CHAPTER 235

CHAPTER 235
Amara’s POV

I slipped through the heavy oak doors of the pack house as quietly as I could.

My legs felt unsteady, each step heavier than the last, but I forced them forward anyway.

The main hall was alive with low, urgent voices. 

A handful of alphas from allied packs sat around the long wooden table, maps and tablets spread out before them like pieces on a war board. 

Alaric stood at the head, broad shoulders tense under his dark shirt, one hand braced on the table as he leaned forward. 

His voice carried that commanding alpha timbre—calm, decisive, laced with the quiet power that made wolves straighten their spines.

“…we tighten the perimeter here and here. Intel says Master’s been moving through the old tunnels. If we can cut off his escape routes before nightfall—”

He broke off mid-sentence the moment I entered.

His eyes, flecked with gold, snapped up and locked onto mine across the room. 

The discussion faltered as the other alphas turned to look, but Alaric was already moving, straightening with that fluid grace that always made my breath catch.

“Give me a minute,” he said to them, voice low but leaving no room for argument.

He crossed the hall in long strides, concern etching lines between his brows. 

Before he could even speak, I stepped into him, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face against his chest. 

His scent—cedar and musk and home—flooded me, and I squeezed tighter, clinging like the world might rip him away any second.

Alaric’s arms came around me instantly, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other splaying warm and protective across my back.

“Hey,” he murmured into my hair, voice softening in that way it only did for me. 

...

"What’s wrong, love?”

I kept my face hidden against his chest, breathing him in deeply, memorizing the solid, steady beat of his heart like it might be the last time I could do this without the weight of Masters ultimatum crushing me.

“Nothing!” I said, forcing a lightness into my voice that I absolutely did not feel. I pulled back just enough to look up at him, adding an exaggerated pout and a dramatic huff for good measure. 

“Why would you think something is wrong? Honestly, Alaric. I just missed you, okay? Got bored out of my mind sitting out there with your overprotective muscle squad staring holes through me like I’m about to spontaneously combust or run off and join the circus.”

I crossed my arms, tilting my head with mock annoyance, even throwing in a little glare that I hoped looked playful instead of terrified.

“Seriously, one of them actually offered to hold my water bottle while I tied my shoe earlier. I felt like a toddler on a field trip. ‘Here, Luna, let me guard your hydration.’ I was two seconds away from telling them to go guard a tree or something. So yeah… I missed my mate. Sue me.”

Alaric’s lips twitched, the corner of his mouth curving up despite the suspicion still lingering in his eyes. 

He let out a low chuckle, the sound warm and rumbling through his chest, and leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

“Missed you too. Every damn second in there.”

I melted into him a little more, letting the warmth of his body chase away the ice that had settled in my veins since Jesse’s whisper. 

For a few heartbeats, I let myself pretend everything was normal—just a mate missing her other half after a long morning apart.

“How’s everything coming along with the plan? Any progress on catching him?”

“We’re closing in. Got new reports on his movements—looks like he’s holed up somewhere near the eastern border. If we coordinate the packs right, we might be able to pin him down before he slips away again. But it’s risky. He’s slippery as hell.”

He paused, eyes narrowing slightly as he studied me closer. 

Those gold flecks seemed to sharpen, reading every micro-expression I couldn’t quite hide.

“Are you okay?”

I smiled—small, hopefully convincing—and nodded. 

“I’m fine.”

His brow furrowed deeper. 

The bond pulsed between us, warm and insistent, carrying his worry straight into my chest like an echo I couldn’t silence.

“But the bond’s telling me different. You’re afraid. Nervous. I can feel it vibrating through you like live wire.”

My throat tightened. 

Of course he could feel it. 

The mate bond didn’t let lies sit easy—it amplified every tremor, every spike of panic I tried to bury.

Before I could answer, Elara stirred inside me—her presence sharp and insistent, brushing against my mind like a restless tail.

Tell him, she said, voice laced with that familiar sarcastic bite. 

Right now. Spill it all before you do something stupid and heroic. Your parents are one thing, but walking into Master’s trap alone? That’s not brave, that’s suicide with extra steps. And I refuse to die because you decided to play lone wolf. Tell. Him.

I clenched my jaw, pushing back against her mentally.

No. Not yet. If I tell him, he’ll never let me go. He’ll lock me in a room with fifty guards and try to handle it himself. I can’t risk that. Not when Mom and Dad’s lives are on the line.

Elara let out a mental huff that felt like an eye-roll.

Oh sure, because sneaking off alone has worked out so well for every heroine in every story ever. Brilliant plan, genius. “I’ll just trade myself and everything will be fine!” Said no one who survived. You’re not thinking with your head—you’re thinking with your guilt. And guilt makes terrible decisions. Tell Alaric. Let him help. Or at least let me laugh when you inevitably get kidnapped and I get to say “I told you so” from the afterlife.

