The Alpha’s Double Game 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 61 - 챕터 70

Jax returned before dawn.I felt him before I heard him.The moment he crossed into Montenegro territory, a subtle current brushed my spine. Not sharp. Not painful. Just awareness, like cool air slipping through an open window.He did not come to the council chamber.He did not report to Derek.He came straight to me.I was alone in the eastern hall when he stepped through the archway, boots heavy against stone. He looked the same as always — dark hair slightly disordered from wind, jaw tight, eyes too intense for most wolves to hold for long.But something beneath the surface had shifted.He closed the distance between us without speaking.I watched him carefully.“You felt it again,” I said.It was not a question.His jaw flexed once. “Yes.”Not anger.Not accusation.Just the truth.He stopped close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him, the faint scent of forest and iron clinging to his clothes. His eyes searched my face as if looking for damage.“You did not reach

The air changed before he stepped through the gates.I felt it as a subtle ripple beneath my skin, the same way I felt Jax crossing the border or Derek entering a room behind me. It was not the bond. It was not Ria.It was recognition.I was standing on the upper terrace when the guards’ posture shifted below. No alarm. No weapons drawn. Just alertness.I did not need to look to know who it was.Cole.The last time he stood in Montenegro, there had been challenge in his eyes and pride in his stance. He had tested Jax openly. He had measured Derek in silence. He had looked at me as if trying to decide whether I was a myth or a mistake.Today, when I descended the stone steps to meet him, he did not look like an enemy.He looked thoughtful.Jax was already in the courtyard when I arrived. His shoulders were squared, chin lifted slightly, a silent warning built into his posture. Derek stood a pace behind him, calm but watchful.Cole stood alone.No escort. No show of force.That, more th

The council chamber of Montenegro had always felt heavy, but that morning the air carried something different, something that pressed against skin and bone as if the mountains themselves had leaned closer to listen. The long stone table curved like a crescent beneath the high windows and the banners of allied packs hung from iron hooks along the walls, their colors deep and proud, yet every wolf present seemed restless, shifting in their seats as though an unseen current ran beneath the floor.Raya did not intend to dominate the room. She had come only to listen, to understand the reports from the northern borders and the quiet movements happening beyond their territory. Tanaia stood near the far pillar with her usual calm posture, Jake beside her with parchment and ink, while Derek and Jax remained at Raya’s back, their presence steady and warm like twin pillars of heat.The council began in a normal tone. Reports were spoken, disputes between smaller packs were mentioned, and trade

Raya did not fall back asleep.She remained in between Derek and Jax, eyes open in the dark, listening not to the wind outside but to the faint, unwanted thread inside her chest. It felt like a splinter beneath skin, small yet impossible to ignore. The dream had faded, yet the echo of Drail’s voice lingered.“You cannot cut me out.”She hated that he sounded certain.Derek shifted slightly, rising onto one elbow so he could see her face. “Is he still there?” he asked quietly.“Yes,” she answered, and the word tasted bitter. “Not loud. Not strong. But present.”Jax’s arm tightened around her waist. His wolf bristled at the idea of another male reaching through any bond toward her. The air in the room warmed with his anger.“He does not have the right,” Jax said.“No,” she agreed. “But broken bonds do not vanish just because we demand it.”She sat up slowly, letting the blanket fall from her shoulders, revealing her breast. The fire in the hearth had burned down to low embers, casting fa

The pain began before sunrise.Raya woke with a sharp heat spreading across her shoulder, the same place where Drail’s rejection had once carved humiliation into her skin. For a moment she thought she was still dreaming, yet the burn intensified, crawling from collarbone to spine as though a hidden brand had been pressed against her flesh.She inhaled sharply and sat upright in the bed.Derek woke instantly. Jax followed a second later, both alert before their eyes fully opened. They had learned the language of her breathing, and this breath was wrong.“What is it,” Derek asked, already reaching for her.She pressed her hand to her shoulder and felt the heat through her palm. The scar was invisible most days, faded into memory rather than skin, yet now it felt alive.“It burns,” she said quietly.Jax moved behind her and gently brushed her hair aside. The moment his fingers hovered over the old mark, he felt it too. The skin there was warmer than the rest of her body, not red, not woun