bChapter /bb60 /b

Darius pov

Something bcalled /bto bme/bb. /bNob, /bsomeone.

bI /bwasn’t sure bwhat /bit wasb, /bbut there was ba /bstrange pull that beckoned meb. /bIt bwas /bbso /bstrong, I couldn’t resist it bespecially /bbthat /bbvoice/bb, /bcrying out for help. And for a brief moment, I found myself who had been fully prepared to ignore the fools who came to take my head rushing toward here before my brain could evenprehend what I was doing.

Now, bas /bbI /bbstared /bat bthe /bbadly beaten girl before me, I couldn’t help but frownb, /bmy hand reaching out to gently push strands of hair from her bface/bb, /blost in thought.

The voice I’d heard, it bwas /bhers. But what bwas /bthat pull that led me here? I doubted it was simply bbecause /bshe was bound to me. When my mate was still alive, I had never felt anything like this, not even when she bwas /bin dangerb. /b

bSo /bwhy?

I had no answer to that question, yet I knew one thing for certain: the girl before me wasn’t bas /bsimple as she seemed.

The goddess wasn’t the impartial, kind, and loving deity everyone made her out to be. No, she could be cold, calcting when she needed to be. And for her to make this girl not only my mate but also a white wolf? It felt like some twisted game she was ying. But I had no intention of dancing to her tune.

When I figure out how a white wolf like her can put an end to this eternity of mine, I’ll use her in any way I mustb, /beven if it bcosts /bher life.

“Nyssa!!” A loud voice cut through my thoughts, and I tilted my head to see her father, the Alpha of this pack, rushing toward her with his beta and gamma, fear in their eyes.

I withdrew my hand from her face and stood up as they all fell to her side, shaking her awake.

“Oh, Nyssa. Nyssa, child, can you hear me?” her father cried, cradling the unconscious girl close as he tried to wake her.

“King!” I heard Cassian’s voice, and I turned to find him and Drake running toward me. When their eyesnded on the girl, they widened, and Cassian muttered, “Oh Goddess,” under his breath.

“Nyssa…” her father called out again, and just when I thought no one had the sense to get her to a healer, one of the beta or gamma, I wasn’t sure which, stepped forward and spoke.

“Alpha, we need to get Nyssa to the healer. I–I’ll take her.”

The girl’s father blinked at his words, then quickly nodded, his teary gaze hardening. He pulled her closer and lifted her into his arms. As he looked around and saw the severed heads of the rogues, his eyesnded on me. He lowered his head in a brespectful /bbow.

b“/bT–Thank you, my king. I will be forever indebted to you for this.”

With thatb, /bhe took off running, his beta and gamma lowering their heads as well before following him.

As soon bas /bthey left, silence settled over us for a brief moment, only to be broken by Cassian.

“My king, is she okay? bI /bcan’t believe the rogues attacked her! It’s probably bbecause /bthey found out she’s your mate!”

His words made me raise a brow, my gaze falling on the rogue who had been kicking bher /bbefore bI /barrived. His head nowy severed from his body, empty eyes staring in shock at the ceiling. A man who hadn’t beven /bblinked before death took him.

But bif /bbwhat /bbCassian /bjust said was trueb, /bthen things bhad /bgotten more bplicated /bthan I thought. I bdidn’t /bbcare /bif the rogues came bafter /bme–but if bthey /btargeted the girl and bseeded /bin killing herb, /bthen the one chance I bhad /bof ending this bcursed /beternity would vanish. I couldn’t allow thatb. /b

It bseemed /bI bhad /bto btake /bthis more seriously after ball/b.

“bCassian/b,” bI /bcalled, and he immediately bowed his head, recognizing themand in my tone.

“bHave /ball the rogues bbeen /btaken care of?” I asked as bI /bbegan walking toward the quarters.

Cassian and Drake followed closely behind bas /bCassian answered,

“No, my king. I heard the Alpha ordered that one be kept alive for interrogation.”

I nodded at his words, opened the door, and stepped inside before speaking again.

“I want you to interrogate the bastard. Find out who’s behind them and report everything to me once you’re doneb.” /b

b“/bbYes/bb, /bmy king,” he responded with a deep bow.

Before he could close the door, my voice low but firm cut through the air.

“And check if that girl is okay. I want her alive.”

I couldn’t let her die, not when I already had what I had been waiting for centuries in the palm of my hand, not when I was this close to breaking the curse and finally being able to rest.

And when that girl wakes up, we’re leaving for my pack the very next day.

Nyssa pov

“My king” I muttered under my breath, sweat tickling my face, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst right out of my chest.

“My king” I whispered, my grip tightening around the sheets, my body arching as the distant voice calling my name slowly grew clearer.

“Nyssa, Nyssa. Can you hear me?” I groaned, brows furrowing as someone gently tapped my arm, trying to wake me.

“Healer, what should we do? She’s not waking up-” I heard my father’s worried voice. Just as he was about to pull his hand baway /bfrom mine, I reached out and grabbed it. My eyes snapped open, my body jerking forward, breathless and panting.

“Nyssa!” I heard everyone shout in shock, but my gaze remained fixed on the wall ahead as my brain struggled to process what I had just seen or rather, what I hadn’t.

It was a dream, a blurry one. In it, I was running through a field of flowers, someone chasing after me. What made it even stranger bwas /bhow real it felt, I could smell the blossoms, feel the soft brush of my feet against the field.

I bfelt /bit all, byet /bcouldn’t remember anything else about the dream. Before I even had time to think, a scream tore through the air, startling me..

“Mydy! Oh, mydy, you’re awake!” Serena cried, standing beside me, tears streaming down her bface/bb. /bBut that wasn’t what made my heart drop.

Everyone bwas /bbhere /btoo and by everyone, I meant Darius, sitting not far from meb. /bbHis /bcold bgaze /bbwas /blocked on me, legs crossed, sitting as if he owned the entire ce.

And that wasn’t all. Just moments ago, I had called out his name in my bsleep/bb, /bsounds that suspiciously resembled moans…

Shit.