Chapter 181

Chapter 181
Layla's POV

My stomach lurched. "You planned for Conrad to die tonight?"

"He did terrible things," Damian said, tucking the vial into his jacket pocket. "I chose him to protect you, my daughter. Soon, we'll be reunited—a family of three again."

The door burst open behind me. Kael rushed in, now wearing pants but still bare-chested, dried blood streaking his skin.

"The heart," he growled. "You took Conrad's heart after I killed him."

Damian laughed. "Not all of it. Just what I needed." He patted his pocket. "Thank you for your help, Alpha Stone. You've been most useful."

Kael's face darkened with fury. "You manipulated me. You wanted me to kill Conrad."

"And Olivia," Damian added casually. "Two birds, one stone—or should I say, one Stone?" He laughed at his own joke.

"You used us," I said, feeling sick. "This whole time."

"Of course I did," Damian replied like he was explaining something simple. "That's what Alphas do, Layla. We use whatever pieces we have to achieve our goals."

"What is your goal?" Kael demanded, moving to stand beside me.

Damian's expression turned serious. "Bringing Isabella back. Reuniting our family. I've waited years for this moment."

"By collecting hearts?" I asked, disgusted.

"By collecting the right heart," Damian corrected. "From the right wolf, at the right time. Tonight's blood moon makes the ritual particularly potent."

I glanced at Kael, seeing my own horror reflected in his eyes.

"You're insane," Kael stated flatly. "You can't bring back the dead."

Damian smiled. "Watch me."

A crash from elsewhere in the building drew our attention. Damian used the distraction to move toward another door at the back of the room.

"Stop!" I shouted, lunging forward with Soulrend.

But Damian moved faster than I expected. He threw something to the ground—a small glass orb that shattered on impact. Thick gray smoke billowed up, filling the room instantly.

I coughed, my eyes burning. "Kael!" I called out, unable to see through the dense smoke.

"Here!" he answered from my right.

By the time the smoke cleared, Damian was gone, the rear door standing open.

Kael cursed, striding toward the exit. "We need to go after him."

I nodded, but something on the desk caught my eye. "Wait," I said, moving closer.

It was a map with several locations marked in red. I recognized them immediately—major pack territories.

"These must be his targets," I said, pointing to the marks. "Other werewolves he plans to... harvest."

Kael studied the map, his face grim. "Thor's territory is marked. And Alex's."

A chill ran down my spine. "Alex wasn't at the ball tonight."

Our eyes met, sharing the same horrible thought.

"We need to warn Thor," I said urgently. "And find Alex if he's still alive."

Kael nodded, pulling out his phone. "No signal," he muttered after trying it.

"They must be jamming communications," I realized. "This was all planned."

Kael's jaw tightened. "We've been played."

I looked down at Soulrend, still humming with energy. "Not for long," I promised. "Nobody uses us like this and gets away with it. Not even my father."

We hurried back through the corridors, my sword ready in hand.

"Kael," I said as we ran, "did you really not know about the baby? About Olivia being pregnant?"

He glanced at me, his expression hard to read. "No. I wouldn't have..." He paused. "I hate Olivia for what she did to you, but I wouldn't deliberately kill an innocent child."

I believed him. Despite everything, that brought me some comfort.

"Conrad seemed genuinely devastated," I said quietly.

"He was," Kael agreed. "His feelings for her seemed real."

"Unlike hers for him," I added bitterly. "She was using him too, wasn't she?"

"Probably," Kael said. "We'll never know for sure now."

We reached the ballroom—now a scene of total destruction. Conrad's body lay where it had fallen, a gaping hole in his chest. Olivia's body was gone.

"They've moved her," Kael observed.

"Thor?" I called out, seeing no sign of him.

A groan from behind an overturned table caught our attention. We found Thor with a nasty gash on his forehead, trying to sit up.

"Stone," he grunted when he saw Kael. "What the hell happened?"

"Damian," Kael said simply, helping Thor to his feet. "He played us all."

Thor's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

Quickly, we told him what we'd discovered—Damian's plan to resurrect Isabella using Conrad's heart, the map with marked territories, Alex's absence.

"That bastard," Thor growled. "I knew he was power-hungry, but this... trying to bring back the dead?" He shook his head in disgust.

"We need to warn the others," I insisted. "And find Alex."

Thor nodded, wincing. "I have a satellite phone in my car. We can use that."

"Good," Kael said. "Layla and I will go after Damian. Can you coordinate warnings to the others?"

Thor agreed, though he looked like he wanted to join the hunt himself. "Be careful," he warned. "If Damian is messing with death magic, there's no telling what kind of danger he might unleash."

I gripped Soulrend tighter, drawing strength from the sword's energy.

"We'll be careful," I promised. "But we're going to stop him."

As we left, Kael pulled me aside for a moment. His green eyes searched my face.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly. "He's still your father, Layla."

I thought about the man who had orchestrated tonight's bloodbath, who had coldly used all of us as pawns in his twisted game to resurrect my mother.

"No," I said firmly. "He's not my father. He's just another monster we need to stop."

Kael nodded, satisfaction and pride flashing in his eyes. "Then let's hunt."