All Chapters of Ashmoor Unseen Wolf : Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

Kael’s POVThe road blurred beneath me, wet with rain and blood. My hands shook on the wheel. I could barely see; silver still burned under my skin like fire trapped in flesh. Diana’s voice echoed in my head again and again.I hate you.Those three words cut deeper than the bullets.I blinked against the blur of light and motion. The world pulsed; headlights bleeding into raindrops, the asphalt turning red at the edges. Each breath scraped through my ribs like glass. The silver was poisoning me faster than I could heal.I slammed my fist against the steering wheel. “Not now… not like this.”The car jerked, tires hissing against the wet road. I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t pass out here. Not yet.Closing my eyes for a heartbeat, I reached inward to that ancient, burning force coiled deep in my blood, the one that never truly slept. I drew on it. Focused. Heat flared beneath my skin as the bullets began to push free, one by one, clinking onto the floorboard.Dozens. Then scores. Until i

Kael’s POVThe world blinked and I was standing in my father’s room.The faint hum of machines filled the air, a rhythm too steady, too artificial to be mistaken for life. The sterile scent of antiseptic burned my nose. My boots clicked against the polished floor, each sound sharp enough to slice through the stillness.Three nurses looked up from their seats beside his bed. They weren’t the regular staff. Their scents were unfamiliar; human, nervous, their heartbeats stuttering like trapped birds.“Lord Kael,” one stammered, standing abruptly. “Doctor Charles sent us. He went to the clinic for more equipment. He’ll return shortly.”I nodded once, jaw tightening. My father lay motionless beneath the white sheets, tubes snaking across his chest. His once-commanding presence was gone. All that remained was the faint beeping—each pulse a countdown I couldn’t stop.I took a slow breath. Maybe with new nurses, he’d recover faster.Before the suffocating silence could crush me, I turned and

Diana’s POVEva had been staring at me from the moment I stepped into her room, her eyes following me like a cat’s, sharp, suspicious, and playful all at once. The air smelled faintly of vanilla candles and hairspray, and the afternoon light slanted through the blinds, striping her face in gold.“What?” I asked, setting the bag of cookies I’d brought on her desk. “Do I have something on my face?”“Not on your face,” she said slowly. “On your skin.”Before I could respond, her parents burst in, warm smiles, bustling energy. Eva’s mother carried a wrapped box; her father balanced a bouquet far too large for the small room.“Diana, dear!” her mother exclaimed. “We heard what you did for our girl. You’re a hero!”“What did I do?” I blinked.“Saving her from that kidnapping attempt while we were away, of course!” her father said, thrusting the bouquet toward me. “We can’t thank you enough.”I laughed, embarrassed. “Oh, you’ve got it backward. Eva’s the one who saved me.”Eva only rolled he

Diana’s POVThe morning light filtered through my window, trembling like a breath held too long. It painted the letter in my hands; SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, in quiet gold.I’d read the words so many times they’d lost meaning, yet seeing my name beneath “WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU…” still sent a shiver through me.A month ago, I wouldn’t have believed in joy again. Fire was all I remembered; Eva’s soft smile swallowed by collapsing walls of Ashmoor, Kael’s blood hot against my palms, and the air thick with smoke and endings.But now there was this letter.A letter I had chosen for myself.Sovereign had wanted Harvard for me. He’d arranged everything, of course, but I had torn that letter in half. I didn’t want a future written by his manipulative hands. I wanted a success I could claim as mine.So when Samuel Merritt’s envelope came, I told myself it was a sign — a fragile promise that maybe the goddess hadn’t turned her face from me completely.“Have you told

Kael’s POVMorning sunlight bled through the curtains, slow and searing, like light leaking from an open wound.I stood before the mirror, staring at the stranger in my reflection: red-rimmed eyes, a clenched jaw, my usual black shirt hanging off me like armor that no longer fit. The color felt foreign today, almost mocking; a funeral shroud for something still breathing.I told myself today would be different.Today, I would take Diana to the airport.Even if she wouldn’t meet my eyes, even if her words came sharp with hate, I would still drive her there. I would still watch her walk away, because loving her meant accepting the ache that came with it.I slipped on my watch. My phone buzzed: three new messages.All from her mother. None from her.SHE’S LEAVING TODAY.HER FLIGHT’S AT NOON.KAEL, PLEASE… TAKE CARE OF HER, EVEN IF SHE WON’T LET YOU.She didn’t have to ask. I already had.For weeks, I’d slipped money through her mother’s hands, making sure Diana and our unborn child had e