All Chapters of Dear Alpha, I’m Far Gone: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Calista's POVZevran was dying in my arms and I could not stop it. His blood soaked through the white ceremonial robes until the fabric clung to my skin. Each breath he took sounded weaker than the last. Shallower. Like he was fading with every passing second."Do not die." I pressed harder against the wound in his side but the blood kept coming. "You do not get to die. Not after everything."Kaelen sat across from us in the bouncing wagon. His face was grim and covered in dirt and blood that was not his own. "How far to the border?""Two hours if we push the horses." One of the warriors answered from outside. His voice was tight with urgency. "But the Council will send trackers. They always do.""Then we push harder." Kaelen's jaw clenched. "He does not have two hours."I looked down at Zevran's face. The black veins had spread across his cheeks and down his neck. Whatever curse was killing him had accelerated. The fight at the fortress must have pushed his body past its limits. His

  Calista's POV The words hung in the air like poison. Aldrid sold me to the Council. My ex-husband. The man I had been married to for five years. The man whose child I had carried and lost. He had handed me over to the people who wanted to drain my power and leave me dead. "How do you know?" My voice came out steadier than I felt. Zevran's hand still held mine and I gripped it like an anchor. "We intercepted correspondence between Vargath and the Council." Zevran's jaw was tight with anger. "Aldrid provided them with detailed information about your movements. Your schedule. Even your visions. In exchange, the Council promised to wipe his family's debts and increase Vargath's standing." Nausea rolled through me. "He sold me for money and power." "Yes." Zevran's thumb traced circles on my palm. A gesture meant to comfort but nothing could ease the betraya

  Calista's POV Lady Morwen stood in Zevran's throne room as if she belonged there. Like she had every right to walk into a kingdom that wanted nothing to do with the Council and make demands. The smile on her face made my skin crawl. "You look surprised to see me." Morwen's voice was pleasant. Too pleasant. "Did you think I would simply let you disappear after you destroyed months of careful planning?" I felt Zevran tense beside me but I stepped forward before he could speak. This was my fight.  "I think you should leave before you are thrown out." Morwen laughed. Actually laughed. "Still so defiant. I always admired that about you, Calista. Even when you were terrified in that chamber, you refused to break completely." "Get to the point." Zevran's voice cut through the room like a blade. "Why are you here?" 

  Calista's POV The name hit me like a physical blow. The Joker. The man who had carved me a wooden wolf. Who had made me smile when smiling felt impossible. Who had disappeared from Vargath the same night I fled. "Are you certain?" Zevran's voice was tight. "Our scout recognized him." Kaelen's expression was grim. "He is wearing Council colors now. Standing with their commanders like he belongs there." I could not breathe. Could not think. The Joker had been kind to me. One of the only people in Vargath who treated me like I mattered. And all of it had been a lie. "He was spying on me." The words came out hollow. "The whole time. Every conversation. Every moment I thought someone actually cared. He was reporting back to them." Zevran pulled me closer. "I am sorry." "I was so stupid." Anger and hurt tangled toget

  Calista's POV Ten minutes. That was all we had left before the artifact tore Noctis apart and killed everyone inside. I could feel the panic trying to claw its way up my throat but I swallowed it down. Panicking would not save anyone. "How many soldiers can we mobilize?" Zevran was already moving, his voice sharp with command. "Right now. Not in five minutes. Now." "Maybe three hundred." Kaelen was strapping on his armor as he spoke. "The rest are spread across the walls holding back the Council's forces. If we pull them, the defenses collapse." "Three hundred against five thousand." I did the math in my head and it was suicide. But what choice did we have? "We make it work." "We need a distraction." Marcus stepped forward. "Something to draw their attention away from the artifact long enough for a small team to get through." "What