Semua Bab CHASING MONSTERS: Bab 121 - Bab 130

(Ronan’s POV)Cold metal bit deep into my wrists where the shackles hung me from a reinforced beam. Hunters’ base reeked, sweat, bleach, and now… the stifling presence of death. Fear prickled under my skin, raw and relentless.Marie paced in slow circles in the center of the room, dragging her fingers over the walls like she owned them. Her dead followed, silent, heads tilted, waiting for her next thought.Lucian hovered beside her, posture gloating, eyes glittering with anticipation, as if parading his favorite monster and daring anyone to challenge his control.And me?I was nothing but the battered chew toy, waiting for the next cruel bite.She stopped in front of me, her half-restored face inches from mine.“You smell of kings and mates,” she rasped. “The Fire Wolf will come for you, because he cannot bear to lose his own. All that power… I will drink it when he does.”“Bold move,” I said. “Kidnap the strong, hope the stronger shows up. Very… strategic. Did you think of that all b

(Shiloh’s POV)We had reached the base, and I was running on pure adrenaline. Jax telling the hunters to stand down had me shook. I had one motive. Get my man.I wiped sweat from my neck and nodded to the elite guards behind me. They moved quiet, disciplined, every sense sharpened to the bone. Somewhere ahead, through smoke and gunfire, Ronan was chained up.“Eyes open,” I whispered. “If it’s dead and it moves, kill it twice.”The nearest guard grunted acknowledgment. We stepped over a broken gate. The base looked wrong, lights flickering, doors half open, the sound of metal dragging against concrete.The undead weren’t hiding anymore. They were patrolling.One of the guards murmured, “They learn.”“I noticed,” I said, raising my sword.A corpse in half-ruined combat armor turned the corner ahead, dragging a broken sword. It didn’t lunge stupidly; it assessed.As it called for others, I could see movement down the corridor, shapes emerging from the smoke.“Now,” I snapped.Steel met b

(Xavier’s POV)The moment Sophie disappeared beyond the ridge, my wolf went feral.I tried to hold still, to listen, to be the King everyone needed, but loneliness and dread gutted me in the silence after her departure.“She’ll be fine,” I muttered. “She’s trained for this.”Magi looked up. “You’re lying to yourself again, Xavier.”“She’s with my best,” I snapped. “And Shiloh’s a fighter.”Magi’s gaze didn’t soften. “You’re not worried about the dead. You’re worried about her.”I didn’t answer. Instead, my insides roiled with fear for Sophie’s safety, and my wolf gave voice to that desperation, a deep, guttural growl that vibrated in my ribs.Magi sighed. “If Marie still has a tether to you...”"She doesn’t," I snapped.“Then going there could give her another chance to bind you,” she finished anyway. “If she tastes that power again...”“I said she doesn’t.”But I felt it. A pulse beneath the skin, faint and sticky, like sap clinging to old bark. Magic doesn’t forget who’s fed it.Mag

(Pandora’s POV) The room was still dark when Ethan reached for her. Sheets tangled around them, soft breathing filling the quiet. Pandora kept the lights off, always the lights off. He thought it was shyness; she let him think that. It was easier than explaining why she didn’t want him to see the faint curve that hadn’t been there a month ago. He whispered her name against her skin. She kissed him back, letting herself sink into the safety of someone who didn’t know everything she was. When it was over, he pulled her close, murmured something sweet about how perfect she was. She just smiled into his chest, her comfort slipping quietly into a private ache. Perfect wasn’t the word she’d use. Careful, maybe. Pretending, definitely. Ethan was a good man. Too good. She liked that about him, the steadiness, the clean hands, the way he always opened doors and called her “darlin’” like he meant it. She didn’t love him, not really, but she liked him enough to hope that one day it might be t

(Xavier’s POV)The council chambers felt too small.Ronan lounged in his chair like he owned it. Abel, my head of warriors, sat straight-backed beside him, broad, scarred, all steady danger. Samuel had taken the advisor’s seat to my right, arms folded, eyes sharp.At the far end, the mages, Magi, Fintan, and Amara stood together. They refused chairs. They always did. Mages liked to appear as if they could leave whenever they wanted.“Reports,” I said. “Let’s hear it.”Abel tapped a finger on the map between us. “Rogue King’s keeping quiet. No raids on our borders. But every week, another small pack disappears and ends up under him.”Samuel snorted. “He’s not quiet. He’s clever. There’s a difference.”Ronan nodded. “That alone is unnerving.”“Anything unusual?” I asked.Abel shrugged one shoulder. “Discipline is up. Casualties down. He’s making them fight smarter, not just harder. Someone’s guiding that.”“Someone?” I arched a brow.Ronan’s mouth curved. “The reports keep mentioning a