bChapter /bb64 /b

“Fino,” Trasp atst, voice hoarse. “I tell you. But why are you so obsessed with that ne, anyway?” I squint against th btrying /band failing to see him clearly All T make out is a looming shadow pacing back and forth like a redless predator

“It’s just a stupid ne,” Ladd, “Take, Trust me

He growls—a low, guttural, vicious sound that makes the hairs on my neck stand on end. He knows I’m lying

“You fucking bitch,” he snarls. “That ne isn’t take. It vanished nearly a decade ago. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been hunting for it? How many people I’ve tortured, killed, bribed–red–just to find that damn thing?!”

A chill runs down my spine as I picture the trail of destruction he’s left in his obsession. But that fury that slip in hisposuret

That’s my way in

“Are you doing all this because of the Alpha King as his personalpdog Lask, keeping my tone calm, baiting him. “Or is this your own selfish little Crusade?”

He stills. And the way he hesitates–just slightly all the answer I need.

“The ne you’re so desperate to im, looks exactly like the one the Alpha Queen was rumored to own. So if you’re so sure mine isn’t fake… that can only mean one thing”

I pause, watching his shadow.

“It is hers. The Alpha Queen’s. So tell me–why would someone like you want something that belonged to bher/bb?/b”

The silence that follows bcuts /bdeeper than any de. And then, his voice slithers through the air–low, venomous, and seething with rage. I know I struck

a nerve.

“I know what you’re doing.” he sneers. “bYou’re /bstalling. Hoping your wolf wille and save youb./b”

My heart skips as he chuckles–ba /bsound that’s sick and gleeful.

“She’s noting,” he says “Not now. Maybe not ever

Ffreeze.

“You bknow /bwhat I injected you with? he continues casually. “It’s called Neruthium Veil–a bpoison /bbred from the roots of the Bloodshade tree, soaked in bsilver/b, enchanted with death bchants/b. The most bvicious /bbsubstance /bbknown /bin our world. It severs the soul from the beast.”

No.

My breathing quickens. I still can’t fool bher/bb… /bbut she’s hot gone. She can’t be.

“She’s quiet,” I whisper, more to myself than to him, “But she’s not gone.”

“You think that?” he scoffs. “Keep dreaming. Soon, byou’ll /bjoin her in death. But before you do…” He steps closer again, and i brace myself as his breath brushes against my bcheck/b. “I don’t mind giving you a little truth as ba /bparting gift”

“Since you know it belonged to the Alpha Queen,” he continues with mockery, “then surely you understand its worth what it represents.b” /b

I nod quickly, clinging to his every word, desperate to keep him talking.

“Oh, you foolish girl,” he spits. “You had no idea what you were carrying. You strutted around bwith /bit like it was some cheap piece of costume jewelry-

Lematching youelindata markat atal Pathetler

tein, the sound agged and unstablo, echoing off the walk. He begins pacing once more, his e

rhythm–crack, crack bcrack/bb. /b

You want to know why I want it?” His voice darkens. “With that ne in my possession, Kall, I could buy power, Ruta kingdoms that bsmug /bbastard nephew of mine and reduce him to ash. Even the Alpha King wouldn’t dare touch me. Not with what that ne her. He’d fall to his knees and offer me everything he owns.”

1 feize the moment and push further, my voice softening, almost uncertain. “Then why me? Why did I have t

His footsteps halt, and I take it as a sign–an opening.

“bWas /bmy mother… someone close to the Alpha Queen? Maybe her personal maid who hid the ne away?” I ask hesitantly. “But…she wouldn’t ha given something so important to just a servant, would she?”

I can’t see him, but I feel the stillness in his shadow. And I know–he’s hiding something Something I haven’t yet pieced together.

Then his voice slithers through the darkness. “Do you remember anything about your childhood?” he asks, almost yfully but I remember the first time I met him how he asked about my parents during the party at Blood Fang

“You’re not originally from the Red Night Pack, are you?” he adds. “You were adopted.

