Chapter 129

Adrian Valehart

Accepting all of that was almost impossible.

The more I tried to organize the things Joseph had told me in my head, the more confused and disbelieving I became.

Every truth came with hidden blades, every explanation carried a price far too high—far too painful.

I knew how things worked among wolves.

I had seen power corrupt and kill too many of them.

I knew how the Council crushed people as if they were nothing.

But this…

This went beyond all of it—beyond any limit I thought I knew.

That throne everyone believed was an honor?

It was a curse. A sad, cruel curse.

And I was sure of that now.

Everyone who got too close lost something essential—their soul, their family, their humanity.

And now Sofia was right in the middle of it. Dragged in against her will, without a choice.

I understood now that Andrew Hoffman had surrendered his place to her, not out of cowardice or malice…

But as a sacrifice.

And that made everything even more brutal.

Sofia was no longer just another hybrid being hunted.

No longer just the daughter of someone who had been chased to death.

She was a player now.

An active piece on that rotting stage.

Someone who could strike back. Someone who could wound… who could kill—without the Council simply erasing her.

But would they accept it?

The idea of a hybrid taking Andrew Hoffman’s place… standing on equal ground with ancient alphas, pure lineages, monsters who had ruled for centuries…

It would be an earthquake.

The end of the world for them.

They wouldn’t accept it easily.

That was a fact.

But for now…

They would have to swallow it.

I approached Sofia slowly.

She still looked in shock—her eyes empty and far too deep, her body exhausted, curled in on itself like someone who had just witnessed hell with her own eyes.

When Joseph stepped away a little, I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly.

She didn’t resist.

She just collapsed into me, holding on with a kind of desperate strength.

And in that moment, even though she had just become an enemy—a rival to the throne—I didn’t see her as competition.

I couldn’t even begin to see her as a threat.

But I knew the Council would.

And they would do everything to crush her, control her, or erase her.

Cael and Cedric were standing off to the side, on their phones, dealing with what they called “bureaucracy.”

When I called them for backup, I never imagined it would look like this.

Watching them now, already sorting out the mess before I even asked, made me realize how damn lucky I was to have them.

Then I heard footsteps.

My body reacted instantly—instinct taking over before thought.

I turned toward the doorway, tense, ready for anything.

And then I saw… Edgar walk in.

Of course.

So that’s why he’d vanished after the call.

Andrew must have found him and told him everything.

Pulled him into that cursed plan like someone dragging another soul down into the abyss.

“So you knew…” I said, my voice cold. “You knew all of it.”

Edgar stopped a few steps away. His face was worn out. Guilty.

“I didn’t have a choice,” he replied quietly. “Either I cooperated… or this would’ve gotten much worse.”

I simply nodded.

There was no energy left to argue.

And honestly, it wasn’t like he was lying.

“We’ll talk later,” I said. “Right now, we need to get out of here.”

Sofia shifted in my arms.

She lifted her face slowly, her eyes meeting mine.

“And Letícia?” she asked, her voice small but still desperate. “If she wasn’t with Andrew… then where is she?”

I didn’t even need to think.

“The Hines.”

The words landed between us like lead.

Sofia didn’t move, but I felt her body jolt—just a small shock under her skin.

I tightened my hold before her legs could give out.

That damned invitation to dinner at their house.

Everything fit now—like a puzzle made of knives.

“They set up that dinner,” I muttered. “They wanted you there… for a reason.”

She heard the shift in my tone.

Felt the anger rising.

“Adrian…” she called softly, worried. “What is it?”

I took a long breath.

There was no point in telling her everything now.

Not after everything she had swallowed tonight.

“We’ll talk about it later,” I said firmly. “Right now, we’re leaving.”

I turned to Joseph.

“You’re coming with me,” I said. “You’ll stay at my house until we decide the next step. No one will suspect you’re still alive.”

He nodded.

I looked at all of them.

“The official story is simple,” I said. “Sofia came here after learning her father had been killed by Andrew Hoffman. She found him. And killed him. That’s it. No one needs to know the rest.”

Cael and Cedric nodded almost simultaneously.

“We’ll handle the Council,” Cael said.

“The transitions. The announcement.”

“And the cleanup,” Cedric added with a tight half-smile.

“Good luck,” I muttered. “And thank you.”

While they stayed behind, dealing with the body, the messages, and the rules of that filthy Game, I led Sofia to the car.

She walked on autopilot, like her body hadn’t yet processed everything her mind had absorbed.

Before getting in, she looked at me.

“They’re not going after my dad anymore, right?” she whispered.

“No,” I answered. “Thanks to Andrew, who got to him first this time and saved him. And with Andrew’s death… the Council will find it convincing enough.”

She nodded slowly.

But I knew better.

I just couldn’t tell her yet.

This didn’t mean safety.

It only meant the beginning of another war.

We got into the car. Joseph sat in the back.

When I started the engine and pulled away, I felt the weight of what was coming settle on my shoulders.

The Hines.

They had Letícia—no doubt in my mind.

What would they do?

Why did they want Sofia there so badly?

“This is going to be a nightmare,” I muttered.

Sofia didn’t answer.

She just stared out the window, lost in thoughts I couldn’t reach.

And I feared for her—because hell wasn’t over.

It had only changed shape.

Changed faces.

And I would do anything—anything—to make sure Sofia survived it.