Mag-log inChapter 109DARIUS I woke to pounding on my door. Heavy, insistent knocking that pulled me from sleep far too quickly. My body protested the movement as I tried to sit up, muscles aching and wounds pulling.The door opened before I could call out, and a figure slipped inside. Sebastian. He crossed the room quickly and came to stand at the end of my bed, looking down at me with concern clear on his face.Then he poked my stomach.I grunted at the unexpected contact, still half-asleep and confused.Sebastian smiled, the expression lighting up his whole face. "Good morning, Alpha."I didn't answer. Couldn't answer. Just sighed and rolled over, pulling the blanket up over my head like that would make the morning disappear."Are you alright?" Sebastian's voice was closer now, worried. "The ceremony is about to begin. Torren sent me to wake you. He tried reaching you through the mind link but it wasn't going through."Right. The ceremony. The celebration we'd planned. I'd completely forg
Chapter 108DARIUS I stood there alone in my office, Torren's words echoing in my head. Then I sighed deeply and slumped into my chair, suddenly exhausted despite having just woken up a few hours ago.Torren was right. Everything was complicated. The mate bond between Sebastian and me was undeniable now, but I had no idea what to do about it. How to approach it. How to handle the fact that I'd spent months suppressing it, keeping Sebastian at arm's length, treating our relationship as nothing more than a physical arrangement.Could I even fix that now? Did Sebastian want me to try?The uncertainty gnawed at me, but I pushed it aside. There was work to do. Time to think about personal matters later.I spent the rest of the day dealing with the aftermath of the battle. Writing letters to the families of fallen warriors. Coordinating with other packs to return their rescued captives. Organizing the ceremony for tomorrow. The tasks were endless and exhausting.By the time evening ar
Chapter 107DARIUS I was sorting through papers on my desk when the door creaked open slowly. Someone poked their head through the gap, hesitant and careful."Can I come in?" Sebastian's voice was quiet, uncertain.A smile tugged at my lips despite the soreness in my body. "Come in."The door opened wider and Sebastian stepped inside. The sight of him made me wrinkle my nose immediately. He was still covered in blood and ash from the battlefield, his clothes stiff with dried gore, his hair matted and filthy."You should have washed yourself up and changed before coming here," I pointed out, though there was no real criticism in my tone.Sebastian sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I was worried about you. I needed to check on you first before doing anything else."Something warm bloomed in my chest at his words. He'd been worried. He'd come here first, before seeing to his own needs, just to make sure I was alright.I set down the papers I'd been organizing and walked towards him, ar
Chapter 106SEBASTIAN The battlefield was a nightmare made real.Ash drifted through the air like grey snow, coating everything it touched. Smoke rose from dozens of small fires still burning across the scorched earth. The smell was overwhelming—burnt flesh, blood, and that distinctive copper-rot scent of nightwalkers mixing into something that made my stomach turn.Bodies lay everywhere. Nightwalkers reduced to charred husks, their features melted beyond recognition. Wolves who'd fallen in battle, their bodies broken and bloodied. Some had their heads severed clean off. Others had swords or claws driven through their chests. The ground was dark with blood, so much blood that it pooled in the low spots and turned the ash into a muddy red paste.I looked down at myself and realized I was covered in it too. Blood soaked through my clothes, dripped from my hands, matted my hair to my head. Some of it was mine—I had cuts and bruises all over from the fighting. But most of it belon
Chapter 105DARIUS I opened my mouth and let out a battle cry that tore from the very depths of my soul. All my rage, all my grief, all my determination poured into that single sound.The ground shook violently beneath our feet. For a moment, I thought it was some nightwalker magic, some terrible power Eli had unleashed.Then I realized what it was. The bombs. Sebastian had triggered the bombs underground at the sound of my battle cry.Which meant the captives were making their move. Which meant it was time."Attack!" I roared.And hell broke loose.The bombs we'd planted across the field detonated in a chain reaction. Fire erupted everywhere, roaring columns of flame that lit up the darkening sky. The explosions were deafening, shaking the earth so hard I nearly lost my footing.Nightwalkers shrieked as the fire caught them. They tried to run, tried to escape, but the flames spread too fast. The field had become an inferno, and they were trapped in the middle of it.I watched w
Chapter 104SEBASTIAN Today was the day. The day we'd either be rescued or die trying.I'd been watching the small ventilation shaft near the ceiling of our prison, tracking the light that filtered through. The angle of the sun told me it was late afternoon. Evening would come soon. The ritual would begin. And if Darius kept his word, the rescue would happen right before that.And i know he would keep to his words. The fire bombs had been proof that they were serious with rescuing the captives.And I'm holding on to the hope and trust like a lifeline. Willed myself to keep on saying it.Around me, the other captives sat in tense silence. Everyone knew something was coming. You could feel it in the air, that electric anticipation before a deed happened.The door opened and a nightwalker walked in, its red eyes scanning the room to count us. My heart hammered in my chest, but I kept my face blank, my body relaxed. Just another captive waiting for his fate.The nightwalker seemed sa







