Page 74 of The Wolf

“But he did.” She’s not backing down. “Alex, you didn’t see it… how he fought for me.Lilith—he fought Lilith, all by himself. He obviously feels bad about what he did. It was a moment of misjudgment on his part. He couldn’t have known—”

“No, he knewexactlywhat the fuck was about to happen!” I yell, my rage overwhelming me once again, too immense to hold back any longer.

A split second later, I leap at him and snap his neck, the loud crack filling the air as he collapses to the ground. Immediately, Julia rushes to him, crying out in horror. I hook my arm around her waist, catching her before she has time to overreact.

“He’s fine,” I tell her, grabbing her full attention. “It’s notthateasy to kill a gargoyle.”

It really isn’t. Created as guardians and healers, gargoyles were vastly powerful beings—and Vernox is the last and the strongest of them all. But healing from a severed spinal cord is still excruciating for him.

Julia doesn’t need to know that, though.

Her bottom lip wobbles as she looks up at me. “Alex, don’t be so cruel.”

“Cruel?”

“You and I are both alivethanksto him.”

I glare at her, my heart twisting in ways I can’t describe. “No, you were in this predicamentbecauseof him.”The words explode from me like a bomb, but the guttural sound in my chest doesn’t feel like my own. “What matters is that he abandoned you in the dark forest at night. He endangered you on purpose. He chose to walk away when you were so terrified and vulnerable. And now he thinks he can just come back and live among us because he vowed to serve you?”

“But he chose to come back, too. That counts for something. He’s not a lost cause.”

Before I can respond, Vernox awakens from hisalmost-death. He rises again, cracking his neck back into place with a pop, and dusts off his wings. I can’t lie—it’s satisfying. I feel a twisted sense of calm washing over me, easing me enough to speak without losing control.

“You know what, you’re right. It’s onme,” I say to Julia, then turn to face him. “I should have never trusted you to begin with. But I thought you were more honorable. I thought you’d put your bias toward me aside for the sake of her innocent life. Yet, youknowinglyhanded her over to Lilith, just so you could… what exactly? Go fly off into the night, alone, where you’d be tracked by the hunters and killed?” My voice is like venom. “And she might have already forgiven you because that’s who she is. But I willneverforget what you did. You have no place here.”

Julia sighs, beaten and worried. “Maybe it’s better if you go for now,” she says softly to him. I can tell they’ve become friendly with each other… because, of course, they did, just to piss me the hell off.

Vernox’s gaze shifts to her, something deep and sorrowful flickering in his eyes. “I’m not leaving you,” he blurts out, his voice rough, the finality in his tone undeniable.

I swing at him with another strike, this time to his ribs, and the crunch of breaking bones vibrates up my arm.

“Please! Can’t you just give him another chance?” Julia says, looking back at me. Her voice trembles slightly, but she’s pleading. This is just fucking what I need—her big doe eyes warming me up to him. “Alex, he almost died for me.”

“Good,” I growl, my chest tightening with possessive anger. “She should have killed him. Why the hell is he still alive?”

“Someone showed up,” she explains, her gaze drifting to the gargoyle. “Some witch, I think.”

My eyes narrow, snapping at him. “Who was it?” I demand, my voice sharp with suspicion.

He hesitates, his normally stoic face cracking for the first time. “I’m not sure…” he begins, but then falters, his voice dropping into something softer, almost wistful. “I thought… but it couldn’t possibly…”

The audible longing catches my attention. I don’t know much about him—his past is a tightly guarded secret—but I do know one thing: the name of the witch who awakened him long ago.

“Esmeralda?” I ask, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

He freezes. The flicker of something passes across his face. Pain? Hope? I’m unsure, it's gone too quickly for me to grasp. A crease shows up on his forehead, and for a moment, he looks like he's battling something deep inside.

“She… no,” he says, shaking his head slowly, his voice lower now. “It’s impossible. Even Dahlia and Farah working together couldn’t resurrect her.”

Julia looks between us, her brows furrowing in confusion. “Who’s Esmeralda?” she asks cautiously.

I don’t answer her, my focus is locked on the gargoyle. His usual confidence is gone, replaced by an undercurrent of vulnerability I’ve never seen before.

“It wasn’t her,” he mutters, almost to himself. “It couldn’t have been.” But the doubt lingers in his voice.

I take a long pause, my eyes glued to Julia as she’s waiting for me to rise above. “You can stay until tomorrow,” I finally say on exhale. “I expect to see you at the council meeting once the rest returns. Farah is going to want to hear about this.”

Vernox nods to that. Then, with a powerful beat of his wings, he launches himself into the air, disappearing into the shadows of the castle’s highest tower.

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