BOUND TO THREE ALPHAS
Chapter 64: SILVER CHAINS

Chapter 64: SILVER CHAINS

Chapter 64: Silver Chains

Cold silver bit into Liana’s wrists as awareness crept back. Her head pounded like drums, and every breath tasted of metal and fear. Stone walls circled her, covered in silver veins that pulsed with unnatural light. "Luna?" she whispered desperately. "Are you there?" Nothing. The silence in her mind felt like death. A heavy door creaked open. Footsteps echoed against the walls as someone neared. Liana forced herself to sit up, ignoring the burning pain from her chains. "Awake at last."

The voice belonged to a huge man with steel-gray hair and eyes like winter storms. "I am Alpha Magnus, leader of the Iron Fang Coalition." "Where’s Jace?" she asked. "Is he alive?" "Your mate survives. Barely." Magnus circled her cell like a predator studying food. "Silver poisoning is slow but certain. He has perhaps a day before his heart stops completely." Terror clawed at her throat. "Let me see him." "Certainly. After we talk." Magnus gestured to a chair outside her cell. As he sat, Liana noted the moonstone orb hanging from his neck. It glowed with the same sickly light as the walls, making her skin crawl. "That thing," she said, pointing at the item. "It’s blocking my powers." "Among other abilities." Magnus touched the orb almost gently.

"This relic has saved my family for twelve generations. It was crafted by the first wolves who recognized the danger you pose." "What danger? I’m trying to join the packs, not destroy them." Magnus laughed bitterly. "Unite them into what? Humans with memories of being wolves?" Liana blinked in confusion. "That’s ridiculous." "Is it?" Magnus leaned forward. "Tell me, Luna.

When you use your powers, do you feel more human or more wolf?" The question hit her like a physical blow. Because the truth was complex. Her skills felt ancient, yes, but also... refined. Controlled. Less wild than a normal wolf’s senses. "I see understanding in your eyes," Magnus continued. "The predictions speak clearly. When the Luna rises, the wild fades. Wolves become tame. The animal spirit gets weak until it disappears entirely." "That’s not true!" "Your own pack members are already changing. They question orders instead of following. They argue instead of accepting hierarchy. They think instead of feeling." Magnus’s voice grew harsh. "You’re teaching them to be human." Liana’s mind raced. Some of what he said was true. The alliance packs were different now—more thoughtful, less ruled by pure instinct.

But that was progress, wasn’t it? "Even if that were happening," she said slowly, "would it be so terrible? Maybe we’re meant to change." "Into what? Weak beings who’ve forgotten their true nature?" Magnus stood abruptly. "I’ve seen the end result. The last Luna who tried this way destroyed an entire pack. They became so human they could no longer shift at all. They died out within a generation." "You’re lying." "The Midnight Pack. Look it up in your precious files." His eyes burned with passion. "Three hundred wolves reduced to normal people in fifty years. Their children couldn’t even feel other werewolves. They became completely mortal." Liana’s heart sank. Rowan had suggested finding records of other failed attempts, but she’d never imagined anything like this. "So you see," Magnus continued, "we don’t fight you from pride or custom. We fight for life. Your very existence threatens what we are." "There has to be another way—" "The only way is your death." Magnus’s voice held no feeling. "The predictions are clear on that as well. When the false Luna falls, the wild returns." He walked toward the door, then stopped. "I’ll give you time to consider your position. Perhaps you’ll see reason and end this quietly." "What about Jace?" "He’ll live long enough for you to say goodbye. If you cooperate." The door slammed shut, leaving Liana alone with her thoughts and the steady pulse of the moonstone’s suppressive magic. Meanwhile, chaos consumed the ally camp. Marcus had returned with news of the ambush, and every wolf in the territory felt the absence of their Luna like a lost heartbeat. Kael paced the command room like a caged animal.

