Liliana Pen의 작품

Kael’s POVThe chandeliers shimmered above us like a thousand quiet stars, their light spilling over the marble hall in molten gold and silver. Music drifted through the air, slow, romantic, laced with that aching sweetness that tugs at forgotten memories and makes even the fiercest warriors feel young again.My estate had never looked so alive. Every corridor, every balcony, every garden overflowed with laughter and the heady scent of blooming roses.Diana said I’d gone overboard.She wasn’t wrong.But when she’d looked at me this morning, eyes bright with disbelief as she stepped into her gown, her veil catching the morning sunlight like threads of molten glass, I would have burned the world itself just to see her smile like that again.Now, as I led her through the dance floor, her hand resting in mine, the other brushing over her growing belly, I couldn’t stop laughing at myself.If anyone had told me years ago that Kael Draven—the half-breed Alpha, grandson of the most feared bein

Diana’s POVThe scent of fried chicken and buttery spaghetti filled the air, warm, sweet, comforting when I came down the stairs. Veronica was already setting the table, humming off-key. Before I reached the last step, she dropped the napkin she was folding and rushed toward me, her apron fluttering like a white flag behind her.“Careful, ma’am!” she gasped, steadying my arm as if I might collapse. “You shouldn’t be walking down the stairs alone!”I sighed, a small laugh escaping me. “Veronica, I’m pregnant, not dying. I don’t even feel heavy yet. You’ve got to stop treating me like porcelain.”Her eyes widened in mock offense. “Ah, but you are porcelain! Sir Kael’s porcelain doll! If anything happens to you, that man will skin me alive and roast me over the fire!”I chuckled. “You’re too dramatic.”“Dramatic? You think this is a drama?” she teased. “I’ve never seen Sir Kael act like this before. The way he watches you… it’s like a mother guarding her child.”I rolled my eyes, though

Kael’s POVMorning sunlight bled through the curtains, slow and searing, like light leaking from an open wound.I stood before the mirror, staring at the stranger in my reflection: red-rimmed eyes, a clenched jaw, my usual black shirt hanging off me like armor that no longer fit. The color felt foreign today, almost mocking; a funeral shroud for something still breathing.I told myself today would be different.Today, I would take Diana to the airport.Even if she wouldn’t meet my eyes, even if her words came sharp with hate, I would still drive her there. I would still watch her walk away, because loving her meant accepting the ache that came with it.I slipped on my watch. My phone buzzed: three new messages.All from her mother. None from her.SHE’S LEAVING TODAY.HER FLIGHT’S AT NOON.KAEL, PLEASE… TAKE CARE OF HER, EVEN IF SHE WON’T LET YOU.She didn’t have to ask. I already had.For weeks, I’d slipped money through her mother’s hands, making sure Diana and our unborn child had e

Sovereign’s POVThe ache in my bladder was relentless, a petty humiliation when death itself was stalking me.By the goddess, what a ridiculous thing to worry about when one’s life hangs by a thread.I’d already relieved myself six times this morning, each time praying it would wash away the dread coiled in my gut.Thirty minutes before the flight, I couldn’t hold it any longer. I slipped into one of the airport restrooms, my face hidden beneath a dark cap, shoulders hunched like a beggar’s. No one could recognize me, not when my name still burned on the new Justice’s wanted list.Humans. Always too curious. Too self-righteous.They poke their noses into everything they don’t understand. That’s why I wanted supernaturals in power, to keep order where chaos breeds. But Kael ruined it all. He handed the reins back to the humans, and now the country rots under their trembling hands.The tiled air reeked faintly of detergent and jet fuel. Somewhere beyond the door, a child laughed; high,

