Nyroth


    I couldn’t breathe.


    ????


    No. I must have been going insane to even think such a foolish thought.


    I stood frozen for a while, reying what I had just seen in my mind.


    The hairpin. The half piece that matched the one I owned.


    No. No…


    Finished


    I staggered back a step, then turned and rushed to my chamber. My hands trembled as I crossed the room to the corner and pulled out the old chest. I stared at the lid for what felt like an eternity before forcing it open.


    Insidey the other half of the hairpin.


    A cold chill raced down my spine. Had Zeph stolen it? Where did she get it? Why did she have it?<fn5337> The source of th?s content is find?novel</fn5337>


    I mmed the lid shut with <i>a </i>thud and headed out. My younger sister and mother were in the living room, their expressions tight with concern, but I didn’t stop to answer them.


    I needed to confirm if what I’d seen was real or if I was losing my mind out of fear of losing my mate forever.


    I burst from the house just in time to see Kai’s chamber door swing open. Tilting my head, I caught a glimpse of him crouched on the far end of his bed.


    Ever since Apex had walked into my pack, into my council chamber, looked my Beta dead in the eyes, and told him his death was long overdue, Kai had never been the same.


    I let out <i>a </i>shaky breath and mounted my horse, spurring it into a gallop toward ckbridge Pack. There were questions burning in me, and only Ka could answer them.


    It wasn’t long before the pounding hooves slowed before the towering gates of the ckbridge Pack’s main hall.


    The air buzzed with tension. Pack members stood in knots, murmuring about the rogue woman who had stood her ground against Beta Yadev.


    “She’s so brave. I didn’t know she had that in her.”


    “Do you know her?”


    “I’ve seen her in Hue Pack. She lived there until recently. I heard Apex Blood, the Lycan King, is her man.”


    “Really? How lucky! I’m rooting for her in the duel.”


    I ignored the whispers, though they grated against me. My reputation with Ka was no secret here, only an unspoken truth people didn’t dare voice aloud.


    Inside, I made my way through the hallways toward Ka’s chambers, On the way, I crossed paths with rogues who had fled Hue Pack after Apex’s invasion.


    They had gone pale at the mere sight of the Lycan King, frozen in ce as he spoke. He had spoken with a strange blend of confidence and gentleness that unsettled me, like the politics of our world meant nothing to him, as if he carried far heavier demons than any of us could imagine.


    Jaw tight, I entered Yadev’s living room to find them deep in discussion over the uing duel.


    “It’s to the death, which means you’ll have your revenge,” Ka told the rogue leader. “Make sure you humiliate her. It’s an official duel so the Lycan King won’t be able to interfere.”


    She paused the moment she sensed me, turning with that same sweet, seductive smile that had always pulled me in.


    9:31 PM p p.


    Finished


    “Well, look who’s here.” She glided toward me, cing a palm t on my chest. “We’ll have our victory soon, Nyroth. Kill two birds with one stone, get rid of your unwanted mate and seize the throne like we’ve always nned.”


    I couldn’t speak. The sheer coldness in her tone chilled me. Why hadn’t I


    seen this side of her before? Perhaps because she’d been an envoy of peace for five years, and I’d believed she was as gentle as the role she yed.


    “I need to speak to you.” I said, taking her wrist and pulling her aside.


    “But I’m busy…”


    “It won’t <i>take </i>long.”


    She searched my eyes now, curiosity turning to unease.


    “What is it?”


    I pulled the hairpin from my pocket and held it out to her, studying her face for a reaction. Nothing. She stared at it like it was nothing but trash.


    “What do you want to discuss with me?” she asked tly.


    I swallowed hard She didn’t recognize it.


    “Ka,” I began, my voice unsteady. “Do you remember the fire all those years ago? The night you saved my life?”


    She frowned faintly, trying to recall, and the sight twisted in my chest. She didn’t even remember such an important day.


    “Yes. What about <i>it</i>?”


    “You saved me that night, didn’t you?”


    She nodded, still watching me carefully.


    “Yes. Why are you asking again?”


    “This hairpin… it fell from your hair when you shifted into a wolf. It broke in two. I found this piece when I woke up to see you beside me. Don’t you remember?”


    A small frown flickered across her face before she looked at the hairpin again. Then a dry, humorless smile touched her lips.


    She was about to reply when her father entered, calling her urgently.


    “It’s about the duel,” he said, and Ka nodded.


    She nced back at me with a swift smile.


    “Let’s discuss thister, Nyroth. After the duel.”


    She left with her father, the rogues following in her wake.


    I stood there, the truth slowly dawning on me.


    She didn’t own this hairpin.


    But she had been there that night at the festival.


    Did that mean… she wasn’t my savior?


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