bChapter /bb72 /b

Everything hurts.

My head feels like it’s been cracked open. I groan, low and hoarse, the sound scraping up my throat like it’s crawling through broken ss.

For a second, I wonder if I’m dead. Maybe this is it. Maybe I didn’t survive after all the shit Jack’s uncle pumped into me–needle after needle, poison after poison. Maybe I finally crossed the line between life and whatever the helles after.

But then the pain ms harder, and I realise–no, I’m still here. Still breathing.

Barely.

I try to move, but my body doesn’t respond. I can’t feel anything. Not my limbs or my wolf.

And that… that’s the worst part.

“Where are you?” I whisper in my head, wing at the space where she’s always been–warm, fierce, strong. “Please… say something”

Nothing.

Just… silence. Terrifying. Like screaming into a void and hearing it eat your voice.

Panic wraps cold fingers around my ribs. I try again, harder, calling out with everything I have.

Still nothing.

My eyes snap open, bracing for the blinding light like before–that horrible brightness that burns even with closed eyelids.

But this time, there’s none of that. Just soft torchlight, flickering and warm, casting golden shadows. I blink slowly, relief washing over me like a breath bI /b

didn’t know I was holding.

Thank the goddess…

I lift my gaze, trying to piece together where the hell I am. My vision is blurry at first, but as it clears, my heart nearly stops.

I’m in some kind of massive hall–easily the biggest room I’ve ever seen in my life. The floors are polished marble, the ceilings stretch so high it feels like they touch the stars, and thick red banners hang down the walls, each bearing a golden royal crest. Everything glints–gold trim, and the arms of the sconces carved with wolves mid–howl. It’s beautiful.

Terrifyingly beautiful.

And somehow… familiar?

I frown as a chill slips down my spine.

Why does this ce feel like I’ve been here before? Like a dream I half–remember but can’t let go of.

I try to chase the thought-

But my head suddenly pounds so hard. I hiss and wince, biting down on a groan. The pain is sharp–like ws raking the inside of my skull. bImages /bbsh /bbehind my eyes. Nothing clear. Just fragments. The feeling of something heavy bon /bmy chest–like a memory trying to force itself to the surfaceb. /b

But it slips away, leaving nothing but a crushing headache and the metallic taste of frustration on my tongue.

I nce down.

I’m chained. Not to a chair this time, but my wrists are bound with silver chains–tight, burningb, /bcruel. My ankles btoo/bb, /bbthough /bbmore /bbloosely/b. bThey /bbprobably /b

17:43 Mon, 23 Jun G GO

Chapter i72 /i

assumed I’m too weak to fight.

They were right.

I feel… almost human.

My wolf is gone. Or silenced. And without her, I’m little more than a breathing shell,

I tug at the chains anyway, teeth gritted. “Damn it,” I whisper. “Come on… move, do something…”

The silver sears into my skin. I cry out, breath hitching, then slump back against the stone column behind me, chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.

No one’sing. Jack… isn’ting.

I hate that thought more than anything.

My eyes lift again, dragging across the room… and then theynd on something that knocks the air right out of my lungs.

At the far end of the hall, raised high above the floor, sits a massive tform–and on it, three thrones.

My mouth goes dry.

The middle throne is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Made of ck iron, towering, cold, powerful. Etched with moons, wolves, and ancient symbols! can’t even read. Even empty, it radiates authority. Darkness. Strength. That throne belongs to someone who doesn’t ask for power–they are power.

It has to belong to the Alpha King.

Lady Celestia’s father.

He’s not even here, and still… his energy hums around the room, pressing into my chest like a weighted nket. Oddly enough, it’s not scary.

It’s…forting.

And that makes my skin crawl.

Why would his energy–his power–someone I’ve never metfort me?

My eyes shift to the throne on the right–smaller but elegant, carved with roses and feathers, probably belonging to the queen. But there’s something strange about it. I can’t look away. My heart starts to ache. My throat burns. And then-

A tear slips down my cheek.

I blink, stunned.

What the hell?

Why am I crying?

I don’t even know. The emotion just hits me out of nowhere. Like something deep inside is mourning. Grieving. I don’t get it.

I wipe it away with the back of my hand, shaky and confused.

Finally, I drag my eyes to thest throne–on the King’s left.

It’s smaller, less grand, but still regal. Designed for someone important. Someone not yet fully in power… but meant to be.

And as soon as I look at it-

I gasp softly.

It’s like that throne calls to me. Like a whisper brushing against my soul—as if it knows me.

But why?

What does bit /bwant?

To sit on it? I almostugh. In this situation, it’s ridiculous—but still, the idea pushes its way in, bold and stupid.

I let out ba /bsoft, breathless chuckle.

“Gods… I’m losing my mind,” I whisper to the empty hall.

Because that seat doesn’t belong to me. I know who it belongs to. Lady Celestia. The perfect, untouchable daughter of the Alpha King.

The same woman who wants me dead.

