All Chapters of The five who were never meant to love me : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Chapter Thirty-One: Racing the Clock "How fast can we move?" Damon asked, already turning toward the door. "Not fast enough, if he's actively excavating right now," Luca said, still studying the imagery with a frown. "Ironwood territory is at least six hours out, even moving hard through the night. If he's recovered enough to actively work the site, he could have whatever's buried there extracted before we're even halfway." "Then we don't have a choice," Aurora said. "We leave now. Tonight. Whatever preparation we haven't finished, we finish it on the road." "That's reckless," Elias said, though his tone carried more urgency than actual objection. "Rushing into unknown territory, exhausted, without proper reconnaissance—" "Is still better than letting him claim a second source of power uncontested," Aurora finished. "We already know what he's capable of with what he's already got. I don't want to find out what he's capable of with more." Damon looked around the room, wei

Chapter Thirty-Three: Terms "I'm listening," Aurora said, though every instinct screamed against the words even as she spoke them. "Simple terms," Corvin said. "You allow me to complete the excavation, undisturbed, and take what I've come here for. In exchange, I deactivate the ground pattern before your army, or your warriors, come to any further harm. Nobody else needs to suffer the way that unfortunate young woman just did." "And if we refuse?" Damon asked. "Then I complete the excavation regardless, considerably more slowly and with considerably more casualties on your side," Corvin said. "The outcome remains the same either way, Alpha Blackwood. I simply prefer efficiency when it's available." "You're asking us to just let you have it," Aurora said. "The vessel. Whatever power it holds." "I'm asking you to make the pragmatic choice, given the alternatives currently available to you," Corvin said. "This particular vessel isn't nearly as significant as the one you alr

Chapter Thirty-five: No More Waiting "That's not possible," Aurora said, her exhausted mind struggling to process the sudden shift in threat. "Reyes suspended the deadline. She's standing right here." "It wasn't Reyes's decision to make unilaterally, apparently," Noah said, frustration evident in his voice. "The full council overruled her authority on this specific matter. They're citing the incident at the estate last night, the corrupted wolves breaking through, as evidence that the situation's become too dangerous to allow to continue unresolved." Reyes, standing nearby and clearly listening to the transmission, closed her eyes briefly, exhaustion and frustration warring across her features. "This is exactly what I feared," she said. "The faction I mentioned, they've been waiting for an opportunity like this. Framing the danger as justification for immediate, forceful resolution rather than continued patience." "What does immediate resolution actually mean?" Damon asked,

Chapter Thirty seven : A Different Kind of Proof "There has to be another witness," Damon said, frustration evident in his voice as the group reconvened in the war room, the fragile hope of the exemption now complicated by the seemingly impossible requirement of a hostile witness. "Someone with sufficient standing who isn't loyal to Voss's faction." "The council's structure doesn't work that way," Reyes said. "Standing sufficient to serve as a witness for something this significant requires either a seated council position or documented royal lineage predating the current governmental structure. There are perhaps a dozen people in the entire kingdom who qualify, and I know for certain that at least eight of them align with Voss's faction." "What about the remaining four?" Elias asked. Reyes considered this carefully. "Two are retired, living quietly outside political life entirely. One is currently stationed at the eastern border, several days' travel from here even under th

Chapter Thirty -Nine: What Approached From the North The northern perimeter camera feed showed something Aurora had never seen before, a formation moving through the forest with unnatural speed and coordination, dozens of figures cloaked in dark material that obscured their exact nature even at close visual range. "Those aren't wolves," Luca said, studying the feed with growing alarm. "The movement pattern's all wrong. Too uniform, too mechanical almost." "Could they be more of Corvin's corrupted forces?" Reyes asked. "I don't think so," Isla said, leaning closer to examine the footage. "Corvin's corrupted wolves moved with predatory grace, even when compromised. This is different. More like something being directed remotely rather than acting on its own instinct." "Then what are they?" Damon demanded. Before anyone could speculate further, the formation reached the edge of the estate's outer wards, and the cloaked figures paused in unison, a coordination so precise it s