Chapter 84

Dominic’s POV

“Alpha Luca’s declared war on NightShade pack.”

I just sat there, staring at the poor councilman, fingers digging into the table.

War.

The one thing I swore I’d never drag my pack into. My body was still wrecked from that ritual...hands trembling every time I tried to stand.

Elora slipped in quietly.

“You heard,” she said, voice soft but sure.

I just nodded, slowly. “Alpha Luca is coming for us.”

She didn’t flinch. “Then we fight.”

The way she said it made her sound like an Alpha...like more of an Alpha than I did. Maybe that’s what stung the most.

She had become what I couldn’t anymore.

I turned away, trying to steady my breathing. “You shouldn’t be the one to lead. This is my mess, my responsibility.”

She got up in my face, voice low but sharp as claws. “And your life’s worth more than your pride. You can barely stand, Dominic. Let me handle this.”

The way she said my name made me look up, and for a split second, I forgot about the chaos outside.

“You trust Dante?” I asked.

She almost smiled. “With my life.”

That stung.

Not jealousy, just… something else, like the ground swallowing me. They were rising while I was falling apart. But I couldn’t argue with the truth. “Then go,” I said. “You and Dante take the front.”

She lingered, searching my face like she was waiting for me to get angry. “What about you?”

“I’ll recover,” I lied straight through my teeth. “And when I can, I’ll end what Luca started.”

She nodded, but those eyes... she didn’t believe a word. Before she left, she brushed her fingers against mine. Just for a second. Just enough. Then she wakes out, leaving me in the cold room.

The door shut. I slumped back, every breath suddenly heavy. Being Alpha, it’s like wearing chains sometimes.

I couldn’t help thinking of Mira. How easy it had been for her love to turn to knives and poison. She hid it well, at first. Part of me still wanted to believe there was something left of the woman I loved under all that venom, but nah. She was gone. This war wasn’t revenge for her. It was her madness.

I should have seen it coming.

I should’ve stopped it.

Out the window, I caught the flicker of torches, warriors getting ready.

I hated being like this.

Every muscle screamed to move, to lead, to be the Alpha they needed. But the second I tried to stand, pain shot through me, sharp and unforgiving. My knees buckled. I barely caught myself, breathing ragged.

Not yet.

I couldn’t fight, not now. But I could plan. I could still protect my own.

Elora’s face wouldn’t leave my mind. Dante would have her back. That had to be enough.

For now.

But if I’m honest, this wasn’t Alpha Luca’s war anymore. It was Mira’s. And she wouldn’t stop until she burned everything I cared about to ash.

“Then burn me first.”

........

Mira's pov.

I stood at the edge of the courtyard, wind whipping the clang of steel and the barks of soldiers around me. My father’s army...no, our army was gathering.

I watched it all as shivers ran through my spine and I smiled.

Dominic thought he could toss me aside like trash. Every sword, every banner, was all for me. My revenge.

My father, Alpha Luca, stood at the front, big as a mountain, thunder in his eyes. Even now, age hadn’t dulled the fear he could whip up. But I saw it...the flicker of doubt, the old, tired memory of peace he used to chase.

I stepped up, voice like honey poured over a blade. “Father...”

He wouldn’t even look at me. Typical. “This isn’t a war I asked for, Mira. Dominic might be reckless, but don’t mistake that for weakness. NightShade isn’t gonna crumble overnight.”

I just gave him a tiny smile, circling him slowly. “You’re underestimating him. He’s softer than you think. He cut me off...severed our bond.”

That actually got him. He turned around, eyes wide, and for a second, I swear he almost pitied me.

“He broke me,” I whispered, voice all shaky, just the right amount of wounded. “He tore out my heart and handed my place to her. Elora. She’s the one clinging to him now, playing at being his equal.”

Dad’s jaw clenched, the vein in his temple twitching. I slid in closer, laid my hand on his arm. “He stole everything, Father. My place. My honor. Even your name. Are you going to let him get away with that?”

And there it was, the change I’d been waiting for. Rage lit up his eyes. He turned to his generals, “Ready the legions. We march at dawn.”

I couldn’t help it, a crooked, satisfied grin crept onto my face. Just like that, he was in. This wasn’t about politics anymore. He’d go to war for me.

I was just getting started.

When it was nighttime, I slipped away. Tossed a cloak over my head, and walked into the woods. Nobody saw me...at least. I crept along a half-forgotten path, all the way to the border. Neutral ground.

He was there.

Alpha Draven, Blood Fang’s Alpha, leaning on a busted pillar, red eyes glinting in the dark. Taller than I remembered, and that smile, sharp enough to bleed if you looked at it wrong.

“Mira Luca,” he purred, pushing off the stone. “Back from the dead, huh? You’ve made one hell of a mess.”

I just stared at him. “I’m not here to swap stories, Draven.”

“Oh? So why shouldn’t I just snap your neck right here?”

I didn’t flinch. “Because I’m the key to taking Dominic Bellamy down.”

Now I had his attention.

So I spilled. Everything.

Draven listened. Didn’t say much. But when I finished, he just asked, “And what are you after?”

“Dominic’s head,” I said, dead serious. “And NigthShade, burn it all.”

He laughed, low and dangerous, like gravel under boots. “You’re colder than I remember, Mira.”

“Pain will do that to a person,” I shot back.

We stood sizing each other up, then he stuck out his hand. “Alliance, then? Blood Fang and Dark Storm?”

I took it.

“Alliance,” I said, and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.