Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Isabella’s POV
I held Adele’s trembling frame against my chest, arms wrapped so tightly around her small body that it felt like if I loosened them for even a fraction of a second, she might slip away. Her breath hitched in short, panicked bursts, her fingers clinging to my shirt.
“Are you okay, baby?” My voice came out raw.
I tipped her chin up gently, scanning every inch of her—her arms, her knees, her face—for even the faintest scratch.
She’d fallen hard when she’d tried to scramble away from that raging lunatic.
The thought alone sent a fresh wave of fury rolling through me.
But she was unharmed. Physically.
Adele blinked up at me, lashes wet, cheeks streaked with tears. Her bottom lip quivered. There was still terror swimming in her eyes. “Mommy…” Her voice cracked. “Why did that woman want to hurt me? Why does someone want me dead?”
For one heartbeat, the world tilted. Hearing those words, my child trying to make sense of someone hunting her, nearly broke me.
I pulled her in again, pressing her head to my shoulder, hand cradling the back of her neck.
“She won’t ever come close to you again,” I whispered, each word forged out of steel. “I promise you. As long as I’m breathing, no one will ever lay a hand on you.”
Adele sniffled, her small fingers curling into my palm.
And as I held her, feeling her heartbeat slowly steady against mine.
After some time, I managed to get Adele back to bed.
I was grateful she could fall asleep after everything that happened.
By now, security had already removed Selene’s body from the room.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands.
They were scraped and bruised from the fight, but otherwise clean.
No blood. No visible evidence of what I’d done.
But I could still feel it. The impact of my kick connecting with Selene’s chest. The sickening crack of her neck breaking.
The absolute finality of watching her crumpled body at the bottom of the stairs.
I’d killed someone.
The thought kept circling in my mind, unable to find purchase. I should feel something—guilt, horror, regret. Anything other than this cold, hollow relief.
Soon enough, Dimitri returned. I heard him before I saw him, his footsteps pounding down the hallway, urgent and purposeful. Then he was bursting through the door, his eyes immediately scanning the room, cataloging everything.
Adele asleep in the bed. Me sitting on the edge, still shaking.
“What happened?” He was at my side in two strides, his hands framing my face. “Are you hurt?”
My gaze landed on his bruised knuckles, and I knew instantly he must have given security a piece of his mind before coming here.
“No. I’m—” The words stuck in my throat. “Selene came. She got past security somehow. She was in Adele’s room with a knife.”
Every muscle in Dimitri’s body went rigid.
“I tried to stop her. We fought. She fell down the stairs.” I forced myself to meet his eyes. “She’s dead, Dimitri. I killed her.”
He pulled me into his arms so hard I could barely breathe. “Thank God. Thank God you’re both okay.”
“I killed someone,” I repeated, like if I said it enough times, it would start to feel real.
“You defended yourself and our daughter.” His voice was fierce against my hair. “That’s not murder. That’s survival.”
My brain started processing so many things. The aftermath. How would we tell the news to the world? Would they believe me? What would her family do? Oh, God! Her family. Her father.
“Her father is going to want revenge, Dimitri.”
Dimitri went very still. Then he pulled back to look at me, his expression grim.
“You’re right. This is going to trigger diplomatic hostilities. Probably worse than that.” He stood, pacing to the window. “Cornelius loved Selene despite everything. And the way she died—falling down the stairs in my building, killed by my Mate—he’s going to spin this as murder.”
“It wasn’t, Dimitri. I swear to you.”
“I know, I know,” He was at my side in an instant, wiping a strand of tears from my face. “Trust me, Isabella, I believe.”
He wasn’t just saying it. He meant it. I saw it in his eyes, and that made me feel relieved.
“But, Isabella, it won’t matter to Selene’s father.
It won’t matter to his pack. They will come for you.
Not just one, all.” He caressed my cheek.
“Which is why I think you and Adele need to leave. Tonight. I’ll arrange for immediate transport to Zurich.
Crane can protect you there while I handle the fallout. ”
“No.”
“Isabella—”
“No.” I stood, my legs steadier now despite the lingering adrenaline. “I’m not running, Dimitri. Not again.”
“This isn’t running, this is staying alive.”
