LOGINCHAPTER 70: A VISIT FROM THE THORNE PACK ELENA:The figure standing in the doorway wasn't what I was expecting; it was an unexpected visit from the Thorne Pack."Kamala?" I screamed, my voice rising.Kamala was my childhood best friend, the daughter of the Thorne Pack Beta, the girl who had braided my hair at summer festivals and helped me handle my chores. She was standing there in the flesh, looking like a woman on a mission. I didn't waste a minute as I lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her into the room before slamming the door shut."Kamala? What are you doing here?" I whispered, my voice frantic, my eyes darting to the door. "How did you even get past the guards? How did you get onto Adrian's floor? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"Kamala crossed her lip with her index finger, trying to shush me. Her expression was calm despite the sheer madness of her breaking into an Alpha’s private sanctuary. "Slow down, Elena! You’re going to give yourself an a
CHAPTER 69: THE RESTLESS NIGHT ELENA:I sat in that chair, staring at the polished wood of Adrian’s desk, feeling like the air had been sucked out of the room. My head was spinning. Everything I’d ever stood for, every memory I held onto, was rotting right in front of me. Marcus, my "sweet" Marcus, had been a traitor, a spy, and a murderer. And my own father? He’d orchestrated the death of the woman who had meant so much to Adrian, the woman whose death had set off this entire cycle of hate.No wonder Adrian was determined to wipe out the entire Thorne Pack, no wonder he looked at me like I was a disease. I was the daughter of the man who’d masterminded the killing of his mother, and the love of my life was the man who’d facilitated the process.The irony was a bitter pill to swallow: I was just as much a victim of this web of deceit and cruelty as Adrian was."I… I need to rest," I managed to choke out, my voice sounding small and foreign. I didn't wait for him to respond. I just st
CHAPTER 68: THE TRUTH ABOUT MARCUS ELENA:“Stay away from me until you have something real to say.”When I said that to Adrian, I expected him to storm out of the room like he always did when things didn't go his way. But instead, Adrian just let out a long, heavy sigh. He didn't look angry at all; he looked tired. Bone-deep tired."Sit down, Elena," he said, his voice quiet.I hesitated, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I looked at the door, then back at him. Against my better judgment, I walked over and took the seat directly opposite his desk. I folded my hands tightly in my lap to hide the fact that they wouldn't stop shaking.Adrian leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on some point behind me, his gaze reflective. When he finally looked at me, there was no malice in his eyes, just a brutal, cold clarity."Just like I told you earlier," he started, his voice steady. "Your beloved Marcus wasn't who you thought he was. He was a snake in your grass, and he wa
CHAPTER 67: MARCUS WASN'T WHO YOU THINK HE ISELENA:Wrapped in Adrian's arms, while his lips locked on mine, my heart was racing. Not because I was afraid, or because I was begging for his scraps. But because I was finally done playing games. I hadn't intentionally come here to be a spy—I sucked at that, anyway. My father had given me a mission to gather Intel from the Blackwood Pack and send it back home, but every day I spent in this house, I realized how far out of my depth I was. If I couldn't be the spy, I had to be the Luna. That was my only path to survival, my only way to secure a permanent alliance between the two packs.I knew Adrian hated me. I knew there was something buried under that rage, something deep and twisted that made him look at me with pure venom. But I was determined now. I thought if I stayed true to our bond—if I played the part of the faithful mate—maybe, just maybe, I could turn this ship around.After giving my response about choosing between Adrian an
CHAPTER 66: YOU WANT ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN YOU?ADRIAN:“Get the fuck out!” I yelled, pointing to the door.I watched Lucian’s face as my words hit him. He’d come in here like he was proposing a business merger, like he was buying a piece of property, and he looked like I punched him in the face when I ordered him out of my study. He started to rise, his chair scraping against the hardwood floor with a grating screech.I leaned back in my desk chair, a cold, mocking smirk pulling at my lips. "Wait. Do you really want her that bad, Lucian?"He froze, his hands gripping the back of the chair. He looked at me, caught off guard. "What?"I laughed, a dry, humorless sound that felt like sandpaper. "Let’s say I actually let you have her. Do you even think Elena would want you? Hell, why don't you ask her yourself? She’s been standing outside that door for the last ten minutes, listening to every damn word."Lucian’s eyes went wide. He whipped around toward the door. "How do you know that?""
CHAPTER 65: LET ME HAVE HERADRIAN:The air in my master suite had been suffocating, but out in the hallway, it didn't get any better. I walked down toward my study, my blood still boiling. Elena probably thought I was just some jealous, caveman Alpha, and honestly? Maybe I was. But jealousy was the least of my problems. I was fighting for survival, and I was fighting to keep a viper out of my life.Lucian wasn't just a brother. He was a ticking time bomb.My father’s history was a mess of broken promises and secrets. Silas had loved Lucian’s mother long before he met my mom, his fated mate. The pack elders had forced his hand—a prophecy warned of total ruin if he rejected his fated mate, so he’d marked my mother and made her Luna. But he’d kept the mistress in the shadows, and eventually, he had Lucian.My mother had been a saint, honestly. She’d raised Lucian as her own once Silas brought him home to be tutored at the age of ten. But the day my mother died, the mask dropped. Lucian’
CHAPTER 57: ALPHA SILAS TRYING TO INTERVENE ADRIAN:I was sitting in my father’s chambers, trying to catch my breath after that argument with Elena in the dungeon. I left her there because I didn't want her to believe she could order me around. But my wolf hasn't stopped complaining since we left
CHAPTER 56: LIAM VISITS ELENA ELENA:Adrian looked at me like I was a bug he’d found under a rock. His eyes turned that cold, unreadable black, and the air around him shifted, getting heavy and sharp."It seems you’re enjoying this place very much, Elena," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerou
CHAPTER 55: WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT, ELENA?ELENA:I was curled into a ball on the cold, damp stone, my eyes squeezed shut. Every part of me ached, and my stomach was so hollow it felt like it was eating itself. My wolf hadn't spoken to me in days, like it had retreated to a corner in defeat. When I
CHAPTER 54:ADRIAN:The air in the Council hall was thick with anticipation. Every eye was locked on the double doors, waiting for Beta Clement. When he finally stepped into the room, he wasn't just carrying a report; he was holding a portable holographic projector, the kind we used for high-stakes







