Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The moment the pack warriors grab me, I know this isn’t going to end well.
Their grips are unforgiving, their fingers digging into my arms as they drag me across the dirt floor like I’m nothing more than a ragdoll. My feet barely keep up, stumbling against the uneven ground as they haul me toward the raised platform.
I catch myself, barely.
The stench of sweat, blood, and something more acrid clogs my nose–adrenaline, fear.
Then I see him.
My hands brace against the rough wooden flooring, splinters biting into my palms as I lift my head.
The Alpha of the Riverstone Pack sits above the chaos like a king surveying his pitiful subjects. Old but not frail, his presence alone makes the air feel disastrous. He’s old, his hair grayed at the temples, his face lined with age and something cruel. But it’s his smile that unsettles me the most–thin and creepy, as though he already knows how this night will end, and I’m the last one to catch up.
“Bring her here.”
The warriors throw me forward without a sliver of care. My knees hit the ground hard, a jolt of pain traveling up my legs, but I barely have time to register it before I’m being yanked up again, shoved closer to the Alpha’s side. My skin prickles, every nerve on high alert.
One of the pack warriors who was stationed outside Kallias‘ door–aka, my glorified prison–steps forward, as stiff as a board. “Alpha, Kallias himself ordered us to keep her locked inside his room-”
For a second, I think the Alpha might consider his words. Then, without so much as a shift in expression, he simply looks at the man. One look.
The warrior immediately shuts up, his mouth snapping closed like it’s been wired shut. He bows his head and backs away without another word.
The Alpha pats the seat beside him. “Sit, girl.”
I don’t move.
He lifts a brow.
One of the pack warriors forces me down before I can think about resisting.
‘The Alpha hums in approval, clasping his hands together as he leans forward. “Sacrifice,” he says, drawing out the word as a teacher introducing a new lesson. “It’s the foundation of every pack, every kingdom, every great power that has ever risen and ruled. Without it, there is no order. No strength. No future.”
I don’t say a word.
My stomach coils tight, my senses screaming at me that this isn’t just an old man giving a philosophical speech. He’s leading to something–something I’m not going to like.
“You see, child,” he continues, “truth and sacrifice go hand in hand. One always demands the other. And tonight… one truth has made itself known.”
He turns his head toward me, expression unreadable. “Tell me, girl, what have you lost?”
My throat tightens. Too much. But I know better than to answer him honestly. “That’s none of your business.”
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Chapter 35
He chuckles. “Oh, but it is. You see, truth has a funny way of revealing itself, whether we want it to or not. And the truth, my dear, is that you are not as insignificant as you pretend to be.”
Before I can process that, a roar erupts from the fighting ring below. My head snaps toward the sound just in time to see a body collapse.
The champion.
Blood pools beneath him, a dark stain spreading across the dirt. And standing over him, chest rising and falling with steady, unbothered breaths, is him.
Enoch.
Shock. Fear. Uncertainty. They’re all thick in the air, pressing down on every soul in the audience as they try to make sense of what the fuck just happened.
A sick, dangerous thrill sparks in my chest. He did it. He won.
Who is he?
How did he kill the champion that easily?
Where did he come from?
I already know the answers to all three.
And so does someone else.
A ragged, breathless sound pulls my attention toward the entrance of the dome.
Kallias.
I barely have a second to register it before he steps forward, his face pale, his blue eyes locked onto me with something close to panic.
He knows.
Knows that me being beside his father means nothing good.
His steps are quick, urgent. He doesn’t waste time, grabbing my wrist with enough force to make me wince. “What is she doing here?” he demands, barely sparing his father a glance as he reaches for my arm.
I hate him. I hate his touch, hate the fact that he’s gripping me like he has a fucking right to, like I belong to him, but I still start to move. I’d rather let him haul me across the arena than stay here with his cryptic, unsettling father.
But before we can take a single step, the Alpha’s voice cuts through the air like a blade.
“Wait.”
“We’re leaving,” he mutters, already pulling me up.
For once, I don’t argue. As much as I loathe being dragged by Kallias fucking Morrigan,
But before we can take a step, the Alpha’s voice cuts through the space like a knife.
“Not so fast.”
Kallias freezes. I do too.
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Chapter 25
The Alpha leans forward, his stare pinning his son in place. “Tell me, Kallis, Would you like so marry her
My stomach drops.
What?
Kallias stiffens beside me. “What?”
自
The Alpha ignores his shock, his voice cis calm. “You can forcefully mark her. Make her yours. That way, no other pack will take her in if she runs. She will be bound to you, to v
The entire arena seems to inhale at once.
Kallias stiffens beside me, and I turn to him, half expecting–no, praying–that he’ll say no.
That he’ll scoff, roll his eyes, dismiss the whole damn thing as a joke.
But then he turns his head.
And he smiles,
“Yes.”
My heart stops.