Diana’s POVThe morning light filtered through my window, trembling like a breath held too long. It painted the letter in my hands; SAMUEL MERRITT UNIVERSITY, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, in quiet gold.I’d read the words so many times they’d lost meaning, yet seeing my name beneath “WE ARE PLEASED TO INFORM YOU…” still sent a shiver through me.A month ago, I wouldn’t have believed in joy again. Fire was all I remembered; Eva’s soft smile swallowed by collapsing walls of Ashmoor, Kael’s blood hot against my palms, and the air thick with smoke and endings.But now there was this letter.A letter I had chosen for myself.Sovereign had wanted Harvard for me. He’d arranged everything, of course, but I had torn that letter in half. I didn’t want a future written by his manipulative hands. I wanted a success I could claim as mine.So when Samuel Merritt’s envelope came, I told myself it was a sign — a fragile promise that maybe the goddess hadn’t turned her face from me completely.“Have you told

Diana’s POVGeorge voice when I and Eva was coming in replayed in my head amid the Chaos and fire:“Diana, stop!” George’s arm had barred my way, his face streaked with ash. “Kael’s saving lives, you can't go to him.”But my Wolf kept whimpering in my head; Kael would not die alone. If the Sovereign wanted his life, he’d have to carve mine out beside it.I shoved past George and ran inside. And immediately I came inside and saw Lucien standing over Kael, gun gleaming in his hand.Something inside me broke. And I had only one question in my mind; is this trap the life George claimed Kael was saving?Even now that I and Kael layed here weakly not offering any help to Eva who was fighting Lucien on behalf of us, I felt like I'm the cause of all this. Eva and Kael are Suffering because of my wicked father, If I hadn't been in their lives maybe they wouldn't have to face this fate.Lucien spun Eva pushing her through the door, “Run you moron!” Lucien screamed at her.Eva ran back hitting L

ZOELLA'S POVThe envelope burned against my palm like it knew what it was carrying."Nolan."My voice came out sharper than I meant it to, cutting through the space between us like a blade looking for something to hit."Idris and his family were exiled. Alpha's orders. So how did a book meant only for pack officers end up in his hands long enough to write my name on an envelope?"Nolan didn't answer right away. He walked to the door, checked the hallway, then shut it again before turning back to me with the kind of calm that only comes from someone who has rehearsed this moment a hundred times in his head.His eyes weren't avoiding mine. They were measuring me, deciding how much I could carry."Sit down first.""I don't want to sit.""Zoey."Just my name, low and steady, the way he always said it. "Sit down."I sat. Not because he told me to, but because my legs had started shaking, and I refused to let him see me fall.He crouched in front of the drawer he had pulled the record book

QUEEN HELENA’S POVThe vase exploded against the stone wall. Shards of glass scattered across the floor like ice.I stood in the center of my chamber, chest rising and falling with fury. My fingers trembled around the stem of a silver goblet."The fool."The goblet flew.It struck the fireplace and shattered with a deafening crack.My rage wasn't because Marrek had survived. It wasn't even because the assassination had failed.No.It was because Saraphina had betrayed me.Just yesterday, Saraphina came crawling back to me, bitter, broken, and consumed by jealousy. She blamed Violet for everything—her failures, her pain, and the life she believed had been stolen from her.I welcomed that hatred. I nurtured it, fed it, and used it to my advantage. So why now? Why had Saraphina suddenly found a conscience? Why choose this moment to ruin everything when we were so close to getting what we wanted?My jaw tightened as a far more dangerous thought crept into my mind.Saraphina knew too much.

VIOLET'S POV"STOP!"The scream ripped through the grand dining hall like a blade.Everything froze.The music died mid-note.Servants stopped moving.Even the air seemed to lock inside my lungs.I stared at the woman racing toward us, my heart suddenly pounding so hard it hurt. For a moment, my mind refused to believe what my eyes were seeing.Mother.Five years.Five years since I had last seen her.Five years since I had walked away from everything connected to her.And now she was here inside Wolves-Heaven.Nausea rolled through me.Before I could move, the guards surged forward."Stop her!"I shot to my feet. "Let her through!"Every guard immediately halted.Seraphina stumbled past them. But instead of running to me… Instead of embracing me after all these years...She lunged straight toward Marrek.Smack!The cookie flew from his tiny hand.Gasps erupted across the hall.Marrek startled, his wide eyes filling with confusion.Then Seraphina slammed both palms into the servant's

