Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 121 - Chapitre 130

Lucian’s POVThe hallway behind the podium is loud with voices and footsteps but all of it feels distant. Like I’m hearing it from underwater. My pulse is steady, maybe too steady, and my palms are warm. I’m not nervous, not exactly. I’ve spoken to my pack more times than I can count.But tonight isn’t like any other night.Tonight, everything shifts.I’m staring at the thick curtains that separate me from the main courtyard where the pack has gathered. The entire pack is here. All waiting. All expecting something they can hold onto before the hardest night of their lives.And just as I feel my chest grow too heavy, arms slide around my waist from behind.Madeline presses her forehead against my back.“Breathe.” she murmurs.“I am breathing.” I mutter, even though I’m pretty sure I haven’t taken a proper breath in the last five minutes.She moves around me until she’s standing in front of me, reaching up to cup my face with both hands. Her thumbs brush my jaw.“Lucian,” she whispers

Madeline’s POVElisha falls to his knees.One moment he’s standing there, shaking and pale and the next, his knees hit the floor with a soft, broken thud that echoes louder than any scream ever could. His hands clutch at Lucian’s pants “Lu—Lucian,” he chokes, voice cracking in half. “I’m... I’m so sorry.”Lucian stiffens. I can feel it even though I’m across the room. He doesn’t say anything yet, just looks down slowly, eyes caught between anger and heartbreak.Elisha bows his head to the floor. “I should’ve told you. I should’ve said something. I should’ve trusted you. You trusted me with everything and I—” His voice breaks again. “I broke that. I broke us.”My throat tightens. I’ve never heard Elisha sound like this. He’s always the sarcastic one, the reckless one, the one who laughs too loudly and gets into trouble at every opportunity. Seeing him like this....it is saddening.“Get up,” Lucian says quietly.Elisha shakes his head violently. “No. Not until you know I mean it. Not u

Lucian’s POV I raise the necklace with a delicate pendant lying on a cushion, beside a braid of dark hair as the metal catches the light, inspecting it.Ariella's sob increases, her face red, tears streaked. She’s sobbing openly, leaning into Claw’s chest, who holds her like he’s keeping her from crumbling entirely.He strokes her back, muttering quietly.I step forward, reaching out, wanting to do something. “Ariella,” My voice is firm, trying to anchor her. She shakes her head violently.“I can’t... I can’t...” Her words shatter. "I know what you want to say and I can't."Claw tightens his grip. “Breath, darling. You have to breathe."“I have to go." she manages between sobs, voice breaking. She pushes herself slightly from Claw’s hold.I freeze. “Go where?”She doesn’t answer, only shakes her head, sniffling. Her eyes are glossy, wet with fear and determination all at once.I step closer. “Ariella, it’s a bad idea. Tell me what—”“No!” she snaps, voice sharp with a mix of desperat

Lucian’s POVI give myself over to my wolf's rage. I don't think, I just move, act. Everything is all instinct.Everywhere around me is chaos and there are loud snarls and growls. I lose my pack in the chaos. Rage fuels every step I take as I tear through the burning ruins, my vision narrowed to a single purpose. Balthazar. Every rogue stupid enough to cross my path barely registers as a shape before they hit the ground.One lunges at me from nowhere, his claws already out. I don’t even slow down, I attack head on. My hand comes up, fingers stretching and my bones shifting, nails elongating into curved, lethal claws. I drive my palm straight through his chest before he can throw a punch. He collapses without a sound, lifeless before his body even hits the dirt.Another charges from my left.Then another.They don’t stand a chance.I become speed and fury. My canines push past my lips, sharp and aching, my jaw tightening as a low growl vibrates from my chest. My vision sharpens, the wo

Madeline’s POVI don’t remember deciding to shift back.One second I’m in furs and fangs, the next it’s like my body just lets go.I barely scream as my bones back into place, my fur going beneath skin, heat ripping through me so violently I cry out. I barely register the pain. I don’t register anything except the fact that Lucian is on the ground and I’m not close enough.I stumble as my feet hit the earth, my bare skin slapping against wet soil. I’m naked. Completely. The rain is cold, soaking into my hair, running down my back, but I don’t care.Nothing matters except him.“Lucian.” I choke, breaking into a run.My legs feel weak, like they might give out at any second, but I force them forward. Mud slicks under my feet. I trip, catch myself with my hands, scrape skin raw, then push back up and keep going.I don’t stop.I can’t stop.The mate bond, it’s there. But barely.It’s not the blazing, unbreakable pull it should be. It feels like an echo. A ghost of something that used to b