Facebook  Twitter  WhatsApp  Pinterest  Telegram

Chapter 123 ept Defeat

Chapter 123 ept Defeat.

CADE

Everything around me faded into white noise the second those words left his mouth.

“You’ll never know what the antidote is.”

I still bhad /bhim pinned to the ground, my hand clutching his throat, my fist still bloody from thest blow. His grin was wide and deranged. He looked up at me like he was invincible. And in that moment, maybe

he was

“Cade,” Bethany’s voice bwavered /bbehind me. “Cade-

I could hear bthe /btremor in her voice, the fear in every bbreath/b.

“It’s a new poison,” she muttered. “I–I can’t name it.”

Fuck

Every instinct in me screamed to rip through him, tear his jugr open, and make him bleed for what he did. But in the end, I couldn’t do it.

“You think I’m an easy opponent?” he chuckled, lifting his head slightly higher. He wheezed, but he was stillpletely unafraid. “I thought this through, of course,” he added casually.

“You think I would walk in here half–cocked with no backup n? Please.”

His eyes flicked toward Bethany, and the smile on his blips /bturned cruel. “I’ve been wanting bto /bget Fenra from you for years. Isn’t it nice, Bethany? Look at you now, Weak. Sick. Still pretending to be the symbol of hope for everyone.”

Bethany said nothing, her silence sharper than any scream.

“You should bgo/b.” Winters continued. “Enjoy thest few years of your life without stress. Hand Fenra to me. I’ll spare you. Why keep fighting? Why support these idealistic children?”

He spat blood to the side. “You’re wasting your btime/b.”

I saw Bethany’s expression dim.

But I couldn’t focus on her just yet.

I couldn’t even focus on the pain splitting through my fists or the blood dripping down his face.

All I could focus on was the rising heat in my chest.

The thought of Arden’s limp body.

“The antidote,” I snarled, tightening my grip around his throat, “bGive /bit to me.”

He only smiled wider. “You’re not getting it from bme /blike this.

174

Chapter 123 ept Defeat

My knuckles tightened. I pressed harder–hard enough he began to choke–but he didn’t beg. He didn plead. He wanted this.

Just then, a rush of bmovement /bcrashed through the btrees/bb. /bLeaves scattered. I nced up just as Rowan arrived, his wolf form crashing through the underbrush.

He didn’t even look at me. He shified quickly, and his eyes found her

“Tessa,” he whispered.

“They’ve been poisoned, Bethany choked out. “Both of them.”

Mr. Winters cackled beneath me, delighted. “I didn’t know you two were friends,” he said, enjoying himself.

He turned his head slightly, watching Rowan.

“Didn’t your parents alwayspare you to Cade after your brother died?”

Rowan froze.

“Pity,” Winters murmured. “You didn’t escapeparison even then. You’re always the spare. It must sting, huh?”

Rowan’s jaw tensed. He didn’t answer. But the blook /bin his eyes was enough.

“This makes it fun,” Winters continued. “I see you’re pretty soft–hearted. Helping Cade now. If I were you. I wouldn’t botherb./bb” /b

“Just kill him,” Rowan said suddenly, turning to me. “This country is better off with him dead.”

“No.” Bethany barked. “We can’t. If we kill him now, it’ll end their lives. Tessa. Arden.”

Her voice cracked. “They don’t bhave /bmuch time.”

I looked down at the man beneath me. The smug bastard was still smiling.

My hands trembled.

“bWhat /bthe fuck do you need?” I snarled.

Mr. Winters bared his teeth in a grin. I’m d you asked.”

He coughed once, spat more blood, then looked me dead in the eyes.

“I need something,” he said bsmoothly/b. “Something only you can give.”

“Withdraw from the candidacy,” he said. “Today. Publicly. Then, I’ll give you what you need.”

My breath hitched..

“And if I don’t?”

His head tiltedzily.

274

Chapter 128 ept Defeat

b“/bThen we can do this the hard way,” he said.

He licked blood from his lips.

“Let them die. bKeep /byour pride. bAnd /bbury your mate while you’re at it

“No.b” /b

The voice was hoarse and soft, and still so, so beautiful, but it cut through the noise.

I snapped my head toward Arden. She was slumped against Bethany, her skin pale, her lips dryb, /bbut her eyes were wide open, burning into mine.

“No,” she whispered again, bmore /bforce behind it this time.

I didn’t even realize I had loosened my grip on Winters until I saw him exhale freely beneath me.

“Cade.” Arden muttered.

Her voice broke.

So did my heart.

She tried to move, but she could barely lift her arm. Still, she fought to speak.

“Don’t give in.”

Her eyes locked onto mine, pleading “Please.”

iMy /ichest rose and fell with the weight of everything pressing against it.

Duty.

Responsibility.

Her.

“I-“I opened my mouth, but the words fell t.

“If you do,” she whispered, “I will never forgive byou/b.”

That was what shattered me.

The tears in her voice.

She knew what he was asking of me. What it meant.

Everything we’d fought for.

All the lives depending on it.

But in exchange, I would be bgiving /bup….

her.

“Cade, please,” she bsaid /bbagain/bb, /bsofter this time. Her strength was leaving her.

b3/4 /b

Chapter 123 ept Defeat

And I was at war with myself.

I didn’t know what was right.

The leader in me wanted to stand tall. To spit in Winters‘ face.

But the man in me… the man in love with the girl on the ground.

He bwas /bbreaking

“Time’s up,” Winters said suddenly, his voice sharp and smug

I turned back to him, breathing hard.

“Let’s just fight bfair /band square now, shall we? Thest polls showed that I’m in the lead, but hey, you might still have a chance. I can’t kill you because they might suspect me, so enjoy your defeat,” He rose to his feet with a smirk, brushing the blood off his blips /blike it was nothing.

“But,” he added, eyes flicking to Arden, “arrange the funeral of your mate before anything else, alright?”

A shadow stepped in front of him–Rowan.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said coldly.

His stance was wide and unshakable.

“Is that right? Winters chuckled.

Suddenly, the ground shifted beneath our feet. I felt it. Rowan did too. Bethany stiffened behind me.

Figures emerged from the trees.

One, Two. Five. Ten.

Moreb. /b

Studentsb. /b

Elite Order students.

About thirty of them stood around us. Some familiar. Some not. But all armed. Knives. ws, des.

Their expressions bwere /bnk and dead–eyed.

Loyal to him.

bAnd /bright beside Winters was Kieran and… Jaxon.

“I called them here in case I got caught in something,” Mr. Winters chuckled. “It looks like they arrived right on time.”