bChapter 202 /b

    Thorne’s POV

    “Why aren’t you saying anything?” Cael’s voice cracked through the tense silence.

    I stared at him, my jaw tight. Kimberly was pacing beside him, fists clenched. She was impatient, desperate. “We have to try this, Thorne. If we don’t, we might never find ra. The Lycans… they don’t want a Werewolf King because that’s the only person who can stop them. The only one who can track them. We can’t let this chance slip.”

    Cael was breathing hard, anger rising in his voice. “If this is what it takes to get her back, then I’ll make any deal. Even with the devil.”

    I felt their eyes on me, waiting. And the weight of that silence–it was suffocating. I knew what they wanted. They were ready to act.

    But my mind… it wasn’t so simple.

    I could hear ra’s voice in my head–using me, calling me power–hungry, maniptive. After that night in the vineyard, after I made my choice to walk away from the crown, I thought it would make things right. I thought it would make her trust me again.

    But now? Now, it felt like the price for that trust might cost me more than I was willing to pay.

    Her voice echoed through me again. You’re just like them, Thorne. Power–hungry, deceitful…

    But! couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t let her slip through my fingers again.

    My chest tightened. The words, the decision–they stuck in my throat.

    “Come on, Thorne!” Cael spat, throwing his hands up. “Are you really just going to stand there? What the hell are you waiting for?! Don’t you want to get ra back?”

    Kimberly stepped forward, frustration clear in her voice. “We’re handing you the crown. We’re giving you the power to rule. Do you want it or not? What’s the hold–up?”

    I swallowed hard, pushing down the panic rising in my chest. I had a decision to make. One that could change everything.

    Finally, my breath came out in a hoarse whisper. “Let’s do it. Now.”

    Cael’s eyes lit up. “Great! So how does this work? How can he be the Werewolf King?”

    Kimberly nodded quickly. “Lance said the ritual involves the Rogue King offering his blood to an Alpha. Jory, will you do it?”

    Jory stepped forward, his resolve unshaken. He pulled out a dagger, and before I could second–guess myself, he sliced open his palm. Blood dripped down his fingers, staining the air with its metallic scent.

    “What should I do?” Jory asked, his voice steady.

    “Hand me the dagger,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

    I took the dagger from bhim/b, feeling its cold weight in my hand. I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the de into my own chest. The pain hit immediately, sharp and suffocating Blood poured from the wound.

    The others gasped.

    “What the hell are you doing?!” Cael shouted, his voice full of horror.

    “It’s not going to kill me,” I managed, my voice a strained rasp. “Lance did it this way.”

    I was barely holding on. I could feel the blood draining from me, my vision flickering. But I didn’t have time for weakness. I needed this.

    10:25 Sat, b23 /bAug

    “Now… drip your blood onto my wound,” I gritted out, my body trembling.

    Jory’s hand hovered over my chest, shaking slightly. But he didn’t hesitate. His blood fell onto my wound, mixing with mine.

    58%

    +33)

    He stood tall, his voice full of authority as he spoke the words, “I, Kastor Lane, the King of the Rogues, hereby recognize Thorne Albright as the Werewolf King, sovereign of both the werewolves and the rogues.”

    The room was still. Silent.

    And then, suddenly–light exploded from my chest.

    I gasped, my body seizing, every vein lighting up with fiery energy. It felt like moltenva coursing through me, tearing through my bones. I dropped to one knee, my body wracked with pain. I could barely breathe.

    I heard Kimberly’s voice. “Look!”

    A golden light spread from my wound, spreading across my skin. I felt it, my veins glowing like fire. It was unbearable.

    I felt my body changing. My mind screamed, but I couldn’t stop it. The pain was too much.

    I threw my head back and screamed–no, howled. The sound that tore from my throat wasn’t human. It was something primal, something ancient.

    I shifted. My body twisted and stretched.

    I became the wolf.

    A massive ck creature,rger than anything I had ever been. My skin felt like fire, my body ame with light and power. The transformation hurt like nothing I had ever felt before.

    “Fuck! What’s happening?” Cael’s voice was distant, full of panic. “Is this… normal?!”

    Kimberly’s voice trembled. “We don’t know! No one’s ever done this before.”

    I arched my back, the pain of ithe /ishift still coursing through me. My body was a furnace. My fur glowed with golden veins.

    The mes grew higher. They swallowed me whole, devouring my body, licking at my skin.

    The heat was unbearable. I felt like I was burning alive.

    But then, just as suddenly, the mes began to die out.

    I fell to the ground.

    A massive wolfy in the ashes. I had done it. I was the King.

    Kimberly rushed to my side, her voice frantic. “Thorne! Can you hear me?”

    My eyelids fluttered. My eyes opened slowly, and the world came into focus. The mes still burned in my vision,

    “I can smell them I growled, my voice low, but steady.

    “The Lycans they’re in the i Mountains. We reed to go. Now”

    ra’s POV

    I woke up slowly. My head felt heavy, as if it were made of stone. I blinked, trying to focus. Where was 17

    The world around me was blurry. My body was stiff, as if I had been lying for ages. I tried to sit up but found I didn’t have the strength.

    10:25 Sat, 23 Aug

    I could feel it. The wolfsbane. It was still in my veins, and it drained me of everything I had.

    I had to move. I couldn’t stay here.

    I forced myself to sit up and reached for the truck door. My hands weren’t tied anymore. I exhaled in relief.

    I pushed the door open. It creaked. The air outside was thick with heat and humidity. I squinted, trying to make sense of the blur of green.

    I had no idea where I was.

    But I wasn’t going to wait to find out.

    I jumped out of the truck, my feet hitting the ground hard. I could barely keep my bnced, but I had to run.

    My heart pounded in my chest as I stumbled through the woods. My breath was shallow, my legs like jelly. Every step felt like a battle.

    The fog was thick. The air was heavy, and I couldn’t see where I was going. But I didn’t care. I just had to get away.

    Iran. And I ran. Until the fog cleared for a moment.

    I saw a shadow up ahead.

    A figure? Someone who could help me?

    I picked up speed, pushing myself harder.

    And then, I froze. The shadow wasn’t a person.

    It was the truck.

    The same truck.

    I stood there, breathing hard, a chill running down my spine. How was this possible?

    A handnded on my ishoulder/ii. /i

    I jumped, spinning around.

    The voice that followed was smooth, mocking.

    “Wee to the Lycan’snd, my love.”

    AD

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