Semua Bab Traded to the Ruthless Alpha: Bab 121 - Bab 127

Reya: The Guardian said the word so quietly that for a moment I thought I had imagined it. “Mother.” Darian stood at the center of the map, but someone else was looking out through his eyes. His shoulders straightened as golden light moved beneath his skin and the seven circles pulsed around him. I glanced at my feet, but my shadows still hadn’t returned. I had spent years wishing I could be free of them. Now their absence left me feeling exposed. Killian tightened his arm around my waist when I began to tremble. “Stay with me.” “I am,” I said, though my voice shook. “That’s enough,” he said, keeping me close. The woman inside Darian smiled. The Guardian stepped back. I had never seen him retreat from anyone, but her voice stripped the arrogance from his face. “You’re dead,” he said. The woman tilted Darian’s head. “So were you.” The Guardian’s face tightened. “What did you do?” “What you could not.” Golden light spread across the carved floor as the seven circles brigh

Reya: The creature had no eyes, but I knew it was watching me. Killian released my hand and shifted, his black wolf slamming it into the archive wall. Its body scattered into strips of darkness, then gathered behind him. “Killian!” A black arm struck his back before he could turn. I caught the creature with my shadows, but the moment they tightened, I was beneath my childhood bed, listening to my parents argue. “She cannot keep doing this.” “She is a child.” “She is dangerous.” My grip slipped. Whether the memory was real or not, those words hurt enough to distract me. This creature was Memory. Sophia’s magic knocked Memory aside. The bedroom vanished, and she dragged me back across the broken stone. “Don’t let it show you anything,” she said. “That would be easier if I knew how to stop it.” “Then do not believe everything you see.” The Guardian intercepted another creature, bracing against its shadows as the floor shook. “What is that one?” I shouted. “That one is Grie

Reya: Cormac tipped backward into the broken training ground and vanished before we could reach him. Killian ran for the opening, and I caught his arm with both hands. He dragged me several feet before stopping. “Let go. Cormac is down there.” Killian tried to pull free, but I tightened my grip. “I know, but I’m not letting you jump.” The ground shuddered as darkness rolled from the crack. Behind the retreating keepers, children cried while Elara ordered everyone to hold the circle. “He’s my brother.” Killian was still staring into the opening, and the pain in his voice made me reach for his face. “Then help me bring him back instead of giving that thing two bodies.” He closed his eyes, then faced me. “Tell me what you need.” I turned to Elara. “Can the first circle hold?” She glanced toward the opening. “For minutes, perhaps. But it cannot stop the source from moving through Cormac.” The Guardian joined us, pale and barely casting shadows. “Cormac is outside the Fifth. He is n

Reya By sunrise, Blackwood no longer looked like home. It looked like a fortress. Warriors lined the eastern walls while healers worked from the lower dining hall, and the hidden keepers spread through the estate, reinforcing entrances and staying close to the children. Wolves moved constantly between the outer boundary and the main house, carrying reports from one commander to another. Somewhere beyond the trees, an army was waiting for me. I stood barefoot on the balcony outside Killian’s study and watched the first light spread across the sky. My shadows curled quietly around my feet, fully mine again. There was no ancient voice inside them, no pull toward the ground, and no Guardian whispering through our connection. I should have felt relieved, but instead, I could barely breathe. “They’re still yours.” Killian stood in the doorway, the bandage around his side visible beneath his black shirt. He should have been sleeping, though so should I. He joined me at the balcony and wra