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Todos os capítulos de The Alpha’s Bastard Bride: Capítulo 181 - Capítulo 190

200 Capítulos

181

KAELEN BLACKTHORNE"Aurora Flores? Lyra? I prefer the sound of the second one. I am Charles White."His chair glides across the polished stone of Ember Hall with a soft, mechanical hum. I watch him retreat, his frame shrinking into the shadows until the heavy oak door clicks shut. A young female enters, her scent smelling of fresh-baked bread and submission. "Hi, Miss. Call me Amelia. If you need anything at all, just bark the command."I pull the thick wolf-furs up to my chin. My trust is nonexistent; I feel like I have escaped a rogue's cage only to walk straight into a predator’s den. "Where am I? And who is that male?""Miss, you are in the northern sector of Podon. The one who just left is our young master," she chirps.Podon. I have never heard of this territory. I narrow my eyes, my exhaustion clawing at my muscles like a physical weight. I need to be less guarded; if I show this girl my fear, she will report every thought back to him. I need to play the role of the broken stra

182

KAELEN BLACKTHORNE"Is Mommy playing hide-and-seek with us on the ice?" Simona chirps, her little tail practically wagging as she squirms in my arms, her gold eyes bright with pure, innocent pack-vibe. "So we are going to hunt her down and bring her back to the den, right?""Yeah, baby," I rumble, pressing my muzzle against her soft curls, though my chest feels like a hollowed-out glacier. "We're going on a long hunt.""Whoa! I am so happy!" She twists her small, warm body in my grip, completely oblivious to the shadow hanging over us.Samuel stands by the bumper of the transport, his arms crossed over his chest, his dark eyes too old for his seven years. "It must be nice to be a pup and not understand a damn thing."Simona whips her head around, baring her tiny milk-fangs at him. "You were only born three minutes before me, Samuel! You are not the Alpha of this litter! Even Grandma Selene said you were the accidental pup anyway!"Samuel’s brow furrows, his small fists clenching at hi

183

LYRA NIGHTBANE"You are a demanding mate to please, Charles," I growl, gritting my teeth as the silver-slick tension in the room thickens like steam.My inner wolf claws at my chest, irritated by my own weakness. I am a Nightbane, built for the brutal collisions of the professional ice hockey rink in the Duskwild Expanse, not for lounging in silk sheets like a trophy.He smiles, a slow, dark curve of his lips that makes his scent of crushed pine and raw ice flare. "I like the sound of my name sliding past your fangs, Lyra."I want to snap back, to sink my teeth into his cocky jaw and remind him that a twisted ankle won't keep me down for long. But he pulled me from the freezing rapids of the border river after my team's transport crashed. I owe him a life-debt. I hold my tongue, swallowing the low rumble vibrating in my throat.The heavy oak door creaks open, and Amelia enters carrying a silver tray laden with rare, blood-rare elk steaks. Her eyes dart between us, her subtext-heavy ga

184

LYRA NIGHTBANE"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Amelia’s voice slices through the quiet parlor like a whip, her eyes wide as she catches me leaning over the heavy console table in Ember Hall.She is standing by the kitchen entrance, her fingers white around a half-empty glass of river water.On the other end of the line, the tiny speaker of Samuel’s wrist-com crackles with static, but his high-pitched, desperate voice is clear as day. "Mommy? Mommy, is that you?"A thick lump of emotion wedges in my throat, choking off my breath. My wolf claws at my ribs, desperate to scream his name, to tell him I am breathing, that I am surviving, and that I will find my way back to our den. But before a single syllable can leave my lips, Amelia darts across the stone floor with unnatural speed, her fingers snapping onto the plastic receiver and slamming it back onto the base with a deafening click."Ms. Nightbane, the young master explicitly commanded that you are to make no outgoing sig

185

"Did she try to contact the Blackthorne pack?" I ask, my voice slicing through the cold air of Ember Hall the moment I wheel myself through the heavy iron doors.Amelia quickly takes my leather winter coat, her breathing shallow and frantic. She smells of submission and sweet, anxious musk. "She made it to the landline in the great hall, Young Master. I caught her just as she dialed.""And?" I tilt my head, my eyes locking onto hers. "Did the connection go through?""I snatched the receiver and slammed it down," Amelia whispers, trembling under my gaze. "I told her you forbade any external signals. She was angry. She said you are keeping her prisoner.""She is a guest, Amelia," I say, a cold smile spreading across my lips. "But she is also a prize. Go prepare her evening meal."I roll my wheelchair down the corridor, the rubber wheels silent on the floorboards. When I reach her doorway, I find Lyra slumped over the small wooden table. She is fast asleep, her breathing shallow and even

