Novel-novel oleh Michael Grey

LEAH“You’re not who you think you are.”“This again?” I mutter. I notice that his voice is too calm. It’s not soft, or tender like it was before he went to see Queen Reyna. This time, it sounds… controlled. Like he’s holding something back.“What is it?” I ask again, slower this time.He stares at me for a beat too long, like maybe if he just looks hard enough, I’ll already know. But then, I don’t, and it’s starting to make my stomach feel weird. His jaw shifts. His eyes are troubled, like there’s a whole storm going on in his head. He opens his mouth to talk, but then, he doesn’t. He just… shuts down.I stare at him blankly. What’s wrong with him? “Not here,” he says finally. “We should talk in Queen Reyna’s presence.”That’s not the answer I expected. “Why?”“Because it involves her,” he says, already standing, and turning towards the door like that’s the end of it, but it’s not. Not for me. “Lucian.”He stops, half-turns. The air between us feels heavy.“I need you to trust me,”

LUCIANThe smell hits me first. It’s not just death or rot, it’s… wrong, sour magic clinging to fur. My eyes fly to Leah nad she’s pressed against the wall, her eyes wide, and hands shaking even though she’s trying to hide it. I’m across the room in three strides, pulling her into my chest.“Hey… hey, it’s okay.” My voice is low, steady, even though my pulse is punching through my ribs. “I’ve got you. You’re fine.”“I’m not…” She swallows hard, and her breath stutters. “It was just there, Lucian. I woke up and…”“I know. I know.” I tilt her chin up so she’s looking at me, not the thing on the floor. “I’m here now. You’re safe.”Her eyes search mine like she’s looking for cracks, and I let her see all of it. The fear, rage, and the promise that I’ll burn the world before I let this happen again. I press my lips to her temple. “Nothing’s touching you. Not while I’m breathing.”She nods, small, still shaking. Sasha’s by the door, her face hard as stone, but her grip on the dagger’s too t

LEAHI wake up to a whole lot of heat. Lucian’s arm is basically welded to my waist, his hand spread out like it owns my hip. Which… okay, maybe it does. My body’s still buzzing from last night. My thighs sore in that yep, he ruined me way, and my lips are still swollen from all the kissing. The sheets smell like him, that faint forest scent that’s always clinging to him, to us. He’s lying on his stomach, half the sheet kicked off, bare back. His broad shoulders flex like they have a mind of their own, and yeah, my eyes might have traveled down just to where the sheet starts. Goddess knows I could trace him with my hands for hours, days. Forever, maybe.He catches me staring. Of course he does. His eyes crack open, lazy and sharp all at once. “Enjoying the view huh, little flower?” He says, his voice wrecked from sleep, deeper than usual.I groan into the pillow. “You’re too cocky.”“Hmm. Didn’t sound like that last night.” His mouth quirks. “You were…”“Don’t.” I grab the pillow to

LUCIAN‘What?” Leah’s question echo in my head. She’s still watching me, waiting.Fuck, I should say it right now. Just rip it out of my chest and hand it to her. You’re the only hybrid to ever exist. Everything that happened with your old pack, the arranged marriage, was a set-up to get you here.But the words stick, lodged in my throat like barbed wire.“Say it,” Fenrir growls in the back of my mind. “She deserves to know.”“I know,” I snap at him.“Then why are you staring at her like an idiot?" He snaps back.Because I’m not ready. The second I tell her, there’s no undoing it. The truth will hit her like a blade in the ribs, and she’ll see me as exactly what I am, a selfish bastard who played the long game to get what he wanted. And right now, I can’t stand the thought of her looking at me like that.So I do the cowardly thing, I pull back.“I…” I force a breath, stepping away from the cliff I was about to throw us both off. “About earlier…”Her brows lift. “Earlier?”“When you w

LEAHIt’s strange, really. How someone so ethereal can talk about war and death like she’s describing the weather, like it’s nothing. Her voice is soft, like wind weaving through the trees. But her words aren't, they land like blades. Cutting through any and every thing.She talks about the Council’s fears. About how wolves are too wild, too bloody. How Lycans are too dominant. How the world trembles when creatures like Lucian rise. I try not to bristle, but I eventually do.“Not all wolves are walking catastrophes, you know,” I say, tucking my hands into the sleeves of my robe. “Some of us just want to wake up, train, and maybe not die before breakfast.”A ghost of a smile flickers on her lips. “And yet you chose him.”“Or maybe the moon chose me for him. I wasn’t exactly handed a menu.”That gets a breath of laughter out of her. It's quiet, almost sad. But it’s still a laugh.She studies me, tilting her head. “You’re different.”“Mm. You keep saying that, but I’m starting to think t

LEAHOkay, so I might’ve slammed the door a little too hard when I walked out of the suite. But in my defense, Lucian deserved it. He gave me this icy look, and threw accusations like I was some kind of saboteur instead of… I don’t know… his supposed mate? Damn it!The air outside is cool and smells like mint and mountain dust. Or maybe that’s just my anger. I storm past a curved path of moonlit hedges, my arms folded tight, not really knowing where I’m going. I just want to get away from that suite, from him. And his stupid Council and their malicious stares.From Emily-Donna’s “Show us your mark.” I mean… who in the Goddesses name gives their child that name? Vampires really are weird as Lucian said. But then, her question stung. Not because I couldn’t show the mark, but because there was nothing there to show.Imagine, We’re not even marked. I mean, yeah, I know why… sort of. His trauma, his past, Elara. He never said all of that outright, but I’m not dumb. Still... would it have k