Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 597: Losing Him

Alaric didn’t feel the pain at first. Not until Violet’s face crumbled in terror, her golden eyes wide with horror. Then he looked down.

Not just one, but two gaping holes stared back at him from his chest.

It turned out Patrick’s men hadn’t all been killed. One had survived, and in the single moment the pack let their guard down, he did the one thing left since they had failed to destroy the North pack: kill its heir. Without hesitation, he fired two silver bullets straight into Alaric’s chest.

The crowd froze. Shock slammed into them like ice water.

Hannah was there when it happened. Like everyone else, she had been stunned into silence at the sight of Violet and Alaric floating in the air, darkness and lightning curling around them like gods.

For the first time in her life, she had felt real hope. This was the savior she had been waiting for. Violet was the one who could end Ziva’s tyrancy. That was the moment Hannah decided: she would tell Violet the truth, no matter the cost.

But before that thought could bloom, she saw the bullets fly past her eyes and slam into Alaric. Hannah felt Violet’s pain crash into her own chest. Without thinking, she moved. Fury and instinct carried her forward as she seized the bastard by the neck and snapped it in one brutal motion. His body hit the dirt with a sickening thud.

Violet barely registered the sight of that strange maid from earlier. She saw only Alaric.

"Alaric!" She was already moving, catching him as his legs gave way—though Griffin reached them first, lowering him gently to the ground.

Violet dropped beside him, hands cradling his cheeks. Her voice shook, ragged with panic. "Hey, you’re going to be alright... you hear me? You’ll be fine."

Griffin ripped his shirt open, revealing the wound. Violet’s stomach churned at the sight of blood pouring from the holes.

Her voice trembled

looked her dead in the

slap across the face. Violet froze, horror etched across her face. "No... no, no, no..." She turned and screamed at the pack,

only exchanged helpless glances. Their faces were pale, their eyes wet with grief. They had no healer. They

way over, dropping to his knees beside

the blood welling between his fingers. Violet sobbed beside him, trying to help, but her trembling hands only slipped uselessly against

side, the deep line carved into his brow betraying the fear he usually never showed. But even as Ace fought to hold the bleeding,

faintest smile as his gaze found Violet. It wasn’t the cocky grin he often wore, but a bittersweet one. "Don’t cry... " he rasped, his voice thin, barely audible over the ringing in her ears.

down her cheeks. She knew

agitation. "Shouldn’t you move him to the pack

Both men knew the truth but didn’t want to say it aloud. Finally, Caspian did. "We move

"So what then? We just watch

remove the

clamps, no sterilizers, nothing. You know that. It would take time to go back to get that and Alaric doesn’t have

bulging in his neck. "I’ll pull it

"I’ll do it."

lifted her hand, and it

both sucked in a breath. For a heartbeat, no one spoke. They knew what those claws meant. Violet wasn’t human. She

a stiff