LADY SARAPHINA'S POVNo.No!The word slammed through my mind like a curse.I jerked upright in bed, a sharp breath tearing from my lungs.The room felt unnaturally still, the cold pressing against my skin like a warning.I hadn't truly slept.Every time I closed my eyes, the same images returned to torment me.Zoey's face.The shattered poison vial.Helena's smile.I pressed trembling fingers against my temples.I was trapped.If I refused Helena, everything would come out.The gold.The bribes.The years I had looked away while Violet suffered.The entire kingdom would finally see the truth I'd spent years burying.A sick knot tightened in my stomach.But if I obeyed Helena… I squeezed my eyes shut. Then I would become something even worse.A murderer.A child killer.The thought made bile rise in my throat.I threw back the blankets and crossed the room, stopping at the window. Golden morning light spilled across the palace grounds below. Servants rushed across the courtyards carryi

MERRIN'S POV"Impossible."The word left my mouth again and again.By now, I'd lost count.Across my chamber, Nolan stood in silence, his expression unreadable. Hours had passed since he'd delivered the news.“Silvan might not be dead.”The thought refused to leave.It burrowed deeper into my mind with every passing hour.I slammed both hands against my desk. The impact echoed through the room."He died. I watched you carry his body. I saw him take his last breath.”Nolan didn't move.For a long moment, only the crackling fireplace answered.Then Nolan finally spoke."You saw what you believed was his last breath."A cold sensation slid down my spine.For the first time, I allowed myself to consider it.What if Silvan was alive?What if he returned?What if one day those palace gates opened…and he walked inside?The image came too easily.Violet running toward him.Marrek throwing himself into his arms.The boy's face lighting up with the happiness I'd spent weeks trying—and failing—t

MERRIN'S POV"Mama..."The broken sound of Marrek's voice stopped me cold.His small chest rose and fell unevenly as tears streamed down his face. Every breath seemed to hurt him."You held Father's bracelet and cried," he whispered. "You said you missed him."Silence swallowed the room.I couldn't move. Neither could Violet.Marrek looked directly at her, and the question in his eyes was far more devastating than the tears."Why are you standing with the man who killed him?"Violet crossed the room so quickly the chair beside the bed nearly toppled."No." Her voice cracked. "No, sweetheart. That's not—""Did you stop loving Father already?"The question shattered whatever composure she had left."Never." She dropped to her knees beside the bed and took his trembling hands in hers. "Never, Marrek.""You said he loved us.""He did.""You said we'd never forget him.""We won't."His face turned toward me."Then why were you smiling at him?"Violet flinched. "I wasn't smiling."His voice

ARIEL'S POV The moment Evana stepped out of the room, I was already moving.I waited until the door clicked shut, then slipped off the bed despite the dull ache pulling through my lower stomach. My eyes flew across the room. The flash drive wasn't in Evana's hand when she left. I was sure of it.Good.That meant she had hidden it somewhere.I crossed the room as fast as I could. The first drawer beside the desk was locked. I rattled the handle again, but it refused to budge.The second drawer opened.Folders.Notebooks.Receipts.No drive.Panic grew with every passing second. Evana could come back at any moment. If she showed Lucien that evidence, everything would explode. Maybe he hadn't killed that girl. Maybe he hadn't even known about it. But the evidence pointed directly to Velvet Fang.And once Evana started digging, she wouldn't stop.A knock sounded outside.I froze.Footsteps approached.Then passed.I released the breath I'd been holding and hurried toward the wardrobe.No

