Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

VALERIA.My mind was spinning at a sickening, terminal velocity.Think, Valeria. Think.An administrative error in the medical archives? A rare, freakish genetic anomaly triggered by the trauma of the canyon ambush? A chemical reaction between the poison-coated blade and the synthetic pheromones in my blood?Nothing held.The lie was dead.The airtight logic I had relied on for months had evaporated the second my true scent hit his nostrils, unfiltered and raw.Kaelen didn't say a goddamn word.He simply stormed through the labyrinthine corridors of the Citadel, his heavy boots shattering the broken glass embedded in the floor.He kicked open the doors to a secluded royal antechamber, hauled me inside, and slammed the door shut with a force that rattled the foundation.The lock clicked into place with a definitive, bone-chilling thud.He set me down on a low, velvet-upholstered stool, but he didn't step back.I was trembling—not just from the white-hot agony of the poisoned blade in m

VALERIA.The violent rattle of the door handle was instantly followed by the sharp, metallic click of the latch snapping open.The Vanguard General burst into the room, his heavy combat gear rustling loudly in the quiet space, his face completely drained of color.The sudden intrusion was a violent shock to my nervous system.A heartbeat ago, Kaelen’s fangs had been mere millimeters from grazing the hyper-sensitive skin of my scent gland, his hot, possessive breath already claiming the territory."You have to let go of me. Now, Kaelen," I breathed, exhaling a silent, desperate sigh of relief as the suffocating spell of the mate-spark violently fractured. "I said let go! I don't know why you have to be as stubborn as a mule, but if you think you're going to stop me, then you must be delusional!" I was profoundly, deeply grateful for the interruption. Thank the goddess. I was wondering how long we were going to go back and forth for.If that heavy oak door had stayed shut for even ten

VALERIA.The heavy silk drapes of my temporary summit suite were pulled tight, suffocating the moonlight and casting the room in pitch black.I paced the floor like a caged predator.My ruined, blood-soaked velvet gown lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of the bathroom—a gruesome ghost of the political pawn I was pretending to be just hours ago.Now, I wore matte-black, form-fitting tactical gear that clung to my frame like a second skin.Silas stood by the door, his arms folded tightly across his chest. His sharp eyes tracked my every restless turn across the carpet."Valeria," he murmured softly, breaking the tense silence as he took a slow step toward me. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"I stopped pacing and spun around to face my spymaster.I adjusted the high, reinforced collar of my dark vest, my jaw locking into granite."Yes, Silas," I said, my voice entirely devoid of hesitation. "This i

KAELEN.The silence that followed Valeria’s scream echoed in the enclosed cabin like a detonated grenade.The ringing in my ears was deafening, broken only by the heavy, mechanical hum of the armored chassis eating up the winding mountain miles.I sat frozen, staring at the raw, jagged edges of the woman beside me.Her chest heaved with shallow, rapid breaths.Her face—usually an impenetrable mask of silver and ice—was flushed with a fierce, devastating pain.The sheer gravity of what she had just confessed slammed into my ribs like a physical blow.She had endured years of constant humiliation.She had deliberately dimmed her own blinding light, suffocating her brilliance, just to test a sick, twisted wager set by her own father.To see if any man on this pathetic continent possessed the spine to love a woman who didn't shrink herself to fit in his shadow."That sick son of a bitch," I muttered under my breath.My knuckles cracked as I clenched my fists against my thighs, my jaw lock

VALERIA.The entire Vanguard war column ground to a shuddering halt at the jagged lip of the mountain pass.Through the double-plated, bulletproof windshield of Kaelen’s assault vehicle, I stared out at the western gate of the Blood Moon border.It was a motorized nightmare of iron and artillery.The valley was completely choked by reinforced concrete bunkers, automated thermal turrets, and high-energy electric fences hummed with a deadly, pale-blue current.Standing atop the stone battlements were hundreds of my own pack’s border guards and elite loyalist commanders.Their high-caliber rifles and heavy, silver-tipped ballistas were aimed directly down at the throat of the Vanguard line.My hands curled into tight, white-knuckled fists at my sides, my teeth grinding together so hard a sharp pain shot up into my temples."That fucking bastard," I hissed, the venom dripping from every syllable.Malachi ha