Chapter 185 The Only Way to Atone

    Kirby’s POV

    Crimson Moon Pack headquarters, top floor office.

    31

    Finished

    Outside the floor–to–ceiling windows, the sky had been dyed a soft orange–red by the setting sun–but the air around me remained as cold as the eternal winter in the far north.

    I had just stepped out of a long, exhausting meeting. The elders had spent hours droning on about the future of the Pack, the tense rtionship with Rogue Pack, and… the scandal still rippling through themunity–because of Leslie.

    They didn’t understand.

    All they saw were lost profits and damaged pride.

    But none of them could feel the pain tearing at me inside, the relentless torment that felt like ws raking through my chest again and again, never letting me breathe.

    “How could she doubt you…” my wolf, Lance, whimpered low in my chest. Ever since Leslie said those words on her birthday, I hadn’t felt okay.

    Loosening my tie, I tried to bury myself in work–anything to numb this ache.

    Just then, my second–inmand, Mch, knocked and entered with a mix of hesitation and

    reverence.

    “Alpha,” he bowed his head respectfully, “the invitation to the ‘Global Werewolf Summit‘ has arrived.”

    He held out a box, carved from polished obsidian, its lid branded with a golden moon totem- ancient and radiant.

    Even from herei, /iI could feel the dense, powerful magic clinging to it, almost warping the air around it.

    This summit was a private gathering for the most powerful werewolves on Earth.

    What mattered wasn’t tradition or reputation, but sheer influence in the world’s political and economdscape.

    There were only a dozen seats worldwide. Many Pack leaders spent their entire lives hearing of it–never onceing close to setting foot inside.

    I took the box and opened it. Insidey a ck invitation, tanned from some creature’s hide I

    Chapter 185 The Only Way to Atone

    couldn’t name, resting quietly in velvet lining.

    My gaze fell on the line written below:

    ?

    b31 /b

    Finished

    “Bearer of this token may nominate one young Alpha of potential to attend alongside them.”

    A wild thought cracked through me like lightning.

    Apologies, gifts, exnations… they meant nothing to her.

    They never had.

    What she wanted was power. Status. The kind of absolute authority that made every werewolf kneel.

    And this summit–it was the fastest road to that summit.

    “Give it to her!” Lance growled in my mind, pleading. “Kirby, this isn’t just a gift. It’s a path to the top of the world. Offer it to her. Let her know we’re not worthless. Let her see our strength still has meaning–that it can still open the way for her!”

    Yes. Let her know.

    My heart pounded like a war drum. It was a reckless gamble. I was handing over one of Crimson Moon Pack’s most prized resources to our greatest rival. If the elders found out, there’d be an uproar.

    But so what?

    If it could earn her a single nce back–if it could help her see the regret that’s been suffocating me…

    “Mch.” My voice came out hoarse from holding too much in.

    “Yes, Alpha.”

    “Take this invitation to Rogue Pack,” I said as I closed the box, my tone leaving no room for negotiation. “Deliver it to Queen Leslie. Personally. Tell her the choice is hers.”

    Mch’s face froze in shock. He opened his mouth, maybe to argue–but under my icy stare, he bowed instead, took the box, and left without another word.

    I was alone again.

    I walked to the window, staring at the sun dipping below the horizon. Fear coiled in my chest— fear of throwing everything away.

    …

    Chapter 185 The Only Way to Atone

    But with it, for the first time… came a fragile sense of peace.

    Leslie, this is the only way I know how to atone.

    Send Gifts

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