Semua Bab BLOOD MOON BETRAYAL: A FORBIDDEN WEREWOLF ROMANCE.: Bab 61 - Bab 69

That night, I barely slept. Every hour felt like an eternity as I waited for dawn, knowing that everything I'd worked for would come down to the next few hours.The mate bond hummed with constant activity—Kieran was moving, organizing, preparing. I could feel his determination mixed with fear, his rage at what the Council had asked me to do, his desperate need to reach me before something went wrong.Around midnight, I heard footsteps approaching my cell. Not the regular guards—these were quieter, more purposeful.The door opened to reveal Marcus."How—" I started to ask."Theodore left to make preparations for tomorrow," Marcus said quietly, slipping inside and closing the door. "I convinced the guards I was here on official pack business. We don't have much time.""Kieran sent you.""He wanted to come himself, but we needed someone who could move through Theodore's territory without raising suspicion. As a visiting Beta, I have that access." He pulled out a small bag. "Suppli

The cleanup after the battle took hours. The wounded needed healing, the prisoners needed securing, and the dead needed honoring—both ours and theirs.I spent much of that time using my healing abilities on our injured fighters. Each healing took energy, but I paced myself this time, remembering Maya's warnings about burning out.It was late afternoon when Marcus approached me with a grim expression."Laila, we found something in Theodore's belongings. Something you need to see."He led me to where they'd gathered the Council leaders' personal effects. Among Theodore's things was an old leather journal, similar to Seraphina's diary but more worn, more sinister."It's his record of kills," Marcus explained. "Every person he betrayed to the Council, every family he helped eliminate. But there's an entry about Seraphina that you need to read."I took the journal with trembling hands and opened to the page Marcus indicated. Theodore's handwriting was neat, clinical, recording murders

The journey back to Shadow Ridge took two days. We traveled as a large group—wounded warriors, freed prisoners who had chosen to join us, and leaders from various packs who wanted to coordinate the distribution of Theodore's records. Kieran barely left my side the entire journey. Not in a controlling way, but in a protective, companionable way. He walked beside me, offered his arm when the terrain got rough, and made sure I ate and rested even when I wanted to push forward. Through the mate bond, I could feel his constant awareness of me, his relief every time he looked over and saw me still alive and well. "You're hovering," I said on the second day, though I said it with a smile. "I'm being attentive," he corrected. "There's a difference." "Is there?" "Yes," he said firmly. "Hovering is when I don't let you make your own choices. Being attentive is when I support the choices you're making." "And if my choice is to push myself too hard?" "Then I remind you that you

One week before the blood moon, I made a decision that I knew would hurt Kieran. But it was the right decision—the only decision that made sense.I waited until after dinner, when the pack house was quiet and most wolves had retired for the evening. Kieran and I were in his study, reviewing the latest security reports, when I finally spoke."I need to tell you something," I said. "And I need you to hear me out before you react."Kieran looked up from the papers, immediately sensing through the mate bond that this was serious. "What is it?""When the blood moon rises, when Damien makes his move—I need to face him alone."The temperature in the room seemed to drop. "No.""Kieran—""Absolutely not," he said, standing abruptly. "We've been through this. We face him together.""We can't," I said firmly. "The spell requires a specific setup. If Damien senses you or anyone else nearby, he won't proceed with the ritual. And if he doesn't proceed, we'll never get another chance like thi