The first energy bolt struck so close to Finn's head that he felt the heat sear his cheek. For a frozen second, nobody moved. Then instinct took over.

"Run!" Elias's voice cracked through the air, sharp and commanding.

They ran without thinking, without planning, their boots slipping on the treacherous ice. The world narrowed to the burning in their lungs and the terrifying whine of Northern weapons that sounded nothing like their own firearms. These weapons hummed with energy, leaving ozone trails in the air.

"Don't stop moving!" Rykar shouted, grabbing Finn's arm when the tech specialist stumbled. "If you stop, you're dead!"

Anya provided covering fire, her rifle shots sounding pathetic against the advanced technology hunting them. Each pull of her trigger sent a conventional bullet flying, but the Northern soldiers had energy shields that shimmered when her bullets struck. It was like throwing stones at a fortress wall.

"They're not trying to kill us!" Rykar yelled over the chaos. "Look at their shot placement! They're herding us like animals!"

Elias risked a glance back and felt his blood run cold. Rykar was right. The Northern soldiers moved with practiced ease across the glacier, their white uniforms making them nearly invisible against the snow. They fired strategically, not at their bodies, but at the ice around them, forcing them toward a specific path. And standing calmly behind them was Alaric, watching his trap spring shut with the satisfaction of a chess master checkmating his opponent.

"This way!" Elias changed direction abruptly, leading them toward a field of jagged ice formations that rose like broken teeth from the glacier's surface. It wasn't much cover, but it was better than being exposed on the open ice.

Finn fumbled with his comm device as he ran, his fingers shaking so badly he nearly dropped it. "Nothing's getting through! The jamming is complete. I can't even get a distress signal out. We're completely cut off."

The reality of their situation settled over them like a physical weight. They were alone against an enemy who held every advantage - home territory, superior technology, and greater numbers. Elias felt the weight of command heavy on his shoulders. He had brought them here. This was his failure.

"They want us alive," Elias realized aloud. "That's why they're not shooting to kill."

"Does that make you feel better?" Finn asked, his voice trembling.

"No," Elias said grimly. "It makes me wonder what they want us for."

---

Back at Silverfang Keep, the silence in the war room felt heavy enough to crush bones. Kael stood over the maps spread across the massive oak table, his knuckles white where he gripped the table's edge. The detailed troop placements and strategic points meant nothing when he didn't know where his people were or what was happening to them.

"Still nothing?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Ronan stood stiffly by the door, his usual confident posture replaced by tense readiness. "Nothing, Alpha. It's been fourteen hours. Finn would have found a way to check in by now if he could. He's paranoid about communication protocols."

Lyra paced the length of the room, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if holding her body together. She could feel it - a low, constant thrum of fear through her bond with Elias. It wasn't the sharp pain of injury, but the steady dread of being hunted, of knowing danger was close but not being able to see it. The bond that had always been her comfort now felt like a torture device, feeding her just enough information to fuel her nightmares but not enough to provide answers.

"He's alive," she whispered, more to herself than to the others. "But he's terrified. They all are."

Kael crossed to her, his large hand finding her shoulder. The contact was meant to be comforting, but she could feel the tension in his fingers too. "We have to trust in their training. They're survivors. Elias knows how to handle himself in the field, Rykar is the best arctic specialist we have, and Finn is resourceful."

"We can't just wait here while they're in trouble!" Lyra turned to face him, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "What if they're hurt? What if they're captured? We have to do something!"

"And lead more of our people into a trap?" Kael's voice was gentle but firm. "We don't know what's happening out there. For all we know, they could have just lost their communications equipment. If we send a rescue team blindly, we could be walking into exactly what Alaric wants."

Ronan nodded grimly from his position by the door. "The Alpha's right. We have to be smart about this. We can't let emotion cloud our judgment."

The waiting was torture, and every passing minute made Lyra's fear grow sharper. She resumed her pacing, each step echoing in the too-quiet room. She remembered the last time she saw Elias - his determined expression, his promise to return with the information they needed. She should have gone with them. She should have insisted.

"Stop," Kael said softly, reading her thoughts in her expression. "You made the right decision. We need you here."

"But what if they need me there?" she countered, her voice breaking.

Kael had no answer for that. The truth was, they were flying blind, and every option felt like the wrong one.

