Chapter 195 195

Chapter 195 195
A dull pain throbbed through Alyna’s entire body when she slowly regained consciousness.
For a moment, she could not understand where she was.
The air smelled unfamiliar: smoke, blood, damp earth, and something metallic lingering heavily around her. Her head hurt terribly, and her vision blurred as she tried to move.
But the moment she shifted, a burning pain shot through her wrists.
Alyna gasped softly and immediately looked down.
Silver chains.
Her wrists were restrained tightly above her against a thick wooden post, the silver already burning her skin red. The pain weakened her wolf completely, making Vivi restless and furious inside her.
Alyna breathed unevenly while trying to gather herself.
The place looked like a massive war tent built from dark animal hide and rough wood. Weapons were scattered around carelessly, maps spread over a long table nearby, and bloodstains marked parts of the floor.
Then she sensed him.
Sarmon.
He stood a few feet away from her, watching silently.
Alyna stiffened immediately.
He looked even more terrifying now.
Half-naked, his massive frame was covered with old scars and fresh wounds alike, proof of countless battles fought without mercy. Dark tattoos spread across parts of his chest and shoulders like marks of war itself. His long dark hair was still damp, falling carelessly around his face.
But it was his presence that suffocated her the most.
Cold, dominating and dangerous.
Even standing still, he carried the terrifying authority of someone used to absolute obedience.
His eyes slowly met hers.
Finally awake.
Alyna instinctively pulled against the chains again despite the pain.
The silver burned deeper into her skin.
Sarmon stepped closer.
“Don’t struggle,” he said in that deep, commanding voice of his. “You’re going nowhere.”
His tone was calm, yet it carried unquestionable authority.
Not loud.
Not aggressive.
But the kind of voice that naturally forced others into silence.
Alyna hated it.
She looked away from him and tried to steady her breathing.
“What do you want from me?” she asked weakly.
Sarmon stared at her for several seconds before answering.
“The same thing I asked before.”
He crouched slightly in front of her, his sharp eyes studying her carefully.
“What do you know?”
Alyna clenched her jaw.
Even now, she refused to show fear before him.
“You crossed oceans just to meet your end,” she replied quietly.
The moment those words left her mouth, something dangerous flashed across Sarmon’s face.
His jaw tightened.
“You really enjoy speaking about my death,” he muttered darkly.
“Because that’s what I saw.”
Sarmon suddenly grabbed her chin harshly, forcing her to look directly at him.
Alyna winced painfully.
“You think visions make you powerful?” he asked coldly. “You think destiny cannot be changed?”
Alyna stared back at him despite her fear.
“I know what kind of man you are.”
A dark smile slowly appeared on Sarmon’s face.
But there was no amusement in it.
Only cruelty.
“And what kind of man am I?”
“A monster.”
For a brief second, silence filled the tent.
Then unexpectedly, Sarmon laughed softly.
The sound unsettled her more than his anger.
Because it sounded completely empty.
“I’ve heard worse,” he said calmly.
He finally released her face and stood up again.
Alyna’s wrists burned painfully now, her strength slowly draining because of the silver.
Still, she forced herself to speak.
“You’re going to lose this war.”
Sarmon turned toward her again.
“If I’m going to die,” he said slowly, “then I’m taking you with me.”
Alyna frowned immediately.
“What does that even mean?”
But Sarmon did not answer.
Instead, he simply looked at her with that unreadable expression again.
As though she was somehow connected to his fate in ways even she did not understand.
That frightened her deeply.
Because his obsession with her did not feel normal.
It felt prophetic.
Dangerously prophetic.
Sarmon suddenly turned away and walked toward the entrance of the tent.
As the heavy curtains moved aside, Alyna finally got a glimpse of what existed outside.
And her heart nearly stopped.
An army.
Not just a few rogues.
Thousands.
The entire land outside looked like a moving shadow beneath the gray sky. Warriors filled the camp endlessly—armed wolves, fighters, mercenaries, and rogues from different territories. Fires burned everywhere while weapons clashed in preparation.
Massive beasts in wolf form moved between the camp like monsters.
This was not a simple rogue attack.
This was a conquest.
Alyna felt a cold realization settle heavily inside her.
Sarmon was not planning to destroy one pack.
He intended to destroy everything.
The scale of it terrified her.
And suddenly, for the first time since her capture, Alyna truly understood how dangerous this war was going to become.