The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 343

Downstairs, the atmosphere was warm and relaxed. Caleb and Attia sat in the private study, leather armchairs facing each other, glasses of aged whiskey in their hands. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, casting dancing shadows across the walls.

Caleb leaned back, stretching his long legs out before him.

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“I have to admit,” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice, T never expected to see you here Sitting in my study. Drinking my whiskey”

Attia’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“Life is full of surprises.”

Caleb laughed softly. “That it is.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the weight of recent events setting around them like a familiar blanket.

Then the door burst open.

Caleb’s Beta stormed into the room, his face pale, his eyes wild. He was breathing hard, as if he had run the entire way from wherever he had been.

“Your Highness,” he said, his voice strained. “I have news. Urgent news.”

Caleb was on his feet instantly, his body tensed, his eyes sharp.

“What is it?”

The Beta’s throat worked.

*Alpha Calin,” he said. “He’s been released.”

The words hung in the air like a thunderclap.

Attia rose slowly, his face unreadable. His hands curled into fists at his sides.

*Released?” he repeated, his voice dangerously quiet. “How?”

The Beta shook his head, his expression grim.

“I don’t have all the details yet. But from what I’ve gathered, someone intervened. Someone with enough power and influence to override the Praetorians.”

Caleb’s jaw tightened.

“Who?”

The Beta hesitated.

“I don’t know. But I’m working on it. There are rumors-whispers-that someone high up in the Council is involved. Maybe even someone in the royal family itself.”

The words hit the room like a physical blow.

Sefoval 2

Attia stood frozen, his mind racing.

Someone in the royal family.

Claim

He thought of Lord Scott, his father, with his cold ambition and his insatiable hunger for power. He thought of all the enemies he had made over the years, all the people who would

love to see him fall.

And he thought of Meriem.

She had just started to believe she was safe. Just started to hope.

And now-

“Caleb,” Attia said, his voice low and urgent. “We need to warn Iva. We need to get Meriem to safety. Now.”

Caleb was already moving, his hand reaching for his phone.

“I’ll get the guards. We’ll lock down the castle. He won’t get within a mile of-”

The lights flickered.

Then died.

The room plunged into darkness.

And from somewhere in the distance, a scream echoed through the castle walls.

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33

Unexpected Confrontation

The darkness was absolute, lucky with their wolf senses that they were able to see.

Iva’s hand found Lori’s in the blackness, their fingers intertwining in a desperate grip. Beside them, Meriem stood frozen, her body rigid, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

The door creaked open.

A figure stepped into the room-tall, broad-shouldered, his silhouette outlined against the faint light from the hallway. His presence filled the space like a storm cloud, suffocating and oppressive.

“Finally,” he breathed, his voice dripping with venomous satisfaction. “I found my missing Luna. Now be a good girl and let’s go home. You’ve caused enough drama… sweetie.”

Meriem’s stomach churned with disgust.

His words were coated in false affection, a sickening attempt to rewrite his own narrative. She had heard that tone before-the condescending sweetness that was always a prelude to

violence.

“Drop the act, Calin,” she said, her voice trembling but steady. “We both know who you really are. I am not your sweetie.”

Calin’s smile was cold and cruel.

“Ah, my dear Meriem. Still so dramatic.” He turned to Iva and Lori, his expression shifting to one of practiced concern. “I apologize for this. She’s not well, you see. Mentally unstable. I’ve been trying to hide her schizophrenia for years, but her imagination is of the charts.”

Meriem felt bile rise in her throat.

*How dare he.*

How dare he stand there, in front of these kind women, and paint her as the crazy one. How dare he twist the truth, rewrite history, make her look like the villain in her own story.

She took a step back, her body trembling.

Calin advanced.

Iva stepped forward, placing herself between him and the two women behind her.

“You are not taking her anywhere, she is under royal protection,” she said, her voice cold and commanding.

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expected controntation

Calin’s eyes flickered to her, a hint of amusement dancing in their depths.

“And who are you to stop me?”

Iva’s chin lifted.

“I am the Crown Princess. And I am ordering you to leave. Now.”

Calin laughed-a sharp, dismissive sound.

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“Your Highness,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery. “I mean no disrespect. But this is a family matter. The Luna is unwell, and I am her husband. It is my duty to care for her as per the shifter laws, you can’t intervene.”

“By torturing her?” Iva’s voice was sharp. “By locking her away? By trying to kill her?”

Calin’s expression flickered.

