Chapter 472: Surrender.

AIDAN.

The heavy oak door clicked shut as Daniel left the room, but the silence he left behind felt even thicker than before.

I stayed by the window, my forehead pressed against the cold glass, staring out at the foggy courtyard. My chest felt tight, like someone had wrapped a chain around my ribs and was slowly pulling it tight. Inside the room, the heavy, ragged breathing of my brothers echoed against the stone walls, mixed with the faint, terrifyingly weak gasps coming from Maria’s bed.

I turned around slowly.

Davian was still standing in the center of the room, staring at his hands as if he didn’t recognize them anymore. Damien was slumped by the mattress, holding Maria’s hand like a lifeline, his eyes red and swollen. And in the dark corner, Adrein sat against the wall, clutching his chest where his bond thread was frayed and bleeding from his failed attempt to let her go.

We looked pitiful. Four Alphas, the leaders of this pack, completely broken in our own home.

"Aidan..." Davian spoke first, his voice sounding hollow and completely exhausted. He didn’t even look up at me. "Say something, man. You’ve been quiet this whole time."

I let out a low, rough sigh, running a hand down my face. "What do you want me to say, Davian? That everything’s fine? That we’ve got this under control?"

"I want to know what you think about Daniel’s plan," Davian said, finally lifting his head. His eyes were bloodshot, desperate for a way out of this nightmare. "Is he right? Is surrendering to the Lycan prince our only move left?"

Adrein let out a dry, bitter laugh from his corner, shaking his head. "Surrender? Are you guys seriously listening to yourselves? We’re Alphas. The moment we walk into that territory and drop our weapons, we’re handing them our heads on a silver platter."

"We’re not actually surrendering, Adrein!" Davian snapped back, his temper flaring up for a second before dying back down into exhaustion. "You heard Daniel. It’s a front. We pretend to be beaten so the prince drops his guard, and then we hit him from the inside!"

"And what if it’s a trap?" Adrein countered, his voice cracking with emotion as he dragged himself up a few inches against the wall. "Have any of you stopped to think about that? Daniel shows up out of nowhere, right when everything is falling apart, giving us this ’perfect’ strategy? It’s too convenient."

"He’s right to be suspicious," Damien chimed in quietly, his thumb gently stroking the back of Maria’s pale hand. He looked up at me with wide, terrified eyes. "Aidan, we can’t just trust Daniel blindly. But look at Maria. Look at her. The healer said her spirit is suffocating under the weight of this pack war and our bond. If we stay here, locked in this estate, doing nothing... she’s not going to make it."

I walked away from the window, my heavy boots thudding softly against the floor until I reached the edge of the bed. I looked down at Maria. Her face was dangerously pale, her dark eyelashes resting still against her skin. The glowing mark Damien had left on her neck looked almost bruised now, a physical reminder of how badly we had messed up.

"I don’t trust Daniel," I said, my voice dropping into a low, firm register that made all three of my brothers freeze. "I’ve never fully trusted him, and I’m not going to start today."

Davian frowned. "Then why are you even considering this?"

"Because we don’t have a choice anymore, Davian!" I raised my voice, the sudden raw edge in my tone cutting straight through the room. "Look at us! We’re paralyzed! We’re sitting in this room arguing while our mate’s life is slipping away by the hour! The pack is vulnerable, our perimeter is stressed, and the Lycan prince is just waiting for the right moment to crush us!"

"So your answer is to walk right into his den?" Adrein asked quietly, staring at me with a mix of pain and disbelief.

"My answer is to move," I barked, turning to face Adrien. "We are losing control of everything and if we stay here, defensively waiting for the Lycan prince to strike, he’ll lay siege to this estate. Maria won’t survive the strain of a siege, as her wolf will break completely under that kind of dark, chaotic energy."

Davian stepped closer, his jaw tight. "So... you want to go through with Daniel’s plan?"

I took a deep breath, swallowing the bitter pride that had dictated my entire life up to this point.

"If we pretend to surrender, we take the battle away from this estate," I explained, looking between Davian and Damien. "We force the prince to focus on us, in his own territory. It buys time for Maria. It takes the target off her back and gives the healer space to stabilize her without the constant threat of an invasion hanging over this house."

"And what about us?" Adrein asked, clutching his chest with a wince. "What happens when we walk into that fortress without our full strength? I’m messed up, Aidan. My bond thread is bleeding out. I can barely hold my wolf steady."

My chest ached for him, but I kept my face solid as iron. "Then you stay back if you have to, Adrein. But Davian, Damien, and I will go. We play the part of the defeated lords. We let the prince think he’s won. We swallow our damn pride, bow our heads, and the second his guards step back... we tear that place down from the inside out."

Damien swallowed hard, looking down at Maria one last time before looking back up at me with a resolute nod. "If it keeps the war away from her... I’m in."

Davian let out a long, ragged breath, running his hand over his jaw. "It feels wrong, Aidan. It feels like we’re walking on thin ice."

"It is thin ice," I agreed grimly, placing a heavy hand on Davian’s shoulder. "It’s a massive risk. But sitting in this room waiting for Maria to die is a guaranteed failure. I’d rather die fighting in enemy territory than watch our mate fade away on this mattress because we were too proud to make a move."

Silence fell over the room again, but this time, the heavy paralysis was gone. The decision was made.

"Go find Daniel," I told Davian, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Tell him we’re agreeing to his proposal. Tell him to get his men ready and set up the arrangements for the transfer. We leave as soon as the sun starts to set."

Davian hesitated for a fraction of a second, then gave me a sharp nod. "Alright. I’ll tell him."

He turned and pushed through the heavy wooden door, his footsteps echoing down the hallway as he went to deliver our answer.

I looked back down at Maria, leaning down to lightly press my fingers against her cool cheek. My heart hammered against my ribs, a dark, heavy shadow hanging over my gut.

’Hold on just a little longer, Maria,’ I thought, my jaw tightening as I braced myself for what was coming. ’We’re going to end this.’

Defeating the Lycan prince is a good one, as he seems to have many medicines and poisons in his territory.

One way or the other, I can get one to treat Maria.