Semua Bab The Professor's Mate Clause : Bab 81 - Bab 90

ADRIAN'S POVThe attack comes at dawn.Twenty wolves. Maybe more. Hitting our northern border hard and fast. Not reconnaissance. Not testing. Full assault.Retaliation for Emma's rescue. For Lyra's execution. For every time we've defied him.I'm there in minutes. Shifted. Running. Kael demanding blood. Demanding we protect our territory. Our pack. Our mate.The battle is already in progress when I arrive. My wolves fighting. Holding the line. But they're outnumbered. Outmatched. Asher's wolves are fresh. Aggressive. Coordinated.I slam into the nearest enemy. Teeth finding throat. Crushing. Killing. Moving to the next before the first hits the ground.Marcus fights beside me. Clara covering our flank. Everyone working together. Fighting as a unit.But we're still losing ground. Still being pushed back. Asher's wolves keep coming. Wave after wave. Like he has an endless supply."Fall back to secondary positions!" I command through pack link. "Controlled retreat. Don't let them scatter

ADRIAN'S POV"You want me to do what?" Kelvin stares at me like I've lost my mind."Reach out to your contacts in Asher's pack. The ones who might be sympathetic to our cause. The ones who are tired of his leadership. The ones who might feed us information." I lean back in my chair. "You said yourself there are wolves in his pack who want out. Who hate what he's become. Let's use that.""You want me to build a spy network. Inside my father's pack. Using wolves who might be loyal to him. Who might report back everything I tell them." Kelvin shakes his head. "That's suicide Adrian. For me and for anyone who agrees to help.""Which is why we're careful. Why we only approach wolves you absolutely trust. Why we give them information that seems valuable but is actually useless. Why we use them to feed Asher false intelligence." I stand. Move to the window. "We can't win a straight fight. He has more wolves. More resources. More territory. But we can win through strategy. Through deception.

FREYA'S POVMy heat lasts five days.Five days of barely leaving our room. Five days of Adrian taking care of me. Of us giving in to every need. Every desire. Every desperate craving the heat brings.By the time it finally breaks we're both exhausted. Satisfied. Closer than ever. The bond between us practically glowing with strength even without the completing mark.I'm just starting to feel normal again when Marcus knocks on our door. "I need both of you. Now. We have a situation."Adrian and I exchange glances, stood up and got dressed quickly. Then we followed Marcus to his office where the entire inner circle is gathered. Clara. Chief Winters(who was surprisinly close after the ritual incident ). Dr. Chen. Kelvin. All looking grim."What happened?" Adrian asks immediately.Marcus holds up a letter. "This was delivered an hour ago. By one of Asher's wolves. Under flag of truce.""What does it say?""Read it yourself." Marcus hands it over.Adrian opens it. I read over his shoulder

FREYA'S POVDay one without Adrian.I wake up in Clara's apartment. Alone. Cold. The bond between us aching. Pulling. Demanding I go back to him. Demanding I fix this. Demanding I stop this separation that's killing us both.But I can't. Not yet. Not when I still see his fangs. Still feel his body pinning me. Still remember the terror of thinking he was going to take my choice away.Clara makes breakfast. I don't eat. Just push food around my plate. Trying to process. Trying to understand how we got here. How love became fear. How protection became control."Has anyone heard from him?" I finally ask."No. He's gone. Disappeared into the woods right after... after it happened." Clara sits across from me. "Marcus is worried. Says he's never seen Adrian like this. So out of control. So broken.""Good." "He should be broken. Should feel what he almost did. Should..." I can't finish. Can't say I want him to suffer when part of me just wants him back. Wants his arms around me. Wants everyt

FREYA'S POVSomething is wrong with Adrian.He came back from those three days different. Colder. More distant. Like he's already started pulling away. Like he's already decided we're over but hasn't told me yet.At first I think it's guilt. Shame over what he almost did. The near-marking. The loss of control. But it's more than that. It's intentional. Like he's deliberately creating distance. Deliberately pushing me away. Deliberately ending us slowly instead of all at once.And I don't understand why. Don't understand what changed in those three days. Don't understand where he went or what he did or what broke inside him that made him stop fighting for us.We're preparing for the traditional challenge tonight. Adrian will face Asher one-on-one. Winner takes all. Loser dies. The pack is mobilized. Ready. Confident in their Alpha. Confident he'll win. Confident this ends tonight.But I'm not confident. Because Adrian is different. And different doesn't feel like stronger. Doesn't feel