Chapter 4 Zara pov

"I am leaving now," I said to Jamie, my voice steady with a hint of something that sounded like regret. "While I am gone, you are in charge. Treat them all like family. No one gets hurt, no games are played, and no risks are taken. You keep them safe and out of sight."

Jamie looked at me with widened eyes, trying to mask his feelings. "You do not have to go alone," he urged, stepping closer.

"Whatever it is, we would face it together," he tried to my mind, but I shook my head negatively. I reached out my hands to touch his shoulder. "This is something I have to do alone," I replied, my tone softened but unyielding.

"There are things in my past that I have to face, things that won't let me breathe if I don't. And for me to lead... truly lead... I need to be free from them," I explained. Jamie searched my face for a moment. I'd already told him before while we were alone that there would be a time I would leave the den to face my past, and today is the right time.

I can't wait any longer, but instead of my first plan, I changed it when I realized this is a battle I need to face alone and not risk any of my family.

"Fine, I'll let you go, but promise me you'll return. I do not want to take no for an answer," He insisted, and I chuckled while nodding my head in affirmation.

"I promise I will come out victorious," I promise instead, even if dying is the only way to win, then I'm going to die. Tears slid down his eyes; I wiped them off, and he engulfed me in an embrace.

"We will miss you, my queen. I'll miss you, Zara," he whispered in my ear, the embrace getting tighter.

"I am going to miss you too," I muttered and smiled. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I pulled away from the hug.

"Time to go, my queen," he said, placing a kiss on my knuckles. I ruffled his hair and smiled, collecting my bag from him. With one look at the den, I turned and disappeared into the shadows.

***

It was hours later when I crept up on the pack's territory. I covered my face with a black mask, my hair styled in a bun, and my feet encased in boots. Everything around me was black, blending with the shadows. I moved silently, lighting fires around their perimeter, one by one, letting the flames creep into their path. The smoke filled the air, carrying a faint, almost untraceable scent laced with herbs I added to the flames. They worked fast, spreading through the camp like a plague, leaving them weaker and disoriented, barely able to stand.

I heard growls and howls with confused shouts, moving closer to the pack, bodies falling, piling up each other. Some stumbled trying to get me, but I was faster and smarter. From the shadow I took down people who got in my way; my strikes were precise, calculated, and ruthless, each one fueling the fire that had long smoldered inside me.

One of the pack warriors blocked my way, "An intruder here!" One of them screamed and attacked me without waiting for others. I held his hands, broke his claws, and pushed him away. He tried to come closer, but I snapped his neck at a go. Another charged at me; he was fiercer and faster than the first one; he held my hair, but before he could lose my bun, I kicked him in the groin. He let out a groan, but I cared less and hit him hard on the face. He tried to alert others like the first one did, but I stabbed him in the abdomen.

Blood was cluttering my hands, making me scrunch my face in irritation. Just as I was about to turn in another direction, an arrow was shot at me. I dodged at the right time and then brought out a dagger from my side pocket and threw it at the attacker, and he slumped to the ground.

Finally, my path was cleared until an omega stumbled in front of me, eyes scared, barely breathing. It reminded me of those moments when I had no one to come to my aid.

"Help me," he mouthed, and something shook inside of me. I heard footsteps approaching. I snapped my head to the sides; there were three of them, and I could easily take them down, but I had other plans in mind.

I brought out an herb that could make the omega last longer before fainting. Once he had inhaled the herb, I gave him a mask to cover his nose so he wouldn't inhale the smoke.

"Bound me and act like you captured me," I said to him. His eyes widened, but I nodded my head, trying to tell him it's okay. He pressed his lips, looking uncertain. I brought my hands closer, and then he bound me with the shackles I gave him, and then he brought me to the pack, not letting others touch me.

He told them they shouldn't do that. Once we walked deeper into the pack, I smiled at the damage I had caused. It was enough to get the attention of that selfish alpha and also enough to kill some elders.

"Aiden, who's that?" One of the pack guards asked, but the latter ignored him, walking towards the alpha.

"Why did you ask me to bound you? You could have just escaped; I won't even tell anyone I saw you," the omega inquired, still not grasping why I told him to take him inside the pack. I chuckled lightly.

"It is still part of the plan, kid. I would still achieve whatever it is I want to achieve," I replied, and he had a confused expression, but he didn't say anything.

"Alpha, I've caught the intruder who caused the flames," Aiden roared, which caught the angry Alpha's attention.

Just as the Alpha turned his back on me, my eyes lit in horror as I felt my wolf stir up within me.