Chapter 71

Chapter 71 Chapter 71.

Nelly’s POV.

$79 Kex's hand trembled as he crumpled the paper, tossing it into the corner. Then he turned and left the room, his footsteps quick and urgent. | hurried after him, calling his name, but he didn’t respond.

Iran up the stairs, my feet slipping on the marble. My heart was pounding, the dread building inside me. | was terrified of what might happen next. | rounded the corner, nearly colliding with Kex as he stood, frozen, in the hallway. | grabbed his arm, my breath coming in gasps.

“What's going on?” | asked, my voice shaking.

Kex pulled his arm away from my grasp, his expression unreadable. He strode into his office, and | followed him, closing the door behind me. Kex sat down at his desk, stretching his long legs out in front of him. He turned his gaze on me, his eyes hard and cold.

“What the hell is going on?” | asked again, trying to keep my voice steady.

“| don’t know,” he said, his voice low and measured.

| could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my breath coming in short, shallow gasps.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” | asked, my voice shaking with fear.

Kex's eyes widened, his face pale. “Holy shit,” he muttered, and | could see the panic rising in his expression. | frowned, my brow furrowing.

“What's going on?” | asked, my voice urgent.

“You're bleeding,” he said, pointing to my nose.

| reached up, touching my face. | hadn’t even noticed the blood, but now that he had pointed it out, | could feel the sticky, wet sensation on my fingers.

“It's the least of our problems right now,” | said, my voice quavering.

Kex looked at me, his expression unreadable.

“This is more important,” he said, his grip tightening on my hands as he pulled me out of the office. | resisted, my voice growing louder.

“You're trying to distract from the situation,” | said, my frustration mounting.

10 21 Thu, 2 FED “It's not a distraction to me,” he said, his voice rising to match my own.

“It's my health,” | retorted. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes meeting mine.

“So you think your health is less significant than whatever's going on right now?” he asked, his words cutting through the air like a knife.

| fell silent, my mind racing with the implications of his words. He led me to his room. and sat me down on the bed. | sat there, my mind whirling.

“Someone is out there, trying to harm the pack,” | said, my voice low and serious. “And here you are, worried about a broken nose.”

“Shh,” he said, his eyes searching mine..

| glared at him, my mouth opening to protest, but he cut me off, “Just let me take care of this.”

| sighed, feeling my shoulders slump with fatigue as Kex stood and walked over to his wardrobe. He opened it, pulling out a first aid kit. | sat there, my heart racing.

Who could be doing this? Astel crept into my mind as a suspect, but | quickly dismissed the thought. There was no way he would be foolish enough to attack Kex. Still, the thought nagged at me, gnawing at my resolve. | tried to push it away, but it clung to me like a shadow.

| winced as he dressed my wound, my breath catching in my throat. Kex’s touch was gentle, but the pain still burned like fire.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his voice low and apologetic.

| clenched my jaw, trying to suppress a hiss of pain. As | shut my eyes, the image of Astel flashed through my mind again. |

shook my head, trying to clear it. It was no use. No matter how hard | tried, | couldn't stop thinking about him.

“Done,” he said, his voice firm. | opened my eyes, meeting his gaze.

“Thank you,” | said, my voice barely above a whisper.

He stood up picking the first aid kit and dropped it at the dressing table leaning hist back against the wall, his expression hard and he clears his throat.

“| think | might have an idea of who’s attacking us,” he said, his brow furrowed in thought. | held my breath, my heart racing.

“Who?” | asked, barely able to get the word out. He hesitated, his jaw tightening.

“I'm not sure,” he said, his voice hesitant. “But | have a suspicion.” He paused, as if Ill [e)

gathering his thoughts. “It’s the Rogue King.” he said, his voice grim.

“What?” | said, my voice shaking. “Why would he even do that? We have nothing to do with him.”

Kex's face was grim. “The bald man who killed your brother, he’s his beta,” he said, his eyes dark with anger.

4 | gasped, my eyes widening in horror. The Rogue King, my brother’s killer. | couldn't believe it. Why would he do this? | felt a chill run down my spine, a sense of foreboding: settling over me..

“| had his beta killed and sent his head to him,” Kex said, his voice cold. | could feel my heart pounding, the words ringing in my cars.

“Why would you do that?” | demanded, my anger rising. “You could have just killed him and been done with it, since that’s what he did to us.”

Kex let out a dry, bitter laugh. “It’s not that simple, love,” he said, his eyes hard. “I don’t want him to think I’m a coward, Nelly,” he said, his voice tense. Whatever I’ve done, | own it with my full chest.”

| needed him to understand that we had just endangered everyone, that | couldn’t let my emotions get the better of me.

“Kex, you just endangered everyone,” | said, the words tumbling out. “I honestly regret telling you to seek revenge.”

His gaze was piercing, his eyes hard and unyielding. “That's it, Nelly,” he said. “You're a weakling, in the jungle in order for you to survive you must learn to be bold,” he said, his voice firm and sharp.

| gasped, my mouth wide agape.

The Rogue King was known for his cruelty, for attacking without reason or mercy. When he did have a reason, he was ruthless in his execution, killing everyone involved.

Kex was a strong, capable leader, no doubt, but | couldn’t help but worry about what would happen when these two men clashed.

| had a feeling it would be bloody, and that there would be no easy solution. | just hoped that Kex knew what he was doing, and that he would go in peace.

“We need to find a way to settle things with him,” | said, pacing back and forth.

Kex chuckled darkly. “Settle what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“This whole mess,” | said, feeling frustration well up within me. “We're all in danger.”

f&

10:51 Thu An Feb 781 He scoffed, his expression cold. “And who’s scared of a little danger?” he asked, his tone mocking. | felt my blood boil, my fists clenching at my sides.

“It's not a joke, Kex,” | said, my voice low and dangerous. “This could lead to war.”

“Then let war lead,” he said, his voice echoing in the room.

[e)

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