Alle Kapitel von The Alpha's Vengeful Heiress : Kapitel 51 – Kapitel 60

CHAPTER 52SERA POVBy morning, the entire estate knew something had happened at the archive.No one said it directly.Guards had been stationed near the eastern corridor before breakfast, and two members of the records staff had been questioned before they were allowed to leave. Even the servants seemed to know better than to linger near the old wing.I sat at the breakfast table with a cup of untouched tea between my hands, listening to the faint movement outside.Kade hadn't said much since last night.That bothered me more than if he had spent the entire morning arguing with me.He had spent the first part of the night in his office with Rowan. I had seen Rowan leave sometime after midnight, carrying another stack of files.And now Kade was sitting across from me, reading a report while eating as though someone hadn't just removed a Council file from an archive connected to his father's reign.I finally put my cup down.“You've been staring at the same page for five minutes.”He l

CHAPTER 54SERA POVKade grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the passage.The smoke was already thickening.It rolled along the ceiling first, darkening the narrow tunnel before dropping lower with every second. I covered my mouth with my free hand and stumbled after him as he moved quickly toward the sealed entrance.“Kade, the door—”“I know.”He reached it and shoved his shoulder against the stone.Nothing.He tried again.The wall didn't move.“It's locked from the outside.”My chest tightened.Behind us, something cracked.I turned.A faint orange glow had appeared at the far end of the underground room.Fire.Someone had set the room on fire.“They're burning the passage.”Kade swore under his breath.He pulled me back toward the room.“Stay close.”We ran.The smoke was getting worse, but the room itself wasn't burning yet. The fire had been started in the passage, forcing us away from the entrance.Kade moved toward the opposite wall, scanning the shelves.“There has to be an

CHAPTER 56SERA POVThe journey back to Silvermoon was quieter than the one there.Perhaps it was because none of us knew where Rowan was.Perhaps it was because the message about my mother had changed something neither Kade nor I knew how to discuss.Or perhaps I was simply too tired to argue.I sat by the window with my head against the seat, watching the trees blur past.Kade was beside me.His injured side was pressed against the seat, and every now and then I caught him shifting carefully whenever the road became rough.For the first hour, neither of us spoke.Then the vehicle hit a pothole.Kade's hand immediately went to his side.I turned.“You're hurting.”“No.”“You just grabbed your wound.”“I adjusted my shirt.” He cleared his throat.I stared at him and he looked back.Neither of us said anything.Then I reached for the medical kit.He sighed. “Sera.”“Take off your coat.”“I'm fine.”“Take it off.”“You're becoming bossy.” He twitched.“You're becoming irritating.”He Sm

CHAPTER 58KADE POVI turned the pendant over again.The initials were still there.K.H.My father's initials.The date beneath them was what bothered me most.Three months after his death.I knew exactly when my father died. I had stood beside his bed when his wolf finally went quiet, and I had watched the healers cover his body before the Council even had time to send their condolences.Three months later, he couldn't have signed anything.He couldn't have met anyone.He couldn't have made a promise.Yet his initials were engraved on a pendant that had belonged to Mara Delacroix.I closed my fingers around it.“Rowan.”He looked at me.“You've seen this before?”“No.”“Did the woman say anything about my father?”“Only that your father kept his promise.”I studied him.“What promise?”“I don't know.”Rowan pushed himself to his feet, though the movement made him wince.“You should be resting,” I said.“I've been unconscious for most of the day.”“That doesn't mean you're healed.”He

CHAPTER 60SERA POVI read the sentence again.THE SUCCESSOR MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED TO REACH THE COUNCIL.My eyes dropped to the name beneath it.Sera.My name.My father's handwriting.For several seconds, I could hear nothing but the fire burning behind me.“What am I supposed to inherit?”My mother looked at the document instead of me.“I don't know.”I gave a short laugh.“You don't know?”“I know what your father told me. I know what he was trying to protect you from. I don't know everything he discovered before he died.”I pushed the paper across the table.“Then start with what you do know.”She sat down.Kade remained standing beside the table, one hand resting against the wooden back of a chair. His attention stayed on my mother.She looked tired now.Not frightened.Tired.“The night before your father's execution, he came home after midnight. He had blood on his sleeve.”I stared at her.“Was he hurt?”“No. It wasn't his blood.”She folded her hands.“He told me we had to le