I yank my arm back, but Kallias‘ grip tightens them. My bones protest, skin pinching under his bruising hold “Let me go.” I spit, panic clawing up my throat, but his fingers only dig deeper, his eyes dark with something unhinged
The Alpha nods at the pack warriors flanking us. Before I can thrash away, they seize my arms, restraining me. Fucking bastards!
A cold chill runs down my spine.
Kallias doesn’t even flinch. He simplyu stands there like a dutiful little pawn as his father turns to the bloodstained ring below us. My stomach lurches.
Please no…
“Kill him,” the Alpha says smoothly, gesturing at Enoch. “Do that, and I will make good on my promise.”
The words slam into me as a freight train.
My stomach turns violently, bile burning my throat.
He means it.
He’s actually going to make Kallias kill Enoch
For a second, I pray–stupidly–that Kallias will snap out of whatever psychotic spiral he’s in. That he’ll look at me, realize how fucking insane this is, and back down.
But then he smiles.
And it’s not a smirk. Not a sneer. It’s something wide and manic, a twisted mockery of the boy I once knew.
Like father, like son. Batshit crazy.
Kallias jumps down the arena and shifts midair, bones snapping, fur exploding from his skin, and then he lands in the dome below with a thud that rattles my goddamn ribs. The crowd roars, and the noise became deafening.
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Chapter 35
“No,” I gasp, struggling against the warriors‘ grips. My arms ache, my nails clawing at their iron holds. “Let me go! Enoch‘
Run
Enoch doesn’t move
He stands there, silent, his chest rising and falling in deep, controlled breaths.
Kallias doesn’t wait. He immediately lunges
It’s a massacre.
Flesh and fur blur together in a brutal ballet of claws and fangs. Kallias is a storm of fury, a tornado of teeth, and Enoch-
He’s taking it.
Taking every hit, every wound, every bone–crunching blow.
Kallias‘ wolf barrels into him, sending him sprawling. A sharp crack echoes through the air, his body colliding against the ring’s edge like a ragdoll. The impact alone should’ve killed him.
But he gets up and staggers to his feet.
Only for Kallias to slam into him again.
Blood splatters the floor. The scent of iron is so thick it chokes me. The crowd doesn’t care. They’re screaming, cheering, celebrating a fight that should never be happening.
I’m screaming too, but not in excitement. My throat is raw, the sound barely human. “STOP! YOU’RE KILLING HIM!”
The Alpha watches it all with a fucking smile.
Like he’s waiting for something.
Kallias‘ wolf lands another vicious blow, claws tearing into Enoch’s ribs. He stumbles, barely upright, his body swaying. He looks up.
Eyes locking onto mine.
I shake my head frantically, silent, desperate.
Fight back. Please, fight back.
A hand snatches my hair, wrenching me backward. I barely register the sharp sting before I’m being dragged forward.
The warriors let me go as the Alpha yanks me to the dome’s edge. My stomach lurches at the sudden drop beneath me, my balance tipping dangerously close to the edge. My feet scramble against the floor.
Then I feel it.
A cold, razor–sharp press against my throat.
My breath locks in my chest. It’s a dagger.
The crowd quiets, murmurs replacing cheers. Kallias stills, his wolf’s chest heaving as he stares at his father.
“Fight,” the Alpha commands. His grip tightens in my hair, yanking my head back, baring my neck. T slicing just enough to burn. Warm blood trickles down my skin. “Kill Kallias, and she lives.”
ade digs deeper,
The horror that flashes through Kallias‘ eyes is almost satisfying. Almost.
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Chapter 35
But I’m too fucking scared to enjoy it.
He’s shocked his own father would sacrifice him.
The Alpha leans down, his lips brushing my ear, his voice a venomous whisper. “I told you, little girl Secrets have consequences. And you might just regret knowing who you pulled from that forest.”
My lungs freeze.
No one knew. No one but me and Enoch that I saved him from the forest, didn’t I introduced him as my boyfriend Nothing more. But the Alpha-
He has eyes and ears everywhere.
His grip tightens, forcing my chin up. “Look who you brought into my pack.”
I don’t want to.
I don’t want to look.
But I do.
And I wish I hadn’t.
Because Enoch isn’t swaying anymore.
His body goes rigid. His eyes-
They turn red.
Not red like blood. Not red like fury.
Red like something ancient.
Red like something that should’ve never been forgotten.
The arena stills. A tension so thick it suffocates. The air shifts, electric, static crawling up my spine. Even Kallias hesitates, his wolf taking a step back. knowing the power of the person before him.
A deep, guttural snap ripples through the silence.
Then another.
Then Enoch shifts.
Not into the lean, broken man that had been beaten to a pulp.
No.
He shifts into something massive. Something monstrous. Bigger than Kallias. Bigger than any wolf I’ve ever seen.
The goddamn beast I saved in the woods.
He finally shifted.
The Alpha’s grip slackens, just for a second. But it’s enough for him to whisper in my ear-
“You just saved the Alpha King.”
