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.The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, and the sting of silver ripped through his body.That bastard would do anything for more power.And he wouldn t stop until he had it.And, once again, when given the choice, Elijah chose to live.Now the situation repeated itself.Another fucking alpha giving him orders and ultimatums.The pit in his stomach churned into a ball of fire.It burned through the fear and doubt.Thememory of Rowan s touch mingled with it, and Elijah knew what he had to do.He was strong enough.With Rowan at his side, the omega was strong enough for anything. No, Elijah said, his voice hardly a whisper.Kamil sucked in a breath.Maxim watched him, his good eye narrowing. I should ve known you d abandon your mate.That alpha is a fool to trust you. Elijah smiled.This king didn t get it. I m not throwing him away either.But I don t answer toyou.I don t answer to any alpha, and I never will.If you want my help, then challenge me to a fight.Ifyou win, I ll do what you ask.If you lose, you ll let me and Rowan go with our bond intact. He expected Maxim to deny the proposition straight out, but the king stared at him for a longmoment.His expression was as icy as the snow piled outside.Then his expression brightened. As youwish, omega, but if you lose, not only will you do my biding, but you ll join my kingdom.We coulduse another omega.We already lost one, Maxim said. Max! Kamil cried, but the king didn t even glance in his direction.Blood roared in Elijah s ears. Fine.I don t plan to lose. Maxim smiled coolly as he stepped out of the room. You should.I ll beat you.Painfully. Elijah smirked.This king had no idea how much pain he could handle. Chapter FifteenTension bristled throughout the castle.Rowan felt it in the flagstones under his feet.Whateverwas happening out there, Elijah was right in the middle of it.Footsteps pattered down the hall outside the room, and he heard a distance shout about achallenge being offered.Or accepted.A challenge?Yeah, that was probably Elijah.What the hell had that omega gotten himself into this time?Challenging Maxim? Or did the king challenge Elijah?His body froze at that thought.The alpha scratched and whined at the cage of Rowan s body, begging to be freed.He glanced atthe windows and the door, but he d looked over them a hundred times since that beta dragged Elijahaway.Unless he could break through four inch solid oak, he wasn t going to escape.Then something dragged across his side, the shadow of claws ripped at his flesh, and he howledin response.Inside, he felt the omega whine at the blow.No! They were doing something to his mate, and Rowan was not going to allow it.He threw off his shirt and shifted into a great wolf.The door met his first lunge withindifference.Only a dull bang rang through the room.If Elijah were here, he d probably sweet talk the guards into opening the door for him, butRowan wasn t about to waste time with them.They were all too loyal to Maxim.He charged at the door again, shoulder first, and a surge of energy ran through him.He felt histeeth sink into flesh and hold.The bone underneath nearly cracked and broke before he flew off.Asudden jolt knocked the breath from his lungs.Dammit! If he didn t get to Elijah soon.Rowan clawed at the door.It left deep clefts in the wood, but it wasn t enough.He d never beable to get out at this pace.He needed to stop.Think.Use his damn head.His alpha strength was more than physical.Panting and bruised, he turned back into a human.Sweat clung to his flesh as he looked aroundthe room for something anything that could help him escape.Maybe he d been thinking about thiswrong the whole time.When he was in the dungeon, brute strength didn t help him break free.Now he needed to usethe door s weakness against it.That s how he d get out and help Elijah.Unfortunately, they didn t leave any bolt cutters in the room.Rowan took a breath to clear his head.Slow his heart.Elijah s slammed fast enough for both ofthem.There.A thin gap where the door met the frame.If he squinted, he could see the bolt on the other side.It was a straight piece of metal that slid to the right.All he had to do was move it to the left, somehow,and he d be free.Assuming, of course, no guards on the other side waited to stop him.If so, they hadn t said anything about the racket he d been making.Rowan glanced under the door.No sign of feet, but they could be stationed on either side.Hewilled the blood in his ears to slow down and listened for a breath.A stray heartbeat.Something thattold him he wasn t alone.Rowan heard nothing.Good.Now he just had to open that damn door.Not surprisingly, the servants didn t leave anything helpful in the room.He tore through everydrawer, trying to ignore the bruises forming on his sides or the claws raking down his back.At onepoint, he swore his ribs almost collapsed on themselves, and his eyes pinched with the pain.Finally, he found something that could help.A forgotten sewing basket, complete with yarn andseveral long needles.At that point, he d try anything.Rowan s fingers trembled as he worked the yarn into the slit.At least it was stiff, probably wool,and went through with little issue.He draped it over the bolt easily.The harder part was getting thehooked needle to grab the dangling yarn and pull it back.It took him five tries.He yanked the yarn back through and tied a slipknot, tightening it in place.If this worked, he dbe able to slowly pull the bolt free.Ashina s glory, he hoped it worked!Rowan moved the knot to the side.The bolt didn t budge.Rowan stared, panting.His legs ached from crouching.He didn t want to look at his body.Thenumber of bruises on it would only make the worrisome ache worse.His mate was out there fighting for something probably both of their lives and he couldn t doa damn thing to help!Yue was fucking around with him again.Giving him a difficult and dangerous mate, just tosnatch him away when they finally came to an understanding.But this time Rowan wasn t going to give up and let her win.It was his life and their love story didn t get a tragic ending, no matter what kind of men theywere.Rowan grabbed another needle from the box, long and sharp, and slid it into the crack.It caughton the uneven surface of the bolt, and he slipped it sideways.The bolt moved.Barely.Less than a millimeter.But it did move.He almost laughed.Or cried.Fuck, it was something!Rowan was so intent on the bolt and the needle, he almost didn t notice the single set offootsteps rushing down the hall.Whoever it was wore boots, soft soled, and stopped right outside thedoor.He almost dropped the needle, but he slipped it into his palm instead.Then the bolt slid free, and Rowan stood.Kamil stared at him.The beta s usually controlled expression was stricken, brown eyes wide,and his face flushed from the run. The omega he started.Rowan didn t wait for him to finish.He charged past the man and down the hall.The thread thatbound him to Elijah tugged him forward
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