Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 177: A Kingdom Divided

Violet and Lila collapsed onto the damp ground, gasping for breath. Neither of them bothered to stand, at least not yet. Not after what they had just survived.

Adrenaline pumped violently through Violet’s veins, her heart pounding so fast it felt like it might leap from her chest. But most of all, her mind reeled from the sheer madness she had just survived.

She had made it! Against all odds, against Asher’s relentless pursuit, his traps, and

the wolves. She had won.

But the thrill of victory was not all satisfactory.

Violet swallowed hard as she turned her head slightly, her gaze landing on Lila. She was lying on her back, staring up at the night sky, her chest heaving as if whatever she had done back there had taken a toll on her.

There was no mistaking what she had seen. Lila had made them sort of invisible to the wolves, the flicker of purple in her eyes and the unnatural strength she possessed. Lila was not human, Violet was sure of it.

Sensing her stare, Lila turned her head to look at her and Violet immediately averted her gaze.

Violet bit her lip, unsure. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Who was Lila?

Had she always been like this? Had everything she knew about her been a lie?

Was this some kind of long-running deception?

God

. Violet groaned inwardly, her head pounding. Everything was happening too fast.Too much.

Violet was still trying to process the complicated request from Alaric and Griffin, her own complicated feelings towards the cardinal alphas, the insanity of the hunt, Roman’s request and now this. She might as well go crazy at this point.

In conclusion, she wasn’t ready for that conversation.

"Violet!"

faces. The moment they reached her, they pulled her into a

It was a delayed response to the brutal tug-of-war she had endured minutes ago having been running on

eyes widened.

her arm, only now registering the scrapes, the bruises,

attention. Violet noticed the way Ivy and Daisy

wonder what had transpired between them for Lila’s secret

air was thick with unspoken questions, but this was not a place nor time

see Elsie approach, followed by the rest of the wolf packs and students who were still hanging around. It had been over an hour since the games began

by being the only one in front, walking with regal confidence that made it clear that she was the queen and this was her

first words out of her mouth were, "You

by the comment because she always expected the worse

and grace Elsie with the privilege of an answer when Lila did

Lila said unapologetically, heads snapping toward

aren’t put through the Running game, right? Such a fair system, "Lila said sarcastically, "So if you haven’t gone through

was instantaneous as silence dropped like a

someone like her. Had it been Violet, they would have understood. The purple storm was number three on the ranking and Alaric’s girlfriend after all. She had

She wasn’t even

word, Lila wasn’t even supposed to matter. And yet, she had

in a

wasn’t Lila’s usual sass. No under-the-breath mutters. No cheeky jokes. No, this was

And it did.

at once, her wolf rising to the surface. A low snarl tore from her throat, and her

of Lila, and using her body to shield her friend, even though she was injured and Lila—who clearly

it was ingrained in her

sharply snapped to hers, furious but Violet held her

woman enough to

rumbled from Elsie’s throat, and for a moment, it seems she would really attack until Grace made the mistake