Maps covered every surface, marked with possible paths and Coalition strongholds. "I can still feel her," he said for the tenth time. "Faint, but she’s alive." Rowan looked up from old texts spread across a table. "The bond is fading though. Something’s messing with it." "We need to move now," Kael growled. "Every minute we wait—" "Is a minute we use to plan properly." Elder Mira’s words cut through his frustration. "Rushing in will get you all killed." "She’s right," Alpha Sarah said reluctantly. "The Coalition has home edge. We don’t even know where they’re holding her." Kael’s fist slammed into the table. "Then we make them tell us!" "How?" Beta Thompson asked. "Attack their patrols? Start the war Shadowbane wants?" Before anyone could answer, commotion broke outside.

Voices shouted directions while footsteps ran in every direction. Talia burst into the tent, her eyes wide with fear. "It’s Jace! Marcus brought him back!" They rushed to the medical building, where pack healers worked furiously over Jace’s still form. Silver-tainted blood stained the wraps around his shoulder and leg. His skin had turned a frightening shade of gray. "How bad?" Rowan asked Dr. Hayes, their head doctor. "Bad. The silver pieces are too deep to remove safely, but leaving them in will kill him." Hayes wiped sweat from her face. "I’ve never seen bullets made like this. They’re meant to break apart inside the wound." Kael knelt beside the bed. "Jace? Can you hear me?" Jace’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused but determined. "Kael?" "I’m here. What happened?" "Trap," Jace whispered. "Humans... with Coalition guns. They knew we were coming." "Where did they take Liana?" "North. Compound... hidden in mountains." Jace struggled to sit up. "Ancient magic. Blocks her powers completely." "Rest," Rowan said gently. "We’ll handle this." "No." Jace grabbed his brother’s arm with surprising strength.

"I’m going with you." "You can barely breathe!" "She’s my mate too." Jace’s voice got stronger with each word. "I failed to protect her once. I won’t fail again." Dr. Hayes shook her head. "You’ll die if you try to fight in this condition." "I’ll die anyway if the silver stays in." Jace met her eyes steadily. "How long do I have?" "Maybe eighteen hours. Twenty if you rest completely." "Then we have eighteen hours to get her back." Jace looked at his brothers. "The Coalition won’t expect a rescue this fast. They’ll think we need time to plan and gather forces."

"Because we do," Kael objected. "No, we need speed and surprise." Jace coughed, but his eyes stayed clear. "Small team. Hit them before they’re ready." Rowan pulled out a detailed map. "I’ve been studying Coalition area. There are three possible sites where they might hold high-value prisoners." "The moonstone artifact," Jace said suddenly. "That’s what’s blocking her. If we can destroy it..." "Her powers would return," Kael finished. "She could break free on her own." "Or the shock could kill her," Elder Mira warned. "Ancient magic doesn’t release its hold gently." Silence fell over the room as they weighed their choices. Outside, thunder roared ominously. "I have an idea," Talia said quietly from the hallway. Everyone turned to look at her. "What if we don’t try to destroy the artifact? What if we steal it instead?" "Explain," Kael said.

"The moonstone suppresses her powers, right? But what if someone else wore it? Someone who could get close enough to remove her chains?" Rowan’s eyes widened. "Someone the Coalition wouldn’t suspect." "Someone expendable," Jace said sadly. "Like a prisoner who escaped." They stared at each other as the plan took shape.

It was dangerous, maybe impossible. But it was also their only chance. "We leave in one hour," Kael decided. "Small team, fast approach." "I’m coming," Jace declared, struggling to stand. "You can’t even walk!" "Then carry me." Jace’s grin was weak but determined. "I didn’t survive silver bullets just to miss the rescue."

As they prepared to leave, none of them spotted the small figure watching from the shadows outside the medical building. Someone who’d been listening to every word of their plan. Someone who quickly slipped away into the darkness, heading north toward Coalition territory with news that would change everything. The race to save Liana had begun. But so had the race to stop them.

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