Chapter 781 - This isn’t over

Chapter 781: Chapter 781 - This isn’t over

Voren shifted back to human form, his gaze cold, his body still humming with the aftermath of battle and residual fury.

"Even if she’s yours, she’s mated to one of my betas, and you know what that means."

"No." Battal’s voice was sharp, desperate, pure possessiveness cracking through his usual cold mask. "We’ve searched for her for the past twenty-two years since her mother escaped from our lab. Give her back."

Voren scoffed, the sound bitter and sharp, contempt rolling off him in waves. "You like to claim things that aren’t yours. She’s a member of the Grimroot pack, and mated already. Go to hell."

He lunged, throwing Battal to the ground, his fists raining down with pure protective rage, but Battal blocked most punches with precision, his body moving on instinct, and pushed Voren off him, his strength undeniable and frustrating.

The Lycans Quinn had drained were slowly regaining their strength, their bodies healing, their powers returning. But more were coming, their forms emerging from the shadows, and Quinn tried to drain more but couldn’t.

Due to the black magic protecting them, she could only drain five at a time, and it was longer than average, her energy waning with every passing moment until exhaustion began to claw at her.

Suddenly, a force slammed into Battal the moment he rose to his feet, sending him crashing to the ground again. It was Kael.

Perhaps it was due to the anger, the grief, the desperate need for vengeance that burned hotter than any fire, but he didn’t have to ask. Whoever Voren was fighting with would be the one who hurt Jasmine. The one who would pay. The certainty of it drove every movement.

He pressed Battal to the floor, his body a dead weight, allowing Voren’s claws to sink into Battal’s chest. But Battal shifted to Lycan form, his beast surging to the surface with raw power, and pushed them both off him, his roar shaking the trees and filling the air with pure challenge.

Both Voren and Kael shifted to their wolf forms and lunged at Battal’s beast, their teeth and claws tearing through fur and flesh with relentless determination.

But he kept healing from every injury so fast, it was as if their efforts were in vain, as if they were fighting a ghost that refused to die, and the frustration of it left them both burning with rage.

Suddenly, Voren felt a surge of new energy swimming through his veins, a power that wasn’t his own, pure and ancient. At the sight of the white wolf, Battal was momentarily stunned, his eyes widening with something that looked almost like awe mixed with hungry desire.

This one was different from all the ones they had captured. So magnificent, so powerful, and it grew his desire to capture her, to possess her, to claim her power for his own. Except that this white wolf was also stronger, her presence filling the air with something ancient and terrifying that made even his black magic waver.

As soon as she joined the black wolf, Battal was finding it hard to heal from his injuries, his body struggling to knit itself back together under the combined force of their power.

He quickly mindlinked his men, his voice sharp with command and rising panic.

’Retreat with the disappearing spell.’

The wizard who had been casting enchantments in the bush not far away appeared in physical form, his hands weaving patterns in the air, casting a black smoke around them.

It was brief, a dark cloud that swallowed the light, but the moment the smoke vanished, so did all the Lycans, leaving only the bitter taste of unfinished justice.

"Fuck!" Kael cursed, his voice cracking with frustration, feeling like a failure whose grief had nowhere left to go.

But Voren was calm, his expression unreadable, pure resolve settling hard in his chest. "We all rest. This isn’t over."

Then he turned to Seraphine, who had also shifted back to human form, her body trembling with exhaustion, her eyes filled with worry that mirrored the ache in his own heart.

Everyone was naked, their clothes torn away by the shift, but it was as if no one noticed, as if modesty was a luxury they couldn’t afford in the face of what they had just survived.

Only Liah and Quinn were still in their clothes because Liah was the one directing Quinn and the warriors with the ammunitions, her voice steady even in the chaos, a quiet anchor for them all.

"Sera, how is Jasmine?"

"Not good." Seraphine’s voice was honest, raw with the weight of what she had seen. "I had her frozen."

Liah and Quinn gathered the emergency clothes hidden in the woods for them, and that was when they realized they were naked, their bodies exposed, their vulnerabilities laid bare, a quiet reminder of how close they had come.

As they put on the emergency clothes, Damon asked, his voice careful, "Does it mean we can’t train in these woods anymore?"

Voren’s expression was cold, his voice sharp with unyielding determination. "Why not?" He asked rhetorically, his eyes burning with the promise of justice. "This is our land. Once Jasmine wakes up, this will all be over."

All his plans were in his head, a web of strategy and vengeance that left no room for doubt, and as soon as they made it back to the pack, everyone naturally went to the emergency ward where Jasmine was still frozen, her body encased in ice, her face peaceful, her heart silent. The sight of her like that tore at every heart present.

Voren frowned, his brow furrowing with quiet dread. "Battal confessed to injecting her with poison."

Seraphine wondered if it was the poison or Jasmine’s resolve, her own doubt a shadow in her mind that she refused to let win. "I don’t think any poison can withstand my powers. Oriana said that her destiny was written by her own hands."

Voren got it quickly, the understanding hitting him like a physical blow, and walked over to Jasmine’s frozen form on the bed, his voice low and urgent, filled with the fierce care of a leader who refused to lose one of his own.

"Jasmine, you’re at it again." He paused, his jaw tightening with the weight of his promise. "I know you can hear me, and I told you already. I won’t go past capturing your attackers. You’ll have to avenge yourself." His voice was firm, unyielding, pure belief in her strength. "So the earlier you wake up, the better."

Seraphine remembered that Oriana said someone had to talk Jasmine out of it, had to reach through the veil and pull her back.

Remembering Oriana’s experience, which she shared at the ethereal realm, she was certain that no one who reached that point would want to come back, even for revenge, and the knowledge left a quiet fear in her chest.

"Kael, can you stay with her for a while? I’ll be right back." Seraphine said with meaning, her voice carrying a weight that Kael didn’t miss, a quiet plea for him to be the one who reached her.

Kael’s expression was defiant, his jaw set, his eyes burning with a love and grief that refused to leave. "I’m not going anywhere. You all should go rest in case they come back. I’ll stay with her."

Liah and Quinn wanted to stay behind, their faces etched with worry and the need to do something, but Seraphine sent all of them away, her voice gentle but firm, protecting the fragile hope that still remained.

"Kael, the ice would last for only sixteen hours." Seraphine pointed out, telling Kael that time was limited, that every second mattered, every moment a race against the quiet pull of the other side.

At this point, only love could bring Jasmine back from this soul trap. The truth of it settled heavy and clear between them.

Kael nodded, his throat tight, his eyes never leaving Jasmine’s face, pure devotion and quiet desperation in every breath.

Voren and Seraphine were the last to leave. As soon as Seraphine reached her suite with Voren, she asked seriously, her voice steady despite the fear in her heart, the bond between them humming with shared resolve.

"Now tell me, what’s the plan?"

Seraphine knew that Voren was planning something. She could feel it through the bond, a quiet hum of determination that left no room for doubt, and he did not hide it from her.

"I’ll make sure they never step their foot into the wolf land again." His voice was ice, final, pure protective promise. "Even the outlands would be out of bounds to them."

Seraphine sighed with relief, the tension in her shoulders easing under the weight of that certainty, but she asked again, her curiosity burning with the need to understand how far he was willing to go.

"So how do you plan to do that?"