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Chapter 13 - Chapter 13 — Blood in the Den

They reached the old den by dusk — a half-buried ruin on the edge of the northern marshes, cloaked by gnarled trees and shifting mists. Once, Lucian had called this place home when the pack cast him out. It had been a sanctuary for wolves with nowhere else to go — rogues, half-breeds, witches running from the Council's noose.

Ariana stepped through the warped doorway, boots scuffing the ancient stone. Her wolf paced just under her skin, restless. She felt the eyes on her immediately — the rogues hidden in the shadows, sizing her up, sniffing the air for the blood of an Alpha's castoff.

Lucian didn't seem to care. He dropped his pack with a grunt and swept a quick glance across the room — stone walls, a broken hearth, dried herbs strung from the ceiling. It smelled like damp fur, stale whiskey, and secrets.

A voice drawled from the shadows. "Look what the rogue prince dragged in."

A tall man with silver streaks in his beard stepped forward. He had the build of a grizzly and the eyes of a snake — Kade, one of Lucian's oldest allies. Or he used to be.

Lucian didn't flinch. "Kade."

"Been a while, princeling." Kade's eyes shifted to Ariana — they flickered to the scar on her wrist, the faint shimmer of silver that sometimes pulsed there. He bared his teeth. "You brought her here? The cursed mate?"

A ripple of unease went through the other rogues. A few muttered behind Kade, their eyes flicking between Ariana and Lucian. Ariana's spine stiffened. She stepped closer to Lucian, her claws itching to slice the doubt from their faces.

"Say that again," she said softly.

Kade smirked. "They say you're Kael's pet. That his mark still binds you. You'll lead him right to us."

Lucian moved before Ariana could — his claws at Kade's throat, pinning him to the rotting wall. The other rogues stiffened but didn't intervene. They knew better than to stand between a wolf and his wrath.

Lucian's voice was a low snarl. "She's with me. That means she's one of us — or have you grown too soft to remember what that means?"

Kade sneered but didn't fight. Ariana stepped up, close enough that she could see the old scars crisscrossing the rogue's throat. "Kael's mark is dead," she said coldly. "If any of you think you'll sell me out for a few scraps, try me. See how many teeth you have left."

Lucian let Kade drop. The big man rubbed his throat and barked a laugh, grudging respect flickering in his eyes. "You've got fire, Thorn. We'll see if it keeps you warm when Kael's dogs find this place."

---

They settled by the hearth later, a thin fire flickering in the cracked stone. Lucian sat beside her, sharpening a rusted blade while Ariana wrapped her cloak tighter around her shoulders. The other rogues kept their distance — some curious, some afraid. She could feel it in the way they watched her when they thought she wouldn't notice.

"Do you trust them?" she murmured to Lucian.

He didn't look up from the blade. "Trust is for pups. They're rogues. They don't kneel for anyone."

Ariana snorted. "Except for the right price."

Lucian's jaw flexed. "I won't let them sell you out."

She turned to face him fully, the firelight catching the gold in her eyes. "You can't stand guard every second."

He dropped the blade, metal clanging on the stone floor. "Watch me."

She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

He leaned in, nose brushing hers. "And you're reckless."

A grin tugged at her lips despite the tension. "That's why you like me."

"Like you?" His voice dropped, rough and low. "Try love, Thorn."

The word made her heart stutter — but before she could answer, a sharp sound cut through the den. A floorboard creaked near the back corridor — then the unmistakable click of a knife being drawn.

Lucian's claws slid free instantly. Ariana pushed to her feet, eyes flashing. She tracked the scent — stale sweat, fear, greed — and moved toward the shadows. A scrawny rogue with patchy fur and a jagged scar across his nose stepped out, a knife glinting in his hand.

"Easy now," he rasped. "No one needs to get hurt."

Lucian snarled. "Put it down, Jarred."

Jarred didn't. His eyes flicked to Ariana's wrist, hunger burning in them. "Kael's offering a bounty for the Thorn. Enough silver to buy every wolf in this den their freedom from the packs."

Ariana cocked her head. "And you think you'd live long enough to spend it?"

Jarred lunged.

He was fast — desperate made fast — but Ariana was faster. Her claws sank into his wrist, the blade clattering to the floor. She twisted, slammed him against the wall, her eyes glowing bright. The mark on her wrist pulsed silver.

"Kael can't chain me," she hissed. "And neither can you."

Jarred spat at her, lips curled in a sneer. "The pack will tear you apart, Thorn. No crown will save you."

Ariana leaned in, her breath brushing his ear. "Good thing I'm not wearing one."

She ripped her claws across his throat in a single, clean swipe. Jarred crumpled to the ground, blood pooling at her boots. The room fell silent except for the crackle of the fire.

---

Kade stepped forward slowly, eyes on the corpse. "Well. Seems the cursed Thorn's got bite."

Ariana turned to face the rogues, her chest rising and falling. "Listen well. Kael wants to break me. He'll come for me — for all of you — and he'll promise gold and glory and lies. But I won't be his prey again."

She lifted her bloody claws for them to see. "Stand with me, and we burn his kingdom to the ground. Or sell me out, and I promise you — your death will be slower than his."

A beat of silence. Then Kade laughed — a deep, rumbling sound that echoed off the stone. "Looks like the Thorn's got fangs after all."

He turned to the others, a wolfish grin spreading across his face. "You heard her. Anyone who'd rather lick Kael's boots can leave now."

No one moved.

Lucian stepped up beside Ariana, his arm brushing hers. He leaned in, voice low enough for her alone. "You keep surprising me."

She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Good."

He cupped her jaw, thumb brushing away a smear of blood. "One of these days, you'll be the death of me."

She caught his wrist, holding his hand against her cheek. "One of these days, I'll be your queen."

His eyes flashed gold — a promise, a threat, a vow. "And I'll be your king."

---

They slept light that night — if sleep was what you could call the shallow drift of breath and heartbeat, always aware of the wolves that lurked in the dark corners of the den. But Ariana didn't mind. She'd felt prey her whole life. Now, the fear belonged to the traitors.

At some point before dawn, Lucian's hand slid under her furs, his palm splayed warm against her ribs. Not possessive — just grounding. A reminder that no matter how far Kael's claws reached, they'd never find her alone again.

She drifted off to the sound of Lucian's heartbeat — steady, wild, unbroken.

---

When the first pale light seeped through the den's cracked windows, Ariana rose and found the rogues gathered around the hearth. Kade nodded to her, a slow, grudging respect in his eyes.

"Where you lead, Thorn," he said, "we'll follow."

Lucian's hand found hers. She squeezed it, the ghost of a smile playing at her lips.

"Then let's give Kael his war."

Outside, the wind howled — a promise that the realm's king would soon find his crown nothing more than ashes in Ariana Thorn's teeth.

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