جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 140

Seraphina'S povThe air in the Great Hall was thick with the scent of ozone and sharpening steel. Eliott turned his back to the windows, his eyes scanning the map laid out on the heavy oak table. He looked like a king preparing for a siege, but I knew he was walking into a slaughterhouse."I’m going with you," I said. My voice didn't shake, despite the hammering of my heart against my ribs. "I’m accompanying the warriors to the pack territory. I’m not staying here."Eliott froze. He didn't look up from the map immediately, his fingers digging into the parchment. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were glowing with a low, dangerous amber light. "Absolutely not," he said. The finality in his voice was like a slamming door. "You aren't setting foot near that border, Seraphina.""Eliott, you don't understand what you're facing," I stepped closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating off his body. "I have more experience with these things than anyon

Eliott's povThe silence was no longer empty; it was heavy, pressing against my eardrums like a physical weight. Seraphina’s hand remained clamped over Marcus’s mouth, her gaze locked on the dense canopy above us. I held my breath, my lungs burning, listening for the slightest shift in the brush.Then, I heard it. A soft, rhythmic thrumming of leaves, far too light to be the wind.Seraphina’s head snapped toward the scouts perched in the towering pines. She didn’t yell, but her voice carried a sharp, piercing urgency that cut through the stillness. "Movement! Look ahead! Do you see them?"Kael, clinging to a branch thirty feet up, squinted into the darkness. "I—I don’t see anything, Alpha! Just shadows!""Look harder, damn it!" I hissed, stepping forward. "Scan the horizon, not the ground!""Wait," another scout, Jace, called out from a neighboring tree. His voice was trembling. "There! The birds! Look at the birds!"I looked up. In the distance, a massive flock of crows erupted from

Reylap's pov"Reylap, please," Eliott groaned as I led him toward the small side-parlor where the light was better. "You’re still pale. You were unconscious just a few hours ago. Go to bed. Let Rika handle this.""Sit down, Eliott," I said, my voice leaving no room for negotiation. I gestured sharply to the armchair. "Sit down and stop talking. I’m not going anywhere until I see what they did to you."He sighed, a heavy, rattling sound that made my chest tighten, but he sat. His movements were sluggish, lacking the usual predatory grace that defined him. With a wince, he reached for the buttons of his shirt. His fingers fumbled, trembling slightly against the fabric. I didn't wait for him to finish; I stepped into his space, my hands brushing his away to unbutton the garment myself.I peeled the blood-soaked cotton away from his shoulder. He hissed, his muscles jumping under my touch. "I’m fine," he insisted, though his skin was clammy. "It’s just a scratch from one of the rogues. It’

Reylap's POV The air in the infirmary felt heavy, smelling of sterile alcohol and the metallic tang of dried blood. I looked down at the tiny bundle in my arms, my chest tightening. I reached out a trembling hand, my fingertips just barely brushing the soft, downy hair on the baby’s head. "I can't even... he barely touched him," I whispered, my voice cracking. "Eliott barely felt him, and now he’s like this. What if he never wakes up? What if I’ve ruined everything?"A hand settled firmly on my shoulder. I looked up to see Rika standing over me, her expression a mix of pity and iron-clad resolve."Stop it, Reylap," Rika said, her voice sharp enough to cut through my spiraling thoughts. "He is going to be fine. Eliott is the strongest Alpha this pack has seen in three generations. Nothing—and I mean nothing—is going to happen to him because of a touch.""But he’s not moving, Rika. He’s cold." A tear escaped, hot and stinging, sliding down my cheek. "If I hadn't brought the baby in he

Navine's povThe door clicked shut behind Rika, and the silence that rushed back into the room was deafening. I turned on Seraphina, my fingers still trembling around the silver-root. The sweetness she’d projected for Rika’s benefit had vanished, but it hadn't been replaced by the coldness from before. Instead, she looked… fragile."What was that?" I demanded, my voice cracking with frustration. "One second you’re telling me I’m a burden who doesn't know my place, and the next you’re singing my praises to Rika? Which is it, Seraphina? Because you can’t have it both ways."Seraphina let out a long, shaky breath and slumped against the wooden table. Her hand moved to her abdomen, her fingers clutching at the fabric of her tunic. "I am so sorry, Navine," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Please, just… forgive me. I didn't mean any of those things. I don't know why I said them."I blinked, my anger faltering at the sight of her pale face. "You were pretty specific about me being