Chapter 714:

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“Alistair was their star subject,” Dallas continued, his eyes darkening with the memory. “He was the only one who survived the lethal surgeries. The experiments had fractured his Inner Wolf, but it hadn’t killed it. He refused to be their weapon. He found a vulnerability in their security grid and blew the lab to hell, killing most of the researchers. But he knew the Syndicate would hunt him down using his remaining facial structure and whatever faint scent he had left.”

Dallas swallowed hard, the horror of the past bleeding into the quiet room. “So, to completely erase his identity, Alistair took a vat of industrial acid laced with silver powder… and poured it directly over his own face and scent glands.”

My breath caught in my throat. The sheer, unimaginable agony of that choice paralyzed me.

“Three days later, I was tracking Syndicate movements outside Prague,” Dallas said. “I found him in a wasteland junkyard. He was dying from the silver-toxin infection, his face completely melted away. I had a choice: hand him over to the High Council, where he would be dissected as a monster, or give him a new purpose. I fed him my blood to heal the infection and brought him into the Pack.”

Dallas rubbed his temples, the exhaustion of the past few days finally catching up to him. “I gave him his life back. I thought his loyalty was absolute. But yesterday, he defied my direct command. He helped you travel to Europe to face Gideon. I don’t know if I can trust him anymore.”

I looked at my broken, fiercely protective King. I reached across the small table, my fingers wrapping tightly around his large, scarred hand.

“Dallas, look at me,” I said, my voice carrying the clear, unwavering wisdom of a Luna. “Alistair is still absolutely loyal to you. He defied your order because he recognized me as your mate. He knows that if you die on a suicide mission, your soul dies with you. He protected me because protecting me is protecting you.”

Dallas froze. The heavy, suffocating doubt that had clouded his eyes slowly began to dissipate. He stared at our joined hands, processing the profound truth in my words.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘤𝘰v𝘦𝗿 ո𝘦w 𝘴𝘁𝗼𝘳i𝘦𝗌 𝘰𝘯 𝗴а𝗅𝗻o𝘃𝘦𝗹𝗌.с𝗼𝘮

Slowly, he turned his hand over, interlocking his fingers with mine. A quiet, relieved smile touched his lips, carrying a trace of deep, undeniable pride.

“You are building your own army without even realizing it, little moon,” Dallas murmured, his thumb gently stroking my knuckles. “First Azalea, and now my top ghost.”

We finished our dinner in a comfortable, healing silence. But the toll of the silver-toxin in Dallas’s spine was undeniable. Within an hour, the neurological fatigue dragged him into a deep, heavy sleep in the sanctuary bed.

I sat beside him, listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing. Healer Henri Laurent needed the specialized Lycan neural equipment from the Geneva Syndicate black-site to save Dallas’s life. If I woke Dallas, he would use his Alpha’s Command to lock me in this room to keep me safe.

I carefully slipped out from under the covers. I needed a flawless disguise to infiltrate that black-site, and there was only one ghost in this transit hub who could forge it. I pulled my shawl tight and stepped out into the cold corridor, heading straight for the makeshift medical and supply room.

Adella’s POV

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