bChapter /bb65 /b

Normally, it takes a solid four damas hours to reach the Alpha King’s pce–even at full speed. But today, somehow, my wall, who’s be cursing me but since the second we left the Red Night Pack, managed to shave it doim to thrée.

Three hours.

Three relentless hours of tearing through forests, leaping over rivers, crashing past startled wildlife, and ignoring every bone deep warning my body tries

to send me

Not that I’mining

I’m a man in love. The sooner i get this ridiculous “line” sorted for taking down a corrupt power structure to protect Kali, the sooner I can get back to her

back to where I belong

But I won’t be every mile I put between us gnaws at me. I hate this distance.

And I regret not marking her.

Deeply.

Without that mark, I have no way of knowing where she is, if she’s okay, or if she even bmade /bit safely to Blood Fang with her mom. No connection. No

bond.

Sure, Fury and a few warriors are with them for protectionb, /bbut even the natural link between Fury and me is starting to fade with the distance. And without the mate bond. I’mpletely in the dark

If I’d just marked her, we’d be connected–heart, soul, mind. But something about marking her in the middle of that cursed territory didn’t feel right. Sacred things deserve sacred moments.

not ws at m

Still… the regret ws at my chest.

By the time we reach the tall hedges shielding the rear of the pce grounds, my wolf is practically foaming at the mouth with frustration, snarling in my head like he wants to tear bme /bapart from the inside out.

My muscles scream, my1

skin burns from the sudden bshift/b, but I push through the pain. I grab the spare clothes we always keep hidden and throw them on, brushing the dirt from my pants before that damn mutt startsining again.

“This is all your fault, he growls for what has to be the hundredth timeb, /bpacing in my mind. “You should’ve marked mate–even if we didn’t mate her bthen /bat least I’d be at peace. I could talk to her. Feel bher/bb./bb” /b

J sigh, running a hand through my damp hair. “We will mark her,” I murmur. “Once we return home. And then we’ll make love to her. Properlyb, /bin our bed. With candles and everything. Romantic as hell.”

That earns a bark of disbelief, like I just said we’d be dancing under the moonlight to love songs.

“Since when do byou /bdo romantic shit?”

I bsmirk/b, adjusting my cor. “Since I fell in love with Kal

He makes a gagging sound so loud it echoes in my skull, “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t act like you’re not whipped too.”

“Tch.” He doesn’t answerb, /band I take the chance to cut the link between us before he can start nagging again.

Chapter b65 /b

the time bI /bstep Inbes the pce courtyard, the scent of burning intense assaults my hope. The air shins -thick

than time. But I don’s Birch.

bI /bmarch through the front entrance like town the ce. The guards straighten, eyes wide in surprise as I pass. Clearly, they weren’ti

I push the thought aside. The pce is massive–built to intimidate. And yeah it probably works on mist.

But bnot /bme.

I walk tall, my steps echoing with authority, radiating the Mpha energy I was born with.

Then I enter the grand hall–and immediately stop cold.

The raised tform at the far end, the one with the three thrones–especially the contral one, made of ck iron and carved with moons and wohres–is empty.

That’s the Alpha King’s throne.

He’s always there.

That’s where he spends most of his days–holding court, hearing petitions, and issuing orders. I’ve nevere here without finding him seated like a bgod /bamong mortals. His absence feels wrong… like a sword without its de.

Where the hall is he?

I frown just bas /bba /bfootstep behind me makes me spin. A pce guard steps forward and offers ba /bslight bow. “The Alpha bKing /bis in his personal chambers, Alpha Jack. He’s restingb… /band not receiving anyone at the moment.”

bWhat/bb? /b

I blink, then scoff, temper ring. “What the fuck are you talking about? He summoned me. He asked me toe.

The guard blinks like I’ve just grown horns. “I… I wasn’t informed-”

I don’t wait for him to finish as I storm past him, following the strongest scent in the pce–the Alpha King’s. It’s sharp, deep, and ancient Easy to trace. Thear guards yelling behind me, trying to catch up, warning me off, but I ignore every damn one of them.

