Third Person’s POV

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    The sharp tang of iron clung to the air. Riley’s breath came ragged, her skin pale against Caelum Knox’s chest as he lifted her in a swift bridal carry. Her limp body looked fragile, but the stubborn spark in her eyes refused to dim.

    Behind them, chaos spread across the room. Only two figures remained sprawled upon the ground- Selene and Maddox–while the ckthorn pair, Caden and Elira, had already slipped away into the night.

    Carmen’s gaze fell upon Selene and Maddox with a murderous intensity. Her wolf snarled within her, hackles raised, the urge to rend and tear drowning out every rational voice. In one motion, she seized a knife from the floor, steel glinting under the dim light, and stalked toward them.

    But Carmen’s de was already arcing downward, fury guiding her hand.

    Before the fatal strike couldnd, arger body stepped between.

    Duke.

    His hand shot out, intercepting her wrist. His eyes, usually unreadable, now burned with something primal -devotion, desperation, and a lethal promise.

    “Carmen,” he growled, voice raw, “let me do this.”

    And then he turned, his arm sweeping with brutal precision. The de tore through flesh. Selene’s scream was cut short, silenced as blood spilled hot and heavy across the floor. Maddox tried to crawl, sobbing, but Duke descended on him like a predator with prey cornered. Blow after blow fell–merciless, inexorable- until Maddox’s body was nothing more than a broken husk.

    The room froze in horror.

    When the silence finally came, it was thick as fog. Duke dropped the de, chest heaving. His eyes sought Carmen’s, heavy with something that looked almost like sacrifice.

    “You still have your mother to care for,” he said, voice thick. “Let me bear this blood. I’ll go to the prisons of the wolves. I’ll take the burden. You–you still have a future.”

    Carmen’s throat tightened. She stared at him, stunned, her wolf caught between sorrow and rage. His words dug deep, carving fissures in her resolve. For the first time, she felt the true weight of his loyalty.

    Her eyes softened, briefly. And then–steel returned.

    She smiled, though it was jagged and broken. “Duke… you don’t understand. I was always meant to walk that path. The moment I lifted this de, the Moon had already marked me.”

    Before he could stop her, she snatched back the weapon. In a single, swift motion, she struck down thest trembling form. Blood sprayed, hot against her cheek.

    She looked at Duke, her face half–shadow, half–madness.” I’ll be the prisoner. One more soul on my hands means nothing.”

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    Duke’s eyes widened, a storm of pain and fury colliding in his chest. But Carmen only turned away, her voice low, hollow. “We are both damned. At least my damnation was my choice.”

    Riley’s world blurred after that, darkness consuming her until the sterile white of hospital walls swam into view. The sting of antiseptic filled her nose. She was faintly aware of Mia’s desperate sobbing voice and the hurried footfalls of Caelum, Theo Hale, and Jace Hale at her bedside.

    But the strongest presence arrived with a rush of power that made even the Alpha heirs draw back.

    Warden Macryn Voss–Ashmoor Academy’s famed battle instructor, a woman whose aura carried the authority of a hundred campaigns–stepped into the room. Her eyes zed with silver fire as she extended a hand over Riley’s broken body.

    “All people go out, Mia stayed.”

    Shemanded, and everyone left, trusting Maeryn’s strength.

    After the room was empty, Professor Maeryn nced at the shattered Riley and sighed.

    Golden light bloomed, soft but fierce, encasing Riley in its glow. The healing energy seeped into her veins, illuminating every fracture, every poisoned scar.

    Maeryn’s expression darkened.

    “Your wolf is copsing,” she said grimly. “You had just begun to recover after your kidney was restored. If you had been given time–proper rest, bnce–your wolf might have strengthened. But the torture, the injections of wolfbane suppressants… the damage is spreading. The wolf–poison has awakened. It’s devouring you from within.”

    Mia sobbed harder. “Please, Professor, there must be a way!”

    Maeryn’s jaw tightened. “There is… one chance. But it is slim.”

    All eyes snapped to her.

    “In the Western ranges, beyond the Rift, grows a herb called Moonshade Veyra. A thousand years may pass before one sprouts. Its essence purges wolf–poisonpletely. With it, Riley’s wolf could be reborn.”

    Mia’s eyes widened. “Then iwe /igo to the Western Pack and demand it.”

    “No.” Maeryn’s voice was like iron. “The Western Pack stands against every eastern bloodline. Especially Stormridge.”

    Riley’s weak gaze turned toward her, every breath a battle. “Why… especially Stormridge?”

    Macryn’s eyes flickered with old memory. i“/iBecause their Alpha–Aedric Stormbane–was once my student, as Lucien was. Both proud, both destined for greatness. But what began as rivalry turned to hatred. Blood has already been spilled between them. Aedric would rather burn the world than give Lucien a single leaf of Moonshade Veyra.”

    The room thickened with silence.

    Riley, however, felt a cold dread spread through her chest. She knew Lucien. If he discovered that her life hung upon Moonshade Veyra, he would not hesitate. He would gather Stormridge’s fangs and march west.

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    He would unleash war.

    She could not allow that.

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    Her hand reached for Maeryn’s, weak but insistent. “Promise me… don’t tell him. Don’t tell Lucien.”

    “Riley-”

    “Promise me!” she rasped, her eyes fever–bright. “If he learns, he’ll start a war. Too much blood has already been spilled. I don’t want my name to be the spark that burns the Packs.”

    Maeryn looked at her long and hard. In that fragile face, she saw not weakness but the iron heart of ia /iwolf refusing to be a burden. Atst, she inclined her head.

    “I will keep your secret,” Maeryn said, her voice solemn. “I will scour the world for another cure. But Lucien must not know.”

    When she left the room, her orders were curt and absolute, “Not a word to the Alpha Prince. Not from anyone.”

    Mia nodded, though unease shadowed her expressions.

    Inside, Riley’s tears slid silently across her cheeks. She knew she might not survive. But if her death could keep the wolves from another war, then perhaps it was worth it.