Elara—

What? I’m being helpful. Sarcastic but helpful. That’s my brand, she shot back, her mental voice dripping with that signature dry amusement. You’re out here planning a solo suicide mission and I’m the dramatic one? Please. At least let me enjoy the irony before we both get turned into vampire snacks

Before I could fire anything back at her, Alaric’s voice cut through the chaos in my head, low and gentle, but edged with something sharper.

“Amara?” He pulled back just enough to look at me properly.

“You look worried. More than worried. Your heart’s racing, and the bond feels… off. Like you’re trying to hide something from me.” 

His thumb brushed my cheek again, slower this time, studying every flicker across my face. 

“Talk to me, love. What’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing’—I can feel it. You’re tense. Scared. What happened?"

“Well… duh,” I said, injecting a touch of dry humor I didn’t feel. 

“The first-ever original vampire is out to get me. Of course I’m worried. Anyone with half a brain would be.”

Alaric’s expression softened with understanding, but the concern didn’t leave his eyes. 

He cupped my face with both hands, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to my forehead.

“We’re going to end this,” he promised quietly. 

“You don’t have to be scared. Not ever.”

I nodded against his palms, then wrapped my arms around him again, hugging him tight one last time. 

My eyes slipped shut as I breathed him in—deep, greedy inhales, committing every note of his scent to memory. 

The warmth of his body, the steady strength in his arms, the way he held me like I was something precious and breakable all at once.

Will I ever see him again? 

Tonight I’d have to walk away from this—from him—into whatever nightmare waited with Master. 

To save the only parents I’d ever known. 

To keep this pack, this man I loved more than air, from paying the price for my existence.

I’m sorry, I thought, the words screaming silently inside my chest. 

I’m so sorry, Alaric. I love you. Please forgive me when you find out.

I held on a few seconds longer than I should have, then forced myself to loosen my grip. Stepping back felt like tearing off a piece of my own soul.

“I’m going to visit Zara for a bit,” I said, keeping my tone casual even as my voice threatened to crack. 

“I’ll see you later?”

He nodded, though reluctance shadowed his face. 

“Come find me the second you’re back. And Amara…” He caught my hand, squeezing once. 

“Where’s that see-through bra you bought?” he asked me. 

“The black one.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift from heavy pack business to this. 

A soft laugh slipped out before I could stop it. 

“I don’t think it will fit you,” I commented cheekily, trying to match his playful tone even as everything inside me screamed.

“Ha ha,” he said dryly, the corner of his mouth twitching upward as he tugged me closer, lifting me effortlessly off the ground for a moment so my toes barely brushed the floor. 

His hands settled warm and possessive at my waist.

“Tonight… don’t get on that bed until you have it on. Wait for me,” he murmured, voice dropping into that low, gravelly register that always sent heat curling through my veins. 

I raised an eyebrow, clinging to the banter like a lifeline. 

“It’s a bra,” I told him. “It’s going to come off anyway. Why does it matter?”

Alaric’s eyes darkened with heat and wicked promise as he looked down at me. 

“Who said it was going to come off?” he asked, leaning in until his breath brushed my ear. 

“If I’m going to be on my back, watching you ride me… I’m going to get a show out of it.”

A show.

The words landed like a spark against dry tinder, painting vivid images I desperately wanted to lose myself in—his strong body beneath me, hazel eyes locked on mine, hands gripping my hips while black lace teased and tempted. 

For one selfish second I let myself imagine it: the way he’d groan my name, the way his fingers would dig into my thighs, the way we’d chase oblivion together until the rest of the world burned away.

But I wouldn’t be here tonight.

The realization hit like cold water, sharp and unforgiving. By the time the moon rose and he came looking for me in our bed, I’d already be gone—slipping away into the shadows to trade myself for the lives of my adoptive parents. 

No teasing black lace. 

No slow, heated ride while he watched with that hungry, reverent gaze. 

No waking up tangled in his arms tomorrow morning with his heartbeat steady against my cheek.

Just the nightmare waiting for me.

I kept the smile on my face anyway, soft and warm, letting it reach my eyes even as tears prickled hot behind them. 

I rose up on my toes and pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth, tasting salt and cedar and everything I was about to lose.

“You’re impossible,” I whispered against his lips, voice light despite the ache splitting me open. 

“But fine. I’ll wear the damn bra… if you’re good.”

Alaric chuckled, low and satisfied, brushing his nose against mine one last time. 

“I’m always good for you.”

I stepped back before I could break, before the bond could betray the storm raging inside me any further. 

My fingers lingered on his for a heartbeat longer than necessary, memorizing the warmth and the way his skin felt under my palm.

Tonight I won’t be waiting in our bed.

I’m so sorry, my love. I hope one day you understand why I had to go.

“I love you,” I said softly, the truth of it burning brighter than any lie I’d told today.

“I love you more,” he replied, eyes still heavy with promise and heat.

I turned away then, walking toward the door with measured steps while my chest felt like it was caving in. The smile stayed fixed on my lips until I was out of sight.

Only then did the first tear slip free.

But I kept moving.

For my parents.

For him.

Even if it meant I might never get to wear that black lace for him again.