“The Alpha King isn’t in the mood-

I shove open a thick, arched door carved with runes and symbols of the old bloodlines his office.

And step!

inside.

What I see brings me to a standstill.

The Alpha King sits in a massive chair behind his desk, shoulders hunched forward

d like the weight of the world finally crushed him into that chair and

forced him to bow. He looks… tired.

No, more than that.

He doesn’t look like himself.

The usual aura of untouchable power–the kind that feels immortal, invincible is dulled. He’s always been the Unshakable One, a titan among men. But now? His face is shadowed, the lines deeper than I remember. For the first time in my life, he doesn’t radiate indomitable strength.

His shoulders, broad and powerful, slump under ba /bweight I don’t understand. His eyes, sharp and emerald, don’t carry their in

He doesn’t just look tired.

He looks worn. Ageing.

swallow hard. The Alpha King doesn’t do tired. He doesn’t do old.

His gaze meets mine, and I swear, a flicker of surprise crosses his face. It shes so fast almost miss it—but it was there.

He wasn’t expecting me but that’s not what shakes me the most.

It’s his beyes/b.

Those piercing emerald eyes that suddenly feel like a memory crawling through my brain, trying to resurface. Where have I seen them?

They’re so…familiar.

And then–like a bolt of lightning–Kali’s face rushes to the front of my mind.

Her eyes

Those same eyes.

No.

I chuckle under my breath, shaking my head.

I must be losing it. Missing her so badly, I’m seeing her in the Alpha King now. Imagining her reflection in the eyes of the most feared man in the realm,

It’s absurd. Impossible.

But still..

The feeling won’t go away.

Then his voice slices through the fog of my thoughts

“Why are you here?” he asks, arching a tired brow, but there’s ba /bsteel edge under his tone. “I didn’t call proposal and marry my daughter?”

My bjaw /bticks.

Here we go again.

for you… or are you here to finally ept my

He leans back in his chair,cing his fingers over his stomach, eyes gleaming with the faintest hint of amusement. “I mean,e on. No one in their night mind would pass up a golden opportunity to be the next Alpha King ..”

I scoff, the bitter sound bleaving /bmy throat before I can stop it.

“Cut the crap. You sent a letter,” I snap. “A letter that reached me in the Red Night territory. Said I was being fined for taking over the pack. That I vited treatyw and had to report here immediately or face harsher consequences. That’s why here.”

He blinks.

Frowns

Then slowly, very slowly, shakes his head. “What?”

I bnarrow /bmy eyes. b“/bDon’t act confused. You said I vited peace between packs and that you were issuing punishment

I didn’t send any fucking letter,” he growls suddenly, rising to his feet. The force of his aura expands, crackling themugh the room like aing strat “Why the hell would I send you a letter at the bed Night when your territory is Blood Fang? And you know I don’t queddfa in pack wars and pofities unless innocent pack membuts are dying”

His emerald eyes re with authority but behind them, there’s something else.

Confusion

Genuine confusion.

And that sends a warning bell screaming in my head and sets my nerves on fire.

Treach h into my jacket, fingers curling around the crisp parchment Fury had handed me before I left. I toss the letter on his desk like it’s a cursed artifact

“Then exin that.”

He snatches it up

The moment his eyes drop to the seal, something changes. The color drains from his face.

His thumb brushes the thick red wax–his royal crest embedded perfectly in the center. There’s no mistaking it. No forgery could mimic that exact mark The damn thing even pulses faintly with residual magic.

His lips part, then shut bagain/bb. /b

When he finally speaks, his voice is tight. Cold.

“This isn’t from me…” he murmurs, staring at the letter like it might explode. “I never wrote this. I never ordered any letter to be sent to you. Whoever impersonated memitted high treason… That’s a crime punishable by death.”

Something clicks.

One name barrels into my head like a train.

I grind my teeth so hard my bjaw /baches, “My uncle…”

田

AD

Comment