บททั้งหมดของ The Alpha's Obsession : บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

Jordan's POV"We accept," I said, then added, “But only on our terms.”Killian’s head snapped toward me, sharp. “What terms?”“The meeting happens here. In our territory, our home. She plays by our rules.” I kept my voice steady, meeting his stare without blinking. “She comes to us.”Killian didn’t answer right away. He just watched me, as if weighing what I’d just put on the table. "She's ninety-three years old, Jordan," he finally said, voice steady but with an edge. "She’s been running this for longer than any of us have been alive. She doesn’t ask for meetings unless she’s already decided what she’s going to get out of them."I nodded. “I know.”“She isn’t coming here to surrender,” Killian pressed, tension in his jaw.“I know that, too.”He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “She wants to assess you in person. She’s not satisfied with Sera’s reports. She has to see an Anchor up close.”“I know.” I could feel the weight of his words, but also the certainty in my bones. “And that

Jordan's POV“The thing Ren’s been running from for sixty years,” Vael said quietly. “That’s what you are.”She grabbed her coat, headed for the door, but stopped and looked back at me, hand resting against the frame.“Tomorrow. Dawn. Forest. Bring them.” She nodded at Killian and Lorenzo. “The bond amplifies your Anchor. Training goes faster if they’re there.” Another pause. “And Jordan—”“Yeah,” I said.“Eat something real tonight. Sleep properly. Both of you.” Her eyes landed on Killian and lingered. “He needs the bond steady, and you need to actually be present. Not just managing things on your own.”Killian pressed his jaw together, just a tiny shift. “Understood.”She gave him this long look, then left. The door clicked and the quiet that followed felt too heavy.None of us moved at first. Killian’s hand was warm on my shoulder, I was halfway perched on the bed, and Lorenzo stared out the window. We just…existed for a little while. Nobody rushed to shape the silence.Then Killia

Jordan's POV"Eat something," Killian said. He sounded firm. “Vael’s orders.”By the time we got to the kitchen, Reef had already set food out. He just does that—always expecting what’s next, always two steps ahead of everyone else. The table was ready, tea was steaming. Mabel sat in her usual corner, her hands curled around a mug, wearing that look she gets when she knows people are coming before they’ve even walked in.I sat down. I didn’t make a show out of feeling okay. I didn’t make a show out of not feeling okay, either. I just ate, slow and steady, and let the kitchen be what it is—familiar, a little warm, the smell of bread and tea drifting around.Nobody spoke for a while. Then Lorenzo broke the silence, careful, like he was stepping around something fragile. “She’ll do it properly.”I glanced up. “Sera?”He nodded. “She’s been managing Ren for half a year now. She knows what Ren asks for, what she pokes at, when she thinks a report’s off. She knows exactly how to make it rea

Jordan’s POV“Get Vael,” I said.Killian gave me that look — half tired, half annoyed. “Jordan, it’s the middle of the night.”I didn’t back down. “Get Vael.”He squinted at me like he was trying to see if I was joking, and when I didn’t flinch, he stood and slipped out of the room. I sat on the edge of the bed in the dark, feeling my wolf inside me, all sharp edges and cold calculations, while Lorenzo watched from across the room, silent but utterly focused.“You’re sure?” Lorenzo finally asked. His voice was low.“I’m sure,” I told him.He studied me. “How?”I took a breath. “The Anchor ability. Earlier, when Vael was training me and I pushed it outward for the first time—I felt the room shift. I felt everyone. Their energy, their presence, their bonds.” I locked eyes with him, making sure he caught every word. “Everyone felt genuine except for one.”Lorenzo went still, almost statue-still. “Who?”“I want Vael here first,” I said. “If I’m wrong, I’ll have accused someone I trust of

Jordan’s POV“You’re holding back,” Vael said, almost bored.“I’m not,” I shot back, but we both knew I was lying.She gave me a look—one of those slow, quiet ones that felt like it could see straight through people. “You are. I can feel it. Your wolf feels it, too. The bond’s yanking at something you won’t let loose.” She didn’t flinch. “What are you scared of, Jordan?”I just stared at her. Sometimes, silence’s the hardest thing to manage.The woods, honestly, felt too quiet. I was standing there, Killian to my left, Lorenzo on my right—both of them solid, present, their threads buzzing under my skin, holding me right where I was.“If I let go,” I finally managed. “If I let everything out—I don’t know what happens. Maybe I break everything. Maybe I break me.”“That’s exactly why you have to do it,” Vael said. Her voice didn’t shake.“Vael—” I started, but she cut me off.She said my name, real slow. “Eight days, Jordan. Ren’s already on the road. She’ll come stand right here and loo