For a moment, the mask slipped, revealing the rage and cruelty beneath.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snarled.

“I know exactly what I’m talking about,” Iva replied. “And I know that you are not leaving this room with her.”

Calin’s eyes blazed.

He lunged.

Iva was ready.

Despite her pregnancy, despite the lack of recent training, her Gamma training came flooding back. She sidestepped, her body moving with a fluid grace that belied her condition. Her hand shot out, deflecting his attack, and she drove her palm into his chest.

Calin stumbled back, surprise flashing across his face.

“You little-”

He swung at her, his claws extending.

Iva ducked, rolling to the side, and came up swinging. Her fist connected with his jaw, snapping his head to the side.

Calin roared in fury.

Lori grabbed Meriem’s arm, pulling her toward the corner of the room.

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“Stay behind me,” she hissed.

Meriem’s eyes were wide, her body shaking.

“He’s going to kill her,” she whispered. “He’s going to kill all of us.”

Lori’s grip tightened.

“Not if we fight.”

Calin lunged again, and Iva met him head-on.

She was smaller, pregnant, physically outmatched. But she was fast, fierce, and utterly determined to protect the people in this room.

Her training kicked in-every lesson she had learned in her pack, every fight she had ever

survived.

She ducked, pivoted, and drove her knee into his stomach.

Calin doubled over, gasping.

Iva’s mind was racing.

*Caleb,* she screamed through the bond. *Alpha Calin is here. Hurry. Please.*

She didn’t know if he had heard her.

She didn’t have time to find out.

Calin straightened, his eyes burning with a cold, deadly rage.

“You’re going to regret that,” he snarled.

He attacked again.

And Iva braced herself for the fight.

Calin cornered Iva against the wall.

She was breathing hard, her body trembling with exhaustion. Her hand instinctively pressed against her stomach, protecting the life growing within her. She was skilled-a trained Gamma fighter-but she was pregnant, and Calin was an Alpha.

His eyes gleamed with savage triumph.

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ted Confrontation

Ciam

“Any last words, Your Highness?” he taunted, his claws extending toward her throat.

Iva’s jaw tightened.

“You won’t win,” she said, her voice steady despite the fear coiling in her chest.

Calin laughed-a cold, cruel sound.

“Watch me.”

He lunged.

But before his claws could reach her, a powerful force slammed into him from the side, sending him crashing into the wall.

Caleb stood over him, his amber eyes blazing with a fury that made the air itself tremble. His body was vibrating with barely contained rage, his claws extended, his fangs bared.

“You dare,” he snarled, his voice low and deadly. “You dare touch my mate.”

Calin scrambled to his feet, his face twisted with manic desperation.

“Stay out of this!” he shrieked. “She is my Luna! You have no right to keep her away from me as per the laws-”

“I wrote some of those laws, but she is not your Luna,” Attia’s voice cut through the room like a blade. He stood in the doorway, his aura blazing, his eyes fixed on Calin with cold fury. “She is a victim. And you are a monster.”

Calin’s composure shattered.

His eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape.

There was none.

Caleb stepped forward, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

“This is no longer about your Luna,” he said. “The moment you chose to raise toward my mate, your life ended.”

your

hand

Calin opened his mouth to argue, to plead, to do anything to save himself.

But Caleb was faster.

His hand shot forward, plunging into Calin’s chest.

Calin’s eyes went wide.

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speted Comrentation

Clam

A choked gasp escaped his lips. His body convulsed, his hands clawing uselessly at Caleb’s

arm.

Caleb’s grip tightened.

And he ripped Calin’s heart from his chest.

The scene was blood and gore. Calin’s body crumpled to the floor, lifeless, his eyes still open in shock.

Meriem’s scream echoed through the room.

Her hand flew to her chest, her body doubling over as a wave of searing pain tore through her. The mate bond-the twisted, broken bond that had connected her to Calin-snapped like a frayed rope.

She crumpled to the ground, unconscious before she hit the floor.

Lori rushed to her side, her hands already reaching for Meriem’s pulse.

“She’s alive,” she said, her voice trembling. “But the bond-breaking it—it’s going to take a toll.”

Attia knelt beside them, his hand resting gently on Meriem’s forehead.

“She’s free,” he said softly. “Finally. Truly free.”

Iva leaned against Caleb, her body shaking with the aftermath of the fight.

“It’s over?” she whispered.

Caleb pulled her into his arms, his grip fierce and protective.

“It’s over,” he said. “He’s gone. Forever.”