Semua Bab The Alpha’s Accidental Surrogate : Bab 171 - Bab 180

{Ronan’s POV}Teeth meet flesh and bone all around us, roars split the air, and the stench of sweat and blood thickened the grand chamber. I had no interest in the faceless men that threw themselves in my way. Each strike, each blow, each step I took was for one purpose alone. Damon.Lucien’s laughter gnawed at me like fire under my skin. The way he raised his hand and drew the crowd’s attention, pompous as a monarch already seated on a throne, made my wolf claw at the walls of my control.I shoved my clawed hand through the chest of the guard in front of me, tearing him down, then whipped my body into a brutal spin that cut down another. Blood sprayed warm across my arms as I pushed forward.I was close, so close, when two of Lucien’s men struck from both sides. One caught my right arm in a brutal lock, the other rammed his shoulder into my gut and forced me back. My clawed feet screeched against the stone floor as they pinned me, but my eyes never left Damon.“Did he threaten you?”

{Lisa’s POV}The hall had gone tense the moment Lena stepped forward. I had thought her arrival was already enough to send chills through me, but watching her being granted an audience was another wound altogether.She carried herself like she belonged here, her stride deliberate, her chin tipped up with smug confidence. She looked at the Elders as though she had them wrapped around her little finger. Which she probably did… But I thought all of those working with or for Lucien were dead?My stomach twisted as she opened her mouth.“One of the top candidates has forfeited by breaking the rules,” she declared. Her voice rang out clear, carrying above the whispers that had already begun. “And I have brought proof.”My hands balled into fists on my lap. My instincts screamed at me to stand, to shout her down, but before I could move Ronan’s hand came to rest gently on my knee. The weight of it was grounding. I turned slightly to look at him, and he shook his head once, his gaze steady an

{Ronan’s POV}The voices around us had risen and fallen so many times it wasn't even surprising anymore. But their words were no less startled, hateful or abusive.Every corner of the hall bristled with outrage, murmurs that quickly swelled into accusations.“Disgrace,” one man spat.“He has shamed the throne!” another yelled.“Mate to a human? Lies and deception! He must be disqualified!”The crowd pressed forward with their words, venom dripping from their tongues. I pulled Lisa against me, my arm circling her shoulders.Her trembling stilled at my touch, but her face remained pale. Their hate was aimed at me, yet I knew the poison was sinking into her too. My wolf surged within, growling to silence them all with force, but I held him back. This was not the moment.Some called for my disqualification, others for punishment, and a few even dared demand execution for the crime of deceiving the Elders. It was chaos, the kind that could turn a hall into a riot. Then, at last, the boomin

{Lisa’s POV}The music was still weaving through the air, the notes trying to stitch the hall back into celebration, when a scream cut the air. It was high, jagged, and it stole the breath out of the room.I turned, startled, only to feel something slam me into the wall. My back hit the stone hard enough to knock the air from my lungs, and the sting along my scalp told me before I even looked. Lena. Again.‘What the actual fu—’Her hands were claws against my shoulders, the smile on her face feral. I shoved at her, twisting, forcing myself free of her grip for a moment, but she came back harder. Her strength outweighed mine, and her eyes glimmered with something dark. She wanted blood. My blood… this wasn’t like the outrage from minutes ago. This was something else…I fought back with everything I had, teeth clenched as I forced her arms away from my face, kicking at her legs, pushing her back an inch before she surged forward again. My breath came in gasps and I screamed. “Ronan!”My

{Ronan’s POV}Lisa lay against my chest, pale but breathing steadily, her weight reminding me of what truly mattered. The Elders exchanged glances until Elric finally stepped forward.“Forgive us, Alpha King,” he said, his voice carrying the weariness of one who had seen too many battles. “Tonight was meant for triumph, yet it was marred by chaos… I think I speak for everyone here when I say. We have never seen an election like this before.”He clapped as if to usher in a new era. “A proper coronation will be held in two days, where your Luna shall be crowned beside you before all the packs. There will be no more interruptions.”I inclined my head, though my teeth ground together. Words meant little when danger had already touched her. Still, I kept Lisa close, my arm firm around her.As I moved toward the doors, my gaze swept the hall. That was when I saw them. Bryan and Selena.They stood near the columns, trying to blend into the crowd as though the darkness could grant them mercy.