Chapter 126

Elara's POV

Zarek's hand was an executioner's vice.

I could see Vanya's body buck beneath his grip, her throat locked inside his pale, merciless fingers. His eyes—those storm-forged, dead-quiet eyes—did not flinch. The strength of an Alpha who commanded the Steelbound Alliance wasn't in his voice or posture, but in that unshakable certainty: if he chose, he could end her here.

Her face had already