Chapter 124

Draven’s POV

It was already morning when the first light spilled over the Eastern horizon. I stepped carefully past the brutal tableau scattered across the land: the bodies of Lucius’s army—both rogues and witches—lay strewn in a grisly pattern around the old pack ruins.

Blood pooled in the earth, seeping into the cracks of ancient stones. More than half of his troops lay motionless, their lives extinguished; a handful had slipped away into the forest, while a few remained alive, bound and guarded. At the heart of the chaos, the news spread like wildfire: Lucius was dead. Relief and triumph surged within me. At last, he would answer for every atrocity he inflicted upon Maeve and our people.

A serene calm settled over me, as though the earth itself exhaled in relief. We had not only defeated the war he initiated, but we had also ended the years of terror within the pack— all the horrifying secrets Thea unearthed were vanquished. My purpose felt fulfilled. Wi