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 Adn 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 vition” and “intimate trauma,” hernguage 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 fomituiehed against the far wall, splintering into jagend fragments.<fn1362> Content originallyes from find~novel</fn1362>


    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 intongs. 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 <b>calm</b>. “All of us. No mercy, no prisoners. Kane dies screaming for what he did to ber


    Lydia remained seated, seemingly unmoved amidst the <b>chaos</b>–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<b>,</b><b>” </b>she offered, her melodic voice at odds with the violence of her words. “They will feel every cut, every burn, whilepletely 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 <b>can </b>be inside theirpound before they <b>realize </b>what’s happening


    Ryder remained uncharacteristically silent, <b>tears </b>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 <b>convinced </b>by his own words. “She wanted us to <b>build </b>something better instead.”


    “AND LOOK WHAT IT COST HER! <b>Adrian </b>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 <b>was </b>Adrian <bid </b><b>bare</b>, the civilized leader giving way to the predator beneath.


    “We’ve been ying by rules that Kane ignored from the start, Venus <b>added</b>, her eyes <b>hard </b><b>as </b>We showed restraint while be…” She couldn’t finish, her voice breaking.


    <b>“</b><b>We </b>extended courtesy while he plotted our destruction


    Adrian turned to se, his eyes still burning with that terrible red light, “<b>Skye</b><b>,</b>” he said, my name <b>sounding </b>strange in his distorted <b>voice</b>. “You were her friend. <b>You </b>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 herst <b>words</b>, her plea for peace rather than vengeance.


    But I also remembered her body, broken and vited on that sterile table, I thought of Kane’s smug confidence, his certainty that he would <b>face </b>no consequences for <b>his </b><b>actions</b>.


    “Nadia wanted prate,” <b>I </b>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. “<b>Kane </b><b>didn’t </b>just kill her. He tortured her. He humiliated her. And he’ll do the same to others if ter <b>don’t </b>stop <b>him</b>?


    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 dered, 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 n, 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 apany 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 ce 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 <b>all </b>


    Sometimes, to protect what you love, you must be the very thing you fear.