"What do you mean?" Casteel asked, breathing hard as he struggled to keep pace.
"The prophecy speaks of someone marked from birth," Aldric replied, glancing back. "Doran spent years searching, preparing. Then the wolf transfers to a battle-hardened assassin? The High Priest nearly lost his mind when he realized what had happened."
Casteel felt Nero's presence—still distant but no longer moving away. The wolf had stopped, perhaps sensing the danger ahead that Aldric had warned about.
"This way," Aldric said, veering sharply westward along a barely visible game trail. "We can circle around the patrol and intercept your wolf before he blunders into them."
But surely that was wrong? Nero would hear them. Smell them. Except Casteel couldn't take that chance.
The forest thinned as they climbed higher, moonlight spilling through the branches to illuminate a rocky path that wound between towering pines. Casteel followed Aldric's sure-footed lead, hope rising as he felt Nero's presence growing stronger through their bond. The wolf had changed direction, moving parallel to their path rather than away from it.
Nero had run but he wasn't running now, he was heading to them.
Aldric nodded, pointing toward a ridge that rose against the star-filled sky. "There's a clearing just beyond that rise."
Something in the captain's tone set off a warning bell in Casteel's mind, but his desperation to reach Nero overwhelmed his caution. They crested the ridge together, and the promised clearing opened before them—a small meadow bathed in silver moonlight, ringed by ancient pines.
Casteel got no warning. One moment they were walking and the next Aldric's arm locked around his throat, a dagger pressing against his ribs.
"I'm sorry, boy," Aldric said, his voice genuinely regretful. "Truly."
From the surrounding forest emerged a dozen Silver Guard, crossbows trained on both Casteel and Aldric. They moved with practiced precision, forming a circle that closed off all escape routes.
"Why?" Casteel gasped, the arm around his throat making speech difficult.
"They have my wife," Aldric whispered, his voice breaking slightly. "My infant son. Doran holds them in the temple dungeons because he found out my sympathies lie with you." He tightened his grip. "I didn't want this. But what choice did I have? I was looking for an opportunity to get close to Morven's camp when you ran right into my path."
Casteel's heart hammered against his ribs as the trap snapped shut around him. Every fear he'd harbored about being a liability crystallized in this moment—his desperate flight to save Nero had delivered him directly into Doran's hands.
"Signal the High Priest," Aldric commanded one of the guards, though his voice carried the weight of a man condemning his own soul. "Tell him we have the omega."
Because it was true. Casteel was still an omega even without a wolf. Then he felt Nero's sudden surge of alarm—the wolf had sensed the danger, was racing toward them with supernatural speed. But even with his enhanced abilities, Nero was still minutes away, and Casteel could see the Silver Guard preparing to move.
"He'll come for me," Casteel said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the blade at his ribs. "You know that. And when he does—"
"When he does, Doran will be ready," Aldric finished grimly. "This was the plan as soon as we knew he had the wolf. Use you to draw him out."
But Casteel knew that. He'd always known that. And doing the very thing he'd hoped to save Nero from, he'd sprung the trap himself.
A horn's mournful cry echoed across the mountains—the signal Aldric had called for. Within moments, the sound of approaching hooves thundered through the night as reinforcements converged on their position.
High Priest Doran emerged from the tree line mounted on a massive black destrier, his pale eyes gleaming with triumph in the moonlight.
"The prodigal returns," Doran said, his voice carrying that familiar tone of absolute authority. "Though not quite as I expected."
"Let Aldric's family go," Casteel demanded, even as guards moved to bind his hands. "He's done what you asked."
Doran's laugh was like breaking crystal. "Oh, but his service is far from complete. The real Silver Wolf approaches even now, and we'll need every sword when he arrives."
Through their bond, Casteel felt Nero's desperate fury, the wolf's primal need to reach his mate overwhelming all tactical sense. The trap was perfect—Nero would charge headlong into an ambush, driven by the same protective instincts that had nearly gotten him killed at the manor.
He had been an utterfool, Casteel acknowledged, struggling against the ropes as guards lifted him onto a waiting horse. Pride had made him argue with Eryken.
Doran smiled with satisfaction. "Your lover's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness—he cannot bear to lose you. It makes him predictable."
A distant howl split the night, filled with such rage and anguish that even the hardened Silver Guard shifted nervously. Nero was close now, close enough that his senses had detected Casteel's capture.
"And this is your plan?" Casteel spat. "There's no way you can control us indefinitely."
