บททั้งหมดของ Dying Was Easier Than Loving Him: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Lucas’s POVI stood near the edge of the porch, leaning my shoulder against the dark wooden pillar while watching Amelia walk back from her talk with Damien. She carried herself lighter now, her strides relaxed and effortless in the cool night air, but a cold, familiar knot twisted deep inside my chest.I hated the feeling. I knew there was nothing left between them... Damien had made that clear and Amelia’s heart was entirely mine... yet old, ugly memories from my childhood kept creeping up my neck. For twenty years, Damien got the title, the training, the praise and the woman. I was used to getting the leftovers.“You are staring into the trees like they personally offended you,” Amelia said, stepping onto the wooden floorboards and halting three feet away.“Just thinking about tomorrow’s guard shift,” I lied, keeping my eyes fixed on the dark treeline.“Liar,” Amelia countered quietly. She walked over, stepping right into my personal space and placing her small hands flat against m

Damien's POV“Canceling the moon gathering is out of the question,” Elder Vance declared, his hand slamming down onto the council table so hard the water glasses rattled. “We have held this ceremony every season for three hundred years, Damien. If you call it off now, the entire valley will know you are terrified of a few rogues at the border.”I gripped the back of my leather chair, leaning over the table to stare down the older man. “It is not a few rogues, Vance. It is fifty armed mercenaries targeting an open field packed with women, children and unarmed elders. It is an ambush waiting to happen.”“If you hide behind the estate walls, you forfeit your authority before your collar even settles on your neck,” another council member argued, shaking his head. “A new Alpha who cancels the blessing looks weak. Factions are already watching to see if you have your father’s backbone.”I closed my eyes for a long second, holding back a growl that threatened to scrape past my throat. They w

Lucas's POVThe small stone chapel sitting high on the eastern ridge was quiet, bathed in the soft orange glow of three burning iron braziers. I stood near the plain wooden altar, adjusting the cuffs of my black shirt while my hands trembled slightly against the fabric.I had spent my entire adult life convinced I was built for cold rooms and lonely borders. I was the broken brother, the weapon Victor forged in the dark, the man who had buried his first partner because he was too reckless to check a perimeter. Yet here I stood, waiting to link my blood and soul to the woman who had walked into my life and dismantled every wall I had built.The heavy door creaked open, pulling my attention to the back of the small room.Damien and Serena stepped inside first, keeping their movements quiet and respectful. There were no politicians here tonight, no scheming council elders and no grand pack banners hanging from the rafters. Damien had arranged this private gathering himself, clearing the

Damien's POVThe scream tore through the music like a rusty blade, instantly shattering the laughter near the eastern bonfires.Before the drums could even stop, dark shapes erupted from the shadow of the pine trees, throwing red smoke canisters directly into the middle of the dancing crowd. Coughing shifters scattered in every direction as the acrid cloud rolled over the grass, blinding the inner circle guards while masked fighters rushed out from the trees with drawn blades.They hadn't crossed the river at dusk. They had been lying in the bushes inside our own perimeter since the daylight setup, waiting quietly for the torches to burn low.“Form the wall!” I roared, the raw power of the Alpha frequency booming out of my chest with a force that shook my own lungs. “Captains to the front! Guard the elders!”Instinct took over, wiping away every trace of hesitation. Years of standing behind Victor, watching him command troops during border skirmishes, finally locked into place when m

Damien’s POVThe stone holding cell beneath the mountain was cold, smelling of damp iron and bitter ash. I stood outside the reinforced door, adjusting my leather wrist guards while two guards stood at rigid attention beside the heavy latch.Upstairs in the courtyard, the mood had shifted from wild panic to hard-won relief. Our warriors were tending to minor cuts, sweeping away burnt debris and raising victory toasts across the stone amphitheater. We had repelled Ronan’s assault, secured the perimeter and proved to every doubting elder that the Ashford line could hold the valley without Victor’s cruelty. My first real trial as Alpha had ended in victory, yet a cold knot remained twisted in my gut.“Open the door,” I commanded, stepping past the guards into the dim cell.Ronan hung from the wall, his thick wrists secured by heavy silver chains that burned faint red lines into his skin. His face was covered in dark bruises and dried blood, but his yellow eyes remained sharp as they tra