LOGINCHAPTER SIXTY-NINE IRENE’S POV The silk of the wedding gown felt like chains against my skin. I stood motionless in front of the tall mirror while the assistant—some trembling Omega girl whose name I hadn’t bothered to learn—fastened the final row of pearl buttons down my spine. The dress was exquisite in the cruelest way: ivory silk that clung to every curve, embroidered with silver thread that caught the light like fresh blood on snow. Gideon had chosen it. Of course he had. A symbol of purity for the man who had beaten the love of my life into the mud and stolen everything. My neck still ached from where the enforcers had dragged me yesterday. Bruises bloomed across my arms in ugly purple fingerprints. Every time I breathed too deeply, I remembered Devon’s broken body lying in the rain, reaching for me. And now I was being dressed like a prize sow for slaughter. “You look beautiful, miss,” the assistant whispered, not meeting my eyes in the mirror. I smiled thinly. “Get me s
**CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT — Devon Becomes Omega****IRENE’S POV**The final duet was never meant to be fair.Rain had already begun to threaten the sky when Devon stepped into the blood-stained circle for the last time. The elders had gathered under heavy cloaks, their faces carved from stone and old grudges. My father stood among them like a king who had already sold his daughter to keep his throne. Gideon waited at the opposite edge, freshly bandaged from the third fight but still radiating smug certainty. His silver-edged blade gleamed even under the darkening clouds.Devon looked like death walking.The three black brands on his chest had spread like roots of poison ivy, black veins crawling beneath his skin. His side was still bleeding from where Gideon had driven the blade in during the last challenge. Every breath he took seemed to cost him. Yet he rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and refused the short sword Zane tried to press into his hand.“No steel,” he said, voice hoars
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN — The Third Fall IRENE’S POV The third challenge was set for night. This time, claws were allowed. Teeth were allowed and steel was allowed. And surrender had to be forced. When the elders agreed, I felt something inside me go cold. By sunset, the whole pack already knew. Devon had lost twice. Two black brands had burned into his chest from the last two losses. His power was fading. And if he lost tonight, he would be one step away from the lowest rank a wolf could fall into. Omega. Not by birth. By punishment. By failure. By public stripping. I found him in the preparation chamber beneath the old fighting grounds. He was alone. Devon sat on a wooden bench, wrapping cloth around his bleeding knuckles like he was preparing for a casual training match and not his own destruction. His shirt was open. The first two brands sat beneath his collarbone, black and raw. I stopped at the doorway. He did not look up. “You’re supposed to
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX — The Second ChallengeIRENE’S POVBy morning, Devon’s first loss had become the pack’s favorite meal.Everyone was eating from it.In the kitchens, servants whispered that his curse had made him unstable.In the courtyard, warriors said Gideon had exposed what Devon truly was.In the council halls, elders spoke in low voices about whether Rule 101 should even be allowed to continue if Devon could not control himself.And in my father’s study, I stood before him while he looked at me like all of it was my fault.“You saw him yesterday,” my father said.I said nothing.“He broke the rules in front of the entire pack. He nearly killed Gideon in a sanctioned trial.”“Gideon provoked him.”My father’s eyes narrowed. “A true Alpha cannot be provoked into stupidity.”I looked away.He leaned back in his chair. “If Devon loses again today, this foolish resistance ends. You will prepare yourself to become Gideon’s Luna.”My stomach tightened.“Do you understand me?”I force
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE — The First LossIRENE’S POVThe first duet was held before the entire pack.By noon, the courtyard was full.Warriors stood in rows. Elders sat beneath the old black banners. Omegas crowded near the lower steps, whispering like one wrong breath could get them punished.And I stood beside my father.“You will watch properly,” he said without looking at me. “You will see the difference between a man fit to lead and a mad wolf pretending power still belongs to him.”I did not answer.If I opened my mouth, I would say something unforgivable.Across the courtyard, the sacred circle had been marked in ash and blood.No weapons.No interference.No shifting before the elders called for it.Wolf against wolf until one yielded or was thrown from the circle.Gideon entered first. The pack cheered.He wore black and silver. Alpha colors. His hair was tied back, his sleeves rolled to his elbows, his expression calm. He looked prepared. Like he had waited years for this exact m
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR — The Bride Devon Told Her To Become IRENE’S POVDevon left my quarters before dawn.I stood in the middle of my room for a long time after the door closed.My body still remembered his arms.My mind kept repeating his words.Accept the offer.Let Gideon claim you.Let them think they’ve won.Then I’ll take everything.I pressed my palms over my eyes and laughed once.It sounded broken.Devon was mad.Not the careless kind of mad people whispered about in hallways. Not the kind that made wolves cross the courtyard when he appeared.No.This was worse.This was controlled madness.The kind that walked straight into a trap, studied the teeth, and decided to use them as a weapon.Everyone had a plan.And somewhere in the middle of all their power games, I was supposed to smile and wear white.A knock came at my door before the sun had fully risen.I already knew.No servant would knock that softly unless they carried bad news.“Lady Irene,” a young attendant called. “
“Finally,” Devon growled against my mouth, the word vibrating through my bones.His tongue dragged slow and deliberate over the spilled blood on my cheek, licking every warm drip clean like it was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. I shuddered, hating the way my thighs clenched around his waist.
Irene's POVThe sun bled out behind the pines when I reached the clearing. Gideon was already there, arms crossed, jaw tight."He left at dawn," he said before I could speak. "Silverclaw delegation. Some border dispute up North. Won't be back for two days."Two days.My pulse kicked hard. "That's t
Morning came too fast.My eyes snapped open to the dim light leaking through the thin curtains of the Omegas’ quarters. The mattress under me felt too small, the air too cold, and my heartbeat too loud.I was still trembling.Everything I’d seen in that safe—everything Devon had done—echoed like a
Irene's POVI slipped out of the penthouse just before dawn, shoes in my hand so my heels wouldn't click on the marble. Devon was still sprawled across the couch, one arm flung over the spot I'd vacated, chest rising slow and deep. I told myself I wasn't running. I was surviving.Two days later the







