Novel-novel oleh VID

SONYA'S POV"Alpha Garrick Savage. You stand guilty of treason, conspiracy, and endangering the lives of pack members." Elder Moira pauses, and the whole room follows her gaze to Reign. "However, Alpha Reign, you swore an oath to reinstate your father should his information lead to your mate's rescue. Do you intend to honor that oath?"Reign stands. "I do. I'll honor it."The room erupts with protests and muttering, a few people half-rising from their seats before Reign's glare settles them back down."I swore I'd reinstate him with full Alpha privileges," Reign says. "But I never swore to make him Pack Alpha again. He's an Alpha. Not the Alpha. And he doesn't get his council seat back.” His eyes cut to Garrick. "That was always the deal, Dad. You just didn't think I'd actually take it that literally."“That's not…” Garrick's mouth tightens, and he doesn't argue. There's nothing for him to argue with."Is there an objection to this reading of the oath?" Elder Moira asks the room.Sile

SONYA'S POVThe pack's main hall is packed by the time we arrive, every bench full, people standing along the back wall just to get a look at what's happening.Derek's already seated at the front, his hands resting on the table in front of him, bound in suppression chains. He looks calmly defiant. Too calm, actually, like he still believes there's a version of this where he walks out fine.Garrick sits a few feet away from him, dressed expensively, not a hair out of place, looking like he's here for a business meeting instead of a trial. There's no chains on him though. He came on his own, the way the oath he and Reign swore probably required, and he's wearing that fact like a shield.I sit with Phoebe near the front, my mom on my other side. Reign's already up near the council table, his arms crossed and jaw set.Elder Moira sits at the center of the council with the other elders, the Moonstone Blade resting in a leather case on the table in front of her, gold light barely leaking t

SONYA'S POVI'm halfway through a piece of toast in the dining room, still blushing at the memory of this morning's unfinished business with Reign, when Phoebe drops into the chair across from me, grinning like she's got a secret she's dying to spill."Sooo," she teases, stretching the word out way too long. "How was yesterday?""Fine.""Just fine?" She raises an eyebrow at me. "Because for a house built of stone, this place has absolutely no sense of privacy, and Landon told me he had to walk past Reign's room like four separate times yesterday and every single time…""Phoebe!""I'm just saying. Four times, Sonya."My face is already on fire. "We were busy.""Oh, I bet you were busy." She steals a piece of my toast, completely unbothered. "Busy being loud, from what I heard.""Oh goddess."My mom, sitting at the end of the table with her coffee, doesn't even try to hide her smile. "I think it's sweet.""Mom.""Reign almost lost you, dear. Twice. He's allowed to be a little enthusiast

SONYA'S POVI wake up sore in the best way possible.Reign's wrapped around me like an octopus, one arm across my chest, one leg thrown over mine, his face buried in my hair. It's possessive and adorable and makes me feel safe in a way I've never felt before.Through our new bond, I can feel his contentment. He's still asleep, but even unconscious, he's aware of me.I squirm slightly, and his arm tightens."Don't move," he mumbles into my hair."I need to pee, Reign.""No, you don't.""Yes, I do. Very badly."He groans but releases me. "Fine. But come back immediately.""So demanding.""You love it."A small smile lifts my lips. He's not wrong.I push off the bed and stumble to the bathroom, my legs shaky. When I catch sight of myself in the mirror, I freeze.There's a very visible mark on my neck. A claim mark that announces to everyone that I'm mated."Oh goddess," I whisper, touching it."Problem?" Reign appears in the doorway, completely unconcerned with his own nakedness."You m

SONYA'S POVI start moving properly then, rising and dropping in a rhythm that matches his upward thrusts, the sound of it obscene and perfect in the silence of the room. His hand stays on my ass, gripping and occasionally spanking, each impact sending a rush of heat straight to my core."Fuck," he growls, his voice rough, his eyes raking over me. "Look at you. Riding my cock like you own it. Like this is exactly where you've always belonged.""Maybe it is," I gasp."No maybe about it." He reaches between us and presses his thumb to my clit, hard and direct with no buildup. "You're going to come on top of me, Sonya. And you're going to look at me when you do it. Don't close your eyes."I keep them open. It's almost unbearable, holding his gaze while the pleasure crests, but I do it, and when I tip over the edge his name comes out of me like a plea and a hint of triumph crosses his face.He sits up without warning, wrapping his arms around me so I'm seated in his lap, facing him, still

