Semua Bab The Alpha's Fated Desire: Bab 121 - Bab 130

{Lyra}That was way too close.The second Dominic stepped into that lounge, I felt every lie I’d ever told rise up in my throat like bile. I could still feel Reina’s words echoing in my ears—“When are you going to come clean about who you really are, Lyra?”If he had stepped in even five seconds earlier, he would have heard her say my name. But he didn’t; his face didn’t twist in the way it did whenever he just cracked something fully open. Otherwise, it would have officially been game over.I didn’t let myself breathe until the lounge doors shut behind us, and even then, I felt like my lungs weren’t working properly.“Whew,” Reina exhaled beside me, linking her arm through mine as we walked. “That was intense.”“Yeah,” I said, trying not to sound as breathless as I felt.We were almost back to the grand hall when I pulled gently on her arm. “Reina… about earlier…”“I’m not taking it back,” she said without missing a beat. “You’re Lyra. I know it, and so do you.”I bit back a groan. “

{Dominic}I didn’t sleep, but not out of restlessness, though I had plenty of that, but because I had too much to think about and not enough time to think it all through. The war wasn’t slowing down just because I’d had a romantic epiphany in the middle of a road. Varen sure as hell wasn’t going to wait for me to finish having a quarter-life crisis.So I stayed up. Staring at the map like it might suddenly burst into song and tell me how to defeat Varen. Seeing as Odessa was now off the table, I needed something that would be able to rival a corrupted Alpha and his army of undead.Piles of reports were spread across my desk, Ryker had sent me a list of our potential allies.A few packs were on our side, but some had jumped ship, drunk on Varen’s promises. And of course, there were also the ones playing the waiting game, watching which Alpha rose higher before picking a side.I’d deal with those fence-sitters later.I yawned and shook my head lightly to fight the wave of dizziness th

{Dominic}I pulled out my phone to call Allen, but I stopped halfway through after unlocking the screen and remembering a crucial detail. “Right… Allen doesn’t do phones.”The old goat refused to own one. He'd rather use a fucking raven that touch a phone. Explained why he still lived in a tower though.“Change of plans,” I muttered, putting the useless phone back in my pocket.Mace looked up from the still-immobilized creature. The thing hadn’t moved much, but it was definitely still alive. “I’m going to get Allen,” I told her, already turning back toward my car. “You stay here. Make sure to keep your distance, and if it so much as blinks at you the wrong way, call me immediately.”She gave me a salute, “Got it.” Then she turned her gaze back to the immobilized creature, and I left the cemetery, heading back to the SUV.Allen’s tower loomed in the distance, gradually growing bigger as I got closer. I parked at the entrance and climbed up the spiraling stairs, stopping at the doors

{Lyra}It was him. No matter how many disguises he would ever wear, I would always know him. “Lyra,” Reina beamed, completely unaware that my internal alarms were off the roof. “This is—” she paused and glanced at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier,”“I’m Vincent.” Varen said smoothly without batting an eyelid.He had used a fake name. The only question was why Varen would go through such lengths, even using a fake name, just to get to Reina.I nodded stiffly, not trusting myself to speak.“He just moved into town from somewhere up north because of the alliance. But the fascinating part is that, Vincent is a herbologist.”“A what?” I blurted out, my confusion getting the better of me.Varen tilted his head and gave me a smile I considered almost warm. “I study plants. For both wellness and alchemy.”“Well, how… fascinating,” I said tightly, trying not to break character. “The North has been known to have quite, um, unique people.”His eyes finally met mine, and his smi

{Dominic}The moment my paws hit the damp forest floor and the acrid smell of rot assaulted my nose, I knew I was close.The smell practically clung to the trees, slowly worming its way into my lungs and setting every instinct I had on edge. Varen’s creatures always had such a terrible stink, but at least it made it easier to tell where they were.I increased my pace as the stench got stronger. I didn’t need to see them to know they were ahead—I could practically feel them.When I broke through the trees, I came across a battlefield. Four twisted abominations lashed and snarled like wild dogs set on fire, circling Ryker and my deltas.Three of the horrendous creatures already lay on the ground, lifeless, but one of them still twitched like it hadn’t figured out it was dead just yet. It must have been a recent kill.Suddenly, one of the creatures lunged at them, and Kael and Juno lunged at it in response. They fought in sync, doing their best to go against the creature. “Hold the line