Chapter 1- The Girl in the Silver Cage

Elowen Skye Thorne POV

The scent of coffee and cinnamon hit me first, but it couldn’t chase her face away.

The girl in the silver cage.

Even with the morning light pouring into the room and the soft hum of my mates talking, I could still see her, curled in that silver cage, covered in bruises, her golden brown eyes burning through mine like a damn brand. I hadn't said a word yet, but my chest felt tight like something sacred was rattling around in there.

“That was a soul call,” Lyssira whispered again, voice low and urgent in my head. “You felt her because her spirit cried out, and yours answered. You know what that means.”

Yeah. I did. I sighed heavily, running my hands through my hair. One more day and I could start walking again. Get my body moving. Get my fucking power back. But my soul? It was already sprinting toward a girl locked in a goddamn cage.

I sat up slowly, wincing as my muscles protested. My mates noticed immediately because of course they did.

“Easy, love,” Lachlan said from across the room, his Scottish brogue laced with concern as he stirred a mug of tea that smelled like honey and spice. “Yer body’s still mendin’. Don’t push tae fast.”

“I’m fine,” I muttered.

“No, you're not,” Daxon said bluntly from where he leaned against the window, arms crossed. His sharp grey eyes were locked on me, unblinking. “You’re tense as fuck. What’s going on?”

The bed shifted beside me as Ashrian sat up, black eyes soft and watchful. “Is it the dream again?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Her. The girl in the silver cage. I can’t get her out of my head. And it’s not just some haunting image. Lyssi said it’s a soul call. She’s real. She’s calling to us.”

There was a pause. Even Vaelrix, who was shirtless and lounging like the smug dragon king he is, went still. His golden eyes narrowed.

“You’re saying Lucien has another prisoner?” he said, voice like smoke and thunder.

“She’s in a cage,” I said. “Silver bars. Bruised. Fighting like hell. I don’t know who she is yet, but I felt her. She’s not just some vision. She’s meant for us.”

Bram grunted from where he was fixing my plate. “Then we get her. No one deserves to stay locked in a place like that.”

“She’s in his private quarters,” I added. “I want to send in a team. Scout it out. See if there’s a way to get her out.”

Taya’s voice called through the half open door. “You rang?”

She stepped in with Rylen behind her, both of them already geared up because chaos never sleeps in this castle. Taya flopped into the nearest chair and propped her boots on the table like the menace she is.

“You know I love a good ‘fuck around and find out’ mission,” she said. “What’s the target?”

“Lucien’s quarters,” I said. “There’s a girl there. Possibly another hybrid. Possibly worse. I need eyes on the ground. You two up for recon?”

Rylen grinned. “That’s a dumb question.”

“You sure you’re ready to start planning ops again?” Daxon asked, moving closer. His voice was gentle, but his alpha energy still rolled off him in waves. “You’re still healing.”

“One more day and I’m cleared to walk,” I said. “I won’t be storming any towers yet, but I’m not sitting on my ass while someone else suffers.”

Jace and Amaris popped their heads into the room like the nosey, violent siblings they were born to be.

“Mission?” Jace asked. “We’re in.”

Amaris nodded. “Rescue mission? Definitely in.”

Ashrian passed me a cup of coffee, and I accepted it with slightly trembling hands. My heart was still thudding. Something about all of this felt… big. Like fate level big.

Then it happened. Ash reached over, just to touch the small of my back, and I lost it. Flashback. My body jerked. My breath caught. And my fist flew. He caught it just in time, eyes wide....but not with fear. With understanding.

I froze. Horrified. “Oh my gods, Ash!” My voice cracked. “I didn’t mean...fuck...I didn’t even think, I just...”

“Shh,” he said gently, lowering my hand. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I almost punched you in the face.” I groaned loudly, covering my face with my hands.

“You didn’t, El,” Bram said firmly, setting a plate down in front of me. “That matters.”

“I feel like I’m crawling out of my own fucking skin,” I admitted, choking on the words. “I feel like I’m still chained up. Still broken.”

“You’re not broken,” Daxon growled, crouching beside me. “You’re bruised. You’re hurting. But you’re still you. You’re still our Queen.”

Vaelrix knelt at my other side, brushing his knuckles against my knee. “You flinched. So what? I breathe fire in my sleep and nearly incinerated a stable boy last week. You think any of us are perfect?”

“El,” Ashrian whispered. “I’d take a hundred near punches if it meant you were still here with us.”

Lachlan stepped forward, sliding his warm hand into mine. “Yer allowed to struggle, mo ghrá. Let us carry some of it when ye can’t. That’s what we’re fuckin’ here fer.”

