Chapter 140

The sound of David's body hitting the ground echoed through my mind. Elsa’s last words haunted me as Kane and I tore through those pack house corridors. The metallic scent of blood hung in the air, mixing with smoke from the battle outside.

Giana had bolted the second her mate dropped. Didn't even check if he was breathing. All that perfect composure she wore like armor? Shattered into a million pieces.

Grief has this way of ripping off masks. All those pretty lies people tell themselves? Gone. What was left made my stomach turn.

She'd been playing the grieving widow act for all of five seconds before survival instincts kicked in. Classic Giana—always thinking about herself first.

"Main ballroom!" Kane shouted over the chaos. Debris crashed somewhere behind us—probably another section of the pack house collapsing from the battle damage.

Kane’s mind was already working three steps ahead. He could map escape routes while running full speed and dodging furniture. Me? I was just trying not to trip over my own feet or the chunks of plaster littering the hallway.

I peeled off to the right while he went left. We'd done this dance before during training exercises. Surround and conquer. Simple as breathing when you've worked together long enough to read each other's minds. Our boots echoed differently on the marble—his heavy and purposeful, mine lighter but just as determined.

Her footsteps echoed somewhere ahead. Uneven. Panicked.

This was the same woman who'd twisted Raymond around her finger with batting eyelashes and crocodile tears. The same one who'd walked into council meetings like she owned the place. Now she was bolting like any other criminal whose world had just crumbled.

Funny how quickly the mighty fall when their backup plans go to hell.

We hit the ballroom doors at exactly the same time. Kane smashed through the main doors. I snuck in the back way. There she stood—right in the middle of everything, light dancing off the marble floor around her feet.

The ballroom was massive. Ornate. Built to impress visiting dignitaries with its crystal chandeliers and gold leaf molding. Now it felt like a cage. Beautiful but deadly.

She was breathing hard. Furious. That helpless victim act she'd perfected over months of manipulation? Gone. What stood there now was something wild and desperate. Raw grief had peeled away her mask like old paint, revealing the calculating predator underneath.

Her normally put-together self looked rumpled. Her usually perfect clothes were wrinkled, with a tear at one knee. Her perfectly styled hair had come loose during her mad dash through the corridors.

"Game over, Giana." I blocked her path to the main exit. My voice echoed in the vast space. "Your network's finished. David's dead. It’s time to surrender."

She could still walk away from this. Give up. Face whatever justice awaited her. But something in her eyes told me she'd never go quietly.

Her laugh came out broken. Bitter as burnt coffee.

"You think you've won? You think killing David just brings an end to everything?"

Kane moved to block the side entrance. "Your reign of terror ends right here, right now."

I shifted, nervous. Something about all of this threw me off. Suddenly, I realized what it was. Her grief sounded real.

Sure, she'd been lying about everything else. Manipulated everyone she touched like chess pieces. But this heartbreak? This raw pain? That was real.

"I did what I had to!" Her voice cracked on the words. Tears mixed with the rage burning in her eyes. "David and I were going to fix this broken system! Create something better!"

Her chest heaved with each breath when, suddenly, she slammed her palm hard against the wall.

My eyes widened as I realized that the decorative patterns on the wall weren't just pretty artwork. They were something much worse. Hidden runes started glowing like evil Christmas lights, hidden in the walls and floor. Dark energy pulsed from them like a diseased heartbeat.

"Really think I'd make this easy for you?" she sneered.

Dark energy exploded from those symbols like a bomb going off. The force of it knocked me backward a step. Walls shot up everywhere. Every exit sealed tight. The chandeliers started making this awful humming noise that hurt my teeth. Magic poured through the room.

The temperature dropped at least ten degrees. My breath came out in visible puffs as the magical energy sucked warmth from the air.

Kane rushed the blocked entrance. He rammed his shoulder into it. The wall zapped him good and sent him flying.

I'd seen magical barriers before, but nothing like this. The power radiating from them made my skin crawl. This wasn't just containment—this was designed to be a tomb.

Giana's eyes lit up with power. Literally, they glowed like headlights as she channeled whatever dark magic she had stashed away. The air around her shimmered with malevolent energy.

"I can't have my perfect world with David? Fine. You won't get yours either."

The air turned thick as soup. Oppressive as a summer storm brewing.

Her magic built like pressure in a kettle ready to explode. The mirrors around us started showing twisted reflections—Kane and me tearing each other apart, faces warped with hatred that looked like someone out of our worst nightmares.

Those weren't just illusions. They were prophecies of what was about to happen.

"Want to see real power?" Her smile turned vicious. "I’m about to show you real loss."

Kane jumped toward me. Something invisible grabbed him and yanked him back. Dark chains made of mist wrapped around his arms and legs. He fought hard but couldn't break free.

"Let's see how much he loves you when he's trying to kill you," she said. Her voice got louder as the magic built up.

I watched Kane's struggles get weird. Jerky. Like someone was operating him with broken puppet strings. Something dark was crawling into his head. Taking over.

"Kane, fight it!" I yelled.

But his eyes were already going blank. Empty as windows in an abandoned house.

The magic crushed his defenses like a steamroller over flower petals. Just obliterated them. Everything that made Kane who he was—his intelligence, his need to protect me, his love—got wiped clean.

His eyes went completely empty. Vacant. A magical puppet stood there instead, wearing his face like a Halloween mask.

"Kill her," Giana commanded. She pointed straight at me.

Kane's hand found his weapon with mechanical precision. Nothing showed on his face. No recognition. No emotion. The man who'd comforted me through bad dreams was gone.

I stepped back. My heart felt like it was cracking in half. This was Giana's masterstroke. Her perfect revenge. She hadn't just trapped us like animals. She'd turned the person I loved most into the weapon that would destroy me.

"Kane, please." I whispered it, knowing he couldn't hear me anymore. "It's me. It's Aurora."

But he just stalked forward, unrelenting. Fluid as water. Deadly as poison. All that training he'd used to keep me safe was now turned against me.

Giana's laugh echoed everywhere. Sharp and cruel. "Now you'll understand real loss. The person you love will be the one to kill you."

Here I was—trapped in a magical prison with the man I loved more than anything. And he'd been turned into my executioner.

I was about to fight for my life. Against the one person I never wanted to hurt.

I had no doubt that this was going to destroy me.