All Chapters of Dying Was Easier Than Loving Him: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Amelia's POVThe quiet inside the safehouse felt almost unnatural after the roaring chaos of the council chamber. I kicked off my muddy boots at the front door, sinking into the plush fabric of the living room sofa with a long, dramatic sigh that made my whole body vibrate.“If I have to look at another mahogany bench or listen to another old man tap a wooden mallet, I am going to run away and join the circus,” I muttered, resting my head against the back cushion. “Do circuses hire rogue genetic mysteries, or is that too niche?”Lucas let out a low, breathless laugh as he poured two glasses of water in the adjacent kitchen. He walked over, setting a glass on the coffee table before sitting down right beside me, his long frame sinking into the cushions. The heavy, suffocating shadow that usually hovered around his shoulders seemed lighter now, as if telling his story to those elders had finally scraped away a layer of ancient rust from his heart.“I think you would make a terrible cir

Ronan’s POVI spat a mouthful of dark blood onto the floorboards of the abandoned hunting cabin, watching the dark stain sink into the pine wood. Out of the twelve heavy enforcers I had dragged into the grove two nights ago, only three were sitting around the kerosene lamp, nursing broken ribs and bullet wounds.“Damien and Lucas fought like mad dogs,” my primary lieutenant, Vance, grunted as he wrapped a strip of cloth around his forearm. “We lost half the perimeter team before we could even secure the secondary lower hatch.”“They fought like brothers,” I corrected, resting my silver-topped cane against the table as I pulled a fresh cigarette from my coat. “Which is far more inconvenient. I expected them to tear each other apart over that human girl, not exchange war stories while slaughtering my front line.”I struck a match against the matchbox, watching the tiny yellow flame flicker in the damp draft blowing through the broken windowpane. The loss of my men did not bother me half

Damien’s POVThe shift in the territory line was subtle to a human but to my senses, the air practically vibrated as we crossed the stone archway. I led Amelia and Lucas back onto Ashford land, keeping a watchful eye on the perimeter shadows while adjusting my sidearm.Every pack member we passed froze mid-task. Blacksmiths laid down their hammers, courtyard guards lowered their weapons and women hanging laundry turned slowly toward our small party. Their eyes tracked Amelia with an unsettling mix of raw curiosity and deep unease. Something in her scent had changed over the last forty-eight hours... the familiar human sweetness now carried a dark, wild thread underneath, a low wolfish hum that seasoned noses could not miss.“Why is everyone staring at me like that?” Amelia asked quietly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear and leaning closer to my brother.“Ignore them,” Lucas grunted, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and glaring back at a pair of young enforcers wh

Amelia’s POVThe morning sun spilled across the wooden kitchen counter, warming my hands as I chopped fresh carrots for stew. After weeks of hiding in dark safehouses, the quiet routine of the estate felt almost surreal.“You are holding the knife like you are trying to execute the vegetable,” Lucas remarked, stepping into the kitchen with his wet hair curling slightly at the nape of his neck.“I am cutting them precisely,” I retorted, glancing up to glare at him, though the edge of my lip twitched. “Some of us appreciate neat slices, Lucas.”“Wolves do not care about neat slices,” he chuckled, crossing the room to stand right behind me. He leaned over my shoulder, pointing a calloused finger toward the doorway where two guards stood chatting in the hall. “Look at Marcus. See how his left shoulder dips whenever his partner steps closer?”“Is his shoulder hurt?” I asked, lowering the knife to observe them.“No,” Lucas murmured, his warm breath fanning against my ear as he adjusted my g

Damien’s POVThe Alpha’s office felt far too large with Victor gone. I stood by the grand floor-to-ceiling window, staring down at the courtyard where guards marched their rounds in tense silence.Victor was held in a secure cell beneath the mountain and Elena was restricted to her private wing while council investigators combed through decades of buried records. The pack was effectively leaderless, hanging together by thin threads of habit and my own exhaustion. I was making tactical choices, approving food shipments and setting guard rotations, but every decision felt hollow without my father’s shadow looming over my shoulder.A soft knock sounded at the double doors before Councilwoman Reyes walked into the room. She was an old family friend, one of the few elders who had managed to stay clean during Victor’s reign.“You look like a man waiting for his own execution, Damien,” Reyes said, setting a thin leather folder onto my desk.“I am running a pack on borrowed time,” I replied,