bChapter /bb92 /b

    Miels’s POV

    I walked away from the smith shop in a faze, the cool evening air birthing against my bface/bb, /bbut I hardly felt it. My ft carried me automatically bback /bto my tent, but my mind my mind was elsewhere.

    I didn’t even bother to go back to the market, where I should’ve been it was all a blur.

    Lance’s offer.

    Working with ba /breque.

    The thought alone sent a shiver down my spine. It was outrageous, unbelievable. And yet… it made sense in a way that terrified me

    I know I wasn’t the nicest person in the world. I’d done my share of bad things–expelling a maid, framing people when it suited me. Nothing too extreme, nothing to make me lose sleep. But this? This was treason

    I spent my entire life in the Direstone Pack, growing up hearing nothing but horror stories about the roguesb. /bI never questioned it. They were the enemy. End of story.

    Until today.

    Until Lance.

    The reality of it hit me like a ton of bricks. My own mate, my destined mate, was one of them. How could I trust him? How could I bwant /bto trust him?

    spent hours pacing back and forth, my thoughts tangled in knots. Could I work bwith /bhim? Could I really betray everything I knew, everything I had ever been tought?

    I didn’t know.

    Not yet.

    But the longer I thought about it, the more it felt like a way out–like a way to take back control of my life, my fate.

    But could I trust Lance? Would he really help me?

    He bcould /bhardly protect himself, let alone me. What good bwould /bit do for me to get involved with someone who couldn’t even defend his own skin?

    The questions swirled in my mind until the sun began to rise. Still no answers. Still no bdecisions /bmade.

    I couldn’t waste another day. I had work to dob, /band if i didn’t show up, Prisca would get suspicious.

    t grew heavier. I didn’t want to face Prisca–not

    I forced myself to get ready, despite the weight in my chest. With every step took to the market, my heart p

    today.

    But of course, the buniverse /bhad other bns/b.

    Tran into ra.

    She was stacking shelves at one of the vendor stills when I walked bin/bb. /bThe binstant /bsaw her, I wanted to turn–arou

    benough /b

    “Hey, Mi!” she called out before I could escape.

    Hroze, then slowly turned to face her, trying to keep the tension from showing on my face.

    bleave/bb, /bbut I didn’t move fast

    10:57 Wedb, /b30 Jul GD

    “Do you need ine for something, Gamma ra?” Horted a smile, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt

    Her gaze nanowed as she studied i

    “Where were you yesterday?” he asked, her tone suspicious.

    I tried to y it cool. Twas here, in the market.”

    “But where were you after Prisca sent you to the warehouse?” ra pressed, “We waited for you, but you never came back.”

    My fists clenched behind my back, the urge tosh out rising I wanted to punch her, tear her apart with my hands. But I couldn’t I had lo

    “I wasn’t feeling well,” I said, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. “I went back to my tent andy down

    ra didn’t seem convinced. “Is that so? Because I saw you outside the smith shop. Lance isn’t a doctor. Why would you go to him?”

    My pulse quickened, but kept my face calm, “I didn’t go to the cksmith. I just passed by Is there anything wrong with that?”

    The silence stretched between us as we locked eyes. I felt the cold sweat running down my back

    ra’s beyes /bnarrowed even further. “I hope you’re not up to anything bad, Mi.”

    I fought to keep my voice steady. “Of course not. Why would you say that?”

    “No mason,” ra replied, her voice dripping with thinly veiled suspicion. “Just a heads–up. bYou’ve /bbeen doing great work. Prisca thinks you’ve changed. Don’t give me a reason to think otherwise

    Humiliation bumed in my chest.

    ra had once been my puppet, my ything, someone I could control with a mere look. I used to p her across the face and not even bat an eye. Now, she stood before me, acting like she had the power.

    It pissed me off.

    And in that moment, something inside me snapped.

    I would work with Lance. I would

    Forget the alliance. Forget the pack

    My enemy was ra, and I would do anything to bring her downb–/beven if that meant making a deal with the devil.

    “You can count on me

    Gamma ra.“

    I shed her a smile, but it was hollow, dark. I hid all myvenom behind that smile.

    “I promise. I’ll be on my best behaviour”

    ra eyed me, still suspicious, but before she could pay anything more, a horn sounded in the distance

    “Alpha Thome is back!” someone yelled from the crowd.

    ra’s eyes lit up, and without another word, she turned and rushed toward themotic

    I watched her go, her back disappearing into the crowd, and I breathed a silent sigh of relie

    Good. She hadn’t figured it out.

    Now, I just had to prove myself to Lance.

    The crowd had already gathered at the North Gate by the time ra arrived. The air was thick with excitement. And there he le

    Alpha Thorne, covered in dust and blood from a battle,

    His eyes locked onto mine across the crowd, and the expression on his face sobered. The sight of him made my heart skip a boat, thoughi qay pushed the feeling away.

    All that mattered was what came next.

    And what came next was Thorne bearing through Haelen’s nice gestures, making his mark on everything. He pulled his coat off and tossed it ad wrapped it around ra’s shoulders.

    I watched the exchange with cold indifference, though inside, my jealousy simmered. But it wasn’t the jealousy that bothered met with looked at ra. The way he always did.

    Raelen didn’t back down. “Was that really

    y necessary, Alpha Thome?” he asked, his voice sharp, “I was just trying to be nice.”

    Thorne’s gaze

    turned cold. “ra’s not your pack member, Raelen. She’s certainly not your mate.

    ate. So stay out of it.”

    Raelen huffed, clearly pissed off, but Thome wasn’t done.

    “I encountered the Rogue King yesterday,” he said, his voice low but clear

    The crowd bwent /bsilent. ra’s eyes widened in shock.

    “What? How?” she asked, her voice cracking slightly. “I thought the Rogue King was still in the Great Canyon”

    Thorne’s eyes darkened. “I went after the rogues, and I ran n

    right into the Rogue King. Or should I say she?”

    bra’s /bjaw dropped.

    “She?”

    The revtion hit me like a hammer. The Rogue Ring was a woman?

    “Even with a mask and ba /bcloak, I could tell,” Thome said, his voice filled with contempt. “I only pardoned Bex and Serena because they offered help So now, Alpha Raelen, would you care to exin why your pack member lied to bus/bb?/bb” /b

    I watched, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

    ?

    AD