But my pack… if I leave them leaderless any longer, they’ll crumble. My enemies will take it as a sign of weakness and move in like vultures circling a dying beast.
I growl low in my throat, my voice thick with frustration. “Maybe it’s time I put an end to that stupid fucking law once and for all.”
The warrior blinks in surprise. “Alpha?”
I don’t answer him, my eyes flick once more to Kali. She looks so small now. So breakable. And my heart cracks open just a little more.
“I can’t leave her unguarded,” I mutter. “Not when the person who did this might still be Jurking waiting to finish the job.”
But who the hell can I trust with her life?
Who can I trust… more than myself?
I clench my fists, torn in two. One path leads to protecting my kingdom. The other- protecting my mate.
And right now, I’m not sure I can do both.
Then, a pulse of power rolls through the hall–thick and heavy, making the air hard to breathe and the hairs on my arms stand on end.
The warrior drops to his knees, trembling, head bowed as if before a god. Submitting.
I stiffen already knowing who it is.
The Alpha King. He’s been watching. I’ve felt him. For days, I could sense his presence lingering outside the warded windows. That cold hum in the air–too powerful to be just another wolf. He’s been hovering like a damn ghost.
Why? Why the hell was he watching Kali like a creep?
Why was the Alpha King acting like such a weirdo?
I don’t move or bow but I plant myself in front of the door like a wall of stone, spine straight, fists clenched. When I finally face him, he’s standing a few feet away, his eyes dark and unreadable as ever.
“Don’t worry, Jack,” he says suddenly, and the sincerity in his voice makes my jaw tighten. ” I’ll watch her. Go attend to your pack. I will stay by her side.”
I blink. Then laugh. A dry, humorless sound from deep in my chest.
Chapter 130
+25 BONUS
“You serious?” I say, tilting my head with disbelief. “You actually think I’m going to leave her with you?”
“You must be out of your goddamn mind,” I snap. “She was stabbed in the heart–with your blade. She nearly died. Right there in front of you. That makes you the enemy. Or maybe not you directly–maybe it was your little psycho of a daughter, Celestia. Same difference.”
A shadow flickers across his face.
“I know,” he says quietly. “I know that no matter what I say, nothing right now will make you trust me. But hear me–I didn’t stab Kali. Still, that doesn’t make me innocent either. Because whether I like it or not…” His jaw tightens. “I indirectly participated in her death. And like I said before you will get your revenge.”
His words hang in the air, heavy and sharp.
I don’t respond. I can’t.
He sighs and this time, it’s not the sigh of a guilty man. It’s deeper than that. Regret? Weariness? I can’t quite tell.
“But can’t you see?” he says again, more urgently. “Can’t you see the reason she didn’t die? The reason she survived being stabbed through the heart? Her blood, Jack. Haven’t you wondered why it was blue instead of red?”
I stiffen.
For the first time, I let myself truly think about it. Her blood was blue. The stain still on my hands. At the time, I was too consumed by panic to process it.
But now?
Why was her blood blue?
to think,” I admit. “Too afraid of losing her.”
Kali survived being stabbed by my sword because… it can’t kill her. My blade
n poison, deadly to anyone who doesn’t share my blood. That’s how it was made. …. her blood reacted. It turned blue because the blade couldn’t kill her.”
My breath hitches as the truth lands in my chest
“You’re saying…” I whisper, barely able to form the words. “She’s… your daughter?”
