Chapter 297

DEREK’S POV The report came by nightfall. My men slipped into the tent, faces pale, their voices hushed as though they spoke of a ghost. “She defied him,” one whispered. “Called him a disease. Before the entire pack.” My heart stopped. Another leaned forward, eyes wide. “They say she made the guards falter. That her voice… it carried something. Power. The boy and the woman he meant to punish? They walked free, because of her.” Kael let out a low, incredulous laugh. “Gods. She’s not just defying him. She’s winning.” I said nothing at first. My mind reeled with the image of her—blood on her lip, fire in her eyes, standing before Draven’s wolves like a queen unafraid of the gallows. My wolf howled inside me, both pride and terror twisting into one unbearable knot. “She’s painting herself a target,” I finally said, my voice low. “Draven won’t stop. He’ll strip her bare before them if he has to, just to prove he still holds the whip.” Kael’s grin faded. “And yet they saw her save lives. Tha