《The Phoenix Wolf's Awakening 》全部章節：第 31 章 - 第 40 章

Mona's POV The war room emptied except for those who mattered—Marcus, Leon, Alpha Cross, Selena, Maya, and me. Three hours until dawn. Three hours to save Derek before Seren started draining him like Alaric had drained that girl, Elena, all those years ago."The Academy first," Marcus said, tracing routes on the map with practiced precision. "Nova needs to be secured before Father's agents reach her. I know passages through the old wards that haven't been used in decades. The instructors won't even know we're there."Leon slammed his fist on the table. "I'm not letting you take my sister anywhere.""You're needed here." Alpha Cross's voice cut through emotion with cold logic. "Silver Moon needs its Alpha while I return to Nightshade. If this is a feint—if they attack while we're gone—someone must hold the territory."I watched my brother's jaw clench, fighting between protection and duty. The same war I'd seen in his eyes since we were children, but magnified now by loss and responsib

Mona's POV Derek's scream through our mate bond dropped me to my knees before I even saw Alaric clearly.He stood in the center of the grove like he'd always belonged there, shadows and firelight dancing around his form in impossible patterns. Not the monster from nightmares. Not the demon from stories. Just a man, ancient and patient, looking at his granddaughters like we were precious gifts finally unwrapped."You have your mother's eyes," he said to me, then turned to Nova. "Both of you. Beautiful."Nova spat blood at his feet. Even empty of fire, even exhausted, she showed no fear. "You killed our parents.""I killed many parents." His voice carried no guilt, no pride, just fact. "Your mother's included. Did you know, little flames, that Lyra watched from a window while I tore her father's throat out? She was seven. She didn't cry. She understood even then that some sacrifices are necessary.""You're insane." My black fire flickered weakly around my fists, but the weight of his p

Mona's POV The tracker's howl cut through midnight like a blade through silk—they'd found Derek.Alpha Cross stood beside me in the Nightshade war room, his massive frame coiled with barely contained violence. Twenty-four hours since Alaric's projection. Twenty-four hours of Derek's agony pulsing through our mate bond. Twenty-four hours of planning this rescue while my twin sister Nova learned to trust us just enough to stay behind."The lodge is seven miles north," the lead tracker reported, still in half-shift, blood on his muzzle. "Vera has twelve guards. She's preparing to move him—tonight, within the hour.""Then we move now." Alpha Cross's voice could have frozen flame.The strike team assembled in seconds—eight of Nightshade's deadliest warriors, trained to hunt in absolute silence. I was the only phoenix among them, the only one whose fire might match whatever shadow-touched strength Vera had gained from years serving Alaric. My black flames flickered nervously around my fing

Mona's POV The Silver Moon wolf's blade stopped an inch from my throat when Leon's claws tore through his chest."Garrick sends his regards," the dying wolf gasped, blood bubbling from his lips. "Traitor bitch... married our enemy..."Leon let the body drop, his face carved from stone. "Third assassination attempt this week, Mona. From our own pack."I stood in the Silver Moon council chamber, blood splattered across the alliance documents I'd been signing. Documents that would bind Silver Moon and Nightshade together for the first time in their bloody history. Documents that half of both packs wanted burned along with me."They see me as a betrayal," I said quietly, wiping blood from my cheek. "Luna of Nightshade, sister to Silver Moon's Alpha. I'm either abandoning you or infiltrating them.""You're surviving," Leon corrected, but his eyes held the exhaustion we all felt. "Derek's messenger arrived an hour ago. Another attempt at Nightshade—Vera's people. He handled it."Handled it

Mona's POV The Shadow Walker's claws stopped an inch from the child's throat when I grabbed its wrist, and everything I thought I knew about this war shattered.The creature writhed in my grip, its corrupted form twisting with unnatural angles, but something in its eyes—something human—made me hesitate. Derek's voice roared across the burning village, commanding me to kill it, but my phoenix fire had already started flowing into the creature, instinct taking over where logic failed.The Shadow Walker screamed—not the inhuman shriek I expected, but a sound of pure agony, pure humanity. My fire didn't burn its flesh; it burned something else, something darker that had wrapped around a soul like chains. Black smoke poured from its eyes, its mouth, its pores, and suddenly I wasn't holding a monster anymore.I was holding a woman.She collapsed in my arms, naked, shaking, sobbing with the kind of grief that comes from waking from a nightmare you can't quite remember. Her skin bore scars i