“Adele needs to be safe. I agree with that. But I’m done hiding.” I moved closer to him.
“Isabella, this is different. This is a pack war—”
“Then we fight it. Together.” I reached for his hand. “You said I’m your Mate. That we’re a family. That means I stand beside you, not behind you. Not hiding in another country while you face this alone.”
“You could die.”
“So could you.” I squeezed his hand. “We could both die. But at least we’ll do it together, fighting for our family.”
He stared at me for a long moment, something like pride and fear warring in his expression. Then he pulled me close, his forehead resting against mine.
“You’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
“And you love me for it.”
“I do.” He kissed me softly. “God help me, I do.”
We stood like that for a moment, drawing strength from each other.
The next day, Dimitri went on air and announced Selene’s death. I stayed away from the news. I didn’t want to see what they were saying. But my curiosity got the better of me, so I eventually turned on the news.
It was the exact opposite of what I was expecting. And that was because Dimitri had taken the fall for me. He’d told everyone he’d been in a tussle with Selene, and she fell on the stairs. He left me out of it completely.
Tears brimmed in my eyes as I watched the news. That was the biggest sacrifice anyone has ever made for me. He was willing to ruin his reputation, his image, to protect me. God, I loved this man so much.
Soon after, Dimitri returned. He’d put off work for to be with Adele and I. We were together, wrapped in each other's arms, when his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it, frowned, then showed me the screen.
It was a video message from an unknown number.
“Don’t open it,” I said immediately. “It could be a virus or—”
But he was already pressing play.
Ethan’s face filled the screen. His hair was disheveled, his pale skin mottled with fury. His eyes were wild, barely controlled.
“You killed her.” His voice was raw with grief and rage. “You killed my Mate. My Selene.”
My blood ran cold.
“I’m going to kill your Mate. Then I’m going to kill your daughter.
And I’m going to make sure you watch as I take their life.
Slowly. Painfully. And after I’m done, I’m going to make you beg for death before I finally grant it.
” Ethan leaned closer to the camera. “Selene deserved better than to die at the hands of trash like you. So I’m going to make sure you suffer for what you did to her. To us. To everything we built.”
And the video ended.
Silence crashed down around us.
Then Dimitri was moving, his phone already in his ear. “Edmund. I need every available resource tracking Ethan Thorpe. Now. I want satellite surveillance, ground teams, pack informants—everything. Find him.”
He paused, listening.
“I don’t care what it costs. I don’t care who we have to lean on. Find. Him.” He ended the call and turned to me. “He’s not getting anywhere near you or Adele.”
“Dimitri—”
“He just threatened to torture and kill you. He’s declared war. And I’m going to end him before he gets within a hundred miles of you or Adele.”
His phone buzzed. I glanced at it, expecting another threat.
Instead, it was a message from Edmund.
Edmund: Located Ethan. He’s at the Ashworth estate in Montana. Alpha Cornelius is sheltering him. Multiple hostiles confirmed. They’re mobilizing.
“They’re joining forces,” Dimitri said quietly. “The Ashworths and what’s left of Ethan’s pack. They’re going to come after us together.”
“How many?”
“Enough.” He pulled up more information on his phone, scanning rapidly. “Cornelius has over five hundred pack members. Ethan still has maybe a hundred loyal to him.”
“What do we have?”
“Not enough.” He met my eyes. “Not for a full-scale assault. The Ravencrest pack is strong, but we’re not built for war. Not this kind of war.”
“Then we get help.” I pulled out my own phone, dialing Crane.
He answered immediately. “Isabella? What’s wrong?”
“Everything. I need your help. I need—” I took a breath. “I need your connections in Virginia. Your allies. Anyone who owes you a favor.”
“What’s happening?”
I told him. All of it. Selene’s death. Ethan’s threat. The impending attack from the combined Ashworth and Thorpe forces.
Crane was silent for a long moment before he finally spoke. “I’ll make some calls. Give me two hours.”
“Thank you, Alexander. I truly appreciate all your help.”
“You’re family, Isabella. You and Adele both. And family protects family.” He paused. “I’ll have people there by tomorrow night. Enough to even the odds.”
The call ended.
