Novels by Liliana Pen

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 room is still dark when Lucian's lips find mine in a deep, hungry kiss.His kiss was patient, almost reverent as his body held carefully above me as if I might break. The soft silk sheets are cool against my skin, but his body is warm like a fire. He leans over me, his familiar weight both comforting and safe.I arch my back, pressing my bare chest against his, trying to wake something wild inside him. I want him to stop treating me like a fragile piece of glass. But he only kisses me gently, slow, soft, and careful. That is the problem. He is always so careful. Even after five years, his dark eyes still hold the same deep hunger, yet he keeps holding himself back. This morning, something inside my chest finally gave way."Stop," I say, gently pushing against his chest.He freezes at once. A few strands of his silver hair fall over his eyes as he searches my face, afraid he has hurt me."Did I—""You never do anything wrong." I lift my hand to his jaw and make him loo

ARIEL'S POVThe remote is shaking in Lucian's hand before I even understood why.His knuckles have gone white around the plastic, and for a man who once watched his own guards die without blinking, that small tremor scares me more than anything on the screen.I follow his eyes back to the TV, where Isabella Moretti is being walked down a courthouse staircase in handcuffs, her hair perfect, her face empty, cameras stroking white against her skin like she's still posing for something. Behind her, further down the steps, a man in a rumpled suit gets shoved into another car — Mayor Moretti, no title left to hide behind now, his tie crooked, his mouth moving in words the microphones don't catch."Turn it up, that's Drake," Adrian says, and I still flinch a little every time I hear that name out loud, even now that the man attached to it is ash and paperwork.Lucian turns it up. The anchor's voice fills the room, crisp and merciless;“Sources confirm the murder weapon matches wounds found o

ISABELLA'S POVI step into the marble foyer, and for a second I don't understand why the print looks so dark against the white floor.My hands are still trembling from the drive home, jerking on the wheel every time a siren passes, and I don't even register that I'm dripping until my mother's voice cuts through the fog in my head."Bella." My mother's voice sharpens, the way it always does when something threatens to embarrass her before it threatens to hurt me. "What is that on your shoe?"I look down. My heel has left three small red prints across the floor, perfect little crescents, like something out of a crime scene photo. I don't answer. I can't. My nanny appears out of nowhere the way she always does, hovering with a towel already in her hands, and I shove the heels at her chest without a word."Throw these away," I say, and my voice comes out steadier than I feel.She doesn't ask questions. Miss Vane never does. That's why I keep her.I make it as far as the sitting room befo

LUCIEN'S POVI stopped fighting three days ago.The chains dug into my wrists deep enough that I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, and every time one of Drake's men came down those stairs, I let them hit me.I didn't raise a hand. I didn't growl. My father's soldiers took turns like it was a shift schedule, fists and boots and the occasional blade edge across skin that used to heal fast and now just bled slowly, and I let every one of them land because I had already decided something in the dark that made the pain feel almost fair.I wasn't fit to be anyone's father.Ariel had survived nine months carrying my son with nothing from me but silence and a debt she never asked for, and somewhere out there Adrian was doing what I never learned how to — showing up, staying, choosing her without conditions attached. What had I ever given her except a night she didn't remember choosing and a lifetime of running from men like my father?A boy deserved better than a king who dealt in blood money

ARIEL'S POVMy son's mouth pulled at my breast, small fists kneading the air like he was still deciding whether the world deserved his trust. His brows were barely formed, but he had Lucian's frown already. Three days old and he frowned exactly like his father when someone brought him bad news.I traced his cheek with one finger."You're going to be trouble," I whispered. "Just like him."The room was quiet except for the small sounds babies make — the soft pull of feeding, a hum in his throat when he was pleased. Evana's voice came back to me anyway, uninvited, the way bad thoughts do at three in the morning.What if he's not out there fighting? What if we're praying over nothing?"No." I said out loud, to the empty room, like saying it would make it truer. "He's not dead. I'd feel it." I didn't know that. Not really. I just needed it to be true so desperately.My eyes burned before I understood why. I wiped at them with the back of my wrist, annoyed at myself, and that's when somet

ARIEL'S POVI woke to an empty bassinet and my own scream still hanging in the air."Where is he?" I was already off the bed, wires ripping from my arm, my legs buckling under me before Evana caught my shoulders. "Where is my son?""He's in observation," the nurse said, too fast, too bright, the kind of voice people use when they're lying to a child. "Standard procedure after a difficult delivery. Nothing to worry about."I didn't believe her for one second. I made her walk me to the nursery myself, one hand gripping the IV pole like a weapon, and when we got there, the crib they pointed to was empty and cold like it had never held a baby at all. Another nurse checked the log. Then another. Nobody could tell me which room he'd been moved to, which doctor had signed for him, which floor. The window at the end of the hall was open, curtains snapping in the wind, and the nurse who'd carried him out of the delivery room twenty minutes earlier was nowhere in the building."The cameras," a