The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 25

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The moment their footsteps faded down the hallway and the low murmur of voices shifted toward her father’s office, Iva moved.

Her body reacted before her mind could fully catch up, muscles tight, breath shallow, every nerve screaming that she had only seconds. She slipped away from the pantry like a shadow, careful not to let the floor creak beneath her feet, and hurried up the stairs, her heart pounding so hard she was sure the entire house could hear it.

Once inside her room, she shut the door softly-too softly, as if any louder sound might betray her-and then locked it.

The click of the lock echoed in the silence.

Only then did her strength give way.

Her back slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor, knees pulled to her chest, hands shaking uncontrollably. Her stomach churned violently, and for a brief, terrifying moment she thought she would throw up right there, bile burning her throat, the words she had overheard replaying in her mind like a

curse.

Breeding stock.

Pure.

An exchange.

Her own father.

Her own Alpha.

“Iva,” Avalon’s voice whispered inside her mind, steady and warm, wrapping around her like invisible arms. “Breathe with me. Slow. In… and out.”

Iva pressed her palm against her mouth and obeyed, inhaling shakily, then exhaling in broken gasps. Avalon guided her gently, grounding her, pulling her back from the edge where panic threatened to swallow her whole.

“They were talking about me like I’m not even a person,” Iva whispered hoarsely. “Like I’m… a thing. Something to trade.”

Her chest ached as if someone had reached inside and crushed her heart in their fist.

“Where is the pack?” she continued, tears finally spilling over, hot and unstoppable. “Where is the solidarity, the protection? They preach about loyalty, about unity, about how a pack defends its own… but when it mattered-when / mattered-none of that existed.”

Avalon’s presence pressed closer. “Their failure does not define you,” she said softly. “Their corruption is not your worth.”

Iva let out a broken laugh that sounded more like a sob. “Even my father,” she whispered. “He didn’t hesitate. Not once.”

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For a long moment, there was only silence, broken by her uneven breathing.

Then Avalon spoke again, carefully. “We will survive this. In the end we are The Messenger.”

+25 Points

Iva wiped her tears with the back of her hand and slowly forced herself to her feet. She walked to the bed and sat down, shoulders slumped, eyes burning, her reflection in the mirror looking older somehow- harder.

“You know what?” she said quietly after a while. “Maybe it’s better this way.”

Avalon paused.

“If they see me as nothing but a burden, a bargaining chip,” Iva continued, her voice steadier now, resolve slowly replacing despair, “then there is nothing left to keep us here.”

She swallowed. “Nothing… except Mom. And Lori. And her family.

That hurt the most.

But pain, she was learning, could not be allowed to chain her.

She stood and moved to the loose floorboard beneath her bed, lifting it carefully. Her heart pounded as she slipped the provisions inside-dried food, basic supplies-her ears straining for any sound outside the

room.

Every second felt stolen.

When she finished, she replaced the board and sat back on her heels, chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Just a little longer,” she whispered. “Just a little.”

She reached for her mobile phone and opened her checklist.

Documents.

Clothes.

Savings.

Escape route.

Timing.

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