Even while I was unconscious, I knew. Somewhere between the haze of drugs and pain, her disgusting perfume slithered into my senses. Sweet like rotting flowers. I remember calling out for Jack, thinking he was near, only to feel that vile presence instead. Her. Lady Celestía.

This—this is her grand finale. The final act in her pathetic y to get Jack. She wants me out of the picture so badly, she’s teamed up with that psychotic bastard of an uncle. What she doesn’t realize is–he’s only using her. Just like he uses everyone. Her status, her title, her desperation.

She’s nothing more than a pawn. A shiny, desperate pawn.

The sound of the giant doors creaking open behind me snaps me out of my thoughts. My entire body goes still.

Then her scent hits me. Almost suffocating.

A momentter, I hear the soft tap–tap of her heels against marble. She’s skipping. Freaking skipping. Like this is a party and I’m the gift–wrapped

entertainment.

“Awake atst,” she sings, stopping beside me with a smirk stretched across her face like it was painted on. “Perfect timing. My daddy will be here soonb… /bto deliver your death sentence.”

She leans in, her voice dropping to a whisper like it’s some cherished secret.

“His birthday present to me. His loving daughter.”

I stare at her in disgust.

“How can an Alpha King take a life as a birthday wish for his daughter?” I ask, tilting my head, voice tow. “What kind of king is that? Isn’t he supposed to protect the innocent?”

I let my eyes trail down the length of her body slowly. “Then again… I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Her smile falters for a second. Her eyes darken.

“You’re still so smug,” she sneers. “So full of pride. You really think this is one of those pathetic fairy tales, don’t you? That Jack’s going to burst through those doors, sword in hand, and save his little mate?”

Sheughs loudly it echoes off the marble walls.

I try to hold her gaze, try to look strong. But my fingers twitch against the burning silver, and I know bshe /bsees it. I can’t hide the flicker of fear bthat /bshes in my eyes.

“Ohhh,” she coos mockingly, “there it is. There’s that little crack. You’re afraid”

She moves even closer, her breath brushing against my cheek.

b3/5 /b

b“/bYou know, earlier–back in my daddy’s office… Jack was there.”

My heart stops. Just like that. No warning. I don’t speak. I can’t.

b“/bbI /bwas nervous at first,” she continues, her voice syrupy. “I thought maybe he’d catch your scent on me. Mates and all. But guess what?

Her lips graze the shell of my ear.

“He didn’t smell a thing. The poison worked. It destroyed your scent. Your wolf. Everything that binds you to him.”

She pulls back to look at me, eyes glittering with glee.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised you’re still breathing, Impressive, really–I thought the poison would kill you so I wouldn’t have to get my hands dirty. But don’t worry… you won’t be alive much longer. Once my father arrives, he’ll drive a sword straight through your chest–and cut off your bpretty /blittle head,

too.”

She lets out a dreamy sigh. “I’m going to wrap it up. Keep it. Like a souvenir.”

I blink slowly, then smile, even as pain crawls over every inch of my body.

“Even if I die,” I lift my eyes to hers, “even if you kill me… Jack will never be yours. And when he finds out what you’ve done–what you really bare/b–he won’t care that your daddy’s the Alpha King. He’ll rip your heart out the same way you ripped out mine.”

“And me? The ghost you created with nothing left to lose.? I’ll be waiting for byou /bon the other side… to finish what he starts.”

The pnds so hard my head snaps to the side.Pain explodes across my cheek, and the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. My eyes water, but bI /bdon’t let a single tear fall.

“You think I don’t have everything nned?” she spits, eyes wild now. “Jack won’t see iting when he falls in love with me. When he thinks I’m you.”

Her voice rises, shaky and mad, like she’s spiraling.

3

“I’m going to rece you, Kali,” she shrieks, grabbing my face in her hand. “Do you hear me? I will rece you! I’ll live your life, wear your smile, take your mate–be you in his world! And you’ll be nothing.”

b5 /b

She’s trembling now. Her hair hangs wild around her face. Her eyes–too wide–full of something that looks far too close bto /binsanity. Like someone high on their own delusions… or dark magic.

And then-

The massive doors groan open again behind us.

A sudden, overwhelming aura sweeps into the room. Ancient. Sacred. The kind of presence that makes the air feel heavier. Like even the walls are holding their breath. A presence so powerful that every bone in your body bows without meaning to.

My eyes burn. My breath shudders. Goosebumps rise on my skin.

It’s not fear. It’s something else.

Something that hurts in a way that feels… familiar.

bit /bforts me.

Shatters me.

And suddenly, I can’t meet its gaze–not because it’s ba /bthreat, but because it feels like ba /bburden I’m not ready to carry.

Celestia straightens instantly, her entire demeanor flipping like a switch. In a heartbeat, the madness melts off her face. That crazed bgleam /bbdisappears /breced with sugary innocence. She smooths her hair, adjusts her dress, and beams like ba /bchild on Christmas morning.

b4/5 /b

7

“Daddy!” she says brightly, pping her hands as she turns toward the approaching presence. “Finally! You’re here!b” /b

B

bAD /b