Chapter 362 - 96: Uneasy Allies

Dane kept his eyes on Aurora.

She stood beside the cursed Alpha as though she belonged there, her face pale beneath the dirt and dried blood. The black veins along her neck had faded, but they had not disappeared. One hand remained curled at her side, the fingers twitching as if she were fighting the urge to shift.

"That was the opening we needed," Aurora repeated, answering Dane’s earlier question about Ramon’s departure.

Dane looked from her to Vance. "You want to explain what any of this means?"

Vance tightened his grip on Destiny’s arm. "You would understand more if you stopped treating every decision as a personal insult."

"You came into my territory with armed men, grabbed my wife, and started making demands. What part of that am I supposed to take as a friendly visit?"

"Your wife is involved in something far bigger than your marriage."

"Then talk to her. Let her go."

Vance’s expression hardened, but he did not release Destiny.

Dane took a step forward. The nearest Silvercrest warrior raised his sword, forcing Henrik and Helena to shift into defensive positions. Marcus still held the Heart Stone in both hands, keeping it away from the royal guards. The cursed wolves watched from behind their Alpha, their yellow eyes following every movement.

Destiny had gone very still. Dane could feel the strain in their bond, her fear pressing against his own anger. He wanted to reach her, but one careless move could give Vance an excuse to hurt her.

"Let her go," he repeated.

"Not until I have what I came for," Vance said.

"The Heart Stone?"

"And Destiny."

Marcus’s fingers tightened around the pale stone. "You can have neither."

Vance barely looked at him. "You don’t understand what you’re holding."

"Then explain it instead of pointing swords at my daughter."

For a moment, Vance said nothing. His gaze moved to the silver lines running through the stone, and something in his expression changed. It was not surprise. He had expected to find it here.

Dane noticed.

"You knew about the stone before you came," he said. "How?"

"The same way I learned about your wife’s blood."

Destiny’s head lifted. "Who told you?"

Vance ignored her. "The cursed Alpha and I have been discussing a way to save my daughter."

Aurora’s expression tightened at the word save. She glanced at her father, then at the Alpha beside her.

"You said you could help me," she said. "You didn’t say anything about saving me."

"I am trying to do both."

"No. You’re trying to get what you want." Her voice shook, though whether from anger or the effort of speaking, Dane could not tell. "You brought me here because you wanted the stone."

"I brought you here because you were in danger."

"I was already in danger before you arrived."

The cursed Alpha stepped between them, cutting off the exchange. "Your family disagreements are wasting time. We all know why we’re here."

"Do we?" Dane asked. "Because your story keeps changing. First you want Destiny dead to stop the curse. Then you claim her blood can cure it. Now Vance says he’s working with you to save Aurora. Which one of you is lying?"

"Perhaps none of us," the Alpha replied. "Perhaps you simply refuse to accept that one thing can serve several purposes."

"That isn’t an answer."

"It is the only one you need."

Dane looked at the wolves behind him. Some stood upright, their hands hanging at their sides. Others crouched close to the ground, their bodies too far gone to resemble men. He remembered what Aurora had said about the curse taking away her control. He had seen what it did to the wolves who attacked BloodMoon. Whatever the Alpha wanted, he had already caused enough deaths to make the cost clear.

"You want to infect Vance," Dane said. "You told Aurora to bite her own father."

Vance’s head turned sharply.

For the first time since Dane had seen him, the cursed Alpha looked displeased. It was a small change, but Dane caught it.

Aurora looked at Vance. "He told me that if I wanted to survive, I had to infect you. He said your authority could keep the other wolves under control."

Vance’s hand moved away from his sword.

"You told her to infect me?" he asked.

The Alpha held Vance’s gaze. "I told her what would happen if the curse reached you. Your rank would remain useful, even if your mind began to fail. You would understand that better than anyone."

"You told my daughter to turn me into one of your creatures."

"I told her there was a way to keep you from abandoning her."

Aurora gave a bitter laugh. "Don’t pretend this was about me. You both needed something from each other, and I was the easiest way to bring you together."

Dane watched Vance absorb the accusation. His expression had not softened, but the tension in his shoulders had changed. Whatever agreement he had made with the Alpha, this was not the arrangement he had expected.

That mattered.

"You knew what he wanted to do to you," Dane said to Vance, "and you still came here with him?"

"I came here because he claims the Heart Stone can help Aurora. I have no intention of allowing him to infect me."

"You’re assuming you get to choose."

"I have survived longer than most men who have threatened me."

"And that makes you careless."

Vance’s eyes narrowed. "Mind your tone, Dane."

"Give me a reason to change it."

Destiny shifted against Vance’s grip. "You keep saying you can save Aurora. How?"

Vance looked at her at last. "Your blood healed Dane. The stone responded to you. If the same power can be used again, we may be able to stop the curse before it destroys her."

"You don’t know that," Destiny said.

"I know what happened to Dane."

"So do I. But the priestess didn’t know why it worked either. None of us knows what the stone will do to Aurora."

"Then we test it."