So she made it precise. Intentional. Something that required thought, not luck. Even if someone suspected a hidden mechanism and started testing things, they wouldn’t immediately figure out the exact sequence.

And that hesitation, that delay, was everything.

It would buy her, and anyone with her, just enough time to get farther away... before anyone realized where they had gone.

Just as Ashley had anticipated, the cellar descended into chaos.

When the warriors found no trace of her, no body, no movement, no lingering scent beyond that point, they didn’t hesitate. Convinced her trail ended there, they tore into the place like beasts. Barrels were smashed open, wine flooding across the floor. Racks were shoved aside, splintering under force as they searched every corner, every shadow.

Still—nothing.

No Ashley.

That was when it clicked.

"There’s a hidden exit," the second warrior snapped, his voice sharp with rising frustration. "Fuck, we weren’t told about this. Find the mechanism. Now!"

He moved along the walls, yanking at anything within reach, fixtures, shelves, and anything that looked even remotely out of place. His mind raced. If Maddison had installed a hidden room upstairs with a simple trigger, then the same logic had to apply here.

There had to be a lever. A switch.

Something.

Finding it would cost them time, but once they did, they could make up for it in the chase.

As long as they found it fast enough.

They had torn through everything in the cellar, leaving destruction in their path. In the end, only one thing remained untouched: the wall-mounted candle holder, fixed firmly against the stone wall.

The moment they noticed it, a surge of excitement cut through their frustration, their anger sharpening into anticipation at the thought of finally catching up to Ashley. But when they tried to pull it, it didn’t move.

The second warrior stilled, his expression tightening as he forced himself to think. It wouldn’t be that simple, not with Ashley. She was too meticulous, too witty to leave something so important exposed to chance. There had to be a sequence.

After a brief pause, he reached out and twisted the wall-mounted candle holder clockwise.

Nothing.

He tried again, more forcefully this time. Still nothing.

A low curse slipped past his lips before he reversed the motion, turning it counterclockwise instead. This time, it shifted slightly beneath his grip.

His eyes narrowed.

It could turn both ways.

Which meant it wasn’t just a single motion that would open the hidden exit, but it was a combination. A precise sequence hidden behind something deceptively simple. And that realization made his chest tighten. There could be countless variations, each one needing to be tested.

Time they didn’t have.

If they stayed here guessing, Ashley, even injured, would gain more distance with every passing second.

"That damned woman..." he growled, frustration laced with unwilling respect.

If before, Ashley’s wit had earned their admiration, now it was nothing but a problem — sharp, calculated, and working against them at every turn. The second warrior knew they couldn’t afford to linger. Staying in the cellar was no longer just a waste of time; it was a mistake.

Barely fifteen minutes in, and he could already feel it.

His head was growing heavy, thoughts slowing, senses dulling as if he were wading through thick fog. The sharp scent of wine in the air was no longer just overwhelming; it was intoxicating.

"Shit... we need to get out of here," he snarled.

Without hesitation, he turned and dashed up the stairs. The first warrior lagged behind for a second, still trying to grasp what was happening, but instinct pushed him to follow. Even then, he could feel it, his movements were slower, heavier, like his body was no longer fully under his control.

"What the hell is going on?!" the first warrior snapped the moment they stumbled out of the cellar.

"That woman planned all of it," the second warrior said, breathing hard as he tried to steady himself. "That’s why she went straight there and didn’t even bother hiding her trail or masking her scent. She wanted us to follow. Once we stepped into that cellar, we were already trapped. We wouldn’t find the exit in time... and even if we did, we wouldn’t open it fast enough."

"Fuck... she’s a real piece of work," the first warrior growled, kicking the air in frustration before dragging a hand down his face. "Then what now? What the hell do we do?"

"We can’t follow her exact trail anymore," the second warrior said, forcing his voice to steady despite the lingering haze in his head. "But she’s injured, so she won’t get far. She’s still in the forest, somewhere near the lakeside."

He exhaled sharply, eyes narrowing as he pieced it together. "And after tonight, she knows. She’s seen enough to realize what we’re planning. There’s no way she’ll head back to the packhouse now... and she definitely won’t go to Alpha Nathan either. But that works in our favor. It narrows her options."

He glanced toward the cellar door, already thinking ahead. "We leave the villa and pick up her scent outside. The hidden passage would’ve taken her some distance, but not too far; it has to open somewhere within the forest."

His expression darkened as he fell into deeper thought. Ashley wasn’t careless. If she designed that exit, she would’ve studied the terrain, chosen a location that was both concealed and strategic, which should be far enough from the villa to buy her time, but still within reach.

Which meant there were only a handful of possible points.

"We split the area and check them one by one," he continued. "With her condition, she won’t have the strength to cover her tracks. She’ll either keep running or look for a way out. Either way..."

His gaze hardened.

"She’s leaving us a trail."

Taking all of that into account, the two warriors headed straight for the villa’s back door. The first reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a key, earning a look of disgust from the second, who didn’t even bother hiding his reaction. But there was no time to argue.

The door unlocked with a sharp click.

The moment it opened, they didn’t hesitate. Both shifted into their wolf forms in a single fluid motion, their clothes tearing apart and falling uselessly to the floor, the key forgotten where it dropped. In the next second, they were gone, sprinting into the forest at full speed.

They knew this territory better than anyone. They had grown up here, memorized every path, every clearing. But Ashley... Ashley wasn’t someone they could underestimate. With the way she thought, the way she planned, they couldn’t rely on familiarity alone. They had to consider every possible exit point she might have chosen, check each one, and pick up her trail from there.

And that would cost time.

The time they had already wasted.

The wine-soaked air in the cellar still lingered in their systems, dulling their senses, making their heads feel heavy and slow. And the earlier blows Ashley had dealt — slamming their heads into walls and floors — only made it worse. It felt like their minds were swimming, their reactions just a fraction too late.

The second warrior’s reasoning had kept them from wasting even more time, but it wasn’t enough.