Chapter 61

Elara’s POVThe double doors of the hall banged open before I could even lower my hand from the railing, shattering the quiet aftermath of the council confrontation, and Marcus rushed inward with a bandage wrapped around his arm, panting heavily as he dropped onto one knee right before my boots.A pack messenger had just intercepted his patrol near the training ridge, bringing urgent news that completely upended our fragile peace, because a massive secondary pack under the command of Alpha Julian, a ruthless warlord who historically despised centralized pack rule, had just crossed our borders and seized the alpha reserves at Blackwood Ridge.Julian didn't send a letter or a diplomatic courier, but instead, he sent a severed wolf tail wrapped in silk straight to our gates as an open declaration of war, and my breath hitched, because for the first time all day, my pulse spiked with genuine fury."What do you mean he seized the reserves?" I asked, stepping forward while my hands clenched

Chapter 62

Kaelen’s POVI slammed my fist against the stone pillar so hard the masonry cracked beneath my knuckles, and my golden eyes burned with rage, because Julian was a bastard who had been waiting in the shadows for months, watching us deal with internal court corruption, and now he thought he could swoop in and carve up our core territories while our guard was down.I turned sharply toward Elara, ready to bark out a dozen defensive orders, but the calm look in her eyes instantly shut my mouth, and she wasn't panicking or drafting defensive barricades, but instead, a dark smile slowly crept across her lips as she adjusted the silver ring on her finger.She didn't want to play defense against Julian in the remote ridges, and she wanted to draw him straight into the capital's central arena and crush his entire pack structure in one single, brutal sweep."We cannot just wait for him to come to the capital, Elara, because our people in the ridges are defenseless right now," I said, stepping cl

Chapter 63

Elara’s POVWe needed leverage, not an army of panicked guards stumbling over each other in the dark, and I spun on my heel, ignoring Kaelen tracking right behind me, and marched straight toward the lower east wing where Lyra was still locked under surveillance, because the guards outside her door immediately snapped to attention and crossed their spears to block my path.I didn't hesitate, and I held up my palm, flashed the signet ring under the torchlight, and ordered them to unlock the latch immediately, while Lyra was sitting on the edge of her cot, her face pale, her hair tangled, looking like a cornered animal until the door swung wide open and she saw me standing framed in the doorway holding a stack of correspondence."What do you want from me now, Elara?" Lyra asked, her voice shaking as she pulled her knees up to her chest, and I stepped into the room with Kaelen right at my shoulder."You know very well what I want, Lyra, because your mother left behind a very interesting t

Chapter 64

Lyra’s POVMy stomach plummeted into the moment Elara stepped into my cell, her heels clicking against the floor like a death march, and I scrambled backward until my spine hit the masonry, pulling my shawl tight across my chest as if it could shield me from her gaze.She didn't yell or threaten to throw me into the salt mines, and she didn't even raise her voice, but instead, she dropped a leather journal right onto my lap, which was my mother’s private diary detailing every alliance, debt, and blood-pact she had forged with Alpha Julian over the past decade.Elara leaned down close to my ear, her voice dropping into a whisper that made my blood run cold, and she asked me if I really thought my mother was smart enough to hide her tracks from the royal guards."I didn't know anything about those pages, Elara, I swear to you," I stammered, my hands shaking so badly I almost dropped the book onto the floor, and Elara just stared at me with her sharp eyes."You lived under the same roof

Chapter 65

Elara’s POV"Your mother promised Julian half our central hunting territories in exchange for his backing during her coup," I murmured softly, watching Lyra’s hands shake so violently she dropped the journal onto the floorboards, and she looked up at me with absolute terror in her eyes."Which means Julian isn't just an invading warlord, because he’s coming to collect a debt your family legally signed away, and you’re going to put on a clean dress, walk out into the courtyard right beside me, and publicly announce every single name on that ledger before sunset," I continued, keeping my voice completely steady as I watched her process my words.Lyra opened her mouth to argue, gasping for breath as she realized I had just handed her a choice between public execution for treason or standing as my unwilling witness to destroy Julian's entire claim, and she shook her head back and forth rapidly."I can't do that, Elara, because if I stand up in front of the whole pack and read those names,

Chapter 66

Kaelen’s POVI stood at the edge of the courtyard, watching as Elara walked out of the lower wing with Lyra trembling right beside her like a broken doll, and the yard was packed with hundreds of warriors and courtiers who had gathered to hear news of Julian’s invasion.Instead of a defensive war speech, Elara stepped up onto the dais, raised her hand to command absolute silence, and gestured for Lyra to take the stand, and through our bond, I could feel Elara’s cold focus vibrating straight into my chest, making my inner wolf throw back his head and howl with awe at her genius."Look at them," I whispered to Marcus, who was standing right beside me with his arm still in a bandage, and Marcus crossed his arms over his chest as he stared up at the platform."She is airing out every single dirty secret the old council tried to bury, Alpha, and nobody in this crowd is going to dare support Julian after they hear these names," Marcus muttered, his eyes fixed on Lyra as she opened the book