Chapter 174

ALPHA DORIAN’S POV The witch’s words echoed in my head long after they were spoken. “I need to see Evelyn… and if not Evelyn, then Olivia.” Damn it. I dragged a hand down my face, trying to calm the pounding in my skull. My return to the packhouse was supposed to offer relief—a brief moment to breathe. I had dodged two rival Alpha emissaries and a visiting royal envoy by faking a border skirmish. All to keep this unstable situation from tipping. But now, the witches had cornered me… and things were spiralling far faster than I anticipated. “Okay,” I exhaled, facing them again. “I get it now. The Phoenix Mark isn’t just some ancient crest… It’s a manifestation of bloodline. A trace of ancestral Phoenix lineage in Olivia’s blood, right?” Veyra nodded. “Yes.” “But the exchange already happened,” I continued, narrowing my eyes. “You transferred the fate. You cloaked Olivia’s power and handed the prophecy to Evelyn. So why—” I pointed a hand at the three of them—“is your coven affected now?