Chapter 56

MAGNAR’S POV I stood frozen, my mind replaying everything I had just witnessed. Valeria—no, that woman—was no longer the weak, trembling girl I had kicked into the lake. She had changed, transformed into someone unrecognizable. Strong. Defiant. Fearless. How did this happen? How was she able to stand there, unyielding, after everything I had done to her? After everything we had done to her? I clenched my fists at my sides, anger and confusion swirling inside me. My wolf was silent now, but I could feel his emotions roiling just beneath the surface. He wasn’t angry; he was… proud? No, that wasn’t right. He felt something for her—something I didn’t want to acknowledge. Was this my fault? Did I break her so completely that she rebuilt herself into someone entirely different? Or was she always like this, hiding her true strength beneath that fragile exterior? I didn’t have time to answer my own questions. “You!” My father’s voice roared from across the field, sharp and filled with fury. “W