Semua Bab The Alpha's Breeding Pet : Bab 71 - Bab 80

**CAELAN'S POV**The voice stopped me cold.Only one person called me by my name...Elder Maren.I'd sensed her approach before she even spoke, had felt her presence like a familiar weight settling into place.I turned slowly.Elder Maren stood at the edge of the corridor. Her arms were crossed, her posture rigid as always, her cold eyes fixed on me with an intensity that would have made others look away.But I didn't.I held her gaze without flinching. We'd been doing this dance for decades.She watched me with those calculating eyes, reading me the way she always had. Not with fear, not with the careful deference most wolves showed their Alpha. Just assessment. Cold and patient.She'd always been like this. Even when I was young. Even after my mother passed on.Maren had been there then too. Had been there before that, even. Had watched over me since childhood when my father's cruelty had left me with no one else willing to.It was something I rarely acknowledged. The woman who'd qu

**ARIA'S POV For a moment, I thought I was imagining it. That exhaustion and fear had finally broken something in my mind.But the voice came again. Quieter this time. "Stay exactly where you are."Slowly, carefully, I turned my head.What I saw didn't make sense at first. My brain struggled to process the image.A man stood there, half clothed, wearing only torn shorts that hung low on his hips. His skin was marked with dirt and scratches, raw red lines crossing his chest and arms like he'd been running through brambles for hours. It took my heart one stuttering beat to recognize him.Caelan.The shock hit so hard my knees buckled. All the air left my lungs in a rush that made spots dance across my vision. I grabbed at the nearest tree trunk, fingers digging into bark, needing something solid to prove this was real.He'd come. Actually come. He'd found me.Questions swam all over my mind. How? When? Why?My instincts took over. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us b

**ARIA'S POV**The gates of Ironfang came into view through the trees, massive iron bars that looked more like prison walls than protection. Guards spotted us immediately, shouting orders I couldn't quite make out from this distance.Caelan helped me down the horse, his hand remained locked around mine as we approached. He didn't slow down or acknowledge the commotion our arrival was causing.My chest tightened.The gates swung open before we reached them. Warriors poured out, forming ranks on either side of the entrance. Their expressions ranged from relief to suspicion to barely concealed hostility.Beta Darius pushed through the crowd, his face tight with something that looked like anger mixed with concern. "Where have you been?""Retrieving what was stolen from me," Caelan replied without breaking stride."You left without telling anyone. Without backup. Without a plan." Darius fell into step beside us, lowering his voice. "Do you have any idea what's been happening here while you

**ARIA'S POV** Morning came too quickly, dragging me from restless sleep filled with dreams of blood and fire. Caelan was already awake, standing by the window with his back to me. The early light painted him in shades of gray and gold, highlighting the tension in his shoulders. "How long have you been up?" I asked, pushing myself into a sitting position. "Long enough." He didn't turn around. "Lysandra left an hour ago. Took six families with her." The news settled heavy in my chest. Six families. That was nearly forty wolves, gone in a single night. "Where did they go?" "I don't know." His voice was flat, empty of emotion. "They made their choice." I climbed out of bed, wrapping one of his robes around myself as I moved to stand beside him. From this window, I could see most of Ironfang spread out below. The courtyard where warriors were already gathering for morning drills. The outer walls where guards patrolled in tight formations. The gates that looked more like a prison ent

**ARIA'S POV**"No one's forcing you to stay," Caelan said quietly. "If you want to leave, the gates will open again at sunset. Anyone who wants to go can go.""That's not an answer," the young wolf pressed. "You're our Alpha. You're supposed to protect the pack. Not sacrifice it for a human you've known for a few months.""I am protecting the pack. From wolves like Ronan who think they can take whatever they want through threats and violence." Caelan's voice was steel. "If I hand her over now, what happens the next time someone makes a demand? Do I give them whatever they want then too? Where does it end?""It ends with us alive," someone else muttered."It ends with you as slaves," Caelan shot back. "Bowing to every Alpha with a bigger army. Is that what you want? To spend the rest of your lives cowering and obeying whoever scares you most?"No one answered."I didn't think so." Caelan's gaze swept the gathered wolves. "So here's how this works. We fight. We defend our territory and