Chapter 214 The Attack

• Varek
• The night was cold, a sharp wind cutting through the air as I rode back from the meeting. I had been tense for days now, ever since that night with Nyxara and Lira. The way Nyxara had walked away, silent and proud, haunted me. I could still see the hurt in her eyes, the way she had felt dismissed, humiliated. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to apologize. Apologies were weakness. I had grown up believing that. But it gnawed at me all the same.
• As I rode through the thick woods, my mind kept drifting back to her—her anger, her beauty, the way she tended to hold her head high even when I pushed her away. She had spirit, I would give her that. But it was that very spirit that made me nervous. Nyxara had the power to undo everything I had built. My rule as Alpha King had been based on control and fear, not on emotions and softness. But with her, everything seemed to be slipping through my fingers.