Semua Bab Back Into The Alpha’s Arms: Bab 81 - Bab 90

ELEANOR“He said something strange… said I should ask you.”It’s been two days since Tristan told me that. Two days since the man in chains spat blood and riddles, like he wasn’t already standing on the edge of death.Maybe it’s been hiding in my mind all along.I hadn’t slept properly since. The words echoed through every silence, clawing at the back of my mind when I closed my eyes. What did he mean? And what was hiding in me? Now, I stood by the dungeon stairs with laces half-tied and a chest full of smoke. I couldn’t sit still anymore. Couldn’t keep circling the edge of something this dangerous. Because if the monster behind Cedric had a name, and that name had ever lived inside me, then this blood was already on my hands.And I wouldn’t let another person fall because I kept my silence.Tristan was waiting in the corridor—arms folded, jaw tense, like stone carved in fury. He didn’t say anything as I passed. Didn’t try to stop me. He knew better.The cold hit first as we descende

TRISTANGods, not this again.The summons came at dawn—delivered with the kind of urgency only the Council could wield like a damn blade. A slip of parchment. A wax seal. One word scrawled in dark ink.Now.I stared at it for a full minute before I crumpled it in my hand.The past few days had already bled me dry.Cedric’s public challenge. The attack on Kate. Damian’s murder—his goddamn tongue in his hand like a message written in flesh. And Eleanor? She’d been avoiding me like I was the one with blood on my hands.I wasn’t in the mood for politics. I wasn’t in the mood for anything but sleep and maybe ten minutes where the world didn’t feel like it was folding in on itself.But they were calling. And when the Council called, I had to answer. Whether I liked it or not.I shoved the door open harder than necessary and stepped into the chamber.The room was circular, high-ceilinged, and thick with the scent of old parchment and damp stone. Torches lined the walls, flickering like they

TRISTANI didn’t go to combat training.Didn’t even leave the damn office.Instead, I sat in the dark, the only light coming from the fire in the corner and the bottle of whiskey I’d stolen from my father’s stash.She left. She fucking left.My fingers clutched the neck of the bottle tighter as the memory slammed into me again. The way her voice broke. The way her eyes couldn’t even look at me when she said it.I’m freeing myself.She used those words like they meant something noble. Like I was some prison and she was setting herself free. But I wasn't the cage. I was the one trying to keep her from burning the damn world down around her.I drank again, the burn biting down my throat like punishment.The door creaked open. I didn’t look.“You planning on drinking yourself to death or are you just getting a head start on tomorrow's regrets?”Maurice.I exhaled and leaned back in the chair, letting the fire warm one half of my face while the rest stayed cold.He shut the door and walked

ELEANORIt’s strange how silence can scream louder than words. That’s what my mornings feel like now—quiet, but heavy. Each sound exaggerated in the stillness. The scrape of my spoon in Kate’s oatmeal bowl. The creak of floorboards under my feet as I make my rounds in the healing chambers. Even Kate’s laughter, which once brought warmth, now seems far away. Like an echo from another life.I kneel beside Lady Bianca’s birthing bed, wiping sweat from her brow as she pants through her contractions. Her husband hovers nervously behind me, shifting from one foot to another like his presence alone could ease her pain. I manage a smile, whispering soothing words, my hands steady even though my chest is in knots.I should be grateful. The people of Nightshade trust me again. After everything with Cedric, they still let me bring life into the world. But no amount of acceptance can drown the guilt sitting in my gut like stone.Tristan hasn’t spoken to me in days.Not that I blame him.I broke i

TRISTANI can't focus.The letter sits on my desk like a weight in the air, taunting me with its presence. It’s from Alpha Magnus of Moonclaw. An official apology for Cedric’s actions, a promise that he will pay for his crimes. I should feel relieved, but instead, a storm brews inside me. “Sorry" doesn't cut it. Not after everything. The failed kidnapping, the near war.Magnus assures me that Cedric will be demoted from Beta to Gamma, a move that might calm the chaos he’s caused. But will it really? The thought of him losing that power, of him spiraling further into madness, sends a chill down my spine. I can’t shake the feeling that this is just the beginning. I can’t focus on the details, on the plan to oust him as Beta and bring the peace back to Nightshade. My mind keeps drifting back to Eleanor. I need to talk to her. She deserves to know what’s happening, but I dread her reaction. Gods, she can be so difficult.I leave the office, heading toward the healing chambers where I