CHapter 122 - Irune POV

CHapter 122 - Irune POV
Watching my queen was nothing short of magnificent.
She commanded the clearing without raising her voice. Every witch lurking in the shadows. Every vampire standing stiff and watchful. Every werebear rolling their massive shoulders in restrained anticipation. None of them could look away.
Power bent toward her.
The air vibrated as the supernatural chorus rose around us. Wolves howled in unison, their cries rolling like thunder across the treetops. Bears pounded their paws against the earth, each strike a promise of violence. Vampires hissed and bared their fangs, crimson eyes gleaming in the torchlight.
Men. Women. Children.
All united under her voice.
It was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed.
For so long, I believed I stood alone against Stephen. Alone in the fight. Alone in the burden of it.
But looking out at this sea of beings—creatures who had suffered under his cruelty, who had lost family, territory, dignity—I realized something profound.
This was never just my war.
It was ours.
And none of it would exist without Trinity.
If she had refused her role… if she had chosen fear instead of destiny… Stephen would already be tightening his grip around every throat in this forest.
He wants what’s ours. He wants our girl, Malik rumbles.
Over my dead body will he touch a hair on her head, I reply through clenched teeth.
Malik puffs his chest inside my mind, a low growl vibrating through us both.
Though I hate the thought of war and the casualties it will bring, I cannot deny the fire burning in my veins. Since Trinity marked me… since I marked her in return… something ancient has awakened inside us.
Our strength has multiplied. Our senses sharpened. Our connection—unbreakable.
I have not had the chance to test this new power.
But I will.
Soon.
My gaze drifts back to Trinity as she gives orders with calm authority. The moonlight catches in her hair, turning her into something mythic. Untouchable.
And then, because I am still very much a man beneath the Alpha…
I imagine what she would look like carrying our pup.
Round with life. Glowing. That perfect body shifting as she waddled across our territory, hips swaying, ass bouncing.
She turns sharply and raises an eyebrow.
Shit.
She heard us.
Malik instantly retreats to the farthest corner of my mind.
Nope. Those were your thoughts, Runey boy. She heard you.
Coward.
I can feel his amusement as he hides.
Trinity approaches slowly, deliberately. The crowd parts for her without realizing they’re doing it. She rises onto her tiptoes, her lips brushing my ear.
“Focus, love,” she whispers. “Or you won’t see this ass for many moons.”
She giggles softly and walks backward, never breaking eye contact, joining a group of children near the bunker entrance.
She’s playing with me.
And I love it.
The dark heaviness that used to weigh me down seems so distant. I know it is because of her.
As much as I want to chase her down, pull her against me, and remind her exactly who she belongs to… I turn toward the warriors instead.
There will be time for that later.
We’ve divided everyone by age and skill.
Trinity and Tasha are organizing the children. If war breaks out near pack homes, they will be escorted to the underground bunkers. Hidden tunnels run beneath our territory, similar to the one my mother has been staying in. There are multiple concealed entrances, layered with wards and reinforced by witches loyal to us.
Not enough witches.
That is our weakness.
Most remain under Stephen’s control.
Trinity’s mother has positioned the ones we do have throughout the forest. They’ve laid traps. Sigils carved into bark. Warning charms strung between trees like invisible tripwires. It isn’t much.
But it’s something.
Cole joins me among the warriors. We begin structuring them into tactical units instead of scattered strength. Speed teams. Heavy hitters. Scouts. We need coordination if we’re going to survive this.
JR left for recon. He wants to try to reach his father.
I gave him three hours.
After that, I’m going after him myself.
I will not lose him. He has been loyal beyond reason. Him and Evan have stood at my side when others faltered.
Time is our most fragile resource.
Kline bought us a window. I do not know how wide it is, but I can feel it narrowing.
The air tastes different tonight.
Thick.
Expectant.
Stephen is coming.
And this time… he will not find us divided.
I do not have to fight him alone.
He will find us ready.