Bonds at War: The Untouched is Mine novel Chapter 228

Chapter 228 Thorns Of Rose

Chapter 228 Thorns Of Rose

KYLE ROSE

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I came back to Montrose with a smile tugging at my lips, one that hadn’t left me the entire trip home. Ylarc had been amusing enough, though hardly worth the noise of its streets or the blandness of its humans. Still, the city had served its purpose. I had gotten what I wanted, my objective complete, and after that… well, what else was there to do but indulge?

Humans were easy prey–desperate to be touched by someone who pretended to see them. I played the part of the charming stranger, whispered all the right words, and by the time they realized the danger, it was too late. They weren’t worth remembering, but the look of betrayal in their eyes–ah, that I savored. I fed on that as much as I did on their energy.

By the time I arrived at the estate, Montrose was draped in its usual gloom. The fortress loomed over the rocky hills, its walls streaked with moss and damp from the endless fog.

To most, it was suffocating. To me, it was home. The air itself made it harder to breathe, yet again, I found myself taking a long, sweet breath. As I strode down the cold stone halls, I once again inhaled deeply until the faint tang of poison teased my senses.

Mother.

I quickened my steps, trailing the scent to the heart of the fortress–her chamber, though everyone else called it her office. The door creaked as I pushed it open, revealing a room swallowed in darkness. The curtains were drawn, and only the faint glow of candles scattered across her desk gave the place any light. Shadows played against the high stone walls, bending around shelves filled with vials and grim tomes.

“Mother,” I said smoothly, stepping inside.

She didn’t turn to greet me. Azalea Rose sat rigidly at her desk, her thin fingers gripping the edge of a parchment. Even in the dimness, her beauty was undeniable, but when her gaze flicked to me, there was no warmth, only irritation.

“You dare come in here smiling?” she hissed. “Do you find this amusing?”

I lifted my hands innocently. “Is there anything wrong?”

Her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she rose, pacing across the room. “We’re running out of damn rogues,” she snapped. “Do you understand what that means? It’s getting harder to find them around Fenra and the neighboring lands. Without rogues, we can’t mobilize. Without numbers, we can’t strike. Without wolves, Kyle, all of this-” she gestured violently to the maps littering her desk “-is wasted ink and wasted time!”

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13:29 Thu, Sep 11

Chapter 228 Thorns Of Rose

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I tilted my head, watching her. “We need something, then,” I said, calm despite her fury.

She whirled on me, eyes burning with the same relentless hunger that had driven her for decades. “We need more wolves!” she exclaimed. “Only then can we start with the breach. We’ve been clawing at the walls of Fenra for years, and still, they endure. How much longer must I wait to see that land in the palm of my hands?”

“It’s true,” I admitted, my smile fading.

Fenra was a country envied by most. Their land itself was the reason we couldn’t break them. This land we have, despite its flowery name, Montrose, is anything but flowers. It’s weak. Filled with thorns. Broken people, hungry people, a land cursed to bleed no matter how much power we pour into it.

I clenched my jaw. Even the vampires, for all their arrogance, were better off than we were.

Mother’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing.

After her death, my mom decided Fenra was the best land to take over. She was right, of course. It was fertile, rich, and untamed. It should be ours.

However, that was easier said than done.

For a moment, we were close.

Memories resurfaced in my mind, and at the center of it all was Allen Winters.

We were going to strike when he became Praetor. He was a wolf blinded by ambition, and he would have welcomed us.

He would have wanted our powers to claim not just Fenra, but the entirety of the continent. He was easy prey, willing to be led by the leash if it gave him more control.

But he lost. He lost to that righteous Alpha–Cade Callahan. Just like that, everything fell Our plans, our timing, all of it undone by one man.

We knew we couldn’t bribe him. Cade Callahan wouldn’t bend. He was too honorable and noble. He will never take our hand. And so, we sent rogues. We gathered them from surrounding territories, dragged them from their broken packs, and promised power in exchange for their loyalty.

apart.

We used them to strike at Fenra’s borders, to remind their people that the danger came from within, from their own kind, and not from us.

However, it wasn’t enough. Cade Callahan proved to be a far better leader than we ever

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Chapter 228 Thorns Of Rose

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imagined. He rallied his people. Even the young True Alphas held themselves with strength and dignity. Because of that, we’ve burned through what little resources we had left. We’re running out of rogues to send and tricks to play.

And yet, I couldn’t help but smile again. Slowly, I pushed off the wall, letting the grin spread across my face.

“Don’t worry, Mother,” I muttered.

Her head snapped toward me, suspicion in her eyes.

“I landed on a gold mine.”

Her eyes, sharp and dark, pinned me in place.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I let my smile linger, savoring the moment. She didn’t yet understand, but she would. “I found it,” I said softly. “The person in your vision.”

Her expression didn’t change, but I felt her attention sharpen.

“It is a win–win situation,” I continued, pacing the room. “At first, I thought she was weak. Insignificant. But the more I observed, the more I confirmed it. It is her. She will bring us to salvation. She is the one who yields the greatest power to wield magic itself.”

Mother’s lips curved into a faint, skeptical smile. “What is this win–win situation you speak of?” she pressed.

I chuckled. “We think we are losing wolves to send to Fenra’s borders, but we are not truly out of options. Somewhere, tucked away in that human country, a pack resides. That is why I went to Ylarc, Mother. I went because I knew the whispers of wolves hiding among humans were true,”

Her

eyes narrowed. She tapped her fingers against the desk. “A pack in the human country, you say? Hidden wolves?”

“Rogues?” she asked with a scoff.

I shook my head, the smile returning to my face. “Better.”

She stilled, and I let the silence stretch before answering.

“They are the very wolves our rogues have been fighting at Fenra’s borders,” I said. “I’ve seen the signs. They are strong, far stronger than the weaklings we’ve been scraping up and sending

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