I blinked hard, trying to keep the tears in. “I don’t deserve any of you.”

Bram leaned in and kissed the top of my head. “Too bad. You’ve got us anyway.”

Taya raised her mug from across the room. “Now that we’ve had our emotional bonding moment, can we get to the part where we break into Lucien’s house and wreck shit?”

Everyone laughed, even me. Just a little. I looked around the room at my chaos family, my mates, my friends, my soul pack, and felt that soul call in my chest again. Stronger. Louder.

The girl in the silver cage was waiting. And I wasn’t going to let her die in that cage.

Not on my godsdamn watch.

Taya Quinn POV

Planning the Rescue

“Okay, rule number one,” I said, flipping a dagger between my fingers and casually stabbing it into the map on Lucien’s tower, “if it glows, pulses, whispers, or moans, don’t fucking touch it.”

Jace raised his hand. “Even if it moans seductively?”

“Especially then,” Rylen muttered without looking up, enchanted blueprint glowing under his hands.

Amaris sighed and handed me a muffin like that would somehow improve my patience.

Spoiler: it did.

Zuki huffed in my head. “You’re just mad Lucien’s tower is prettier than your throwing knife wall.” I growled in response.

“I can fix that.”

The room buzzed with energy as we pieced the plan together, stealth, speed, spellwork. A high level, low survivability strike. My favorite kind. Then the door creaked open and the temperature shifted. I looked up, and nearly choked on my coffee.

Druen Fenrath stepped into the room like a walking fucking ghost. Big, broad, black clad, and still wearing that don’t fuck with me face I remembered from our days on Elowen’s wolf strike team. The man moved like a shadow with teeth.

And next to him, his mate, Princess Rivena. Lycan royalty in leather armor that looked like it cost more than my entire wardrobe. Regal. Deadly. Her amber eyes sparkled with challenge, like she’d just dared someone to underestimate her.

And behind them, Rivena's second mate, Prince Lazurien, the dryad heir. He looked like he’d been carved from moonlight and silk and then dipped in arrogance. Silver blond hair, glowing green tattoos creeping up his neck, and a smug little smirk that said he knew every leaf and lash he carried turned heads.

“Well, well, look what the void dragged in,” I said, grinning as I folded my arms.

Druen’s eyes, those deep, stormy, wolf shifter eyes, locked on mine. “Heard you were planning a mission to Lucien’s quarters.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Started as a recon mission, I'm thinking we make it a rescue one."

Rivena stepped forward, voice smooth and commanding. “You need a team. We’re volunteering.”

Zuki practically howled in my head. “Mmm, hot royal backup? This rescue mission just turned into a runway.”

Druen crossed his arms, muscle flexing under his leathers. “You know I’ve been in that tower. I led a recon team there two years ago. I know every stairwell, hidden door, and magical choke point.”

“And I,” Rivena said with a sharp smile, “have five generations of combat training, ten blades hidden on me, and a personal vendetta against Lucien’s bloodline. Vampires in general really."

Lazurien stepped in lazily, inspecting his nails like he was already bored. “And I can grow thorned vines from under your enemies’ skin and make them sing in agony. If you’re into that sort of thing.”

“I am,” Jace said with a grin.

I looked at Rylen. “Well?”

Rylen shrugged, eyes dancing. “I’m not saying no.”

I turned back to the trio. “Welcome to the chaos.”

Amaris passed Rivena a copy of the tower ward grid. “We portal in through the garden balcony. Lucien won’t expect it, he keeps his elite forces at the front, not the rooftop. From there we split, distraction team and extraction team.”

Jace leaned across the table, pointing with a half eaten cinnamon stick. “Me and Amaris take the eastern flank, drop shadows, fuck with the scry wards. Druen, you lead the charge through the inner sanctum. You remember the corridors, yeah?”

He nodded. “Better than I remember most of my childhood.”

“Charming,” Zuki said in my head, “remind me to write that on his gravestone if this goes sideways.”

“Only if you use glitter ink.” I snarked back.

I looked at Rivena. “You good with crowd control?”

She unsheathed two silver daggers from beneath her chestplate. “I was born for it.”

“And Lazurien,” I said slowly, “you’re our plant based murder god. Any chance you can mute those shrieking ward vines Lucien loves so much?”

He rolled his eyes. “Darling, I don’t silence them. I replace them.”

The entire room lit up with grins and bloodlust. This was it. This was the squad. Seven deadly, divine, and unhinged souls about to launch into the heart of hell for one trapped girl.

“We ride at dusk,” I said.

Zuki purred in my mind. “Finally. Let’s go kill something.”