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Chapter 450
~Vera’s POV~
The power I had poured into that strike... it wasn’t ant to wound. It was ant to end.
Snow dropped like a lifeless rag. And everything inside —everything I had worked for—broke.
The mont his body hit the floor, Zara scread and lunged, not giving any mont to react before she struck and her hand slamd through my chest, piercing through flesh, blood, bone—everything.
I felt the magic flicker inside and within a second, my heart stopped.
But what she didn’t know—what none of them ever knew—was that I always prepared.
Even before the fight, I had wrapped myself in a protection spell. It wasn’t strong enough to keep alive after the blow—but it was enough to delay death. Just long enough.
I slipped out of consciousness before I could even gasp. They thought I was gone. Zara gave the order: "Get rid of her."
And that pathetic guard? He carried here.
To this cursed, abandoned place, where the forest itself hums with old, forbidden power.
I’d barely managed to whisper the first incantation before he laid down. I was weak and bleeding out. I could feel as though my soul was half detached. But I could still speak.
I continued muttering the incantations and slightly let my fingers touch his hand. I used him, boosting his strength and filling him with borrowed magic.
He didn’t flinch, didn’t notice until he felt the drain and realised his life was pouring into .
He struggled against my grasp, panic flickering in his eyes, but I was faster, now stronger and more desperate.
My eyes shot open, and I stared into his. Then, I drank every last bit of him.
He dropped like a dried husk, his skin pale and sunken, and his body curled in on itself like a shell.
But it wasn’t enough.
That was three days ago.
Even now, I felt hunger clawing at my belly—not for food, but for more—for power and the darkest of all dark magic.
So I stayed in the forest feeding where I could—from the plants and animals while waiting with only one thought in mind—kill Zara Gold.
I clenched my fists, feeling my nails bite into my palms.
"You killed my mate," I hissed to the trees, the sky, the gods who stopped listening to long ago.
My voice dropped to a whisper. "I’m coming for you. And this ti, no one—not even Snow—will get in my way."
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~Zade’s POV~
The blood had dried, but its scent still clung to my clothes. The kind of scent that seeps into your bones and stays with you.
I couldn’t unsee what we found at Zara’s house—crimson splatters across shattered glass and ground, claw marks along the wall, the kind of chaos that screams of a life torn apart.
But no bodies. No signs of Zara. No trace of Snow—except his blood.
I couldn’t think. I didn’t have the luxury to feel. Not yet. The samples I scraped from the walls were all we had.
"Co on, Aira," I called over the roar of the engine. "I need to check sothing at Snow’s house."
Aira’s worry was intense. Even as her eyes burned with anger, she knew what to do. I’d seen the damage—the samples showed devastation, evidence of the dark magic. Sothing I could only tie to Vera Slaton.
I only wished Snow had listened to reason on ti.
I drove with hands shaking on the wheel, stopping only once to hand them off to Xavier to check the samples for and confirm my fear.
"It’s her," he’d said hours later. "The blood samples belong to Vera and Snow." His voice was flat, clinical. But my world cracked open.
Now, back at Snow’s house, Aira paced like a storm ready to break. Her bare feet made no sound against the wooden floor, but every turn she made bled fury.
"Only God knows if those witches already have Snow and Zara or... "
It was rare to see Aira this enraged, but I understood. Even I was going crazy over Zara’s missing case.
We had just gotten her back, only to lose her again. Mother would be devastated.
Suddenly, Tempest moved. She’d been too still until now, her silence louder than anyone’s words.
Without warning, her fist slamd into the wall with a sickening crunch, the drywall caving beneath her strength.
"I swear to the Moon Goddess, if they touched my brother—" Her voice cracked, eyes blazing. "I’ll kill them myself."
"Tempest, be calm," I growled. My voice wasn’t loud, but it silenced the room. My fists trembled at my sides, teeth clenched until I tasted blood.
"No, Zade. I will hunt them down."
"You can’t," Aira said, softer this ti—but no less fierce. "Not like this. Not with rage leading the way."
"Yes, I can," Tempest spat, turning to us with wild eyes.
"Mum can’t feel Snow. His bond with her is gone. That ans he’s—" She broke off, biting down on her own pain.
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
"Exactly why I should. For Mum’s sake. For Storm’s sake and ours. For father too. I say we burn the witches and every last mber of that cursed Thorned Crescent. Let’s bring war."
"And for what? To ill more innocents?" I questioned.
"How can you say that?"
"And how many more will die for your vengeance?" I snapped. "Innocents. Children. Those with no voice, no shield—what about them?"
Tempest glared at , but her hands trembled. "They’re not innocent. Not if they protected Vera."
"No." I shook my head. She didn’t get it. "If you strike first, you’ll justify their hatred. They’ll co for us like monsters—and we’ll be the ones who lit the match. They’ll go for the weak link. We may be of different packs, but we are one kingdom. They will hunt us."
She looked away, her chest rising and falling fast. The silence stretched between us like a blade held to the throat.
"You kept here for a reason," she whispered. "To stop from obeying her."
"Your mother was right," I said. "Let your father do his part. Let the warriors do theirs. But we—" I looked each of them in the eye—"we hold the line. Until we have Snow back."
Aira’s lips trembled. She blinked fast, refusing to let tears fall. "What if he’s already gone?"
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
I snatched it up and answered with a voice barely my own. "Davion. Talk to ."
"Zara’s back in the city. The tracker is pinged, and she’s moving. You should have eyes on her."
My chest clenched. "Thank you." That was all I said before the line went dead. "I need to go."
"What about her coordinates?" Aira’s voice cracked as she stepped closer.
"I have them." My jaw was tight, throat burning. "And I swear, I’m going to find her."
No more waiting. No more doubt. Just purpose—and the hope that Snow was still alive out there, waiting for us to bring him ho too.
Or to avenge him.
"Can I co?" both Tempest and Aira asked at the sa ti.
I had no ti for delay and nodded quickly. "Let’s go find Zara."
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