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Chapter 28: The Elders

مؤلف: Lauren Diamond
last update آخر تحديث: 2025-12-18 06:09:40

The Council chambers are designed to intimidate.

High ceilings that make you feel small. Dark mahogany panels that swallow light. A long table where four Elders sit like judges at a tribunal. And at the center of it all, two chairs facing the Council—one for Tyler, one for me.

I'm wearing armor disguised as a dress.

Carmen and a team of stylists spent three hours transforming me this morning. The gown is deep emerald green silk that brings out my eyes, according to Bella. It's modest but elegant—high neck, long sleeves, floor-length skirt. My hair is swept up in an intricate updo. Diamond earrings that cost more than a car glitter at my ears.

I look like a Luna.

I feel like an imposter.

"Breathe," Tyler murmurs beside me as we enter the chamber. His hand is on the small of my back, warm and grounding. "Remember everything we practiced."

The four Elders look up as we approach.

Elder Raymond Castellano sits at the center—silver hair, sharp eyes, expensive suit. He looks like he could be
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  • The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare   Chapter 40: Choosing the Monster

    Something shutters in his eyes. He drops his hand and steps back. "That's a conversation for another day.""No." I grab his wrist, holding him in place. "You don't get to show me your violence and then hide your past. If I'm going to survive you, I need to understand you.""You don't need to understand me. You need to accept me.""Same thing."Tyler looks at me for a long moment. The sunset streaming through the window turns everything golden—his hair, his skin, the hard lines of his face."My father was a good man," he finally says. "He believed in diplomacy. In pack unity. In solving disputes through Council mediation rather than bloodshed." His voice turns bitter. "Mitchell's father, my stepfather, challenged him. Called him weak. Said the Raytheon Pack needed stronger leadership.""What happened?""My father agreed to a formal challenge. Trial by combat. But it was supposed to be non-lethal. First blood, winner declared. The whole pack would witness it." Tyler walks to the window,

  • The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare   Chapter 39: No Remorse

    I can still see it. The spray of blood. The light dying in that man's eyes. The casual way Tyler ended a life, like swatting a fly. No hesitation. No remorse. Just cold, efficient violence.And the worst part? A tiny, traitorous part of me understands why he did it. They were watching me. Taking pictures while I slept. Planning something worse.But understanding doesn't make the image go away. Doesn't stop my stomach from churning. Doesn't erase the fact that I'm mated to a killer.I don't know how long I sit there. Minutes. Hours. The sun moves across the sky, shadows lengthening across the floor.When the door opens, I don't look up."April."Tyler's voice is rough. He's showered. I can smell the soap, see the wet hair. The blood is gone. He's wearing clean clothes. Black jeans, black t-shirt.But I can still see the blood. It's burned into my mind."I'm sorry you had to see that," he says.I laugh. It comes out harsh, broken. "You're sorry I had to see it? Not that you did it?""No

  • The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare   Chapter 38: Blood on the Lawn

    The attack comes three days after the Council disaster.I'm in the library, curled up in my favorite window seat with a book on pack history that Liam assigned me. The afternoon sun is warm on my face. For a moment, I almost forget I'm a prisoner.Then I hear the screaming.It's not a human scream. It's the sound a wolf makes when it's dying.I drop the book and run toward the noise. My feet barely touch the marble floors. The screaming is coming from outside, from the east lawn."April, no!" Carmen appears from nowhere, grabbing my arm. "Don't go out there.""What's happening?"Her face is pale. "The Alpha is... handling a situation. You don't want to see this."But I'm already pulling away from her, pushing through the French doors onto the terrace.What I see stops me cold.Tyler is in the center of the lawn. He's partially shifted—his eyes glowing amber, fierce and predatory. Claws have extended from his fingertips, wickedly sharp, catching the sunlight. Fangs protrude past his li

  • The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare   Chapter 37: Conspiracy Plan

    I tell him. All of it. The promise of freedom. The demand for testimony. The thinly veiled threats against Bella and Aunt Marie. The implication that he has proof of our arranged marriage. The forty-eight hour deadline.Tyler's face darkens with every word. His hands curl into fists so tight his knuckles crack. By the time I finish, his eyes are glowing full amber. His wolf is close to the surface. Too close."I'm going to kill him," he says flatly. Not a threat. A statement of fact. "I'm going to find him. I'm going to rip his throat out. And then I'm going to burn the body so there's nothing left to bury.""That's exactly what he wants." I struggle to sit up, ignoring the shooting pain in my hip. "Tyler, listen to me. He's baiting you. Trying to make you lose control in front of witnesses so the Council removes you.""I don't care." His voice is a growl. Not fully human anymore."Yes, you do." I grab his hand, forcing him to look at me. "You care about Bella. If you go after Mitchel

  • The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare   Chapter 36: Ultimatum

    "Help me prove he's unfit.""So you can take over the pack.""So the pack can be led by someone stable. Someone who doesn't settle disputes with violence. Someone who won't drag us into a war with the other territories." His expression is earnest. Sincere. Almost believable. "I'm trying to save lives, April. Including yours.""By betraying Tyler.""By protecting the pack from a dangerous Alpha." Mitchell moves closer to the bed. "Think about it. If you testify, the Council removes Tyler. He loses everything—the pack, the company, the power. But Bella is safe. Your aunt is safe. You're free. Everyone wins except the man who deserves to lose."There's a sick logic to it. A tempting one."And if I refuse?" I ask.Mitchell's expression hardens. "Then I'll be forced to make things... difficult. For you. For your aunt. For everyone you care about.""That's a threat.""That's reality." He leans down, hands on the bed rails, bringing his face level with mine. "Tyler's protection only extends

  • The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare   Chapter 35: Sleeping Beauty

    I'm in recovery when Mitchell makes his move.The bone marrow extraction went smoothly, according to Dr. Reeves. Two hours under anesthesia. They drilled into my hip bone and extracted the marrow Bella needs. Now I'm lying in a hospital bed, groggy from drugs, my hip throbbing with pain that the morphine only partially masks.Bella's transplant is happening in the operating room down the hall. Tyler is with her. Liam is coordinating security. Wade posted guards outside my door.I'm alone when the door opens.I assume it's a nurse. I don't open my eyes."Sleeping beauty. How fitting."The voice is male. Cultured. Not Tyler's.My eyes snap open.Mitchell Raven stands at the foot of my bed, hands in the pockets of an expensive suit. Ice-blue eyes study me with the detached interest of a scientist examining a specimen."How did you get in here?" I try to sit up. Pain shoots through my hip. I gasp, falling back."I walked through the front door." Mitchell moves to the window, glancing out

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