Semua Bab The Alpha’s Unforgiven Mate: Bab 71 - Bab 80

LiamRia's body collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.I caught her soul as it tore free, a wispy, writhing thing that fought even as it was captured. Weak. Compromised by guilt and desperation. But still valuable.Still energy I could use.I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling the soul absorb into the collection I carried. Five others were already there, pressing against each other in the space I'd carved out with dark magic. Now six.The rush was immediate. Power flooding my veins, my muscles, my bones. Each soul I absorbed made me stronger, faster, more than human.More than a wolf.I was becoming something else entirely. Something that transcended mortality.I looked down at Ria's corpse, empty eyes staring at nothing, mouth frozen in a silent scream. She'd been useful while she lasted. Now she was just another step toward my ascension.I should have felt something. Some remnant of the man who'd once been capable of human emotion.But that man was long gone, if he'd ever exist

Kharo "Yes," I said, injecting certainty into my voice. "We're going to win. Liam is powerful, but he's also desperate. Desperate people make mistakes. We just have to be ready when he does.""And if he doesn't?"I met her eyes. "Then we make him."She nodded, looking slightly reassured, and returned to help her fellow warriors.The lie tasted bitter. But necessary.Because the truth was: Liam had outsmarted me at every turn. Had planned for contingencies I hadn't considered. Had power I couldn't match.And my only real advantage, the mate bond with Bliss, might itself be part of the trap my father had set thirty years ago.I heard footsteps approaching through the forest. Multiple sets. The medical team arriving with Aria leading them.She swept into the chamber, her healer's instincts immediately assessing the scene. Her eyes found mine briefly, a look that said we'll talk later, before she moved to the injured warriors."Tobias first," I said. "Possible concussion.""I can see tha

Bliss"We find the source and we destroy it. We kill Liam before he completes his ritual. We stop Lycaon before the convergence." Kharo's eyes swept the crowd. "And we do it in the next three days or we all die like Daniel. Screaming and alone."The brutal honesty shocked some of them. Others nodded, appreciating the directness."Emergency pack meeting in two hours," Kharo continued. "Full attendance is mandatory. We're going to war, and I need everyone ready." He gestured to the medical team waiting nearby. "Remove the body with respect. Prepare for proper rites tonight."As people dispersed, following orders because that's what you do in crisis, Kharo pulled me aside."How bad is it?" I asked quietly."Bad. The curse will kill one pack member every three days according to the pattern Aria identified. But Daniel died less than twelve hours after Ria. That's not three days.""So it's accelerating.""Yes. Which means we don't have the timeline we thought we had." He ran a hand through

BlissI waited until everyone had left the tactical room.Until Calla had taken the warriors to reinforce perimeter positions. Until Aria had gone to prepare the medical stations for what was coming. Until the third victim's body had been removed and the screaming had stopped.Until it was just Kharo and me and the journal lying open between us like an accusation."When were you going to tell me?" My voice was too calm. Too controlled. The kind of calm that comes right before the storm breaks.Kharo looked up from the maps he'd been studying. "Tell you what?""Don't." I moved closer to the table. "Don't play that game with me. When were you going to tell me that your father's pact specifically required a Cycle-born? That you've known from the beginning that I'm not just some random woman who stumbled into your territory? That my entire presence here might be engineered?"His jaw tightened. "I told you about the pact. I showed you the letters…""You showed me the letters I found by bre

Bliss"The bill shouldn't be your life.""Why not?" I challenged. "Why shouldn't it be me? I've already died once. I've already proven I can come back. Maybe that's exactly what I'm supposed to do, die and come back and die again until the curse breaks and the ritual fails and Lycaon loses.""Or maybe you're supposed to live." His hand came up, almost touching my face but stopping just short. "Maybe the entire point of surviving, of being Cycle-born, of having these extra lives is so you can be here. Alive. Fighting. Not sacrificed on some altar because ancient magic says that's the only way.""You don't get to decide that.""Neither do you. Not alone." His hand finally made contact, cupping my cheek. "We decide together. As equals. Not as Alpha and subject. Not as pact-bound tools. As partners."The touch sent electricity through me. Made something in my chest twist painfully.I wanted to lean into it. Wanted to believe him. Wanted to accept that maybe, despite everything, what we ha