Chapter 170
Pain unlike anything I’d ever experienced exploded through me. I released his leg instantly, a strangled yelp escaping my throat. The word tilted sideways, colors blurring together as the wolfsbane entered my bloodstream, rapidly suppressing my healing abilities.
Th–that’s wolfsbane, Lysandra. Get it out, Kieran’s weak voice filtered through our mind link.
I turned toward the sound, finding his wolf form sprawled on the ground, eyes fixed on me, pain evident in every line of his body.
Kier- I began to respond, when something clamped onto the dagger in my neck, yanking hard.
A tortured howl burst from me as the blade shifted in my flesh. Through the haze of agony, I struggled to see who was attacking me now
Iron–gray fur filled my vision. Tristan. He’d caught the dagger between his teeth and was trying to remove it from my neck. No words passed through our mental link, only grim determination as his fangs gripped the weapon, pulling it free with a terrible sucking sound.
My body convulsed violently, the pain beyond description. Blood gushed from the wound, soaking my purple fur. I collapsed onto my side, fighting to remain conscious as darkness threatened to pull me under.
Tristan moved closer, lowering his massive head to the puncture wound. I felt his tongue rasp against my fur, lapping at the place where the dagger had pierced my neck.
What are you doing? I tried to shift away, confused by his actions.
His eyes met mine, blazing with such intense rage that I flinched. Yet his tongue continued its gentle work, his saliva neutralizing some of the wolfsbane, buying me precious time.
As clarity slowly returned, I realized what was happening. Tristan was healing me. But why? Why would he care if I lived or died?
Maybe it’s not him, I thought hazily. Maybe it’s just his wolf, trying to save what it still considers its mate.
A warning growl from Varian cut through my thoughts. Tristan’s head snapped up, instantly alert. His eyes tracked something moving across the battlefield–a wolf, racing toward Ravencroft Manor.
My heart stuttered as Tristan’s gaze shifted to the manor’s entrance, where several figures had emerged. My father, shifted to protect my mother. And behind them…
Dad! I projected frantically, trying to warn him away from the battle.
But my attention was ripped elsewhere as one of Kael’s wolves darted past the main fighting, heading straight for two small figures standing in the doorway. Ice flooded my veins as I recognized them.
Orion and Lyra. My children.
Before anyone could react, the wolf reached my twins. Its massive jaws clamped around the backs of their clothing, lifting them high into the air like rag dolls. Lyra’s terrified scream cut through the night as the beast shook them violently, preparing to slam them against the ground.
“MOMMY!” Orion’s desperate cry pierced my heart like a blade.
My world narrowed to that single moment–my babies dangling helplessly, their small bodies about to be shattered against the unforgiving
earth. L
yra’s high–pitched shrieks tore through the air as she flailed wildly in the wolf’s grip. “Mommy, help! Help us!” Her tiny voice cracked with
terror.
Orion kept calling my name over and over, each desperate “Mommy!” more broken than the last, his face contorted in fear as he struggled uselessly against the beast’s hold.
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Chapter 170
Raw panic exploded through me. I screamed their names, my voice breaking with terror as I tried to force my injured body to fave out beneath the, the wolfsbane still coursing through my veins. The most primal fear i’d ever knows, consonas me my children die, and I couldn’t reach them.
Tristan saw them too. The change that came over him was instantaneous and terrifying. A feral rage unlike anything I’d witnessed before transformed his entire body. He launched himself forward,
rd, but even with his supernatural speed, I knew he wouldn’t reach them in tins.
In what seemed like slow motion, I watched Tristan skid to a halt. His eyes closed momentarily, his massive chest expanding as he diva in a deep breath.
The howl that erupted from him wasn’t just sound–it was power made audible. This was the Alpha voice in its purest, most concentrated form a weapon few could wield without depleting their life force.
The sound rolled across the battlefield like physical waves, pressing every fighter to the ground. Complete silence fell as the echoes faded. Even Alpha Kael froze mid–attack.
Tristan’s eyes snapped open, focusing with laser intensity on the wolf holding my children. The creature immediately fell to its knees, legs shaking uncontrollably. Its jaws slackened in shock, grip loosening on the twins‘ clothing.
To my horror, Orion and Lyra began to slip from the wolf’s mouth, plummeting toward the hard ground below. Their small bodies tumbled through the air, arms flailing wildly, faces frozen in terror. The distance to the ground seemed impossibly far for their fragile frames.
In a blur of silver–streaked fur, Tristan launched forward. His massive body stretched impossibly long, crossing the distance in a heartbeat.
Just before my children would have crashed into the unforgiving earth, he slid beneath them, their small bodies landing on his broad back instead of the ground. The impact made him grunt, but he held firm, immediately curling his body protectively around them.
I pushed myself up, fighting through the pain of my injuries, desperate to reach Orion and Lyra. As I staggered closer, something strange caught my attention.
On Orion’s right shoulder, silvery lines began to shimmer beneath his shirt–exactly matching the distinctive markings on Tristan’s wolf form. Simultaneously, Lyra’s fingertips began to emit a faint purple glow, similar to the starlight effect in my own fur.
Tristan went rigid, his nostrils flaring as if catching a scent he’d never encountered before. His whole body trembled, and through our weakened link, I felt a storm of emotions–confusion, disbelief, and then… fury.
White–hot, all–consuming rage that radiated from him in palpable waves.
His eyes darted between the children and me, pieces falling into place. I could practically see the memories flashing through his mind–my sudden departure five years ago, my insistence that the children weren’t his, the DNA results I’d claimed proved they belonged to another man.
Slowly, agonizingly, Tristan turned to face me. His eyes burned with an intensity that made my soul shrivel. Around us, both packs had fallen silent, sensing the monumental shift occurring.
They’re MY children! His mental voice thundered through my mind, rage and betrayal bleeding into every syllable.
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