Chapter 125

Simon's POV The messenger's words reached me before the echo of his boots faded down the marble hall. Brayden, the vampire and war. I had expected it. Ever since the day Aisha disappeared from the hospital and I tore Silver Lake apart to get her back, I knew they wouldn't stop. They would keep coming until one of us was dead. But hearing the warning still sent a cold, surgical fury through me. I dismissed the rest of the reports with a sharp gesture. My warriors fell silent, watching me the way they always did when my control began to fray. "We hold them off at the border," I said. My voice was steady, but it carried. "No one sets foot on our land. Prepare the defenses. Summon the full guard." "Alpha," Thomas said from my right, his eyes searching mine. "They'll come straight for her." Of course they would. Aisha was still in the hospital, refusing to leave despite my protests, standing at the center of every battlefield we'd dragged into this alliance. She was the light they wanted to