Alle Kapitel von Alpha：No Second Chance: Kapitel 71 – Kapitel 80

Angel's povThe room was still settling when I walked to the podium.Two hundred wolves, pack leaders and their seconds and senior members from a dozen territories, all of them watching me cross the stage in a dress with a faint stain at the hem that I had done my best with in the dark. I felt their wolves reading mine the way wolves always did in formal gatherings, assessing rank, reading threat level, placing me in the hierarchy before I had said a word. Most of them would have placed me low. Omega background, recently divorced, a training commander with six weeks in the role. I knew what the reading would be.I set my notes on the podium and didn't look at them.The speech was on territorial resource management in contested border zones. I had spent three evenings restructuring it, pulling the real argument out from under the administrative language and putting it somewhere people could actually reach. I knew this territory. I had run operations in it. I had the Tidal Formation num

Angel's povKian looked at Rael, then at me. “So this is because of what happened before you came back.”I gave a small nod. “He wanted me out of the way.”Kian glanced toward Rael again. “They wanted you trapped and off that stage.”“But I still made it back,” I said.His eyes returned to me. “And now they’re the ones people are staring at. That clearly didn’t work out for him.”I said, “No. It didn’t. I had a bobby pin and time to think."He was quiet for a moment. "Bastien has been watching you since you walked off the stage," he said. "All evening. He barely looked away."I glanced across the room without meaning to. Bastien was at his table with Elijah and Adam and two wolves I didn't recognise. He wasn't looking at me right now, but I could tell from the angle of him that he had been."He can watch," I said. "We don't have anything to do with each other anymore."Bastien's povI watched her shake the Greyveil Alpha's hand and I watched Kian materialise at her shoulder immediatel

Angel’s POVThe hall was still busy around us, but the earlier pressure had eased. Wolves were talking in small groups now, and the noise had settled. I stood with Kian near the side of the room, still wearing the jacket he had given me. It felt warm on my shoulders, and for the first time that night, I felt fully at ease.Kian looked at me with open approval. “You were impressive tonight.”I glanced at him. “You’ve already said that.”“I’m saying it again.” His voice was calm, but he sounded proud. “You handled Soren well. Most people get stiff around him. You didn’t.”“I was just answering his questions.”“That’s not all you did.” He shifted a little closer, his expression relaxed. “You made him take you seriously.”I looked away for a second, but I could feel myself smiling.Kian followed my gaze across the room, then spoke again. “Do you know what the funny part is?”“What?”He lowered his voice slightly, though there was amusement in it now. “Lilian may have reached her current l

Bastien’s POVI saw Alpha Soren standing with Kian and Angel. He did not look like a man who had just rejected someone. He looked comfortable. Calm. Interested. More than that, he looked like he was standing with people he respected.That did not sit well with me.A moment later, Soren turned his head and looked straight at me. His face did not change. Then he leaned slightly toward Angel and spoke, his voice clear enough for me to hear.“Angel, your mind for logistics is still unmatched.”Then he looked at me again and added, “It’s a waste that your taste in mates was this poor. You chose a man who could not see what was right in front of him.”The words hit hard.I opened my mouth, ready to answer, but nothing came out. There were too many people around us. Too many eyes. Too much truth in what he had said.Before I could force out a response, Soren patted Kian on the shoulder.“Kian, take her home,” he said. “We’re done with the first part. I’ll see my partner tomorrow morning to s

Author’s PerspectiveBastien sat in his office with his phone in his hand. One plan after another had failed, and now he had no choice but to keep asking people who did not want to help him.He called Hugo first.“Hugo, it’s Bastien,” he said. “I’m calling about the northern trade plan.”Bastien began to explain that he had already looked at the transport side and that Lilian was ready to take charge of the rest, but Hugo cut him off before he could finish.“Stop there, Bastien,” Hugo said. He had already made his position clear. He did not want to work with Bastien’s pack or with Lilian. He did not want to be involved with her.Bastien didn't give up. He tried again, saying Lilian had experience and asked Hugo to at least look at the figures.Hugo refused again. He said the figures did not matter if the person was wrong for the job. His answer was no. Then he told Bastien not to call him about it again. After that, the line went dead.Just then, his mother walked into the room. She h