My blood runs cold. He knows. He knows something about my real parents.

I swallow and nod slowly. “Yes. I was adopted. But… I don’t remember anything before that.”

He ps his hands once andughs–trulyughs, this time. A full, bone–chilling sound that echoes through the room and makes my stomach turn.

“That’s good,” he says, delighted. “That’s perfect. You don’t need to know a damn thing”

My heart leaps into my throat. I open my mouth to respond-

But he cuts me ofl.

In fact,” he says breezily, “don’t bother telling me where the ne is anymore. I’ll find it myself.”

His voice twists into something childlike and cruel.

my favorite.”

“Hide band /bseek was balways /bmy

The moment the words leave his mouth, something sharp pierces the side of my neck. Pain blooms instantly–hot and brutal.

“AHH!” I scream, my body convulsing violently against the restraints of the chair.

I feel it before it happens–his boot ms into the chair, sending me toppling over. I crash to the ground with a sickening thud, my shoulder mming against the cold, hard floor. My head spins from the impact.

“No need to scream,” he murmurs above me, his voice a soft, mocking drawl. “No one can hear you. No one’sing.”

-HELP!” I cry out, my voice ragged. “Jack-/”

“Keep screaming,” he taunts. “It makes it more fun.”

My ears are ringing now. My bvision /bblurs

But then–I hear it.

Footsteps

bHe /bhears it too. 1 feel the way He straighters, how his breath hitches:

Someone’sing.

s slightly.

Please, let it be Jack.

My heart pounds violently against my ribs, and cling to consciousness grasping for that faint flicker of hope

But just when I think I hear salvation in those approaching footsteps–just when my trembling heart dares to hope it’s Jack

The bscent /bhits me.

No.

Oh, Moon Goddess, no.

That scent–sickeningly sweet, drenched in broses /band poison. I know it too well I’ll never forget it.

bAnd /bthen I hear her voice.

“You didn’t kill her, did you?” Lady Celestia’s whiny tone grates against my ears like nails dragging across bone. “You promised you’d give her to me alive. I already sent a letter to Daddy asking for her heart. I can’t wait to see him stab her and present it to me. Best birthday present ever!”

She ps her hands like a child receiving ba /btoy.

A sob rises in my throat, but I swallow it down.

Not her. Not that delusional parasite. She’s part of this too?

Jack’s uncle growl rumbles through the room like thunder cracking overhead. I feel bhis /banger vibrate in the floor beneath me, even as my head pounds and my limbs grow

numb.

“Do I need to remind you never to question me?” he snarls. “Or should I show you what I’m capable of? You y the Alpha King’s daughter, Celestia, but that doesn’t really make you one.”

There’s ba /bpause.

A sharp, terrified inhale.

party, I hear her whimper. A pitiful, breathy little sound, like a pup with its tail between its legs.”

And then, just like at the Blood Fang party,

“bWhat/b… what do you mean by that?” she stammers, her voice shrinking, her confidence crumbling

I can feel it her mask is cracking but why?

There’s a beat of silence before he barks coldly, “Get out. Ande back only after you’ve gotten your father’s approval–if you want her head bor /bher heart.”

Silence bagain/b. Then the shuffle of heels against concrete as she scurries away like the coward she is

“I will bget /bit,” she spits over her shoulder. “paddy will grant me anything I want.”

Her footsteps grow fainter and fainter, until they vanishpletely.

Chapter b64 /b

djust when bI /bthink I can exhale just when I think maybe the

his presence returns.

Closer

wfor good

His breath ghosts over my cheek, hot and repulsive. His voice drops to a whisper, every wordced with venom and cruel amu?ament.

“You’ll finally be reuniting with your father,” he murmurs, the edge of a smile in his voice. “It’s unfortunate you’ll be dying at his hands

My heart stops.

And then-

Darkness

bNo /bbthoughts/b.

No bpain/b.

No light.

Just endless, suffocating ck.

?