The Silver Wolf (Diana and Talon) novel Chapter 181

Chapter One Hundred Eighty One

“Release my mate.”

Lucian’s voice carried through the ruined coven like a blade. Cold. Controlled. Deadly. There was none of the softness Agatha knew so well. None of the warmth he used when speaking to her or their unborn pup. None of the patience he showed when she teased him or refused to rest. This was not the voice of her loving mate. This was the voice of the ruling Alpha. The Silver Wolf.

The wolf who had united every pack beneath his command and brought an army to the coven to take back what had been stolen from him.

Gideon’s grip tightened around Agatha’s arm.

“Your mate?” he shouted.

The veins in his neck bulged as darkness spread farther beneath his skirt.

“She was mine first!”

His blackened eyes burned with hatred.

“You took her from me!”

Lucian stood completely still. But the power surrounding him continued to rise. Every wolf behind him lowered their head, not from fear, but from instinctive respect for the strength radiating from their ruler.

Lucian’s gaze moved toward Agatha. He saw the bruises around her arm where Gideon held her. He saw the exhaustion in her face. He saw her protectively cradling her swollen stomach with her free hand. His wolf snarled inside their shared mind.

“He touched our mate. He frightened our pup.”

“I know.”

“Kill him.”

“We will.”

Lucian’s eyes returned to Gideon.

“The Moon Goddess and fate chose Agatha and me for each other,” he said calmly.

“But even if they had not…”

His voice became firmer.

“Agatha chose me.”

Gideon’s expression twisted.

“She chose to leave with me.”

Lucian took one slow step forward.

16

Chapter Ope-mired Eighty One “She chose to become my mate.”

Another step.

“She chose the life we built together.”

His silver eyes narrowed.

“I did not take her from you.”

Gideon’s darkness pulsed violently.

“She was promised to me!”

“A promise made by other people does not make her your possession.”

“She belonged beside me!”

“No.”

Lucian’s answer was immediate.

“Agatha belongs to herself.”

Clam

The words echoed throughout the damaged village. Witches and wolves alike listened in silence. Lucian never looked away from Gideon.

“She is not land to be claimed. She is not a title to be inherited. She is not an object anyone can possess.”

He lifted his head proudly.

“She has the right to choose whom she loves. And she chose me.”

Agatha’s heart tightened. Even now, surrounded by war and darkness, Lucian defended her freedom before his own claim over her.

That was why she loved him. He never treated her as though the mate bond gave him ownership. He treated the bond as a blessing.

A choice they renewed every day. Gideon looked at Agatha.

“Tell him he is wrong.”

Agatha held his gaze.

“He is not.”

The darkness around Gideon surged.

“You were mine before you ever met him!”

“No, Gideon.”

Tears gathered in Agatha’s eyes, but her voice remained steady.

“I was never yours.”

2/6

Chapter Ope+miked Eighty One

Gidcon’s face twisted with pain. Lucian stepped closer.

“Release her.”

His voice lowered:

“We both know whom she will choose.”

Another step.

“We both know who her mate is.”

The words finally shattered Gideon’s remaining control.

“No!”

Char

He threw Agatha aside. She cried out as she struck the ground, instinctively turning her body so she would not land directly on her stomach.

“Agatha!” Lucian shouted.

His focus shifted toward her for only a heartbeat. That was all Gideon needed. Dark magic exploded from his body. The ground beneath Lucian trembled. Sharp spikes of earth erupted from the soil, aimed at his chest and stomach. Lucian leaped aside.

One spike missed his ribs by inches. He landed on all fours, shifting fully into his silver wolf before the next attack could reach him.

More spikes burst from the earth. Lucian moved quickly, his silver body weaving between them. Each spike carried dark magic, and their surfaces glistened with a strange black liquid. Poison. Gideon raised both hands. The air around him twisted.

Dozens of smaller poisoned shards shot toward Lucian like arrows.

The Silver Wolf twisted in the air, avoiding most of them. One scraped across his shoulder. Another missed his throat. But the last spike struck deep into his foreleg.

Lucian roared. The force of the blow knocked him sideways. He crashed onto the ground and shifted back into human form, one hand gripping his injured arm. Black veins immediately began spreading from the wound.

“Lucian!” Agatha screamed.

She forced herself onto her knees. Her body protested, but she ignored the pain. Healing light gathered between her palms. She had to reach him. Had to remove the poison. Before Agatha could move more than a step, Gideon lifted one hand.

A black barrier rose around her. Agatha struck it with both palms. The magic burned her skin.

“No!”

She pushed harder.

“Let me out!”

316

Chapter Op-ed Eighty One Gidcon looked toward her.

“I will not allow you to help him.”

“Gideon, stop!”

He turned back toward Lucian, satisfaction filling his face.

“Look at him, Agatha.”

Lucian remained on one knee, breathing heavily as the poison spread through his veins.

“Look at the great Silver Wolf.”

Gideon laughed.

“The strongest wolf of his generation. The Alpha who claims to rule every pack.””

His smile widened.

“And yet he falls from a single strike.”

Agatha continued hitting the barrier.

“He is not weak!”

“He is dying.”

“No!”

Gideon moved toward Lucian.

“I want you to watch.”

His voice became disturbingly calm.

“I want you to see me end his life.”

He looked back at Agatha.

“Then perhaps you will finally understand.”

“Understand what?”

“That I am stronger.”

Darkness curled around his hands.

“That I am the mate who can protect you.”

“You are not my mate!”

“I should have been!”

“You are the one hurting me!”

1

timm

4/6

Chapter Opened Eighty One

Gidcon’s face tightened. He turned his attention toward Agatha again. Even with Lucian wounded before Tim, Gideon could not ignore her rejection.

“Why?” he demanded.

His voice cracked.

“Why do you keep doing this?”

Agatha stopped striking the barrier.

“Doing what?”

“Hurting me!”

His magic pulsed.

“Rejecting me.”

“Choosing him.”

“Defying the bond our families created.”

Agatha’s expression softened with sadness.

“There was never a bond between us.”