Nn POV


    Grief hit me like a physical blow.


    Not the sharp, immediate kind I''d felt when I thought Ellie was lost. Not panic or terror or the hollow dread that came with imagining a future ripped away before it could even begin.


    This was colder.


    It settled into my chest and stayed there, crushing, unyielding, stealing the air from my lungs in a way no de


    ever had.


    I hadn''t been close to ric.


    I''d respected him. Feared him, once. Fought him more than once-directly or indirectly. We''d disagreed on politics, on leadership, on how much power any one person should be allowed to wield.


    But he had trusted me. He had protected my family when I couldn''t. He had supported us as we struggled to make a fresh start together.


    And more than that-


    He had loved Ellie.


    I saw her fall to her knees beside his body, her scream breaking into something raw


    and animal that tore through the packhouse. I heard Cassian''s cry-hoarse, shattered, the sound of a son realizing there would be no more chances left.


    And I knew.


    ric had chosen this.


    He had seen the ending and stepped into it anyway, cing his body between Felicity and the people he loved without hesitation or regret.


    Without asking for permission.


    I would have done the same. When I took the blow meant for Cassian those months ago, it hadn''t even been a difficult choice.


    I was sure that ric had felt the same way. He had saved his daughter, because there was no other choice that he would be able to live with making.


    The weight of that choice mmed into me harder than any blow I''d taken all night. Something inside me broke.


    Felicity staggered to her feet, shrieking, wing at herself like she couldn''t understand why the power had left her. The thing that had driven her-the storm, the madness, whatever dark current had been riding her bones- was gone now.


    What remained was just her.


    Small.


    Bleeding.


    Human again in the worst possible way.


    For a heartbeat, the world held its breath.


    I stared at her. Blonde hair slick with blood and sticking to her face, bright eyes wild and searching, and her frame bent, hunched like she was still wound to strike.


    She was dazed, but it wouldn''tst. I could see it in her face. She wasn''t going to stop. She was never going to


    stop.


    Then I moved.


    I don''t remember deciding to kill her.


    I remember the rage.


    flooded me sopletely there was no room left for doubt or restraint or mercy. Every instinct I''d ever learned to temper, every hard-won lesson about leadership and consequence, burned away in the heat of it.


    She had killed ric.


    She had torn a father from his children. A grandfather from my sons. A pir from the kingdom.


    She had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.


    I wiped the de in my hand on my pants. My grip tightened.


    I saw Rae, still nted in the doorway between the boys and the chaos and tragedy outside.


    I heard August andn whimpering, hoarse from their terrified sobbing.


    Felicity lifted her head, looked away from the blood staining the ground, and stared


    at me. Her expression twisted, anger, fear, and something I couldn''t identify flitting across her face.


    "Nn-" she gasped, scrambling backward.


    Toote.


    I had her by the throat in an instant. Her back hit the wall with enough force to leave


    her breathless. My fingers pressed into her throat hard enough that she couldn''t even attempt to speak again.


    I wouldn''t give her the chance to talk her way out of this. I wouldn''t let her make excuses for what she''d done.


    People were dead because of her. My people.


    "Murderer,” I growled, my eyes burning into hers.


    She screamed, a shrill, choked sound.


    I didn''t stop.


    23


    I mmed the de under her ribs and twisted. I didn''t release my grip, fueled by the images burned into my mind-Ellie sobbing over her father''s body, Cassian on his knees, the blood soaking into the stone like an offering to some power that didn''t deserve it.


    "You don''t get to beg," I snarled, pulling the de free. “You don''t get forgiveness. You''ve killed an alpha. You''ve waged war on the kingdom. Your sentence is obvious"


    She tried to w at my hand, but her strength was rapidly draining.


    She started to slump. I grabbed her hair, lifting her just enough to force her to meet my eyes.


    "What I did I did it for us," she rasped, blood bubbling at her lips. "For the future-"


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    Cede is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a ir for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cede''s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.