LOGINLisa's POVFor a second, nobody spoke. Then Rasha laughed. It wasn't a pleasant laugh.It was the kind of laugh people made when they heard something so ridiculous they didn't know whether to be angry or amused. "You truly are insane," she said.Derek leaned back comfortably in his chair. "Yet somehow I'm still the strongest person in this room."Rasha's fingers tightened against the armrest. I recognized the dangerous look in her eyes. She was seconds away from exploding again.One of the elders quickly cleared his throat."Derek," the old man said carefully, "surely you don't expect us to hand command of our warriors to a stranger.""A stranger?" Derek asked. The elder nodded.Derek looked around the room. "I know more about warfare than everyone here combined."The room grew quiet. Rasha scoffed. "There it is again.""What?""The arrogance."Derek shrugged. "It isn't arrogance if it's true."I pressed my lips together. Somehow he always managed to say the most infuriating thing pos
Lisa's POVBy the time Derek and I arrived at the meeting hall, everyone was already gathered.The atmosphere felt noticeably different from before.Earlier, the room had nearly turned into a battlefield. Now, despite the tension hanging in the air, everyone seemed determined to at least pretend to be civilized.Rasha sat at the head of the round table. The elders occupied their usual seats around her.Ava sat quietly on one side, her expression calm and unreadable as always.The moment she saw me enter, she gestured toward the empty seat beside her. "Lisa." I nodded politely and walked over.As I sat down, Ava extended her hand toward Derek, indicating the empty chair beside mine.For a second, I thought he would refuse. Derek looked at the chair. Then at Ava. Then at the chair again. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he sat down.The elders visibly relaxed. Apparently, getting Derek to sit down without threatening somebody counted as progress.Rasha cleared her throat. Ever
Lisa's POVI retraced my steps through the Silverfang streets and headed straight for our hut.After everything that had happened inside the council hall, my nerves were stretched thin. Part of me expected Derek to have already plotted how we were going to escape. Another part expected him to have started another fight. Instead, when I pushed open the door, I found him eating.I sighed in relief.Derek sat cross-legged near the table with a bowl in his hands, looking completely unbothered by the chaos surrounding us."Where did you get that from?" I asked.He glanced up briefly. "I took it from someone in the street." Of course he did.Without another word, he tossed another bowl toward me. "This one is for you."I caught it clumsily. The food smelled amazing.I knew very well Derek hadn't politely asked for it. He had probably scared the poor owner half to death.But I was far too hungry to care. So I sat down beside him and started eating.For a while neither of us spoke. The silen
Lisa's POV"You have to stop!" My voice echoed through the hall.The Priestess stood with one hand still raised toward Derek. The invisible force holding him against the wall seemed to hum through the air itself.She turned her head slightly toward me. "Only if Derek respects himself."I stared at her in disbelief. "You don't understand," I said quickly. "Derek will kill you."Her lips curved faintly. "I don't think so."My heart sank. She really believed that. She really believed she had won.Then Derek moved. One second he was lying in the shadows. The next he was standing. His eyes flashed bright red.The speed of it made several elders flinch. Even the Priestess looked surprised."Derek," I said quickly. "Calm down. We can talk our way out of this."His gaze remained fixed on the Priestess "This is me being calm." The way he said it made chills crawl down my spine. "And I'm only calm because they're girls," he continued. "Not a worthy opponent for me."The room fell silent.Rasha'
Lisa's POVI flinched. The words felt like a blade driven into my chest. Yet Derek didn't react, not even slightly.In fact... He looked amused.Then finally he spoke. "What makes you think I can be killed?" The room froze. Even I stared at him.The confidence in his voice made my heart skip.Rasha's chest rose sharply, slowly she turned toward him. "What did you say?"Derek tilted his head. Then shrugged. "For what it's worth," he began casually, "everyone in this room aside Lisa is at my mercy."The elders stiffened. The guards tightened their grips on their weapons.Derek continued. "I'm just one reason away from killing you all."The silence afterward felt suffocating. Several elders looked horrified, others looked offended.Rasha looked frightened for the briefest second.Then anger buried it. "You might be strong," she said. "But you can't take all of us.""Yes he can." The words left my mouth before I could stop them.Everyone turned toward me.My heart pounded. "I've seen firs
Lisa’s POVHe wasn't bound. That immediately caught my attention.The guards had weapons, yet none of them were touching him.In fact, they seemed determined to keep a safe distance from him.Derek looked completely relaxed, almost bored.His eyes swept across the room before finding mine. For a brief second, our gazes locked.His expression didn't change, but somehow I felt calmer.The elder spy immediately stood. His eyes narrowed.The room became so quiet I could hear my own breathing. He walked slowly toward Derek, studying him.Examining every detail. Derek remained perfectly still. The elder circled him once, then twice.The confidence on his face slowly began to disappear.Rasha frowned. “Well?”The elder didn't answer immediately.Instead, he leaned closer. His eyes moved over Derek's face, his jaw, his scar.Then suddenly he stepped back, A strange look appeared on his face.Everyone noticed it. “Elder Wane?” Rasha asked.The old man stared at Derek for several long seconds.
Lisa's POVFrom the window, I saw the witch smiling through the flames, eyes glowing. Her lips moved, whispering something into the wind.Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind me.And I wasn’t alone in the room anymore.I didn’t turn around at first. I just stood there, froz
Lisa's POVThe three rogues came closer, their chuckles loud and mocking. My heart pounded, fear mixing with something new, a strange tug in my stomach, like energy waking up. I froze, my hands still on my hips, legs trembling but rooted in place.A voice spoke inside me
Lisa's POVCole twisted the knife deeper into Derek’s chest, a sick grin spreading across his face. Tears stung my eyes as Derek coughed, blood splattering his lips. His knees buckled, sinking lower, and my heart sank with them. I couldn’t breathe—couldn’t think. This coul
Lisa's POVTheir eyes glowed blue, and their growls vibrated through the wooden walls. My heart slammed against my ribs, the afterglow of Derek’s touch snuffed out by cold fear. I froze, clutching the spare cloth tighter around my trembling body.“Run, little wolf,” Der







