All Chapters of Craving the wolf: Chapter 21 - Chapter 26

I blinked through the haze of pain and dust, barely able to lift my head. Gabriel stood in front of me, his back arched. I knew that stance, I'd seen it before the night I almost died in the forest. The night Dante Salvador saved me and now, as he looked at me, my bloodied, failing body crumpled behind him, I saw the same rage flash behind his golden eyes.Alexander charged at us but before he could reached where I was Gabriel met him in his tracks.Gabriel slammed into Alexander with a roar, claws colliding with claws, their bodies crashing like gods at war.Gabriel's fists tore into Alexander's chest, sending him staggering but Alexander came back harder, faster. They exchanged blows that would kill a normal man a dozen times over.Fur flew. Blood splattered the ground. Their snarls shook the very walls around us and then... the earth cracked again.From the rubble nearby, a shadow rose, not just a shadow Victoria.She erupted from the debris, her eyes wild with fury, blood drippin

Sarah's words echoed through the room like a death sentence. He wasn't just careless, he wasn't just absent, he was the traitor and suddenly, the silence inside me wasn't calm, it was a roaring void, pulling memories into it like a storm sucking debris into a tornado.I blinked at Sarah, heart pounding. "Victor...?" She gave a slow, knowing nod. "He's the only one who could've pulled it off. The formula, the timing, the trust..."But I barely heard her now because my mind was unraveling everything I thought I knew and replacing it with what was real.He was always there after every meeting with Victoria, he was outside the door like clockwork. I used to joke he had a sixth sense about where I was. He'd say things like, "I just wanted to see how it went," or "You looked tense, I figured I'd check in."Always casual. Always concerned.I remembered the night I asked to meet him in secret. No comms, no trace because the information I had was too sensitive. I trusted him with that location

A second message came in. "Remember our favorite restaurant? Let's meet there tonight."My breath hitched. That place 'The Fox & Fern' was where we used to go on our anniversaries. Where he proposed.The moment was delicate and loaded. And he chose that spot.I sat down slowly, placing the phone on the table like it was made of glass.Gabriel was across from me in seconds, his focus razor-sharp."What exactly did he say?"I handed him the phone. He read both messages, lips pressed into a firm line. "And what do you want?" he said after he finished reading the messages."I want to make sure he's safe," I said quietly. "Even after everything, I don't want him caught up in this. And the place he chose, it's crowded. Public. The Order wouldn't risk making a move out in the open. Not in a place with witnesses."Gabriel's expression softened slightly. "You want to go?""I need to. Even if it's nothing. Even if it's stupid. I have to see for myself."His gaze dropped to the phone again. "The