Dimitri was already on his own phone, barking orders. “I want every entrance to the city monitored. Set up checkpoints on major roads. And get me Captain Morrison, I need to hire his team.”
He looked at me. “Mercenaries. The best money can buy. Former military, experienced with pack conflicts. They use wolfsbane ammunition.”
“How many?”
“A hundred. Maybe more if we’re lucky.” He continued issuing orders, his voice sharp and commanding. “They’ll be here by dawn. We’ll fortify the city and set up defensive positions. You and Adele will be safe.”
The hours blurred together after that. Dimitri coordinated with Edmund and his security team.
I helped where I could, using my business contacts to secure supplies, arrange safe houses for civilians, and set up communication networks.
Adele stayed asleep through all of it, mercifully unaware of the preparations for war happening around her.
By dawn, the city had transformed. Checkpoints at every major intersection. Armed guards—both pack members and mercenaries—stationed at strategic points. Civilians evacuated to secure locations. We were as ready as we were going to be.
The attack came at noon.
They didn’t bother with subtlety or strategy. They just came, a wave of wolf shifters pouring into the city from multiple directions simultaneously.
The checkpoints held for maybe ten minutes. Then chaos erupted.
I watched from the command center—a secured building downtown—as our forces engaged the enemy. Gunfire mixed with howls. Wolfsbane bullets took down attackers, but there were so many of them. Too many.
“We’re being overrun on the east side,” Edmund reported, his face grim. “They’re pushing through toward the city center.”
“Redirect the mercenary team from sector four,” Dimitri ordered. “And tell our people to fall back to secondary positions. We knew they’d break through eventually.”
The battle raged for hours. Our forces held where they could, retreated when they had to. The mercenaries were worth every penny—disciplined, efficient, deadly. Crane’s allies arrived mid-battle and immediately joined the fray, evening the odds.
But it wasn’t enough.
I was reviewing tactical maps when the power in the building flickered.
Then it went out completely.
Emergency lights kicked on, bathing everything in red.
“Report!” Dimitri barked.
“Someone cut the main power line,” someone on the security team responded. “Backup generators are—”
The door to the command center exploded inward.
Wolf shifters poured through—five, six, maybe more. They moved with coordinated precision, taking out our guards before anyone could react. I reached for the gun Dimitri had given me earlier, but something slammed into me from behind, driving me to the ground.
Hands yanked me up. A cloth covered my face, sickeningly sweet-smelling.
Chloroform.
I tried to fight, tried to hold my breath, but then everything went dark.
I woke to pain.
My head throbbed. My wrists were bound behind me. My mouth was gagged. And I was moving. In a vehicle, from the sound and feel of it.
I forced my eyes open, blinking against the harsh light.
Ethan sat across from me in what looked like a van. His face was still mottled with fury, but now there was satisfaction there too.
“Welcome back,” he said pleasantly. “I was worried I’d used too much chloroform. Wouldn’t want you unconscious for what comes next.”
I tried to speak, but the gag muffled everything.
“Don’t bother. No one’s coming to save you.” He leaned forward. “By now, Dimitri will have found my message. The one telling him exactly where to find you. The one explaining that if he wants to see you alive, he needs to come alone.”
My blood ran cold. This was all a trap.
“He’ll come, of course. Because he’s predictable like that. Honorable. Noble.” Ethan’s smile was cruel. “And when he does, I’ll kill you in front of him. Let him watch the light leave your eyes. Then I’ll take my time with him.”
The van came to a stop. Then he stood, moving toward the doors.
“We’re here. Welcome to your final resting place, Isabella.”
The doors opened, revealing an abandoned warehouse. Through the broken windows, I could see the forest beyond.
It was an isolated, remote area. The perfect place for a murder.
Ethan dragged me out of the van, my legs weak from whatever drug he’d used. Other wolf shifters emerged from the shadows, his pack members or allies. There were at least twenty of them.
Rage stronger than any fear flooded through me. I fought against my bonds, against the gag, trying to scream, trying to do anything.
Ethan just laughed.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait long.” He checked his watch. “Dimitri should be here any minute now. Always so punctual, that one.”
And I realized with sickening certainty that he was right.
Dimitri would come. Would walk straight into this trap to try to save me.
And we were all going to die.