Topple 206

Chapter 206 

The dining hall buzzed with tension…forks scraping plates, hushed voices, the clink of goblets. I sat between Ashrian and Daxon, half listening to their quiet back and forth while keeping an eye on the rest of the room. The long tables were packed. Wolves, fac, dragons, witches, beast shifters, mages, even a handful of humans, all crammed together in a barely controlled storm of anticipation. 

Lyssira growled softly in my head. “This is the calm before the blood. You feel it too.” 

“Yeah, I do. This tension is ridiculous.” 

At the head of the room, Alpha King Draven stood from his place beside Luna Aelira, raising his goblet. The noise dropped like a stone. Draven’s voice rolled through the hall like distant thunder. “I won’t waste words. You all know why you’re here. You know what we’re facing.” 

He looked out across the tables, eyes scanning every warrior, healer, mage, and commander. “The shifter lands are being attacked. Our fox kin have been taken. Blood magic has slipped into the realm of the fae. That means our enemies are evolving. The Blood Goddess Raelith’s reach is longer than we thought…..and if we don’t push back now, she’ll drown this world in blood before the solstice.” 

People shifted in their seats. Jaws clenched. Backs straightened. Draven raised his goblet higher. “At dawn, we move. This is a rescue mission. But make no mistake, it may turn into war. We don’t know what we’ll find at that village. We don’t know if we’re walking into an ambush, or a massacre. But I do know this…” 

He paused. His voice dropped to a snarl. “We are Stormclaw. We are not prey. We are the sword that answers screams in the dark. If you’ve got the guts, the teeth, and the fire, meet me in the war room at dawn. If not, stay out of the way.” 

A low growl rumbled from the wolves. Daxon stood and howled, deep and long. The rest of the room erupted with cheers and snarls, fists slamming tables. 

Draven downed his drink and set the goblet down hard. “Eat. Sleep. And sharpen your blades.” 

The speech was over. But the fire it lit? That shit wasn’t going out. 

I glanced around the table, Daxon’s eyes burned, Bram was cracking his knuckles, and even stoic Ashrian had a crooked little smirk. Lachlan grinned 

wickedly at me and I smirked back. Tomorrow, the monsters would bleed. 

The dinner ended with Draven’s speech still echoing in my head, but honestly, I was too keyed up to focus. Too much rage. Too much chaos. Too much damn 

Rivena. We barely made it five feet into the hall before the tension snapped like a bowstring. 

“Try not to trip over your own ego tomorrow,” I muttered, brushing past her. 

Rivena scoffed, stepping in front of me. “Try not to cry when someone else takes the lead, Chosen. Just because you’re the Moon Goddess’s golden girl 

doesn’t mean you’re in charge.” 

Lyssira snarled in my skull. “Oh hell no. I will bite her.” 

I sighed internally. “You can’t bite royalty, Lyss. She scoffed. “Watch me.” 

I squared up, my chin tilted high. “Cute, coming from someone who just got here and thinks she owns the damn place.” 

“You act like I want it,’ Rivena snapped, stepping closer. “I don’t play nice with spoiled bitches.” 

‘Perfect. I don’t play at all.” 

1/2 

11:32 pm D DDD 

Chapter 206 

The heat between us was blistering. Everyone in the hall had gone silent, watching this royal level testosterone battle about to pop off. 

Then Rivena frore. Her silver eyes widened. Lips parted. Head turned slightly. Then she sniffed the air. Once Twice. 

“What the fuck?” I started. 

From the opposite end of the hall, the double doors slammed open. And in stormed Druen Fenrath. 

Massive, Broad shouldered. Midnight hair tousled like he’d just fought off a damn wind god. Dark eyes glowing gold, shirt unbuttoned just enough to show the scars on his chest. A fucking beast. He howled, an actual, ground shaking, primal wolf howl, and barreled through the hall, nostrils flaring like he was 

tracking prey. 

Rivena took one look at him, eyes glowing now too, and her jaw dropped. “No. Fuck. No.” She spun on her heel and bolted. 

“Wait, Rivena!” I yelled after her, but she was already gone, long blonde braid flying like a war banner. Druen stopped dead in front of me, his chest heaving. His eyes followed the path she took, stunned. “She… She’s mine.” 

The whole hallway gasped. Someone dropped a goblet. 

I blinked. “No shit. You’re her mate?” This man was a part of my strike team. Worthy, loyal and fierce. He deserved happiness. He nodded, shell shocked. 

Lyssira cackled. “Oh this is gonna be so good.” 

My anger flared. “Well, go after her, dumbass! She just panicked and ran! You can’t let her spiral into some emotional meltdown alone!” 

He blinked. “You don’t understand. I, she, I’ve waited for this my whole damn life.” 

I shoved his chest. Hard. “Then don’t stand here like a puppy. RUN. Before I bite you.” 

He growled back, low and dark, then shifted mid fucking-step into his massive obsidian wolf form and took off after her. 

I turned to the others, tossed my silver multi colored hair over my shoulder and grinned. “Well shit. That escalated beautifully.” 

11:32 pm 

Hunted Hybrid – Aegis War Saga 1