---- Scout lingered for a moment, his expression conflicted, before turning to leave: Wait, Alexia called, her voice cracking.


    Just onest time, please? Scout paused, his back to her.


    For a moment, she thought he might turn around, that he might agree to her proposition.


    Tve done what I can, he said quietly.


    The rest is out of my hands.


    Plus you should care more about yourself.


    Pray for Commander Damien''s recovery before its toote.


    And then he was gone, his footsteps fading into the darkness.


    Alexia copsed her back against the wall, her chains rattling softly.


    Tears slipped down her cheeks, carving trails through the grime.


    Thentern flickered, its glow shrinking, leaving her once again in the suffocating embrace of the shadows.


    ---- Chapter 484 He would wake up right? He has to.


    ---- Chapter 485 The figure on the bed was deathly still, the pale glow of the monitors casting sharp shadows across his face.


    Machines hummed and beeped steadily, their rhythm the only proof that life still clung to him.


    Tubes snaked out from his arms, oxygen fed through his nose, his chest rising and falling in an almost fragile cadence.


    Then, the stillness broke.


    A furrow creased his brow, a faint twitch of his lips.


    Inside his unconscious mind, a storm raged.


    [hate you! I hate you so damn much, Damien! The voice was sharp, furious, and unmistakable.


    You are the most disgusting man I have ever met! Ie saw her thenthose brown eyes, zing with fury and defiance.


    Her words came at him like knives, cutting deep, carving into his very being.


    L regret meeting you! Giving you my body! I regret ---- every second I spent with you! Damien flinched, the memoryshing through his mind with brutal force.


    He wanted to reach for her, to exin, to make her understandbut her voice was relentless.


    You will never win this! You may im my body, my wolf...


    but my soul is mine! Thate you! Each word was a dagger to his heart.


    He staggered beneath the weight of them, sinking into the darkness, drowning in her hatred.


    I''d rather die than submit to a man like you! No.


    His breathing turned shallow, his lips parting as if to plead, but only a single word escaped in a broken.


    whisper.


    Princess...


    The darkness seemed endless, dragging him deeper, suffocating him.


    His head shook involuntarily, beads