LUCIEN'S POVI had missed Ariel so much.So much that the moment I saw her walking up the driveway, relief nearly stole the air from my lungs.She was alive. Safe. Here.For hours, I had imagined every terrible thing that could have happened to her. Fear had consumed me for hours, but the sight of her finally silenced it.And it was all thanks to Adrian's personal assistant, Henry, who told us in time about the videos showing Ariel with my father. Without that information, she might have disappeared from the city completely. She could have been lost forever along with my child, and that was something I wouldn't have survived.As Ariel walked toward me with Evana beside her and her mother and Adrian following behind, the overwhelming joy inside me pushed me forward before I could think.I wrapped my arms around her tightly."Thank you for being alive," I whispered.But Ariel pulled away."No."The word was quiet, but it hit me harder than a scream.I froze, my arms still half around he

ARIEL'S POV"How dare you, Drake!"The furious voice echoed through the station before anyone could react.My cheek still burned where Lord Drake had slapped me, but everyone's attention instantly shifted away from me and toward the voice. The crowd quickly stepped aside, shocked by the power behind those words. Even the guards froze.For the first time since this nightmare began, Lord Drake's face changed. His confidence vanished, replaced by something I never expected.Disappointment.A woman walked through the crowd.She wasn't dressed in expensive clothes, and she wasn't surrounded by bodyguards. She didn't look rich or powerful. She looked like an ordinary woman."My... Mom?"The word slipped out before I could stop it.She looked nothing like the woman I had left behind. The fragile mother who struggled to stand after every hospital visit was gone. The woman walking toward us now carried herself with a strength I had never seen before. Her face was pale from illness, but her eye

LORD DRAKE'S POVNo one answered me.The room remained deathly quiet, yet every guard looked terrified. One stared at the floor. Another swallowed so hard I heard it from across the room.Orion walked to the open window and looked down, then slowly turned back to me. Confusion was clear on his face.“My lord…” he said carefully. “No one could survive that fall.”I stepped closer to the edge and looked down again. After a moment, I turned back into the room.“Search every floor.”No one moved.“I said…” My voice rose until it filled the suite. “…SEARCH!”The guards broke apart and ran in different directions.I walked back inside, but my thoughts would not settle. The sedative I used could keep a trained Alpha asleep for hours. Ariel was a pregnant human. She should not have been able to wake up before sunrise, let alone escape using a thin rope down three floors.Nothing about this made sense.Unless I had made a mistake. I should have kept her in the penthouse, on the highest floor of

LORD DRAKE'S POV“Take her."My voice cut through the silence of the night.Two guards immediately lifted Ariel's unconscious body from the bed. The sedative still held her in a deep sleep, even after an hour had passed since we took her from Lucien's guards. Her breathing was slow and steady, as if she were only resting after a long, tiring day.One guard carefully pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders while the other reached for the travel bag I had packed for her."Careful," I said.The guard froze and looked at me, confused."I mean the child," I growled.He lowered his head at once. "Yes, my lord."Without another word, they carried her toward the private elevator of the secret hotel I had booked for this very purpose.This wasn't murder.Not anymore.I had already crossed that road once when I ordered her extraction, and it had nearly cost me whatever remained of my conscience. Looking at her sleeping face now, I saw none of the danger Orion spoke about. She looked too yo

ARIEL'S POV“Alpha said nobody moves.”The guard beside the car repeated the order for the third time. Rain still dripped from his hair, and blood stained the sleeve of his jacket, though he kept acting as if he wasn't hurt.The coat around my shoulders still smelled of smoke and gunpowder. I hated sitting there. Every second felt wrong.Lucian and Adrian were somewhere beyond the trees, somewhere past the broken factory, somewhere bullets had been flying only minutes earlier. I pressed my hands together and prayed.Please. Please come back.The baby moved.Or maybe I only imagined it.The guard near my window glanced at me. “They’re Alpha wolves. They’ll be fine.”But his voice sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.My fingers tightened around the phone Lord Drake had given me. Suddenly, the screen lit up, and I froze.A map appeared.A blinking red dot.My location.For a few seconds, I could only stare.No.No, that wasn't possible.My thumb moved across the screen.Track