《The Wolfless Heiress》全部章節：第 11 章 - 第 13 章

The grand tribunal chamber of the Valcrest fortress had never felt so suffocating.Heavy, dark velvet drapes blocked out the dim evening light, leaving the immense stone room illuminated only by the flickering, unnatural glow of blue-flamed torches. The scent of crushed nightshade, burning bone dust, and ancient herbs hung thick in the air, making every breath taste bitter and metallic.Every elder of the pack sat in elevated stone tiers surrounding the ritual circle. Pack warriors stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the perimeter, their hands resting nervously on the pommels of their silver blades. The silence was absolute, heavy with a terrifying, unspoken dread.Alpha Adrian sat on the main throne, his knuckles white as he gripped the armrests. Beside him, Lucinda kept her posture stiff, her eyes gleaming with dark anticipation, while Seleste hovered nearby, her ribs still bruised from the corridor shockwave.And standing near the arched entryway, silent and imposing as a statue of obs

Sleep was an impossible luxury.Elena sat on the edge of her narrow cot, her knees pulled tight against her chest, her dark eyes fixed on the heavy wooden door of her small quarters. The memory of the tribunal chamber—the whispered plots, the cold betrayal of her father, and the cruel triumph in Lucinda’s eyes—burned in her mind like a open flame.They were going to throw her into the borderlands the second Alpha Kaelen left. She knew the borderlands; it was a barren, deadly wasteland swarming with rogue beasts and bloodthirsty mercenaries. For a wolfless girl, it was a guaranteed death sentence.I cannot stay here, she thought, her pulse hammering against her ribs. I will not wait for them to haul me out in chains like an animal.With quiet, desperate urgency, Elena moved around her dark room. She gathered her few meager belongings—a faded cloak, a small pouch of dried herbs, and a worn silver locket that had belonged to her late mother—packing them into a small canvas bag.Outside he