Chapter 317

She reared back one final time, muscles bunching-

-and everything went white.

Pain exploded through me as the shield shattered.

I flew backward, the force of the impact ripping the breath from my lungs as my

body slammed into the stone wall behind me.

My head cracked hard against it, stars bursting across my vision.

The last thing I heard was Felicity’s triumphant howl.

Then everything went black.

Nolan POV

I was covered in blood.

Some of it mine. Most of it not.

My vision tunneled as I ripped through another rogue, fury burning hot and uncontrollable in my chest. Every instinct screamed that I was too far away-that I was losing time I didn’t have.

Still the rogues held.

Silver Fang fought like demons unleashed. This was their home to protect and they were determined to do it. None held back, none wavered in their fierce attacks. The strict training and loyalty of my warriors was unmatched.

Yet the rogues persisted.

Cassian’s warriors of Moonstone moved as one, formations snapping tight, rotations flav ss even under relentless pressure. They moved with fluid grace reinforced by powerful magic. They al st seemed unreal as they fought, like they didn’t quite belong in this world.

But the rogues fought dirty. Strike and retreat, draw them further in, closer to the border. Test their formations and slink back when they hit harder.

It was an infuriating game of tug-of-war.

Lance was everywhere at once-shifting, striking, tearing through the enemy line with a viciousness I’d never seen from him before. His speed was unmatched, his sheer reckless intensity terrifying to see.

He fought like a man with something to lose,

But the rogues would not break.

They surged and withdrew, surged again, bodies thrown into the fray with ruthless calculation.

Every time I tried to reposition, to pull even a handful of fighters back, they slammed into the gap hard enough to punish the attempt.

They were bleeding us for time,

My chest burned with it.

“Damn it!” I roared, slamming my shoulder into a rogue and snapping bone beneath the impact. “Cassian-

status!”

“We’re holding,” Cassian snapped back, breathless but controlled. “Barely. They won’t disengage.”

“They’re relentless,” Lance cut in, his voice laced with a growl of frustration. “What the hell are these guys?” “We have to buy time; we need to get reinforcements to the packhouse. We just need an opening,” I replied angrily. My claws tore into another rogue who tried to attack from my blind spot as I was distracted.

“They aren’t going to give us one,” Cassian responded. Simple, blunt, and true. I already knew why.

Keeping us from helping Ellie was the whole point. The invasion of Silver Fang wasn’t a ruse, not entirely. But it wasn’t the main goal. This was a bonus for them. If they did manage to get through our forces and attack the pack at large, it would be sport for them.

Their true purpose was to allow Felicity the time she needed to enact her plan.

And I had been foolish enough not to realize it until it was too late.

Then I heard it.

A howl-long, furious, unmistakable.

Felicity.

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“No,” I breathed, panic tearing through every barrier I had left. “Ellie-

I spun, already breaking formation, ignoring shouted warnings as I surged toward

the direction of the packhouse. Every instinct screamed at me to run faster, to tear through whatever stood in my way.

I didn’t get far.

Three rogues intercepted me at once, slamming into my path with brutal precision. I tore into the first, snapping his neck with a savage twist, but the second caught me hard in the side, reopening my injury in a flash of white- hot pain.

I felt the blood flow, shallow but present nonetheless. An injury was the last thing I could afford right now. I had to fight harder, move faster. I couldn’t afford to show any weakness.

But it was too late for that.

I staggered, gripping my side hard and hissing in pain and outrage.

“Move!” I roared, shoving forward.

More rogues flooded in, snarling, blocking my advance, forging me back into the press of bodies and violence.

They knew.

They’d timed it perfectly.

Somewhere, far too far away, the packhouse shook.

And I couldn’t reach her.

Not yet.

Not fast enough.

The storm raged overhead, thunder splitting the sky as I fought like a madman against the tide, one thought burning through me louder than any command or strategy:

Hold on, Ellie.

Please.