Chapter 86: Does her face ring a bell?

Several hours later, just as morning turned to noon, Dorian arrived at the Southern pack with his army.

The armoured sedans plowed through the muddy road, slamming into deep potholes and sending sprays of brown water against the windows.

Dorian stared out at the passing landscape, cold fury tightening his jaw at the state of the territory.

Wintercrest had once been a pristine, heavily fortified haven. During his parents’ reign, the regional Alphas across the East, West, and South had worked alongside the lesser packs and the North to maintain absolute order and strength.

Now, seeing how terribly the South had deteriorated under neglect, his blood boiled. The pack Alpha, Alpha Grayson, was a squandering leech who squeezed the civilians for taxes and left the territory to rot.

Dorian made a mental note to strip him off his title and replace him once the whole shapeshifter threat was eliminated.

Beside him, Alyssa gazed out at the familiar dirt roads she had known all her life. A heavy wave of melancholy and bittersweet nostalgia washed over her.

She had walked these paths day and night, bleeding under Ingrid’s endless cruelty. Yet here she was, returning to the place where her suffering began, not as a broken, nameless servant, but as the Queen of Wintercrest. And Ingrid was dead.

Life was so humbling and unpredictable.

Dorian placed a warm hand over her forearm, drawing her gaze. Noticing the faint shadow in her eyes, he reached out and gently rested two fingers beneath her chin.

"Are you okay, little lamb?"

She offered a small smile and nodded. "I am. It’s just a lot to process. I spent years believing I would never escape the walls of this pack. I thought my life would end here."

"Never say those words again," Dorian murmured, leaning forward until his forehead rested lightly against hers. "You are the Queen of Wintercrest now. This entire continent answers to you."

She nodded, her lips curving into a subtle, mischievous grin. "I suppose I should start acting the part. Stiff spine, cold eyes, looking down my nose at everyone."

Dorian let out a sudden, deep laugh that echoed through the quiet interior of the car. Alyssa caught the absurdity of her own description and broke into laughter right alongside him.

"You don’t need to act like anyone else, my love," Dorian chuckled, his eyes softening as he traced her cheek. "You are perfect the way you are."

"Thank you," she beamed.

A moment later, the convoy passed her former home. Alyssa sat up straighter, looking through the tinted window at the small cottage that had served as her prison. It stood isolated and locked down.

Dorian squeezed her hand firmly as the cars pressed deeper into the territory, heading straight toward Gerald Frazier’s estate.

A few hundred yards from the outer gates, the convoy ground to a halt. The rear doors burst open, and Lycan soldiers poured out into the rain, shifting into terrifying Lycan forms as they charged into the perimeter, tearing through the gate with vicious growls.

André kept driving, taking Dorian and Alyssa directly through the shattered entrance.

Alyssa’s pulse spiked again, the fear she had carefully suppressed rushing back into her throat. In mere moments, she would face the monster who had bought, abused, and hunted her.

Inside the main estate, Gerald had just finished locking the abducted girls into three separate rooms in the basement. He stood near the back exit, a disgusting smile plastered across his face as he counted thick stacks of cash handed to him by his buyers.

He was slipping the money into his coat when a guard burst down the corridor, pale and panting wildly.

"Sir Gerald! We’re under attack!"

Gerald froze, his grip tightening on the cash. "By whom? The rogues?"

"Worse!" the guard choked out. "It’s the Alpha King!"

Gerald’s face drained of all color. He had assumed the abductions had gone completely unnoticed by the North.

"LOCK DOWN THE ESTATE!" he roared, terror tearing through his chest. "LOCK IT DOWN NOW!"

"It’s already breached!" the guard screamed back. "They’re inside!"

Gerald shoved him aside and bolted toward his private quarters. He had to escape. If the Lycan King caught him, there would be no trial. Only execution.

He crashed into his study and rushed to the wall safe. Punching in the code with trembling fingers, he yanked the door open and scooped the stacks of cash into a leather briefcase.

He had just latched the briefcase shut when the study door burst open, obliterated right off its hinges.

Enormous Lycan warriors flooded the room, their dark fur bristling, amber eyes burning with feral hatred as they closed in on him.

Cornered, Gerald’s primal survival instinct took over. His flesh tore apart as his wolf form erupted forward, lunging wildly at the nearest Lycan.

It was futile. Against battle-hardened Lycan guards, he was nothing, completely outnumbered.

A massive claw smashed him into the floor, followed by brutal strikes that broke his ribs and shattered his jaw until his body forcefully shifted back to his human form.

Breathing heavily, the guards dragged his battered frame out into the foyer.

Dorian stood at the center of the living room alongside Alyssa. The rest of the guards had already begun breaking down doors, freeing the terrified women trapped inside the harem.

Alyssa scanned the hallway, desperate to find Henna, but Dorian kept a firm arm locked around her waist.

"My men will find her," he assured her softly. "Just stay beside me."

The double doors leading from the study corridor slammed open. Gerald was dragged in by two Lycans, his feet dragging uselessly across the marble floor.

Jake stepped forward, shifting out of his Lycan form, his face contorted into absolute disgust. Alec followed right behind him, wiping dark blood from his knuckles as he shifted too.

"His men have been subdued, Alpha," Jake reported. "And the captive girls have been rescued."

Dorian released Alyssa and stepped forward, his massive frame looming over the broken man on the floor.

"Hold him up."

Jake grabbed a handful of Gerald’s hair and yanked his head back until his swollen eyes met Dorian’s.

"Please... Alpha..." Gerald choked out, spitting mouthfuls of crimson onto the tile. "Spare me... I was giving those girls a home..."

"A home?" Dorian snarled viciously. Claws extended from his fingers, and with a blinding strike, he struck Gerald across the face.

Skin and flesh tore from his face with a sickening sound. Gerald collapsed onto his side, a wet, gurgling scream ripping out from the depths of his throat.

"Abducting women and tormenting them isn’t giving them a home. It’s you being a sick, pathetic bastard!" Dorian roared. He pointed a finger down at Alyssa. "Look at your Queen! Does her face ring a bell in that wretched mind of yours?"

Gerald squinted through a haze of blood and agony at the woman standing beside the King. As her features clicked in his mind, his blood ran cold. It was the girl who had escaped his clutches a month ago.

"You fucking whore!" he spat blindly. Those were the last words he ever spoke.

Shadow erupted to the surface, completely seizing Dorian’s mind. Without a word, he lifted his boot and brought it crashing down directly onto Gerald’s head.

CRACK.

Alyssa squeezed her eyes shut, turning her face away before she could see the horrific aftermath on the marble floor. She forced herself to breathe through the sharp smell of iron and copper, knowing this was the brutal reality of Dorian’s rule.

Dorian wiped his boot against the floor, glaring down at Gerald’s motionless corpse with utter disdain. He turned his furious eyes to Jake.

"Put down every single one of his men," he ordered coldly. "Every single one of the buyers who indulged in his sick act. Leave no one alive."

Jake nodded curtly. "Yes, Alpha."

"Alyssa?" a trembling voice suddenly called out from the far hallway.

Alyssa turned, her eyes widening as she recognized the girl standing near the archway, holding a small blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders.

"Henna!" she cried out, tears spilling over her lashes.

The two girls rushed across the room, collapsing into each other’s arms, sobbing in pure relief.

Dorian watched them quietly, stepping back to give them space. But beside him, Jake went completely motionless.

Jake’s breath hitched in his throat. His chest expanded as a warm, electric scent filled his senses, sending his pulse skyrocketing as his wolf howled in wild realization.

A single word thundered through his mind.

MATE.