Filed to story: Diana Nightshade and Alpha Talon Ravenwood Book PDF Free
Asher’s face hardened. “Hazel was a traitor, Rafe.”
Rafe laughed bitterly.
“She did not just betray me-her Alpha,” Asher continued. “She betrayed the pack. She attempted to assassinate the Alpha King’s mate.”
His voice darkened. “She colluded with rogues to do it.”
Rafe’s expression twisted, and he said quietly. “Just like I did.”
His eyes lifted again, “And yet here I am.”
He looked around the dark cell. “Rotting in this dungeon.”
“You are alive because you are my friend.” Asher’s jaw tightened. “If the Alpha King had his way, you would already be dead.”
Rafe laughed again, harsher this time.
“So this is mercy?” He gestured around the dungeon with chained hands. “This?”
He stepped closer to the bars. “You are weak, Asher.”
The words hit harder than any physical blow.
“You can never do what a real Alpha needs to do.”
Asher’s eyes flashed.
“If you were a strong Alpha,” Rafe continued mercilessly, “you would never have rejected Diana just because her wolf did not emerge when she should have been.”
“You would have fought for her.” His voice rose. “You would have told every pack member who objected to leave. You would have chosen your mate and let the rest deal with it.”
His lip curled. “But you didn’t. You chose the easier path.”
He leaned forward. “You dressed it up like a noble sacrifice. Like you were giving up your mate for the good of the pack.”
Rafe’s eyes filled with contempt. “But if you really think about it… you were just weak.”
Asher’s fists clenched.
“And look at you now,” Rafe continued relentlessly. “You are too weak to kill me.”
He laughed bitterly. “You think this is mercy because we were friends?”
He shook his head. “Our friendship died the moment you stood there and watched that bitch kill Hazel.”
Asher’s voice dropped dangerously. “Careful, Rafe.”
But Rafe ignored him. His eyes burned. “You didn’t even try to protect her. She was still your Luna in front of everyone. You chose her as your mate, and yet when the moment came…”
He leaned closer to the bars. “You did nothing, because you didn’t want to anger the Alpha King.”
The accusation hung heavy.
“You knew he was protective of his mate,” Rafe said. “So you took the easy path again.”
Asher stepped forward sharply. “You’re wrong, Rafe-“
“You know I’m right!” Rafe cut him off.
The words echoed through the dungeon.
For a moment, the two wolves simply stared at each other.
Then Rafe spoke again-quietly this time. “But hear this, Alpha.”
Something dark had settled in his eyes. “I will avenge my mate.”
Asher’s stomach tightened.
“Hazel was my mate.” His voice trembled. “And she was carrying my pup.”
The words landed like a hammer, then Asher froze.
“I will avenge them,” Rafe continued. “One way or another.”
“You cannot do that,” Asher said quickly. “The Alpha King will kill you long before you even get the chance.”
Rafe smiled slowly.
Cold.
Unhinged.
“I can, and I will.” He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “If you think these walls will hold me forever… think again.”
Asher’s wolf stirred uneasily.
“Because when I break free,” Rafe continued softly, “there will be only one thing left for me to do.”
His eyes gleamed with hatred. “I will kill Diana.”
The name echoed in the dungeon.
“Preferably in front of you… and the Alpha King.”
Asher’s blood ran cold.
Rafe’s grin widened into something almost monstrous.
“I can already picture it.” He closed his eyes briefly as if imagining the scene. “I can see both of your faces.
His voice turned chillingly calm. “The former mate… and the current mate… watching as she takes her last breath.”
He leaned back slowly. “While I slit her throat.”
Then Rafe began to laugh. Not the laugh of the wolf Asher had once grown up with, but the broken, manic laughter of someone who had lost everything.
And now had nothing left to lose.
“You are insane!” Asher shouted, his voice echoing off the damp stone walls of the dungeon.
Rafe only smiled-a cold, broken smile that no longer resembled the wolf Asher had once called brother.
“Diana is not to blame for any of this,” Asher continued angrily. “It was you and Hazel who betrayed this pack. It was you and her who colluded with the rogues. You and her!”
His words carried both fury and disbelief. How had everything fallen apart this badly?
But Rafe only laughed.
“All I know,” he said slowly, his eyes dark and hollow, “and all I care about… is that she killed my mate.”