186

KAELEN BLACKTHORNE"Why do you keep staring at that shelf, Lyra?" Charles murmurs, his tone carrying a sudden, heavy wave of suppression that he tries desperately to mask with a gentle chuckle. "Do you find the ancient pack laws of the northern territory interesting?""I am just looking," I reply, my voice tight as I lean back in the leather chair.My inner wolf paces behind my ribs, highly alert. His scent is too smooth, too rehearsed. He wheels himself closer to the massive red sandalwood bookshelves that line the entire back wall of his study. They are packed with ancient, heavy leather-bound scrolls and dense files on hockey franchises across the Duskwild Expanse."This is the playbook that redefined my family's team on the ice," Charles says, reaching for a thick, blue-bound ledger on the bottom shelf. As his arm sweeps forward, his sleeve catches a heavy silver photo frame on the edge of the desk, sending it clattering face-up onto the rug.I bend slightly to look, and my breath

187

KAELEN BLACKTHORNE"We are heading straight into the snowstorm," Boyce says, adjusting his grip on the leather steering wheel of our heavy transport. "The signals we are tracking point directly to the outer borders of the northern division.""Just push the engine to its limit," I growl, my voice vibrating with a low, predatory rumble.Samuel sits on my lap, his claws digging tiny, anxious tears into the fabric of my trousers. His mind is entirely focused on the sudden, severed link to his mother. My wolf paces inside my chest, scratching at my ribs to break free and hunt down the rogue who dared touch Lyra."I have already mapped the route through the frozen pines," Boyce grunts, looking at the GPS terminal on the dashboard. "The signal bounced off a private tower inside White City territory. It's a massive expanse of ice and pine, but we are closing the distance.""We will find her," I say, my tone carrying the heavy, unyielding dominance of an Alpha."Are we close, Daddy?" Samuel as

188

KAELEN BLACKTHORNE"We stay in White City tonight," I state, my voice dropping an octave as I shut my laptop.The digital map of the northern territory glows faintly against the dark cabin glass, showing the sprawling monopoly of the White pack's ice hockey training camps and gear factories. Charles White owns every single square inch of this frozen wasteland.Boyce leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms. "I will secure the entire top level of the Crimson Fang Lodge. It is their premier pack lodge. It is also, predictably, under the White family's direct banner.""Do it," I growl, rising from the bench. "My pups cannot spend another night breathing engine oil in this transport. They need to rest before we hunt."I step into the sleeping berth. Liora is sitting cross-legged on the thick wolf-fur cot, holding a loose horn button in her small palm. Samuel is curled up beside her, his soft, rhythmic breathing indicating he has finally drifted into a deep sleep."Daddy," she whispe

189

LYRA NIGHTBANEMy ankles still ache from the frostbite, but the real threat is sitting right in front of me in a modified silver wheelchair."The lady always plays her cards first," Charles murmurs, his golden wolf eyes reflecting the dim glow of the fireplace inside the Silverclaw Wing. "Ask me your one question, Lyra.""Who sired you, Charles?" I demand, my claws digging into the palms of my hands as my wolf thrashing against my ribcage. "Where does your pack bloodline originate, and why are you hiding in the Duskwild Expanse?"Charles lets out a dark, mocking laugh that vibrates through the small stone room. "You really know how to stretch a single question, little female. I am an orphan, abandoned at the northern border. Nathan Frost, the former Alpha of the Frost Pack and owner of the Duskwild ice hockey franchises, took me in. Before he succumbed to his silver wounds, he made me swear to take over the team and the territory. And he had one final, binding request."He leans forwa

190

The bass from the overhead speakers shook the floorboards of the Crimson Fang Lodge, the thick scent of over a hundred northern wolves crowding my senses. I kept my grip tight on Kaelen’s silver wheelchair as we crossed the threshold into Ember Hall."The regional director is already inside," Tom whispered, stepping back from the chair to let me take the lead. "Alpha Kaelen, the commissioner of the Duskwild Hockey League is waiting by the dais."Kaelen gave a cold, dismissive grunt, his golden eyes scanning the massive crowd of pack members and star players. "Let him wait."A waiter walked past us, carrying a tray of raw silver-rimmed glasses filled with burning mountain whiskey. Kaelen reached out, his massive, scarred hand grabbing a glass and draining it in one hard swallow before I could even blink."I heard the rumors about your legs, Blackthorne," the league commissioner said, stepping into our path with a dry, calculating look. "But seeing the great captain of the Ironvale Claw

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