Chapter 153

[ 1,094 words ]

Charles

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The world tilted the moment Milly was torn from my side. One second, she was crouched over our daughter, whispering strength into Envy’s ear, and the next, she was flung like a ragdoll across the field. Her scream cut short as if someone had ripped the air out of her lungs. I moved. Fast. Age be damned, muscle and bone still answered the call of rage. My boots tore through grass, every stride burning with the singular thought: get to her. But before I closed the distance, white–hot light seared across my shoulder. It burned like liquid fire, spun me off my feet, and slammed me into the dirt. My ears rang. My vision blurred. But nothing could drown out the scent. Milly’s blood. It laced the air, sharp and coppery, thick enough that Tobias snarled inside me. My wolf clawed at the edges of my skin, desperate, relentless. “ She’s ours. They’ve spilled her blood. ” I forced my head up. Envy lay in the circle, still clinging to Felix, her body convulsing as the change ripped through her bones. My boys, our boys, formed a wall around her, shoulders braced, weapons of tooth and claw ready. Malachi, Julius, and Arztec fought like storms unleashed, their Lycan forms towering over the chaos. Still, the witches‘ magic rained down like jagged lightning, searing the earth, cracking stones, and throwing men sideways.

But my eyes found her again. Milly. My mate. She lay crumpled beneath a tree, dark hair tangled, blood slicking the roots around her. Her chest lifted shallow, too shallow. And through the smoke and chaos, I saw a figure of a witch gliding toward her with hands lifted, fingers curled like talons ready to strike. Tobias roared, a sound that ripped through my ribs, rattled my teeth, and split my skull. My vision went red.

“Tear their fucking throats out, ” I growled, and Tobias surged forward, taking me with him. The shift hit hard, but I didn’t fight it; I welcomed it. Bones snapped, lengthened, split skin. My hands split into claws, my teeth into fangs. My chest broadened, my senses flared wide, and the air filled with a thousand heartbeats, a thousand scents, but I locked onto hers. Milly. My mate. My world. The witch raised a hand, light pooling in her palm. Too slow. Tobias and I lunged as one, fury propelling us faster than thought. My jaws clamped down before she could release the spell. Her scream was cut short as I ripped into her throat, hot blood spraying across my muzzle. She collapsed in a heap of robes and ash at Milly’s feet. I planted myself between my mate and the war. My fur bristled, my breath came in hot snarls, my claws dug trenches into the dirt.

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Chapter 154

“You’ll not touch her again,” Tobias thundered through me. “ Not while we breathe. ”

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Milly stirred, a small sound leaving her lips, but she didn’t wake. I bent low, pressed my muzzle to her chest, and felt the weak but steady thump of her heart. Relief cracked through the rage, but only for a heartbeat. Around us, the battlefield roared on, witches screaming incantations, wolves snarling, the air alive with fire and frost. Tobias and I agreed, we couldn’t move, wouldn’t move. Our duty above all else is to protect our mate.

Theo

The battlefield was chaos.. My ears rang with every explosion of light, every scream of man and wolf. But my focus stayed locked on one place, the circle where my father still knelt, hands bound with Envy’s, his soul being pulled piece by piece into her so the child could live. He had chosen this. Chosen death in place of her and the pup. I hated it, hated the quiet acceptance in his eyes when he told me this was what he owed. But if he fell before he could give that gift, then it was all for nothing. And I would not, could not, let that happen. I fought like hell around him, blade in one hand, claws ripping with the other. My wolf surged under my skin, urging me to tear and maul until nothing stood, but I forced control, because reckless meant leaving a gap in the wall around my father. And there could be no gaps. Not tonight. A warlock lunged for the circle, robes flaring, eyes blazing with dark fire. I intercepted, ramming my shoulder into his chest and driving him into the dirt. His spell cracked into the ground instead of my father’s heart. I drove my blade through his ribs, hot blood spilling across my hands, and snarled into his

face, “Not today p>

But there were too many. Always more. They came in waves, their voices tangling into a

chant that made my skin crawl. Sparks flew, streaks of light hissed across the field, and I barely managed to duck one before it shattered the tree behind me into splinters. I gritted my teeth, planted myself back in front of the circle, and cut down another. But exhaustion was clawing at me already. My arms burned. My lungs heaved. And still they

came.

“Stay down!” I shouted, spinning and driving a witch back with the flat of my blade before she could breach the line. My eyes flicked once to my father. His head was bowed, but his grip on Envy never faltered. His face was pale, too pale, but steady. He met my

eyes across the space, just for a breath.

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Chapter 154

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Protect her, his gaze said. Let me do this.

Another spell struck me in the side, heat lancing through my ribs. I staggered, roared, swung back on instinct, and caught the caster in the throat. Blood sprayed. But I was slowing. My knees threatened to buckle. One last witch came at me, faster than the others, her hands dripping with violet fire. I brought my blade up, blocked once, twice, then slammed into her with everything I had left. We went down together, rolling in mud and blood. I drove my fist into her face, once, twice, until bone cracked under my knuckles. She screamed, clawing at my side, trying to get close enough to burn me alive. I forced her back, but the world tilted. My breath came shallow. Black crept at the edges of my vision.

Not now, I thought. Not before he’s finished. Not before I’ve kept him safe.

But the dark was stronger. It pulled me under, heavy and merciless, until I couldn’t feel the ground beneath me anymore.

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