Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

Bailey woke to the sound of distant horns.Low.Powerful.Echoing through stone walls like a warning meant for everyone.For a moment she didn’t move.Didn’t open her eyes.Didn’t want to remember where she was.Then the events of the night rushed back.The pain.The call.The choice.Her choice.She inhaled slowly.The air smelled different here — richer, wilder, filled with the presence of wolves who lived without hiding what they were.Her wolf stirred, calmer now.Stronger.Like it approved of the decision she had made.A soft knock came at the door.“Enter,” she said.A maid stepped in quickly, bowing her head.“The Alpha King requests your presence in the council hall.”Bailey’s heartbeat picked up.Already?She sat up, pushing the blanket aside.Her body still felt heavy from exhaustion, but there was something else beneath it now.Resolve.She dressed quickly in the clothes laid out for her — dark fitted trousers, a simple but elegant tunic bearing the silver wolf crest.It fe

Bailey knew something was wrong the moment she stepped into the great hall.The atmosphere was thick.Heavy.Like the entire kingdom had been holding its breath waiting for her arrival.Conversations stopped as she entered.Eyes followed her.Not curious this time.Serious.Expectant.Her stomach tightened.She spotted Xander near the council table, speaking in low tones with several elders. His expression was calm — but she had learned to read the tension in his shoulders.This wasn’t a normal meeting.“What’s going on?” she asked quietly as she approached him.His gaze shifted to her instantly.Protective instinct flashing across his face before he masked it.“We need to talk,” he said.Her pulse quickened.“That doesn’t sound good.”“It depends on how you see it.”That definitely didn’t sound good.An elder stepped forward before Xander could continue.A woman this time.Tall. Stern. Her silver hair braided tightly down her back.“The pack needs certainty,” she said bluntly.Bailey

The battlefield was quieter now.Too quiet.The kind of quiet that followed screaming.Followed loss.Followed the realization that nothing would ever feel normal again.Bailey sat on a low stone step near the palace entrance, her hands still trembling.Someone had given her water.Someone else had tried to take the blood-stained spear from her fingers.She hadn’t even realized she was still holding it.Everything felt distant.Muted.Like her mind was protecting her from the full weight of what she had just seen.War.Real war.Not stories.Not training.Not strategy.People had died.Wolves she had spoken to earlier that morning.Warriors who had smiled at her with quiet respect.Gone.Her chest tightened painfully.“I killed someone,” she whispered.The words sounded strange.Unreal.But true.Xander sat beside her.Not too close.Not too far.Exactly where she needed him.“You saved someone,” he said.Her laugh broke into something closer to a sob.“That’s supposed to make it bett

The full moon rose like a silent witness.Bright. Cold. Unforgiving.Bailey had never hated the moon before.She had once prayed to it. Trusted it. Believed it guided mates and protected broken hearts.Tonight… it felt like a judge.The border clearing stretched wide beneath silver light. Tall trees formed a natural arena, their shadows long and watchful. The wind carried scents of wolves, earth, and something sharper.Anticipation.Warriors from Xander’s kingdom stood behind them in disciplined lines. No one spoke. No one moved unnecessarily.Across the clearing, another group waited.Crescent Pack.Bailey’s old home.Her past.Her mistakes.Her pain.Her chest tightened as familiar faces came into view. Some she had grown up with. Some she had trained beside. Some she had once trusted.Now they looked at her like she was a stranger.Or worse.A traitor.“Stay close,” Xander murmured.She nodded.Not because she was afraid.Because she needed his presence to steady the storm inside h

The forest exploded.There was no warning.No battle cry.Just movement — fast, violent, overwhelming.Dark shapes poured from between the trees like living shadows. Growls ripped through the night air. The scent of rogue wolves hit Bailey’s senses all at once.Wild.Savage.Uncontrolled.Her victory over Jenny vanished instantly under the crushing weight of reality.This wasn’t a duel anymore.This was war.“DEFENSIVE FORMATION!” Xander’s voice thundered across the clearing.His warriors reacted instantly.Shifting.Charging.Protecting.Bailey barely had time to process what was happening before the first rogue lunged at her.She moved on instinct.Duck.Turn.Strike.But there were too many.Claws grazed her ribs.Pain flared.Her breath left her in a sharp gasp.Fear surged like fire in her veins.Not the quiet fear she had felt before.This was primal.Raw.Life or death.“Bailey!” Xander roared somewhere nearby.She couldn’t see him.The battlefield had become chaos.Bodies coll