LOGINChapter 140
Viona's POV The council chamber was still thick with the scent of smoke from the braziers when the messenger stumbled in. His clothes were torn, his pale face streaked with soot and blood. He collapsed to his knees in the center of the chamber, gasping for breath, his voice trembling with the weight of what he carried. "Half of them..." His words faltered, broken by ragged coughs. "Half of the vampires... gone. Wiped out in an instant." The chamber erupted. Wolves leapt from their seats, voices rising in shock and disbelief. "Half?" one elder barked. "That's impossible. Vampires are resilient, unyielding-" The messenger shook his head violently, eyes wide, haunted. "I saw it. Spells like storms, fire raining from the sky. The ground split, swallowing entire battalions. The witches unleashed something none of us have ever seen before. Ancient magic-darker than anything our history reChapter 149 Viona's POV The council chamber buzzed with a restless energy long before I entered. The tall stone hall had been built for moments such as this, its vaulted ceiling etched with runes of unity and protection. A round table dominated the center, its polished surface reflecting the torchlight. Already, the seats were filled: Alphas of neighboring packs, elders draped in ceremonial robes, Betas whose sharp eyes missed nothing. Their scents mingled in the air-dominance, suspicion, unease. The war outside our walls had changed everything. News of witches burning human towns, vampires slaughtering each other, and massacres still surfacing had left the packs uneasy. And when their spies had reported that I, Alpha of the Light Pack, had finally returned from the hospital, no one wasted time in demanding my presence. The moment the doors opened, the murmurs stilled. I stepped inside, my cloa
Chapter 148 Viona's POV The moment the discharge papers were signed, I barely spared the hospital another glance. My mother wept softly by the doorway, trying to hide her tears. My father clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder, pride and worry etched into his stern face. The doctors gave me final instructions about rest, diet, wound care-but I was already walking away, my coat billowing behind me. The hospital had been my prison. Every hour spent in its sterile walls had felt like a chain tightening around my throat. And now, at last, I was free. The driver opened the door of the black sedan waiting outside. I slid into the backseat without a word. My wolf bristled beneath my skin, restless, hungry for the taste of familiar air. The city blurred by as the car carried me back toward Light Pack territory. Skyscrapers gave way to suburban streets, and then to the shadowed forests that guarded our lan
Chapter 147 Viona's POV The hospital ward had never felt more suffocating. All through the day, I sat in my bed with my hands folded, my wolf pacing restlessly in the cage of my mind. The doctor's calm insistence, the nurse's records, the midnight injection-they echoed in my skull like accusations. Every word, every note had conspired to tell me the same thing: I had never left. But my body says otherwise. The dull ache in my lower region had not faded, nor had the fragmented memories of the night before-the laughter, the thrum of music, the burn of alcohol down my throat, the press of hands that had felt both strange and intimately familiar. A phantom heat clung to my skin, and I hated myself for shivering at the thought of it. Hallucination, the doctor had said. Delusion, the chart had implied. I pressed my palms against my temples, my teeth grinding together. "N
Chapter 146 Viona's POV The morning haze still clung to me like cobwebs when I stirred. My body was heavy, my head still aching with the lingering effects of the hangover. For a moment I tried to force my eyes shut again, to pretend sleep would shield me from the shame and confusion pressing on my chest. But then the ache in my body shifted-sharp, raw-and my eyes flew open. It wasn't just the throbbing in my head. My lower body ached with a soreness I hadn't felt in a long time, like it has been well taken care of. My wolf stirred uneasily, not from wounds, but from memory. I sat up too quickly, wincing at the pull in my muscles. I pulled the hospital blanket aside, glaring down at myself. Bandages were still wrapped around my torso. My legs were bare beneath the flimsy gown, and nothing outward seemed amiss. But I knew my body. I knew what it felt like after being touched. My pulse was hammered. My mind reel
Chapter 145 Viona's POV I stumbled into the dance floor , warmth and bass swallowing me whole. I ordered something sharp and amber, let it burn down my throat, and laughed at nothing. Maybe at everything. That's when I felt it-eyes on me. He leaned against the far wall, his gaze steady as if he'd been waiting. I should have looked away. Instead, I tilted my glass in a mock salute. He smiled-slow, knowing-and it made my skin tighten with recognition I couldn't place. When he crossed the floor, the crowd seemed to part without meaning to. His presence carried weight, subtle and magnetic. Close enough, I smelled smoke and something darker, like cedar caught in rain. "You look like you're trying to forget," he said. "Maybe I am," I slurred softly, though my words carried more honesty than I meant them to. "Do I know you?" He tilted his head. "You should. Doesn't it feel lik
Chapter 144 Viona's POV Two weeks later, the hospital room had begun to feel like a cage. Though the doctors insisted on quiet and recovery, though my parents hovered with relentless vigilance, my mind refused to be stilled. Every hour I lay there, the Light Pack carried its burdens without me. Every hour, wolves waited for decisions only I could make. I had not fought my way through blood and betrayal to be rendered powerless by a bed. On the fourth morning, I summoned my secretary and my Beta into the room. My voice was still weak, my body still pale from blood loss, but my eyes carried the unbending authority of an Alpha. "Bring me the company reports," I ordered, my tone leaving no room for hesitation. "And the pack's patrol schedules. I want every case file, every letter of alliance, every unresolved trade dispute on my desk by tomorrow morning." "Alpha," my Beta protested, "you're still-"







