Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 161 - Chapitre 170

Third Person's POVSamantha's voice went up an octave, instantly casting herself as the victim. "Let go of my son right now! Even if you can't stand us, you have no right to lay a finger on a child!"Trista stepped forward, firmly pushing Samantha aside. She turned to Attwater. "Attwater, put him down."Attwater stiffened, but he set the boy down with practiced care while still seething. "Don't worry," he muttered, his voice thick with suppressed heat. "I was just scaring him."Samantha crouched down, pulling the boy into her arms and whispering something into his ear.A second later, Algernon started kicking his legs against the floor, wailing even louder and screaming that everything hurt—crying as if he'd actually sustained a life-threatening injury.Samantha stood up to face Trista, her tone dripping with self-righteousness. "Luna Trista, everyone saw it—Attwater attacked him. Now Algernon says he's in pain all over. I'm demanding a full-body checkup for my son. That's not too muc

Third Person's POVShe was playing her part to perfection—maintaining the Luna facade in public, staying quiet and obedient at home. It was as if she had finally learned how to submit.But the mask only slipped when it came to her family. That was the only time she showed any real emotion.And even then, it wasn't the hysterical sobbing of the past; it was something sharper, more lucid.She would either snap back with a biting retort or shut down entirely, locking every door to her heart.Fred gave him a slow, mocking round of applause, his tone bone-chillingly dry. "Isn't this what you wanted? Communication is overrated anyway. You've got the leverage. Just give the orders, and she'll follow. Perfect, right?"Cassian yanked at his collar, looking like the very air in the room was starting to choke him.His voice dropped to a raspy whisper. "Yeah, I used force to bring her back. But my goal was to get us back on the same path—not to turn us into enemies."Fred gave him a look of pure

Third Person's POVSamantha scrambled to explain. "Algernon isn't just physically hurt; he's traumatized. He cried all through the night. His water gun is broken, and he's been throwing a fit for a new one since dawn. My mother took him out to try and calm him down."Cassian's brow twitched at the mention of the boy "crying all night," but he didn't immediately take the bait.He stayed silent for a beat before offering a steady, grounded warning. "Don't spoil him too much. If you indulge him now, he'll be impossible to handle when he's older."Samantha lowered her eyes guiltily, but then, as if finding a better angle, she looked up at him. "Cassian, you can't blame Algernon. I tried to be polite and greet Luna Trista, but she just kept glaring at me. Algernon is just so sensitive about manners; that's how the misunderstanding started."She chose the word "manners" carefully, wrapping a blatant provocation in a layer of innocence.Cassian's expression soured instantly, the warmth drain

Third Person's POVCassian followed her out.He spent the entire drive managing the fallout through the Mind-Link with Humphrey. His orders were short and razor-sharp, like a blade scraping across stone.But even as he worked, his peripheral vision never left Trista.She looked indifferent. Her scent was so clean it was almost a void, as if this entire storm had nothing to do with her.The car crossed the Ironthorn boundary line.A thin layer of frost seemed to settle on the windows as the city noise died away, replaced by the damp, cold air of the forest and stone paths.The sound of tires crushing gravel felt unnervingly loud in the night.The house was ablaze with lights—a fortress that never slept.Trista was out of the car first, with Cassian right on her heels.He'd just cut the link and reached out to stop her. "Wait a second—"Trista shook his hand off with a sharp, fluid motion. She didn't give him a chance to speak.Instead, she walked up and greeted Wynn as if nothing had h

Third Person's POVThe knots in Trista's nerves finally loosened a fraction.She reached into her bag and pulled out a voice recorder with crisp, decisive movements. "You've always been a man of your word. I'm recording this as proof—from this second on, no one from Ironthorn is allowed to interfere with my career or use my family to threaten me. In exchange, I will cooperate unconditionally for the sake of the pack's interests."Howard glanced at the recorder in her hand. A faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of approval flashed in his eyes.She knew how to turn words into evidence; she knew how to use the system to trap the system.Once the deal was struck, Trista and Cassian headed back to the villa.The drive was silent.The air in the car was a heavy cocktail of blood and medicinal salve. The wounds on Cassian's back were still seeping, but he didn't utter a word about it.Trista didn't ask. Silence was the cold, hard line that kept them on opposite sides.The moment they stepped