All Chapters of The Alpha's Last Choice: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Clara's POV "Hold still or I can't stitch this properly."My hands shake as I thread the needle through torn flesh. The warrior, his name is Greg, ironically, grits his teeth but doesn't make a sound. Around me, the medical bay is chaos. Five wounded wolves from tonight's raid, and I'm the only one treating them.The pack healers refuse to work alongside me anymore."Done." I tie off the last stitch and reach for bandages. My vision blurs for a second, and I have to grip the table to stay upright."You okay, Doc?" Greg asks, concern replacing the pain in his eyes."Fine. Just tired." I wrap his wound quickly. "Change the dressing twice a day. If you see any red streaks or feel fever, come back immediately."He nods and leaves, making room for the next patient. But there is no next patient, just Kael, standing in the doorway covered in blood and soot."Your turn," I say, gesturing to the examination table."I'm fine.""You're bleeding from at least three places. Sit down."He reluctan

Clara's POV "You need to leave."Damon's voice startles me. I'm sitting in the library, one of the few places I'm allowed without an army of guards, when he walks in and closes the door behind him."Excuse me?""Leave. Go back to your human life. Tonight, if possible." He doesn't sit, just stands there with his arms crossed. "I'll help you. Get you past the guards, give you money, whatever you need."My book falls closed. "Does Kael know you're here?""Kael doesn't know a lot of things." Damon moves to the window, checking the grounds like he expects someone to be listening. "He doesn't know that half the pack is two seconds away from open rebellion. He doesn't know that Marcus has spies in our kitchen staff. And he doesn't know that you staying here is destroying everything.""He knows I'm a problem…""Problem doesn't cover it, Clara." He turns to face me, and I see something raw in his expression. "Sofia died yesterday. Reed lost his arm, they had to amputate because the wounds wou

Clara's POV "I challenge Kael Arden for the right to lead this pack."Viktor's voice rings across the training grounds. Every wolf present stops what they're doing and turns to stare.I'm watching from the balcony of the main house, and even from here I can feel the shock rippling through the crowd.Kael stands in the center of the grounds, having just finished sparring with Damon. Blood drips from a cut on his arm, minor, already healing."Say that again," Kael says quietly."You heard me." Viktor steps forward, and I realize he's been planning this. His stance is too confident, too rehearsed. "I challenge you for Alpha. Pack law demands you answer or step down."Elder Thorne moves through the crowd, his face carefully neutral. But I see satisfaction in his eyes. This is what he wanted. What he's been pushing for."You just got out of the cells," Damon says. "Kael could have killed you for treason.""But he didn't. Shows weakness." Viktor addresses the gathered wolves now, playing t

Clara's POV "You can't be serious about going down there."Damon blocks the entrance to the east wing's restricted section. Behind him, a heavy wooden door marked with symbols I don't recognize leads to the pack archives."Samuel said something before they took him away. About records from Kael's father's time." I adjust my grip on the flashlight I borrowed. "I need to see what he was talking about.""Those archives haven't been touched in decades. It's just old pack documents, birth records, territory disputes…""And journals from previous Alphas. Including the ones about failed bonding attempts." I meet his eyes. "Samuel's daughter died trying to bond with Kael's father. There might be information down there that could help me understand what went wrong. What I should avoid."Damon's jaw works. Finally, he steps aside. "Two hours. Then I'm coming down to get you whether you're done or not."The stairs descend into darkness. My flashlight beam catches dust particles floating in air

Clara's POV "Kael will lose his mind if you go to Marcus…" "Then don't tell him until I'm already there." I reach the garage and grab keys to one of the SUVs. "I'm taking guards. Four of them. Marcus promised neutral ground and safe passage. If he breaks that promise, you'll know exactly where to find my body." Damon looks torn between tackling me and letting me go. "Four guards. Armed. And you wear a tracker." He pulls a small device from his pocket. "If anything goes wrong, we'll have a strike team there in five minutes." The abandoned church sits exactly on the border between territories. It's old, maybe a century, with broken stained glass windows and ivy crawling up stone walls. Beautiful in a haunted way. Marcus waits on the front steps, alone. He's not what I expected, older than Kael, maybe early forties, with salt-and-pepper hair and the kind of face that belongs in boardrooms, not battles. He wears an expensive suit like he's come from a business meeting. "Ms. Veyron