All Chapters of The Alpha’s Love Came Late: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

"Then I'm coming with you," Dominic insisted. "You can't. Someone needs to protect the children if this goes wrong. If I die, Dominic, promise me you'll get them somewhere safe. Somewhere Lucian can't find them." "Ivy…" "Promise me!" Dominic's jaw clenched. "I promise. But you're not dying. We're going to do this ritual, destroy the demon, kill Lucian, and get our children back. All of us. Together." There was a soft knock on the door. Cassandra entered, her expression grim. "I've been tracking Lucian's movements," she said without preamble. "He's not staying in Geneva. He's here. In the city. And he's not alone." "What do you mean?" "He's brought an entourage. Twelve vampires, all ancient, all loyal to him. They're setting up a base in the old cathedral downtown. The abandoned one." "Why would he stay here? The hearing is in Geneva." "Because he's not waiting for the hearing," Cassandra said. "He's planning to take the children now. Tonight. The Geneva hearing was always a

"Is fine," Marcus assured him. "Victoria Steele's warriors arrived ten minutes ago. The vampires retreated when they realized they were outnumbered." Dominic sagged with relief, then winced as the silver wound in his shoulder burned. "We need to get to Ivy. The demon…" "Is manifesting right now," Marcus finished. "Can you move?" "I'll crawl if I have to." They ran through the cathedral corridors, following the sound of battle. When they burst into the main chamber, Dominic's blood ran cold. The demon had fully manifested. It towered fifteen feet tall, made of living shadow and crimson light, with too many eyes and a mouth that opened in directions that shouldn't exist. Around it, Ivy's wolves were fighting desperately, but every time they got close, the demon's mere presence sent them flying. Ivy stood at the edge of the original circle, bleeding from a dozen wounds, still trying to complete the banishment ritual with Cassandra and Justin. Lucian watched from the altar, amused.

"Then I'm not sending them." "That might not be your choice." Victoria pulled out another document. "I also found this. It's a Council resolution from 1823. It states that any Alpha-born child who poses a significant threat to pack stability can be placed in protective education until they reach maturity. It's never been enforced because it's never been needed. But if someone on the Council wanted to use it..." "They could take the children legally." "Exactly. The Geneva hearing isn't just about custody. It's about whether your children are deemed a threat. If the Council decides they are, this resolution gives them the authority to place them in the institute, regardless of what you want." Ivy felt sick. "So our choices are: send them voluntarily to this academy, or have them taken by the Council and sent anyway." "Unless we can prove they're not a threat. Which is going to be difficult given the prophecy." "The prophecy is vague. It says they'll bring either peace or ruin depe

Phoenix walked to the center of the chamber, standing between Ivy and Dominic. The child looked up at them with eyes that held far too much knowledge for someone so young."I don't want to be a weapon," Phoenix said quietly. "I don't want my siblings to be weapons either. But Director Okonkwo has shown me what happens when children like us aren't properly trained. I've seen the visions. The futures where we destroy everything.""Visions?" the Chief Elder leaned forward. "Explain.""Part of my ability. I can see the threads of life and death, and sometimes I can see where they lead. There are hundreds of possible futures. In most of them, my siblings and I cause catastrophic destruction. Packs warring, cities burning, the supernatural world exposed to humans in the worst possible way.""That's what I've been trying to prevent," Nadia said. "The institute exists to guide powerful children away from those dark futures.""But in every future where we're trained at the institute," Phoenix

"The prophecy is about choice. Light or darkness. Peace or ruin. The Aeternum gave their descendants free will. But they also gave them the tools to choose wrong.""Why tell us this now?" Dominic demanded."Because you need to understand what you're protecting. Your children aren't just powerful. They're potentially apocalyptic. And there are forces in this world that want to use them for exactly that purpose.""Nadia," Ivy said."Nadia is a symptom, not the disease. She wants to control the children to prevent the apocalypse. But there are others who want to cause it. Who believe the world deserves to burn and be rebuilt. Who think the Aeternum should rise again and reclaim their dominance.""Who?" Dominic pressed.Grandmother Yuki's expression grew dark. "Have you ever heard of the Cult of the First Flame?"Marcus did research while Grandmother Yuki worked with the children.What he found was disturbing.The Cult of the First Flame was ancient, predating even the Council. They worsh