Semua Bab Fated To The Alphas Who Despise Me: Bab 51 - Bab 60

DARIUS’ POV I leaned against the stone railing of the upper balcony, arms crossed, watching the training yard below where two young fighters circled each other with practice blades. The sun had dropped low enough to paint the cliffs in blood-orange streaks. Caelum stood a few paces away, hands shoved in his pockets, staring at the same scene but not really seeing it. We'd been out here for twenty minutes in silence since we walked out here for no particular reason. Selene was inside resting, and I didn’t want to disturb her alone time, she needed the rest and space, I knew she was probably crying about her father. I owe her an apology. We stood there with the kind of tension that used to end in fists.He broke first."I have to head back to Ironfang tonight," he said, voice low but clear. "Pack business won't wait. But I'd like Selene to come with me over the weekend. Give her time in my territory. See how it feels."I turned my head just enough to look at him. His face stayed neutr

CAELUM’S POV Two days.Forty-eight hours of empty rooms, cold trails, and Darius looking more dead than alive.I stood in the war room doorway watching him. He hunched over the long oak table, palms flat on the map like he could force answers out of the ink. His shoulders were rigid, knuckles white. The same black shirt he'd worn since the night she disappeared clung to him, wrinkled and stained with sweat. His hair stood up in spikes where he'd dragged his hands through it too many times. Dark circles carved hollows under his eyes. He hadn't slept, he hadn’t eaten more than a few bites of bread someone shoved at him yesterday. Every time a warrior came in with a report he lifted his head like a drowning man surfacing for air, his hope flickering, only for it to die when the news was the same.Nothing, no lead on who took her. We had spent the past two days laying tracks on the Shadow Council. We suspected them, but the truth is they never took her. There was no scent trail beyond t

SELENE’S POV I jolted awake gasping, my lungs burning like I’d been underwater too long. Sweat soaked the thin hospital gown, plastered it to my ribs and back. My heart hammered so hard I felt it in my throat, in my fingertips, and behind my eyes. It felt like Ronan’s hand was still clamped over my mouth and his knife still glinted. The dark room still pressed in.I thrashed once, hard, before my brain caught up with my new reality. There were no ropes, no hood, and no cold stone digging into my spine. Around me were white walls, soft beeping from a machine beside the bed. There was this strong antiseptic smell in the air, and a thin blanket tucked around my waist. I was in a hospital. Someone brought me to safety. I was indeed alive. The realization hit like a punch and stole my air all over again.I turned my head slowly, terrified I’d see Ronan’s face instead of safety.Darius slept on my right, slumped in the narrow chair they’d dragged right up to the cot. His head rested on th

SELENE’S POV Morning light slipped through the tall windows of my room in Ironfang and painted thin gold stripes across the cream carpet. I woke slowly, body heavy, every muscle reminding me it had been through hell. The cuts on my stomach and thighs had scabbed over, but moving still pulled at them like tiny threads being tugged. My ribs ached when I breathed too deep. I lay there a minute, staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of the city far below.Caelum had left me alone last night. He’d shown me where everything was, the bathroom stocked with fresh towels, the closet full of clothes he’d had brought in, the small sitting area with a view of the forest beyond the glass towers, and then he’d said goodnight at the door. I’d lain awake a long time after he left, replaying Darius’s words from the morning I packed. We’d been alone in my room at Bloodfang. Darius had pulled me against his chest, arms wrapped tight around me like he could shield me from the weekend ahead.

DARIUS’ POV The council chamber smelled of old cedar and burning resentment. Twelve pairs of eyes drilled into me the second I stepped through the arched doorway. I didn’t bother with the ceremonial bow. Not today. My boots struck the stone floor hard enough to echo.Elder Veyra spoke first, voice thin as winter ice. “Alpha Darius. You were summoned at dawn. It is now past noon.”I dropped into the high-backed chair at the head of the long table. Wood groaned under my weight. “Traffic,” I said flatly.A ripple of disapproval moved through them. Elder Torren, bald head gleaming under the chandelier, leaned forward until his knuckles whitened on the table edge.“We have received disturbing reports,” he began. “Your former beta, Ronan, vanished three nights ago after an… incident on pack lands. Witnesses claim you pursued him personally. They also claim you returned alone. Covered in blood.”I met his stare without blinking. “Ronan tried to murder my mate. He dragged her into the ravine