I tried to suggest that he could withdraw from the war through our mind link. We still had time; Alpha Leo would die soon, as I had bitten him repeatedly. The throne—

If Adrian backed out, I wouldn't have to kill him. I had no desire to orphan my children, though I would never allow them to go with him.

To my surprise, he severed all the links, as if he'd finished listening.

His red eyes showed his displeasure at learning the truth.

I stared into his eyes after ceasing my attack.

“Natalia! Save your brother!”

My mother's piercing scream echoed through our mind link. I heard my father's growl as his body was thrown to the ground.

I turned to Jason and saw Alpha Leo had already driven another stake into Jason's other leg with his mouth. Jason lay senseless on the ground.

Even after losing a leg, Alpha Leo, limping, prepared to bite Jason's neck.

No one was trying to help Jason. Only Eric was struggling to reach him.

I froze, too shocked to react.

I felt myself thrown to the ground. Adrian rose and tensed. I wasted no time, running toward Jason.

I couldn't let Alpha Leo kill my brother. I would have to kill Leo to maintain control of the pack.

Since Jason wasn't far, I ran faster.

But before I reached them, Adrian leaped onto Alpha Leo.

My feet scrabbled on the ground as I watched Adrian bite Alpha Leo, brutally breaking his three remaining legs one by one.

Adrian looked like a terrifying beast, seemingly out of control, his rage focused on killing Leo.

Leo begged for mercy, but Adrian didn't relent.

Finally, he bit Leo's neck and tore it off.

Alpha Leo's head rolled to a stop at my feet. His gray wolf's head stared up; tears welled in his eyes, his tongue lolling out as he died.

With a trembling heart, I turned to Adrian, who was staring at Jason.

“Is he going to kill him?” I mumbled to myself, forgetting the mind links were open.

“He—he didn’t come to attack our pack; he came to help, as he proposed. But we chose the wrong Alpha…” I heard Eric's voice.

Astonishment widened my eyes. As I stared at Adrian, tears welled up.

I looked at his body; I didn't know how many wounds I'd inflicted.

Had I misunderstood him? Did he actually come to save us?

But this wasn't the end. Everything changed.

Jason was defeated; he couldn't save his pack fighters or protect his pack due to his illness.

By killing Alpha Leo, Adrian won the war. He won not only the Blue Blood Pack but also Alpha Leo's pack.

I stepped back as Adrian howled at the sky. Then, howls echoed through the forest, signaling a great—

I collapsed to my knees, defeated.

I heard the wolves chant through our pack link:

“ALL HAIL TO THE NEW ALPHA OF THE BLUE BLOOD PACK, ALPHA ADRIAN.”

The final two lines, advertising a website, were removed as they were irrelevant to the story's content.