Chapter 38

Aurelia POV

A guttural, monstrous roar shattered the air, so loud that dust and crushed mortar rained down from the high vaulted ceilings of the hall.

The raw, dark magic of an Alpha pushed to absolute madness exploded from Draven in a shockwave of pitch-black energy. Tables splintered into tinder, iron sconces ripped from the stone walls, and the sheer force of his aura forced even the veteran captains to their knees. Bastian lunged forward, his face twisted in a desperate, suicidal bid to strike first, but Draven moved like a shadow. Before Bastian’s steel could descend, Draven caught the commander by the throat, his massive fingers crushing windpipe and bone in a single, sickening snap. He cast the lifeless body aside like a ragdoll and turned his pitch-black, demonic gaze onto Kellan.

Kellan scrambled backward across the dais, screaming for his enforcers, but the Ironbound captains had already turned their weapons on the conspirators.

“Traitor!” Ca