, vibrating straight up through the soles of Rhea’s boots. She swallowed hard, digging her heel into the ground to anchor her stance. Her silver eyes fixed on the iron doors as her chest heaved.
BOOM!
The sudden, brutal sound of a battering ram smashing into heavy iron filled the yard.
A second ram hit before anyone could process the first one. BOOM!
Then a third. The heavy iron hinges groaned, dust pouring down from the stone archway.
"It won’t hold," Rhea whispered, her eyes tracking the dark shadows of boots moving beneath the gap under the door.
With one final, violent crack, the iron gates gave way and crashed inward into the dirt. A heavy silence settled over the yard as a cloud of gray dust rose into the air.
Rhea and the guards adjusted their weight, their muscles coil-tight and eyes razor-sharp.
Then, the first shadow stepped through the dust.
One by one, heavily armed warriors poured into the sanctuary courtyard. They were draped in thick, black steel armor, their faces hidden behind dark leather masks. They moved with the precision of an army trained for massacre.
Rhea’s eyes darted across their chest plates, searching for a crest, a banner, or a pack mark. There was nothing. A cold knot twisted in her stomach, not just because an army stood at their door, but because she had no idea who was hunting them.
"Let me out!" River thrashed against her mind, her jaws snapping in the dark. "Let me taste their blood on our tongue!"
Rhea glanced sideways at the guards standing on her left and right. These men were not her pack. They owed her nothing. They could have easily thrown her and Eli out to save themselves, yet here they stood, weapons raised, ready to bleed to shield her son.
"No one dies today," Rhea said softly, her voice filled with a quiet conviction even as her heart hammered like a trapped bird.
The guards glanced at her, taking a unified, deep breath at her words.
The black-clad army continued their steady advance, their armored boots crunching in unison over the gravel.
River bared her teeth, ready to launch forward.
When the enemy reached the midpoint of the yard, standing between Rhea’s line and the keep where the children hid, the sanctuary guards gripped their heavy steel even tighter. Rhea tightened her white-knuckled grip on her knife.
She swallowed the bitter taste of fear rising in her throat, took a single, bold step ahead of the guard line, and raised her blade.
"Do not take another step, or every single one of you will bleed on this stone tonight!" she warned, her voice ringing out like a war bell.
The masked men did not pause. They took another step forward. And another.
Rhea took a slow step back, her pulse spiking as the cold shadow of their armor fell over her.