บททั้งหมดของ Fated In Darkness: บทที่ 171 - บทที่ 180

NatalieMy mother sat upright in the hospital bed, talking easily with the doctor, too easily. Her cheeks held colour, her eyes sparkled with a vitality that didn’t belong to someone who had been slipping away just a day ago. She looked radiant. Whole. Alive.No one would believe she'd been dying. But I knew better. This wasn't recovery. This was transformation.My stomach twisted. Was this what Professor Alester meant? Had her body adapted to the venom... or surrendered to it? A miracle on the surface, maybe. But underneath? Something ancient had taken root.I lingered in the doorway, steadying my breath, trying to silence the storm of questions rising in me. For now, she was alive. Warm. Present. I would not let fear ruin what might be the last moment we truly had together.I stepped inside. The doctor glanced at me, then gave a courteous nod before slipping out silently, as if he too feared the stillness might break.“You’re awake,” I said softly.Her face lit up at the sight of me,

NatalieI returned to my mother’s room, hoping, just hoping, that I could speak to her before sleep claimed her. But she was already out, exactly as Margaret had said she would be. Peaceful. Still. I watched her for a while, listening to the soft rhythm of her breathing, memorizing the face I feared might never look the same again.Then I left, the ache in my chest tightening with every step back to Adrian’s room.He came in a few minutes later, his shoulders heavy with fatigue. There was a stiffness in his movements that told me he hadn’t stopped thinking about this either.I told him what his mother had said, about the venom, the transition, the impossible situation we were walking into, and he didn’t argue. He didn’t offer excuses or explanations. He just stood there, silent, like someone who already knew and had been breaking under the weight of that knowledge.“We’ll get through it,” he said finally, voice low but sure. “Together. I promise. And if she stays here, my father will h

Adrian“What is it?” I asked, already bracing for something I wouldn’t like.Dimitri leaned forward, his voice low and even.“Dragomir is alive. And he’s building an army.”I went still.“That’s why I leveled Ashberge Manor,” he continued. “The place was crawling with freshly turned Strigoi, humans twisted through deception. Lukeman was complicit. He knew.”I shifted in my seat, my mind racing, trying to connect this to what the Dhampir sentries and Abbot had warned me about days ago. It fit, too well.“Trickery?” I asked, my voice tight.“They’re harvesting Strigoi venom,” he said. “Refining it. Injecting it into humans, without consent. No rites. No preparation. Just pure venom and transformation. Some family heads are already siding with Dragomir because he’s promising them a new era, one without tributes.”He paused. “And of course, he doesn’t need tributes. He’s not honoring the accords. He’s taking people.”The weight of it sank in, slow and sickening.My father would understand

CarsonI hadn't been in bed more than an hour when the frantic knock shattered the quiet. My head pounded, the bitter taste of alcohol still clinging to my throat. I had promised myself tonight would be different—that I’d rest, recover, try to silence the ghosts clawing at my sanity.But peace never lasted long in our world.I groaned, swinging my legs off the bed. It was then I realised I’d blocked the mind link—just for a sliver of silence. That explained the urgency behind the knock. I opened the door, and Willis stood there, breathless, eyes wide with barely restrained panic.“Alpha Selene is under attack,” he said without preamble.For a second, I just blinked, still trying to piece together where I was and why anyone would—“Strigoi,” he added, voice lower now, like the word itself could rot the air.My heart dropped.We didn’t speak again as we left the house, the run to Selene’s grounds brimming with a sharp kind of silence. I hadn’t fully shifted yet—hadn’t even let the beast

CarsonLisa had to go.That much was clear now. But I wasn’t about to cast her out alone into the night like some broken token of grief. Not after everything. Not when I could still choose how to act.So, I made a decision—one I’d once sworn never to make.I would reach out to Adrian.The Balshov estate was the one place even Martina wouldn’t dare strike. Not unless she was ready to provoke a war she couldn’t survive. It would be suicide for any Strigoi to trespass on Adrian’s land, and she knew it.And Adrian… he wouldn’t say no. Not with Natalie involved. That girl had always been fiercely loyal, and Lisa was her friend. Adrian would act, if not for principle, then for the sake of Natalie’s heart.This wasn’t me admitting failure.I could still protect Lisa.But I wasn’t going to bleed my wolves dry to do it.Not again.I felt the crowd’s fury spike, the wolves growling low in their throats, like a storm rumbling on the edge of violence. Lisa stood in the centre, a shaking breath awa