“And I will have my revenge, Alpha.” His voice hardened, and he learted closer to the iron bars. “I will kill your ex-mate.”
Before Asher could respond, a sharp voice cut into his mind.
‘Alpha, rogues are spotted near our border.’
The mind link snapped through his thoughts like lightning.
Asher’s head jerked slightly.
Rafe noticed immediately.
“Your pack is calling you, Alpha,” Rafe said mockingly, leaning back against the wall as if amused. “You do not need to waste your time here in this dungeon.”
He tilted his head slightly. “You would not want the pack thinking you are still friendly with a traitor… would you?”
Asher’s jaw tightened. “This is not over, Rafe.”
Rafe only smirked.
For a brief moment something flickered in Asher’s eyes. “Whatever you say… you are still my friend.”
“And you just proved to me how weak you are,” Rafe replied coldly.
Asher did not answer.
There was no time.
He turned and rushed out of the dungeon, climbing the stone steps two at a time. As he emerged into the pack house corridor, he immediately mind-linked the entire territory.
‘All non-combatants move to the bunkers immediately. Warriors to the northern border. Move now!’
Panic rippled through the pack, but training took over quickly.
Within minutes, the territory was mobilizing.
Asher shifted into his wolf mid-run, racing toward the border where several warriors had already gathered.
When he arrived, he shifted back to human form beside Tyler-his newly appointed Beta. Tyler stood beside the captain of the Royal Guards, both watching the tree line beyond Crimson Fang’s borders.
And there they were.
Rogues.
Dozens of them.
Standing just beyond the invisible line marking pack territory, but they were not attacking. They were simply… standing there.
“What are they doing?” Asher asked, his voice tense.
Tyler shook his head. “We do not know, Alpha. They just appeared. They have not crossed the border. They have not made any aggressive moves.”
“They are organized,” The Royal Guard captain narrowed his eyes. “Too organized for normal rogues.”
The pack warriors murmured among themselves uneasily.
Then suddenly, one of the rogues stepped forward from the group. A tall male, broad-shouldered, with a calm, confident posture that immediately set him apart from the others.
He stopped a few feet from the border line. “My name is Conall, Beta of the Rogue Pack.”
The words sent immediate whispers through the Crimson Fang warriors.
“Rogue pack?”
“There is no such thing.”
“How can there be a rogue pack?”
“Rogues do not organize.”
Conall’s sharp eyes scanned the group, clearly hearing every whisper, then he looked directly at Asher.
“Do you really allow your pack to speak so freely behind you, Alpha?” Conall asked calmly. “Is this level of disrespect normal in your presence?”
Asher’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment. He turned sharply toward the warriors and barked.” Silence!”
The whispers died instantly.
Then he looked back at the rogue.
“What do you want, Beta Conall?” Asher demanded. “Why are you standing at my border?”
Conall tilted his head slightly. “Hm. You truly do not know why we are here, Alpha?”
“I do not have any idea why rogues would come to my territory aside from ominous reasons,” Asher replied coldly.
Conall chuckled softly. “You mistake us for feral rogues.”
His gaze hardened. You should know the difference, Alpha. After all your Luna and Beta were able to collude with some of our pack members to kill a certain wolf.”
A ripple of tension passed through the Crimson Fang warriors.
“Those wolves were dealt with,” Asher’s eyes narrowed. “Along with the rogues who attacked us.”
“As they should have been,” Conall agreed calmly, then his lips curved slightly. “And the one who dealt with them… was the female wolf your Luna wanted dead.”
The meaning was unmistakable.
Diana.
“Enough games,” Asher felt a flash of anger, and he said sharply. “Cut to the point. What do you want? Why are you here?”
Conall studied him for a moment before answering. “We came to meet the female wolf.”
He paused. “We wished to see our queen.”
The words shocked everyone present. More whispers erupted.
“Queen?”
“What is he talking about?”
But Asher’s heart sank. “If you know who that female wolf is, then you should also know she is no longer here.”
Conall nodded calmly. “We know.”
He shrugged slightly. “But it was worth trying.”
Then his expression shifted-businesslike now. “You asked what we want.”
“Yes,” Asher said.
“Since she is no longer here,” Conall continued, “we ask you politely to give us the traitor.”
Asher stiffened. “What traitor?”
