Alpha Khy’s POV –The journey to England was long, but not unfamiliar. I’d ridden through rain, shadow, and cursed wind, across the whispering borderlands of Wales until the craggy silhouette of Castle Durnholde greeted me like an old ghost.Ancient. Isolated. Full of secrets.This was no royal castle, no place for balls or coronations. No, Durnholde was a fortress of forgotten knowledge, buried deep into the cliffs overlooking the black waters of the North Sea. Magic clung to its stones like mist.A friend of mine—Elias Thorne, a scholar of the Elder Council—met me at the front with tired eyes and a thick robe lined in rune thread. He offered a handshake and a nod.“Khy MacLeod,” he muttered, “You don’t travel without reason. What kind of ancient nightmare are you chasing this time?”“One that wears a crown,” I answered.We entered the castle, torchlight flickering against shelves that reached the heavens. Books older than kingdoms. Scrolls that shouldn’t exist. Spells written in lan
“You’re serious,” I whispered.“I always am,” he replied, fluffing his tail in a very un-serious way. “I just happen to be stylish about it.”Edric chuckled softly, but there was no humor behind it. We all felt it. The shift. The weight of something bigger looming ahead.Mr. Yellow turned and hopped onto the table with the elegance of a noble. He paced slowly, then paused. “It’s time I consider calling for backup.”“Backup?” I echoed. “Wait… you mean—”“Yes.” He closed his eyes. “Them.”“No,” Edric said immediately, eyes narrowing. “Not them.”“Yes them,” Mr. Yellow shot back. “They’re annoying, unpredictable, and loud, but they’re loyal. And powerful. And she’ll need them.”I blinked. “You mean… the vegetables?”He no
“Kyla!” Edric’s voice, urgent. “Are you alright? The entire east tower just glowed!”I stared at my shaking hands.The ancient words still echoed in my mind.“She must forget.”But I remembered.I remembered the look in that woman’s eyes.And for the first time in my life… I wasn’t afraid of who I was.I was terrified of what it meant.That morning.The dining table was overloaded. Like, royal overload. We’re talking thick golden pancakes the size of shields, crisped bacon stacked like firewood, dragonfruit slices shaped into roses, and eggs with truffle shavings I couldn’t even pronounce. I was halfway into my second mimosa and glaring at a suspiciously fluffy croissant when he did it again.“Would you not eyeball my eggs like that?” I snapped.Mr. Yellow.Perched on his personal velvet stool (yes, he has one), with his fuzzy paws crossed and his ears swaying like he was about to deliver a TED Talk. He sipped from a tiny gold goblet. Apple juice. With mint.“Darling, I wasn’t looking
Fidel’s POVWindsor PackThe wind that swept through the ruins of the Windsor Pack no longer smelled of hope.It smelled of ash… and endings.I stood just outside our once-busy clinic—Moonshade Healing House, carved from the oldest trees in the forest, wrapped in ancient ivy and whispers of a time when this pack was alive. When wolves howled not out of grief, but joy. Now, the halls were silent.Only Lana remained inside. Groaning in pain, one arm bandaged in layers of healing bark, salves, and regret.My wife, Malda, stood beside me, her eyes tired. Wrinkles that didn’t exist before the war had bloomed like vines across her face. She still tried to keep that warm healer’s smile. But neither of us were healers now.We were keepers of a secret.And guilt.“She’s getting worse,” Malda murmured, eyes on the dark clouds rolling above the forest. “The wound’s cursed. Whatever Aldrian’s become… it’s not of this world anymore.”I didn’t answer right away.Instead, my eyes flicked up to the h
KYLA’S POV —Another morning. Another round in the Royal Training Hall.I flicked my fingers toward the far end of the marble chamber, and a magnificent wave of flame and frost danced into the air, curling like twin serpents.“80%,” Edric had said this morning, his voice wrapped in pride and heat. “Soon, my queen, the sky itself will answer you.”I twirled, exhaling. The flames responded like loyal soldiers. Even the castle itself seemed to hum under my control. The massive runes etched on the chamber’s walls shimmered as my energy danced with them.I reached for him—not in body, but through our bond.“Are you watching me, my King?” I teased through the thread of golden light that tethered us now.His response came immediately.“Always, my Luna.”His voice in my head was like honey and thunder. And I could hear more now—not just him but the rumbling growl of his wolf, who had warmed to me enough to send approving huffs like I was his favorite toy.I smirked.But then—everything shifte
ALDRIAN WINDSOR’S POV – The air was thick. Not with mist, not with fog, but with pure, suffocating evil.We had reached the center of the cursed grove after days of blood, sweat, and arguments that made me regret not marrying a tree instead of Lana. The clearing pulsed with unnatural life — vines moved like snakes, eyes blinked in bark, and the sky above seemed to rot.In the middle stood Florence, the High Witch of the Coven of Witherthorn, draped in obsidian robes that shimmered with veins of red.Her voice was like bone grinding against stone. “Do you bring what was asked?”I dropped the sack. The heartroot flower, covered in crocodile blood. A vial of The Ashen Bone of the First Shifter stolen from the Black Market. The Tear of the Forgotten Moon from the goblin. A feather from a crow that never flies. And… a drop of Luna blood. Mine.Florence cackled. “Foolish, angry, broken. Just what the darkness loves.”She began chanting. The earth groaned. The trees screamed.Lana backed u