Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

As the hour passed, Korra sat on the edge of the village square, her body trembling with exhaustion from maintaining the ward. The silver dome shimmered above them, beautiful and terrible, a constant drain on her strength that left her gasping for breath.Kael knelt beside her, pressing a water flask to her lips. "Drink," he urged softly. "You need to keep your strength up.""For what?" Korra's voice cracked. "So I can watch him kill them with a clear head?""We're not going to let that happen," Kael said fiercely, but even he couldn't hide the uncertainty in his eyes.Mara paced nearby, her hands clenched into fists. "There has to be something we can do. We can't just sit here and…""The wards are holding," Rhyker interrupted, striding toward them with several senior warriors in tow. His expression was grim but calculating. "That gives us an advantage he didn't anticipate. He can't touch the villagers, which means his only leverage is the hostages.""Six innocent lives," Korra whispe

Korra felt the now familiar burn of the pendant against her chest. She ignored it and helped another hostage to their feet, but a rogue appeared in front of her, with a raised blade. Korra dove aside as the weapon came down, rolling to her feet with instincts she didn't know she possessed.The rogue snarled and lunged again. This time, Korra didn't dodge; she stepped into his swing, catching his wrist and twisting just as Kael had shown her. The blade clattered free, and she drove her knee into his stomach hard enough to drop him.She was turning to run when she saw it: three rogues converging on a small group of Moonhowl warriors who were already wounded and already struggling. They were going to be slaughtered.Korra thrust her hand skyward, the pendant blazing to life. Silver light exploded from her palm, forming a barrier between the wounded warriors and their attackers. The rogues slammed into it and were thrown backward with the force of her will."Fall back!" she screamed at th

*************The pack had gathered in the main courtyard; hundreds of pack members pressed together under the afternoon sun. Korra could see the rescued hostages among them. Councilor Damien's arm was in a sling, but his eyes were bright with gratitude. Warriors who had fought beside her. Omegas she had worked with in the pack house. Even the students from the Academy had come, their young faces awed and curious.Rhyker led her to the raised platform where official pack business was conducted, Kael staying close at her side. A chair had been brought for her, and she sank into it gratefully, though she kept her spine straight and her chin up.The crowd fell silent as Rhyker stepped forward, his voice carrying across the courtyard with Alpha authority."Today, our pack faced an enemy at our gates," he began. "Rogues who sought to destroy us, to use our own mercy against us. They threatened our children, took our people hostage, and demanded we hand over one of our own to save the rest.

The morning after their marking, Korra woke wrapped in the warmth of Kael's arms. For a moment, she let herself pretend that Lucien's message had been nothing more than a bad dream, that the danger had passed with her father's defeat.But the crumpled note still lay on the nightstand, a stark reminder that peace was an illusion.Kael stirred beside her, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on her shoulder. "How's the pain?"She shifted experimentally. The arrow wound still ached, but the pendant's healing magic had done its work overnight. "Better. Much better, actually."He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then to the mark he made on her neck. The touch sent sparks of pleasure through their bond, making her gasp softly."We should get up," he murmured against her skin, though he made no move to let her go. "Father wants to hold the formal bonding ceremony today."Korra tensed. "Today? Already?""He thinks it's important to show the pack that we are united. After everything that happened

A chill crept down Korra's spine. She had thought accepting her as a Luna candidate would be the hardest battle. Now she realized there would be pack members who saw her not as a person, but as a threat, or worse, as a tool to be controlled."We should return to the celebration," Kael said, placing a protective hand on her lower back. "This isn't the time."A scream cut through the festive noise.Everyone froze, heads snapping toward the source. A young warrior burst through the doors, his face pale with terror."Alpha!" he gasped. "The archives, someone's broken in!"Rhyker moved instantly. "Lock down the compound. No one leaves until we find the intruder." He looked at Kael. "Come with me, now."Kael hesitated, torn between duty and his mate. Korra squeezed his hand. "Go. I will be fine.""Stay with Mara," he ordered. "Don't leave this hall until I come back for you."Then he was gone, following his father and a squad of warriors toward the archives.The festive mood became more glo