All Chapters of Alpha's Heat His To Ruin Hers To Heal: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

I woke up to the sound of shouting from the main room. Not angry shouting but the panicked kind that made my stomach drop before I was even fully awake.Axel stirred beside me, his face still pale from yesterday's attack. The silver poisoning had left him weak, but his protective instincts kicked in immediately."What's wrong?" he asked, trying to sit up too fast and wincing."Stay here," I said, pressing a gentle hand to his chest. "Let me check."But he was already pushing himself up, stubborn as always. "Not a chance."We made our way to the main room where the entire pack was crowded around the big TV. The morning news was on, and what I saw made my blood turn to ice."...third attack this week in Chicago," the reporter was saying. "Witnesses describe the same pattern - victims found with massive injuries, throat torn out. Police are calling it the work of a dangerous cult."The footage showed a crime scene. Blood on concrete. Body bags being loaded into ambulances. But I could se

I don't know how long I sat on the floor of our bedroom, staring at my hands. The same hands that had hurt Eden. The same hands that might hurt someone else if I couldn't control whatever was happening to me.Axel had tried the door handle for maybe twenty minutes before giving up. I could hear him pacing outside, the floorboards creaking under his weight. Part of me wanted to open the door and let him comfort me. But a bigger part was terrified of how good he would make me feel and I low-key wanted to really feel miserable.A soft knock made me look up."Calla?" Rikka's voice was quiet through the wood. "I brought tea."I almost didn't answer. But something in her tone was different from Axel's worried pleading. It felt calmer and more understanding."The door's unlocked," I said finally after standing up to unlock it and sitting back down.Rikka entered carrying two steaming mugs, her gray eyes taking in my position on the floor without judgment. She set the mugs on the nightstand a

The walk back to the compound started in tense silence. I kept my mouth shut, trying to process what had just happened. The fucking vampire knew about Calla's origin and he'd escaped. And Calla had nearly died because she couldn't follow simple fucking safety rules.I tried to keep my calm but with each step, my anger grew hotter instead.How could she be so reckless? After everything we'd been through, after all the warnings, she'd gone off alone like some naive tourist taking a fucking stroll.I could feel her walking behind me, probably thinking I was overreacting and that just pissed me off more.By the time we reached the compound gates, I was ready to explode.Rikka was waiting by the entrance, her gray eyes immediately picking up on the tension radiating between us. She'd been the one to tell me Calla had left. The one who'd watched me panic and run off to find her."Everything okay?" she asked carefully."Just peachy," I muttered, not slowing down as I walked past her.Calla s

I stared at the ceiling of my old room all night, listening to the sounds of the compound settling around me. Every creak of the floorboards, every distant voice reminded me that I was alone while my pack slept peacefully nearby.But I wasn't part of the pack anymore, was I? Not after what Axel had said. Not after I'd proven him right about being dangerous and reckless.The worst part was knowing he wasn't completely wrong. I had been careless. I had put people at risk with my stupid decisions.But it was the way he'd said it. Like I was just a burden he was tired of carrying.By the time pale morning light crept through the small window, I'd made my decision. I couldn't keep hiding in this room like a child. Whatever was happening between us, we needed to figure it out.Because despite everything, despite the cruel words and hurt feelings, I still loved him. And I was pretty sure he still loved me too.At six AM, I finally got up and walked through the quiet hallways toward our room.

Exhaustion pulled me under like deep water. After everything that had happened - the fight, the reconciliation, learning about my moonkeeper bloodline - my body finally gave in to sleep. I curled against Axel's chest as he slept peacefully beside me, our skin still warm from our lovemaking, and let myself drift away feeling safe. But safety was an illusion. The dreamwalk hit me without warning. One second I was floating peacefully, the next I was standing in a place that made my blood turn cold. Blake's private office at the state capitol. I noticed him sitting in his desk but he was talking with someone. The vampire from the park stood before Blake's desk, and shock ran through me as I recognized him. Pale skin, silver hair, those too-bright eyes that had tried to compel me. Staring at him, I realized something. In my previous dreamwalks, faces had always been blurry shadows. But now I could see him perfectly which could only mean one thing. I could only see people I'd met be