---

On the glacier, exhaustion began to take its toll. Finn's movements were slowing, his breath coming in ragged gasps that plumed in the freezing air. They had been running for what felt like hours, their bodies pushed to the limit.

"Can't... keep going..." Finn panted, stumbling to his knees.

Rykar hauled him up roughly. "You don't have a choice. Keep moving or die."

They found themselves cornered at a massive crevasse that split the glacier like a wound. The gap was at least fifty feet across, bottomless and dark. The only way across was a narrow ice bridge that looked ancient and fragile.

"We have to cross," Rykar said immediately, testing the bridge with his weight. It groaned ominously, sending cracks spiderwebbing from his boots.

"You're crazy!" Finn protested, his eyes wide with terror. "That thing could collapse at any moment! Look at it!"

Elias watched their pursuers closing in. The Northern soldiers had slowed their approach, knowing their prey had nowhere left to run. They moved with the confidence of hunters who knew the kill was inevitable.

"We don't have a choice," Elias said, his voice tight. "Go, Rykar. Now."

Rykar moved quickly, his steps light and careful. The ice cracked and protested with each step, but it held. He reached the other side and turned, gesturing for Anya to follow.

Anya went next, nearly as graceful as the arctic specialist. She moved with the confidence of someone who trusted her own abilities completely.

They were halfway across when the first shot hit the bridge's foundation. It wasn't aimed at them - it was aimed at the ice supporting the bridge. Cracks spread through the structure like lightning.

"Finn, go!" Elias shouted, pushing the terrified tech onto the bridge.

Finn scrambled across on hands and knees, sobbing with fear. The ice groaned and shifted beneath him, chunks breaking off and falling into the darkness below. Rykar and Anya reached back, grabbing Finn's arms and hauling him to safety on the other side.

The final shot came from a Northern soldier with a scar across his face - the same one who had been leading their pursuit. It struck the bridge's main support, and the structure disintegrated in a shower of ice and snow. The sound was deafening - a roar of breaking ice that echoed across the glacier.

Elias was thrown backward by the force of the collapse, landing hard on the ground. When he looked up, coughing from the ice dust filling the air, he saw the impossible gap separating him from his team. On the other side, Finn was screaming his name while Rykar held him back, his face a mask of grim acceptance.

Scar-face stood over Elias, his weapon aimed steadily at his chest. Other Northern soldiers moved in, surrounding him. The hunt was over.

---

The comm unit in Silverfang Keep crackled to life so suddenly that all three of them jumped. Static filled the room for a second, then Finn's hysterical voice broke through.

"They have Elias! The bridge is down! They took him! Oh gods, they took him!"

Then silence returned, heavier and more profound than before.

Lyra made a small, broken sound in the back of her throat and collapsed against Kael, her body shaking uncontrollably. "No... no, not Elias..."

Kael's face turned to stone, his Alpha instincts roaring to the surface. The waiting was over. Now it was time for action.

"Ronan, get Valen," Kael commanded, his voice cold and sharp. "I want a rapid-response team ready in ten minutes. Full arctic gear, heavy weapons. We're not leaving him there."

As Ronan rushed out, Kael held Lyra close, feeling her tremble against him. "We'll get him back," he promised, his voice low and fierce. "I swear to you, we'll get him back."

"But what if we're too late?" Lyra whispered, her face buried in his chest. "What if they..."

"Don't," Kael cut her off gently. "Don't go there. We have to believe he's alive and that we can reach him in time."

Across the crevasse, Finn had to be physically restrained from throwing himself at the gap. "We have to go back for him! We can't just leave him!"

"He's gone," Rykar said, his voice hard and final. "Our mission now is to survive and report what we know. That's how we help him now."

Anya watched the Northern soldiers disappear with their captive, her sharp eyes missing nothing. "They took him alive. That means something. They want him for a reason."

Rykar pulled a struggling Finn to his feet. "We need to move. Now. Every second we stay here puts us in more danger. We're the only hope Elias has left."

The wind swept across the glacier, erasing their tracks but not their failure. They had lost their leader, and the cost of their mission had just become unbearably high. As they turned to flee deeper into the hostile territory, each of them carried the weight of Elias's capture - and the knowledge that his fate now rested in their ability to survive and bring help.

---

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