جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 30

Vincent’s POVThe kids’ laughter cuts through the festival like a claw through my heart.I stand at the edge of the square, the pack’s celebration swirling around me—cheers for some dumb game, the clatter of cheap prizes, music pounding like a war drum. But all I hear is them.“Pops!” the younger one squeals, clinging to Mathias’s neck. The older boy grins, proud, as Mathias ruffles his hair and says, “You two ran circles around them today.”My nails sink into my palms, sharp enough to draw blood. I taste it, metallic and bitter, because my jaw’s locked so tight it aches.“Pops”?. Was he their dad?The word burns. He’s not one of us. His elf blood stinks—sharp, wrong, like a cracked note in a sacred song. Hybrids are weak, split down the middle, a disgrace. That’s what I was raised to believe. That’s the law.So why is he standing there, in the heart of my people, holding her boys like they’re his?My wolf, snarls in my head. “He touches them like they belong to him. You gonna let tha

Vincent’s POVThe scream rips through the palace. “Your Majesty! She’s…”The words die as I burst into the chamber. My heart stumbles, then stops. My daughter lies crumpled on the polished floor, limbs slack, lips tinged black. Her shallow breaths are the only sound in the world.Everything inside me explodes.“Get her up!” My roar shakes the walls. Healers scramble, robes swishing, hands fumbling like they’re children playing at saving lives. Useless. My daughter’s dying, and they’re tripping over their own feet.“Move!” I snarl, shoving them aside. I lift her myself, her body light as feathers in my arms. Too light. Her head rests against my chest, her warmth faint, fading. I press my ear to her lips. Breaths—thin, barely there.Adam, my wolf, surges, frantic. “She’s slipping, Vincent. Save her!”I ease her onto the bed, hands shaking as I brush damp hair from her clammy face. “Stay with me, little wolf,” I whisper, voice cracking. “Stay.”Her eyelids flutter but don’t open.I lean

Vincent’s POVThe night closed in around my car as I drove away from her house. My hands tightened on the wheel, her warmth still clinging to the seat beside me. Damn her. Damn me. Every time I got too close, I lost control.At a red light, something glimmered faintly on the passenger seat. I reached over and picked it up—a delicate bracelet, silver links strung with tiny beads of jade. It was hers. Adeline’s.I lifted it to my face before I could stop myself, inhaling the faint trace of her. It clung stubbornly to the silver—mint, crushed petals, the soft musk of skin I had once known too well. The scent curled into me, a reminder of nights I tried to bury. My hand tightened until the delicate chain cut into my palm. Why did she still affect me this way, after everything? Why did a trinket left behind feel like a chain around my throat?I turned it over in my hand, tracing the faint warmth it still held. She must have dropped it in the struggle to push me away. My jaw clenched. A sim

Vincent’s POVThe palace never sleeps. My boots echo against cold stone as I stalk the torchlit corridors absentmindedly. My thoughts are elsewhere—on Myra. My daughter. Her shallow breaths, the fever dimming her spark, the fragile frame too small for the crown she was born to carry.I shove open the council chamber doors. Rowan, my Beta, straightens at the long oak table, parchment scattered like fallen leaves.I knew something was off or he heard news to deliver.“Alpha,” he says, inclining his head. “Word’s back. Dr. Lean has agreed to perform Myra’s surgery.”Relief slams into me. My chest seizes as I drag in a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been denying myself for days.“She’ll heal,” Adam, my wolf, rumbles in my chest, certainty vibrating through my bones.I close my eyes, steadying myself on that conviction, then fix my gaze on Rowan. “What do we know about this Dr. Lean?”Rowan hesitates, fingers drumming the table. “Not enough. His records are clean—too clean. No family. No pac

Adeline’s POVRowan’s voice snapped across the corridor, sharp enough to halt her before she could spit out another word.“Enough.”He turned to Delilah, his eyes hard and unyielding. “This wing is off limits, and you know it. You had no right to be here—and even less to lay your hands on her. She was summoned by the Alpha King himself. By stopping her, you didn’t just cross a line, you insulted a guest under his protection.”Each word landed heavy, leaving no room for argument.Delilah froze, her perfect posture faltering for the first time since I had laid eyes on her. The arrogance that usually dripped from her voice shriveled, replaced by the faint tremor of panic. She opened her mouth, scrambling for an excuse. “I only meant…”Rowan’s sharp voice cut across hers like a blade. “You meant nothing. Your arrogance has gone too far. Leave. Now.”The guards exchanged uneasy glances, clearly caught between obeying her beauty and his authority. But Rowan’s aura pressed heavier, and the d