Chapter 259 <fn027e> For original chapters go to </fn027e>


    <i>Nyroth </i>


    Pressure upon pressure after the resurrection of Varyn Ashmere. He rose like a phoenix, and now he burns with vengeance. That fire in his eyes, I know if none of us are careful, we’ll all be caught in its ze.


    Days had passed since the shattering truth left Zeph literally pale, and still I can’t fathom how and why she loved Apex.


    “Varyn Ashmere,” they called his name when he walked into the Wolf Fortress. He silenced every lip with his mere presence. That same presence still gives me goosebumps to this day.


    They had said he was dying, sick, enved for years in ckwster, but I beg to differ. The man who now stood solidly before us was not one who had suffered, and if he had, then whoever healed him, whoever brewed the potion he drank, was no ordinary soul.


    My thoughts fell to the Blood family. The Lycans. I wondered again, even after that day, if this is fate. Is it truly fate? Everything that has happened, was it written?


    I have seen what the love between Zeph and Apex can do. It is beyond me, beyond every spell I used to bind her soul to mine. And after that terrifying confrontation with him, I realized Apex is much more than the Lycan he pretends to be.


    should all have been suspicious when he locked himself away in the ck Tower for years. <i>ly </i>thought him strange. But now, hearing he has fangs, that he could y an entire rewolf warlord, I know it is true.


    Apex once gripped my neck, and I could have died had I tried to fight back. He is… a beast.


    I sighed shakily as the carriage made its way toward my pack. Instead of rest, Alphas and Betas had been summoned to endless meetings about how we would proceed, how we would support our fallen warlord who had been unjustly killed by the Lycan King. I was the first to attend.


    I have great hatred and vengeance against Apex personally, and as though the Moon Goddess favored cruelty, she made Varyn Ashmere hate him even more than I. Now I know for certain, Zeph will not have him. Apex will never have her.


    But thinking further, I had to swallow at the dark political squeeze that had unfolded. Just like that, the Imperium Council, those who had sent the Ashmeres to war unfairly, now begged forgiveness, and were willing to crown Varyn as the next warlord to indirectly ask for


    forgiveness.


    Ka Yadev, the most shrewd of all, twisted the de deeper. She went on her knees before everyone and hijacked the ckbridge Pack from Luna Tahlia once again with a deceitful, ugly truth. Whether or not she is pregnant is none of my concern.


    All I want is to see the Lycan Kingdom in ruins, just as Varyn Ashmere desires. I swallowed hard, wondering what it would be like to stand before him now. I was the one who collected the money for their parents‘pensation. Would I also be punished by him?


    I shook my head suddenly, swallowing harder. No. I will stand by his side now, and I will give him anything.


    Those thoughts pressed into me as the carriage finally rolled into my pack. I turned to the side of the path and there he was again.


    The young man who lingered behind, staring at me without blinking. The one I had seen at White Pack. He imed he only came to check on his sister, not to follow me, as I thought before.


    I swallowed at his presence as the carriage passed him and stopped in my courtyard. I blinked, then alighted, pausing mid–step.


    That night, when he said he came to see his sister at White Pack, I had wondered who this so- called sister was. Clearly not Dessyn since she had only one brother.


    I went still. Slowly, I retraced my steps, walking toward where he stood, as though waiting.


    He was younger, powerful, fire burning in his eyes. He had only appeared briefly before, but now… he caught my attention fully.


    “Who are you?” I asked without dy. His eyes flickered up to meet mine, then he replied…


    “I am Gaxib.”


    Hearing that name made me swallow hard. It felt heavy. Gaxib.


    “Why are you here?” I pressed, my gaze fixed on him. But he didn’t answer. He only stared again at me.


    Then the sound of hooves broke the silence. A rider galloped in on a powerful white horse, the kind only Ashmeres owned.


    “Alpha Nyroth,” the messenger said firmly, looking at me. “Lord Varyn asked for your presence immediately.”


    At that, a cold chill ran down my spine.


    Chapter


    Varyn Ashmere? Why did he…


    “I can tell you the Lycan King’s weaknesses.”


    The voice of Gaxib cut through my thoughts, forcing me to look back at him.


    “I will help you take him down. I can.”


    And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me stunned with an offer that felt almost like a dream.