I clench my fists tightly, feeling the urge to punch a hole through something. Rage and helplessness burn in my veins.
"Amira knows all this, doesn’t she?" I ask, my voice a low, dark threat barely disguised as a question.
"What do you think?" Draxis snaps back, all teeth and snark.
I bare my own teeth at him. "Drop the attitude, hellhound. Not the time, not the place."
I start pacing in front of him again, fury sparking in my blood. "I need answers. Everything. You said she got weak when she leashed us all those years ago. But now?" I gesture sharply at the glowing, red ropes coiled around his massive frame. "Now you’re trussed up like a sacrificial boar. So how the fuck did she pull this off?"
Draxis rolls his eyes. Again. Kass was so right. Drama queen.
"Fine," he growls. "You want the short version? Otherwise we’ll be dissecting this stuff until we’re dust."
I cross my arms and glare at him. "Spare me the details. Short version is fine."
"The God of War — our favorite asshole — guided Galla through everything," Draxis says, voice like grinding stone. "Told her exactly when to move, who to target. Alpha Parrin was having issues with his mate. His bond with her was weak. And he had a high enough rank. Perfect victim. So Galla hit him with a love spell while he was vulnerable. Made him believe he was… having fun with his true mate. She got pregnant. Twins."
"Twins?" I echo, my gut tightening.
He nods stiffly. "One a shifter, Amira. One a witch. Her twin, hidden away. Galla dumped Amira on Alpha Parrin’s doorstep like a gift basket. Somehow, Parrin convinced Luna Hana to raise her — and I’m guessing everyone in Mirenwulf agreed to pretend she was his mate’s biological daughter. Probably to save the alpha’s reputation."
He keeps going, voice darkening.
"Galla kept visiting Amira in secret. Training her. Preparing her."
He shifts slightly, the red ropes glowing brighter around him. "And now the other daughter — the witch — has fully awakened. Galla is siphoning her power. That’s how she reinforced the spell. That’s how she has enough strength to choke us out with all this crap. Unfortunately for us, that daughter of hers is very powerful."
I curse under my breath, pacing harder.
"I used to be able to break through sometimes," Draxis says, his voice lower, rougher. "I could project thoughts to you, nudge your instincts, protect us the best I could. I gave you the wings. Some of my scales. That was my biggest win against the leash before our mate cracked it and I could shift."
His silver eyes flash with rage.
"Galla couldn’t act before to cut me off completely. She wasn’t strong enough on her own, and her witch daughter wasn’t ready yet. She had to wait. For us to lose hope. For Amira to be shoved into our lives, positioned to be our Luna. She was counting on us marking her."
He snarls, voice pure defiance now. Shining with pride.
"But she didn’t plan forher.For our true mate. For the hurricane we bonded with. Kassira ripped their careful little plan apart before they even knew what hit them. Not even the God of War saw her coming."
A slow smile pulls at my lips. No one could ever plan for Kass.
"Galla’s been preparing for this ever since we first met our mate,” Draxis cuts through my thoughts. “Her witch daughter is fully awakened now — and completely under her thumb."
"She laced the Mirenwulf packhouse with magical markers. The second we crossed that threshold, we walked straight into her claws. She didn’t even have to get close — she worked from the shadows."
"She killed Alpha Parrin, didn’t she?" I whisper, though I already know the answer.
Draxis snorts, unimpressed. "Of course she did." He leans forward against the glowing restraints, his lips peeling back in a snarl. "She couldn’t come into our territory — not without setting off every damn alarm we have. So she played it smart. Set the stage. Lured the idiot human into her trap."
I roll my eyes so hard it’s a miracle they stay in my skull. "There was no getting out of it. You know that. Alpha Parrin was a Prime. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve made an excuse and stayed the hell away."
I drag my hands down my face, fighting the pressure building under my skin.
"She killed our parents too," I whisper.
It’s not a question. It’s truth. A brutal, ugly truth that tastes like blood in my mouth. Draxis doesn’t bother answering. He knows I don’t need him to.
I grind my teeth, every muscle in my body locked tight. "Does she have anyone else helping her? How much of her memories did you get?"
