Chapter 183 – Turned
–CAITLYN’S POV–
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The hallway smelled like bleach and blood.
The Order liked to keep things clean, but you couldn’t wash away everything. Not here. Not when the walls themselves had witnessed so much.
I walked faster, boots echoing on the stone floor, ignoring the tight knot in my chest. I’d told myself I wouldn’t care. That Blake could rot in a ditch for all I cared. But the moment I heard he’d been spotted near Zane’s territory, something cracked in my chest.
Betrayal. Or maybe just fear. I didn’t want to figure out which.
The room was cold. A wide space lit by those harsh white lights that made everyone look a little sick. Commander Varek stood in the center, hands behind his back, facing the window like some dramatic movie villain.
He didn’t turn when I stepped inside.
“Caitlyn,” he said, voice slow and deliberate. “You’ve been quiet.”
“I’ve been focused.”
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“Focused,” he repeated. Then turned. His eyes narrowed on me scrutinisingly. “Your mate is missing.”
I flinched. “It’s not certain that he is my mate,” I muttered.
“The tingles you said you felt? Clear give–away.”
My tongue swiped over my teeth.
“I didn’t know he was being tracked.”
“He wasn’t. Not by us. But he was seen. With Zane. And the girl.”
Lia.
The name twisted in my head like a knife. I hated how her face came to me so easily.
I’d seen her once,
from a distance.
The girl who’d ruined everything before I even stepped into this war. I remembered the whispers in the barracks—Goddess–born, they said. Half–mortal, half–divine. Dangerous. Unstable. And worse, powerful.
“Do you know where he is?” Commander asked.
“No.”
Chapter 183 – Turned
He stepped forward. Slow, like a predator. “Is he loyal?”
My jaw clenched. “He was. He hated Zane. And…”
“And?”
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“He’s not mated to her anymore. So there’s no reason for him to help her.”
He smiled. “So he is mated to you.”
“Like I said, nothin
certain,” I hissed.
“And now?”
“Now what?”
“Is he still loyal to us?”
“I don’t know,” I said quietly.
He smiled like he’d caught me. “Are you sure you’re not the one who’s wavering, Caitlyn? You were close to him.”
“I wasn’t ‘close‘. All I did was what you asked me to do. I captured him and brought him to the base. I went to see if he was successful in the task we assigned to him. He’d failed, but promised to complete it later. So when he called me, I went to see him. Every encounter I have had with him has been about this mission. Nothing else.”
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“Good. Because if I even suspect you’re compromised, I won’t hesitate.”
I nodded once. Sharp. Controlled.
He turned back to the window. Below us, I could see the camp—soldiers training in tight formation, guns gleaming in the sunlight. Tents reinforced with wards. A truck being unloaded with more silver rounds. Vials of liquid wolfsbane. We were preparing for war, and it was happening fast. The Blood M was coming sooner than any of us had anticipated.
“How are the alchemists progressing with the toxin?” I asked, needing to shift the topic.
“On schedule. Enough to paralyze twenty wolves per vial. The airborne version is almost stable. We’ll use it if things get desperate.”
My stomach twisted. We’d used it before. I’d watched wolves writhe, suffocating as their lungs collapsed. And yet, part of me didn’t flinch anymore. I hated them. They were animals.
Monsters.
And Blake was the worst.
But somehow… I didn’t feel that burning contempt for him.
“What about the girl? Lia,” I said, forcing the name out like
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Chapter 183 – Turned
poison.
$3
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The Commander’s face twisted in distaste. “She’s the biggest threat. All the books talk about her. And right now, she’s unpredictable. If she survives the Blood Moon, she’ll ascend.”
“Ascend?”
“She’ll become more than a wolf. Her magic will fully awaken. And then we lose the upper hand.”
My fists clenched. Goddess–born. Of course she would get power handed to her on a silver platter. People like her always did.
“Zane won’t let her out of his sight,” I muttered.
“No. He’s just as dangerous,” he agreed. “He’s smarter than most of his kind. Strategic. Calm. And he loves her like she is the air he breathes. If we want to eliminate the girl, we’ll have to get through him.”
“Then we separate them.”
His lips curved into a faint smile. “That is the plan.”
He paused, then walked toward the table in the center of the room. It was covered in maps, target lists, profiles. I spotted Zane’s face and wanted to rip it in half.
“We strike in two nights,” he said. “Under the Blood Moon. But
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Chapter 183- Turned
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you,” he looked up at me again “you’ll be part of the distraction team. Draw them out. Make them believe we’re attacking from
the west.”
I nodded.
“And if you see Blake?”
I hesitated.
The Commander waited, eyes fixed on me.
“If he’s turned against us and joined hands with them,” I said slowly, “I’ll kill him myself.”
The words tasted like ash. But I didn’t let it show.
“Good girl,” he said, and left.
I stood alone in the room, staring down at Blake’s profile. The man who had ruined everything. Distracted me too much from my mission. My fingers hovered over his printed photo, then curled into a fist.
Blake, you idiot. You stubborn, selfish idiot.
You were supposed to stay away.
Either take the girl with you, or run back home.
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Not run to her.
But you made your choice.
And I would make mine.
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If you stand in our way—if you stand in my way—I’ll burn everything down.
Including you.
