บททั้งหมดของ WICKED PROVIDENCE: บทที่ 91 - บทที่ 100

The malice was a dark scent beneath the flowery musk of Scarlett’s facade.Avery knew that to wear that blue stone was to accept the collar of a subordinate. With a cold, rhythmic tapping on her device, the mechanical voice filled the silent clearing: “I cannot take a tribute that belongs to the future Luna of the Montgomery Pack. It would be a violation of the Silver Laws.”Scarlett’s eyes flashed with a predatory glint, her expression shifting instantly to wounded vulnerability. “Why do you reject the olive branch, Avery? Are you still nursing a grudge because of the misunderstanding in the cabin? Today is my birth-feast, and though I am baffled as to why those rogue elements targeted you, you must understand my position as the future Matriarch. I knew it. You despise me. I suppose I deserve your silence.”The gathered wolves, sensitive to the hierarchy, began to growl their disapproval.“Is the Omen really going to make the Lady beg?” one Gamma whispered.“If a blood-feud started a

The assertion of the Montgomery and Hayes bloodlines made the gathered wolves fall into a heavy silence. The Silver Ridge was built on the bones of the wealthy and the powerful, and to most, it seemed suicidal for a lowly kinsman like Boris to risk the Great Alpha’s wrath over a mere bag of gold coins.Boris, smelling the hesitation, doubled down with a snarl of arrogance. “Come, meet with my pack-lawyer. The blood-scroll is ready. I expect every coin returned by the next full moon. Furthermore, I shall demand a tribute of land for the emotional scarring of our lineage. From this moment, Avery Monroe, you are an exile. If you do not vanish into the wastes, you will not leave this territory with your life.”Surprisingly, some of the lower-ranked wolves nodded. In the brutal lupine hierarchy, they viewed this as mercy. In many packs, an "Omen" caught in such a scandal would be torn apart on the spot to purify the bloodline.As Boris’s personal enforcers began to circle, their claws unsh

The realization of the treason within the Montgomery and Hayes bloodlines had forced the Great Alpha Jerome to shed his mask of frailty. He had been a predator in a cage of his own making, waiting for the scavengers to show their teeth.A roar of pure, primordial betrayal ripped from Jerome’s throat. "You spineless cur!"The old wolf stood, his knuckles white as he gripped his silver-headed cane for balance. He crossed the stone floor toward Boris with a speed that defied his supposed decline. With a crack like a breaking branch, he backhanded Boris, the force of the blow sending the younger wolf sprawling across the dirt.Sadie Monroe’s composure vanished into a shriek of maternal fury. She lunged forward, shielding Boris and baring her fangs at Jerome as if he were a terminal rival rather than her own sire. "How dare you strike the future of this lineage? He is your own flesh! If his wolf is damaged by your senility, you will pay the blood-tithe!"Grant Lawson stepped between them,

Once the heavy iron gates of the sanctuary ground shut, the once-echoing Great Hall fell into a thick, stifling silence.Avery Monroe retreated to her chamber, the stone walls offering cold comfort. She paced the length of the room, trying to untangle the knot of Hudson’s erratic behavior before her mind frayed completely. She was utterly baffled. What was rotting the mind of the Montgomery Alpha? The Hudson she had known before his long, death-like slumber—the one who had held her with possessive, silent intensity—felt like a ghost compared to the hollow, confused predator she had seen today.She had never known Hudson to be physically broken. A gnawing instinct, sharp as a wolf’s tooth, told her that this "illness" was a fabrication. Something in the scent of his blood was wrong.Closing her eyes, she could still hear his voice vibrating through the bond. He had questioned the lineage of her child. He had confessed to being blinded by shadows. The more she tried to stitch the pieces

Hudson, who usually spent his days at the border-forts, was home today.Avery believed it was vital to honor the tradition. Her intent was pure; Harrison had been the only one who truly protected her when she was a child. He was the grandfather of her heart, even if the rest of the pack viewed her as an Omen.Receiving no growl of permission, Avery assumed the heavy doors had muffled her knock. She pushed them open and stepped inside.The room smelled of old parchment and the sharp, metallic tang of Hudson’s blood-toxins. She found the Alpha asleep on a narrow cot in the corner, still wearing his armored tunic, now creased from his restless slumber. His arm was flung over his eyes, a posture of total, exhausted defeat.Avery had seldom seen him like this. He usually stood like a monolith, regal and untouchable. This vulnerability tugged at a part of her heart she thought she had successfully cauterized.Telling herself to remain cold, her hands nonetheless moved with an old tenderness