WICKED PROVIDENCE のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

Avery, lost in the rhythm of the ancient archives, thanked Preston Hale with a small incline of her head.Ten minutes later, Harper Bennett returned to their side, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She pouted at Avery, her scent sour with frustration. "Honey, I really tried to track the logic of the First Age, but my brain is more suited for a battlefield than a riddle hall."Sadie Monroe chimed in, her voice heavy with resignation. "I’m no better with these cryptic ancestral puzzles. I doubt I’d be much help in securing that prize."Watching Preston still straining his mind within the crowd, trying to win the lantern for her, Avery felt a sharp prick of guilt. With a determined clench of her jaw, she decided to step into the fray herself.Harper had indeed fought hard, but the final riddle of the "Trial of Wits" was a jagged stone they couldn't leap over.Avery and Preston teamed up on the spot, confronting each layer of the puzzle as the Elder-staff presented them. Though Avery was a

The flicker of hope in Preston Hale’s eyes sputtered and went out. He read the heavy, silent refusal in Avery’s stance. She wouldn't retreat to his territory; she was rejecting the sanctuary of the North to face the storm of the Ridge.Preston gripped the wooden crate of rare mountain berries—a fortifying gift for her wolf—and managed a tight, pained smile. He extended it toward her. "I brought these from the high peaks to keep your strength up. Rest well, Avery. And remember, if the Montgomery shadow grows too cold, let out a howl. I will answer."Before Avery’s fingers could even brush the crate, Hudson intervened. With a blur of Alpha speed, he snatched the offering and cast it into a nearby stone refuse-pit.Hudson’s face was a mask of granite, his scent layered with the metallic tang of territorial aggression."She has all the sustenance she requires from her own Pack. You are finished here."Preston snarled, his eyes flashing amber, but he bit back a retort that would have start

Avery had no idea that these flickering moments would soon be relegated to the vault of unreachable memories. The sight of the pulverized amulet struck another blow to her spirit, a jagged declaration that the past was a carcass and their love was the carrion.Madison kept probing, her eyes wide with a predator's feigned innocence. "What’s the matter, Omega? Is the metal too stubborn for your 'dormant' hands? It looks like trash to me. I’m no artisan, but even a pup could see this isn't worth the silver it’s cast in."A bystander from a neutral pack, unable to stomach the cruelty, snarled in Avery’s defense. "You’re overstepping, Madison. Why direct your venom at the Artisan? It isn't her fault the piece was desecrated.""Exactly," another chimed in. "If she hesitates to touch it, it’s likely because your stench has fouled the relic.""I just handed Avery a Moon-shard pendant that was nearly dust, and she sang it back to life," a third witness added. "Your piece is simple work. Avery

The door was kicked open not by a man, but by a storm. Hudson Montgomery stood in the threshold, his heavy fur cloak dusted with the night’s frost, his Alpha aura so pressurized the very air in Avery’s small chamber seemed to thin.Avery recoiled. She knew his black mood was a direct reaction to Madison’s blood on the Academy stones. He had come for a reckoning."I know you are standing there, voiceless and defiant," Hudson growled, his voice vibrating through the floorboards. "Undo the latch, or I will tear this wood from the frame."Avery pulled the handle. Hudson surged in, his massive frame eclipsing the candlelight. The mountain chill clung to his leather armor, and as he brushed past her, Avery shivered—not from the cold, but from the raw volatility rolling off him.He turned, his golden eyes frosted with disdain. Avery immediately began to sign, her hands jerky and sharp: I had no hand in her fall. She lunged, she tripped. I am not the one who spilled blood.Hudson’s jaw set in

The atmosphere in the High Hall of the Montgomery Manor was thick with the scent of ozone and unsheathed claws. Madison Clarke, momentarily stunned by Avery’s unwavering, golden-eyed stare, quickly traded her shock for a predator’s snarl. "What is that look, Omega? Do you forget your place in this hierarchy? Who do you think you’re baring your teeth at?"Avery didn't flinch. She simply raised her communication stone, the text glowing with a cold, blue light: You are the one who should be hunting for a new den, not me. Alpha Harrison left this territory to both Hudson and me. He made it clear in the Blood-Will that I own half of this manor's soul. Hudson and I are still bound by the Mate-Contract, so I am staying exactly where I belong.Without waiting for a response, Avery brushed past Madison, her leather travel-trunk thudding against the stone as she marched back into the heart of the house.As the Fates would have it, she collided with Hudson as he descended the spiral staircase. M