LOGINIrene's POV
The battle was turning against us.
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Irene's POVThe war room felt smaller with everyone crowded inside.Elders filled the seats around the main table. Maps and diagrams spread across every surface. The smell of blood and smoke still lingered on our clothes from the battle hours before.We had won the skirmish. But winning a battle wasn't the same as winning a war.
Karson's POVThe scratches on her arm weren't deep.But they were there. Red lines carved into her skin. Evidence of a fight that could have gone differently. Evidence of my failure.I watched her apply the ointment. Her movements efficient. Practiced. She didn't wince at the sting. Didn't hesitate or fumble.
Irene's POVThe battlefield was still settling when Karson appeared at my side.He moved fast despite his injured leg. Limping across the blood-soaked ground like the wound didn't exist. Like nothing mattered except reaching me."Irene." His voice was rough. Breathless. "Are you hurt? Did they—"
Irene's POVLexie was broken beneath me.Bleeding. Whimpering. Defeated.I shifted back to human form. Stood over her crumpled body. Ready to end this once and for all."It's over, Lexie." My voice came out cold. Flat. "You've lost."
Irene's POVMidnight came slowly.I waited in the shadows near the depot. My body tense. My senses stretched to their limits. Every rustle of leaves. Every whisper of wind. Every distant owl call amplified in the darkness.The children were hidden safely behind the main building. Far from the trap zone. Close enough to alert us if their sharp noses detected anything unusual.
Irene's POVThe trap needed bait.Good bait. The kind that would make Lexie abandon caution entirely. The kind that would draw her in like a moth to flame.I knew exactly what that bait needed to be.Me.
IRENEMy world was crashing but I had no time to crumble with it. I snapped out of it, stepping closer to Ralph and taking him off guard.“We're leaving, now.”Hesitation flashed in his orbs and he started to shake his head, “I can't take you t
IRENEBy the time the guards came, Karson had fallen unconscious again. They handed me a dress and I threw it over my head as they took him from me.My heart gnawed and skin crawled to stay close to him, but I let them take him. My shoulders slumped defeated.Ra
IRENEHe kicked me out.The door slammed hard in my face and I blinked at it, stunned for a moment about what happened then his voice came through.“What the fuck happened?” He screamed at none other than Ralph and I started to pity him.Poor
IRENEMy hands shook as I poured myself a drink. I gulped it down in one swing and poured another, then another and in a few minutes, I lost track of how many I'd drank.My vision was getting hazy and my head was light.That wasn't just any kind of smell. It was







