Chapter 341\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I stepped into the Vale estate, the scent of blood hit me like a punch to the gut. Then something else-fear. Raw, stifling fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could take another step, the door flung open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett crashed into my chest, trembling like a leaf. She looked up at me, tears streaking her face. \u201cKael, save me! Riley\u2019s gone crazy-she tried to kill me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mind reeled, still fogged by the alcohol, but those words cut through it like ice water. I stepped forward, but then I heard it-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara\u2019s scream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned sharply. My gaze snapped to the living room, where Riley stood in the center, her left hand dripping blood, the knife slick with crimson. A finger-her own damn finger-lay on the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart lurched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley!\u201d I shouted. \u201cWhat the hell are you doing?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even flinch. Her face was blank, distant-as if her soul had checked out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the debt of birth repaid,\u201d she said to Zara, her voice eerily calm. \u201cWe\u2019re even now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019r\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara paled, her lips moving without sound. I moved to approach Riley, but Scarlett clung to me again, sobbing harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s insane, Kael! She said we all have to die! She-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shoved her off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stumbled back, her mouth open in shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rushed toward Riley, just in time to see her raise the blade again-this time aimed directly at Alaric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou beat me half to death,\u201d she growled, stalking toward him. \u201cNow you can die with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric backpedaled, his face pale, his limbs trembling. I\u2019d never seen him like that-our father, our Alpha, reduced to a frightened old wolf. But then I sensed it too-the surge of dominance, thickening in the air like\u00a0<\/p>\n
a storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t just afraid. He was about to shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The power crackling off him was enough to freeze most Betas where they stood. If he shifted now, Riley wouldn\u2019t stand a chance. She\u2019d be dead in seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara must have realized it too. Her face twisted with horror. She stepped forward, not toward him-but\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:56 Sun, Dec 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 341\u00a0<\/p>\n
toward her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley lunged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKael! Stop her!\u201d Alaric roared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had no choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finitahad\u00a0<\/p>\n
I surged forward and wrapped my arms around her from behind, locking her elbows down. Her strength surprised me-she thrashed and kicked like a cornered beast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley! Stop! You\u2019ll kill someone-damn it, you\u2019ll kill yourself!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She screamed, her voice not quite human. Her eyes were wild, glowing faintly gold. My arms trembled holding her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then Zara struck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her palm cracked across Riley\u2019s cheek like a whip. The sound rang out like a gunshot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything stopped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you trying to prove?\u201d Zara\u2019s voice sliced the air like a blade. Ever since you came back, this house has known nothing but chaos. You want to die? Fine! Just don\u2019t drag the rest of us down with you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley froze. Her breath hitched. She stared at Zara as if she didn\u2019t recognize her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The knife slipped from her fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to know what regret looks like, Riley? Take a good look. Because you\u2019re the one destroying this family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s lips parted, but no sound came.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then her knees buckled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught her before she hit the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her head lolled against my shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed. Blood smeared across my chest. I could feel her going cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley-Riley! Stay with me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia burst into the room, pale and shaking. \u201cYoung Alpha-she\u2019s lost too much blood. You have to take her\u00a0<\/p>\n
now!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted her into my arms, holding her like I used to when she was a pup afraid of thunder. Mia snatched something off the floor-her finger-and followed close behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen the damn gates!\u201d I bellowed to the guards outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s voice snarled behind me, full of venom. \u201cLet her die out there like the rabid thing she is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:56 Sun, Dec 28 G\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 341\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t stop. Didn\u2019t even look back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I heard the slap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara. Furious. Screaming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let him feel it for once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
272\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hospital lights were cold and sterile. I sat hunched in the emergency room waiting area, my shirt soaked with her blood, hands clenched into fists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every second dragged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia sat beside me, her hands twisted in her apron. I could tell she wanted to speak, but I couldn\u2019t handle small talk. Not now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, I looked up. My voice came out low. \u201cMia\u2026 what happened? Why did she-why did Riley do this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia\u2019s eyes welled with tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried to hold it in, young Alpha. For days. But they kept pushing her. The Alpha\u2026 your father\u2026 he beat her, tried to force her wolf to submit. And Scarlett\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d known they were cruel. But this? I hadn\u2019t seen. Hadn\u2019t wanted to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My gaze drifted to the emergency room door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And for just a second\u2026 I smelled it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something beneath the blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A scent. Faint, but undeniable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wolf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not just any wolf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alpha-blooded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It shimmered in the air like a pulse of heat, brushing against my senses-feral, feminine, raw-and then it\u00a0<\/p>\n
vanished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Had I imagined it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 341\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back slowly, heart pounding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley had never shifted. We all thought she couldn\u2019t. That she was defective. Broken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, I wasn\u2019t so sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
788\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 341 Chapter 341\u00a0 Kael\u2019s POV\u00a0 The moment I stepped into the Vale estate, the scent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}