The Silver Wolf (Diana and Talon) novel Chapter 176

Chapter One Hundred Seventy Six

Agatha stood before him, tears gathering in her eyes. Her voice was quiet when she answered.

“Because I love him.”

Gideon froze.

“He is my mate.”

Agatha’s hand moved over the place where the pup kicked.

“He is the father of my child.”

“Stop.”

“And he will come for us.”

“I said stop.”

“I will wait for him.”

The shadows in the room twisted violently. Agatha kept speaking.

“I will wait for as long as it takes.”

Something inside Gideon’s expression broke. The final remains of patience disappeared.

“Then let him come.”

Agatha stared at him. Gideon smiled. It was cold and deliberate.

“Let him enter the coven and find you bound to me.”

Fear tightened around Agatha’s heart.

“What are you saying?”

“We will have our binding tonight.”

Her face paled.

“No.”

“I have waited long enough.”

“No, Gideon.”

His smile widened.

“You have had nearly two months to accept what must happen.”

“Nothing must happen.”

“Our families have prepared for this since we were children.”

Clam

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Chapter Openied Seventy Six

“Our families no longer control me.”

“You will become mine before the moon reaches its highest point.”

Agatha shook her head.

“I will not bind myself to you.”

“You will.”

“Never.”

Gideon stepped closer. Agatha held her ground.

“Even if you kill me,” she said, “I will not complete the binding.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I have only one mate.”

“Do not say that.”

“Lucian is my mate.”

Gideon’s smile returned. This time, there was no warmth or sanity within it.

“You still believe you have a choice.”

Agatha’s breath caught. Gideon leaned closer.

“If you refuse to bind yourself to me tonight, I will take your refusal as proof that you wish to see your parents die.”

Agatha’s face drained of color.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“You would not.”

Gideon’s gaze remained steady.

“Wouldn’t I?”

Clam

Agatha looked toward the closed door. Her mother and father were downstairs. Close enough that she could hear faint movement. Close enough for Gideon to reach them within seconds.

“They have done nothing to you,” she whispered.

“They raised you to believe you could abandon your duty.”

“They begged me to remain silent about your escape.”

“They accepted that creature growing inside you.”

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<Chapter One+miked Seventy Six

Agotha’s hands tightened around her stomach.

“They are innocent.”

“They are leverage.”

The casualness of his answer horrified her.

“You loved them once.”

“I loved many things once.”

“Gideon…”

“I have nothing else to lose.”

His voice was disturbingly calm.

“You already took everything from me.”

“I did not.”

“You took my future. You took my dignity. You took the life that belonged to me.”

His eyes darkened further.

“So now, you will give it back.”

Agatha shook her head.

“You are ill.”

“No. I finally understand what love requires.”

“This is not love.”

“Do not tell me what I feel.”

“Love does not threaten innocent people.”

Gideon’s expression hardened.

“Disobey me, and I will make certain you watch your parents die.”

Agatha’s eyes widened.

“One at a time.”

“No.”

“Slowly.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“You cannot do this.”

Claun

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Chapter Quemired Seventy St

“No one here can stop me.”

Clam

The Statement held no arrogance. Only certainty. And Agatha knew it was true. Gideon had become more powerful than the elders

The coven feared him. Her parents could not defend themselves against his darkness. Even Agatha’s magic was weakened by pregnancy and the spells surrounding the house. Gideon moved toward the door.

“You have until nightfall.”

Agatha stared after him.

“Gideon, wait.”

He stopped but did not turn around.

“If I bind myself to you, you will not hurt my parents?”

His shoulders relaxed slightly.

“You will have no reason to worry about them.”

“And my pup?”

Silence filled the room. Gideon finally looked back.

“We will discuss the creature after the birth.”

Agatha’s hope vanished.

“That is not an answer.”

“It is the only answer you will receive.”

He opened the door. The magic sealing it disappeared.

Agatha’s mother stood in the hallway, pale and trembling. She must have been trying to enter. Gideon walked past her without acknowledgment. Before descending the stairs, he glanced back at Agatha one final time.

“Prepare yourself.”

The darkness in his eyes seemed to swallow the light around him.

“Tonight, you will become mine.”

Then he left. Agatha remained standing in the middle of the room. Her mother rushed inside the moment Gideon disappeared down the stairs.

“What did he say?”

Agatha could not answer immediately. Her knees weakened. Her mother caught her before she fell and guided her toward the bed.

“He wants the binding tonight,” Agatha whispered.

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< Chapter Que+undred Seventy Six

Her mother covered her mouth.

“And if I refuse…”

Agatha looked toward the doorway where Gideon had stood. Tears slipped silently down her face.

“He will kill you and Father.”

Her mother pulled her into her arms.

“No.”

Agatha pressed both hands over her stomach as the pup moved restlessly inside her. She felt trapped between impossible choices.

Claim

Bind herself to a man consumed by darkness. Betray the mate she loved. Or refuse and risk the lives of her parents. Agatha closed her eyes and reached desperately through the faint connection inside her chest.

“Lucian,” she whispered.

Her voice broke.

“Please find me.”

Far beyond the walls of the coven, something answered through the bond. A distant warmth. A powerful

presence.

And beneath it, the faintest promise of approaching war.

11

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