Chapter 87
Skye’s POV
The council room was deathly silent as Venus and I delivered cur report. I had nev of what we had discovered.
never seen Adalan to still, so utterly motionless, as he a
absorbed mary detail
Adrian looked tembly haggand, his face drawn and sous. His eyes, the mual light
hat once held such intensity and
pourpre, now
now apprated aged and dia, devid
Vems described Nadia’s injuries with clinical precision, her voice breaking only when the reached the evidence of sexual anash. She used terms lik “physical violation” and “intimate trauma,” her language deliberately measured at the outlined mr findings.
A low growl built in Adrian’s chest as Venus spoke, the sound guessing in volume until it seemed to vibrate through the entire room. When the finished, remained silent for a long moment, his breathing unnaturally evm
Then, with a roar that shook the walls, he sorged to bis fert, Hippling the heavy nak table as if it weighed nothing. The massive piece of fomituie comhed against the far wall, splintering into jagend fragments.
TLL KILL HIM!” he bellowed, his voice hairly human as his well pushed against the face. The partial shift distorted his features, amber eyes burning red, – teeth lengthening into langs. 11 TEAR OUT HIS THROAT WITH MY TEETHE
Garrett had gone frighteningly pale, his hands visibly trembling as Vera’s words registered. Then his expression contorted with a hatred so pare, so absolute, that I barely recognized him.
“We attack tonight,” he said, his usually quiet voice carrying a deadly calm. “All of us. No mercy, no prisoners. Kane dies screaming for what he did to ber
Lydia remained seated, seemingly unmoved amidst the chaos–but I noticed her fingers methodically shredding a piece of paper into increasingly tiny fragments, betraying the depth of her distress.
I have enough concentrated wolf poison to paralyse every member of Gravestone Pack,” she offered, her melodic voice at odds with the violence of her words. “They will feel every cut, every burn, while completely unable to shift or defend themselves.
Marcus, who had joined us via video call from the border outpost, spoke with lethal precision. “Ive memorized their patrol patterns. I know when they tr most vulnerable, where their defenses are weakest. We can be inside their compound before they realize what’s happening
Ryder remained uncharacteristically silent, tears streaming unchecked down his youthful face. When he f finally spoke, his voice was raw with grief and fury. “She asked us not to seek revenge, he reminded us, though the tremor in his voice suggested he wasn’t convinced by his own words. “She wanted us to build something better instead.”
“AND LOOK WHAT IT COST HER! Adrian roared, rounding on the younger wolf Look what mercy cast Nadia‘ Look what diplomacy and restraint brought
never seen him like this–primal, untethered, stripped of the careful control that defined him as Alpha. This was Adrian laid bare, the civilized leader giving way to the predator beneath.
“We’ve been playing by rules that Kane ignored from the start, Venus added, her eyes hard as We showed restraint while be…” She couldn’t finish, her voice breaking.
“We extended courtesy while he plotted our destruction
Adrian turned to se, his eyes still burning with that terrible red light, “Skye,” he said, my name sounding strange in his distorted voice. “You were her friend. You were with her at the end. What would Nadia want us to do?”
The weight of his question settled on my shouldery like a physical burden, I thought of Nadia’s sacrifice, her quiet courage as she drank poison meant for me. I remembered her last words, her plea for peace rather than vengeance.
But I also remembered her body, broken and viglated on that sterile table, I thought of Kane’s smug confidence, his certainty that he would face no consequences for his actions.
“Nadia wanted prate,” I acknowledged, my voice stredy despite the storm raging inside me. “But not at any price. Not at the cost of her dignity, or the salety of those she loved.” I met Adrians gaze unflinchingly. “Kane didn’t just kill her. He tortured her. He humiliated her. And he’ll do the same to others if ter don’t stop him?
1/2
Chapter 87
Adrian nodded, something is my son seming to help him regain a measure of control. The red glow in his eyes dimmed slightly, his features shifting back toward human, though the wolf remained close to the surface.
There will be no more negotiations, he declared, his voice resonating with Alpha authority. No more diplomery Kane those mar Nadia and Skye.” He hoked around the room, meeting each council membej s gaze in turn. vill give him exactly.
“What’s the plan, Alpha? Marcus asked, his blind eyes somehow focused despite the video call limitations
“Lydia,” Adrian turned to the masked woman, preserve Nadia’s body. Keep it safe until we retur. His expression handened into something terrible beautiful in its ferocity. “When we bury het, Kane’s head will be at her feet–an offering to accompany her into the next life.”
and
No one objected. No one suggested caution or restraint. In that moment, we were unified in our grief and age, bound by a shared determination that an would pay for what he had done to our Beta.
Oasisben had been founded as a sanctuary, a place of prare for the herken and rejected. But as I looked at the faces around me–Venut’s cold fory, Martin’s deadly focus, Lydia’s quiet lethality, Garretts technological brilliance mus turned toward destruction–I realized that prace extracted through submission was no peace at all
Sometimes, to protect what you love, you must become the very thing you fear.