SONYA'S POV"You can." His fingers press harder, his cock driving deeper. "Give it to me."He's right. I can. It builds faster this time, coiling hot and tight, and when it breaks it's harder than the first, my whole body shaking, a sound coming out of me that doesn't even sound like my own voice.He follows me into it with a rough, guttural groan, his hips slamming into mine as he comes, his fingers digging into my skin, his chest pressed so hard against my back I can feel his heartbeat.We collapse sideways onto the mattress, both of us breathing hard.For a long moment, neither of us speaks. His arm is around my waist, his lips pressed to the back of my neck, his cock still inside me, softening."Still alive?" he says eventually."Barely." I manage to roll over to face him. "You said you had a list."His eyes darken again. "I did.""How long is it?""Very." He pulls me closer, his hand tracing down my spine. "We've barely started."He rolls onto his back, pulling me with him so I'm

DANIELLE'S POVThe officer escorts me down a corridor I don't recognize, and I realize, with a fresh wave of dread, that they're taking me somewhere new.My new cell.I hate it before I even step inside.It's smaller than the holding room. Stained concrete walls, a thin mattress on a metal frame, a toilet in the corner with absolutely no privacy whatsoever, and the smell of bleach fighting a losing battle against a stench far worse under it.The officer shoves the door shut behind me, and the sound of the lock slamming into place sends a bone-deep and final shiver crawling down my spine.I sink onto the corner of the mattress and let the tears come again, because what else is there to do.I can't believe this is my life now.I can't believe loving Xarion, genuinely, completely loving him, has landed me here, in a concrete box, wearing an ugly jumpsuit, separated from everyone and everything I've ever known."Stupid," I whisper to myself, pressing my palms against my face. "Stupid, stu

DANIELLE'S POV"I told you."Skye drops a plastic tray of food onto the table between us and sits down across from me, her expression a careful mix of exasperation and something that might be pity, which is somehow worse."I warned you, Danielle," she continues, folding her arms. "I told you to be careful. I told you not to do anything reckless. And what did you do?"I stare at the tray instead of looking at her, because if I look at her right now I'm going to cry again, and I've already cried enough today to last several lifetimes."You don't have to remind me," I murmur, my voice scraped thin."I think I do," Skye replies, though her tone softens slightly. "Because clearly the lesson didn't land the first hundred times I said it."I press my palms against my eyes, my elbows on the table, the orange jumpsuit they made me wear scratching uncomfortably against my skin every time I move. I never thought I'd be wearing something like this. I never imagined a version of my life that invo

MEGAN'S POVMaverick and Makayla are standing there, and the second they see me, their faces light up, and they walk in without waiting for an invitation."Mommy!" Makayla announces, already climbing onto the couch. "How are you feeling?""We wanted to check on you," Maverick adds, settling beside his sister, his eyes scanning my face with that unsettling attentiveness he always has.Guilt tightens in my chest. They're four years old and they're checking in on me like seasoned caretakers."I'm feeling well, sweethearts," I reply, walking over and sitting on the corner of the coffee table across from them. "Thank you for asking."But Maverick's frown deepens, and he leans forward slightly. "Are you sure?""You look like something happened," Makayla adds, cocking her head, studying me the way she studies everything, like a tiny, suspicious detective."I'm okay," I insist, keeping my voice light. "Maybe it's just the healing. My body's still putting itself back together. That can make a

MEGAN'S POVI close my hotel room door behind me and lean back against it, closing my eyes.For a second I just stand there, letting the silence of the room settle over me, and I feel everything I just did outside the hotel entrance crash into me all at once, delayed, like the aftershock of something that already happened too fast to process the first time.I genuinely wasn't expecting to see Xarion today. Not there. Not with flowers, of all things, standing outside like he'd rehearsed how he'd hand them to me and still couldn't quite land it.Turning them down nearly broke something in me right there on the pavement. I had to dig my nails into my own palm just to keep my voice even, just to keep my face arranged into an expression that looked like resolve instead of the mess I actually was underneath it.That was hard.That was, without question, one of the hardest things I've had to do, harder than I expected it to be even though I knew it was coming.A tear breaks free before I can

XARION'S POVMegan's expression becomes noticeably colder the moment she hears the question. "That's none of your concern, Xarion."Fair enough.Brutally fair, actually, and I don't push it, mostly because I already know I won't like whatever answer she'd give me.I clear my throat and steer the conversation somewhere safer instead."Your driver," I say. "John. He's been caught."Megan's posture changes slightly, her attention locking in."He admitted his family was threatened," I continue. "That's why he assisted in your kidnapping. He didn't have a choice. They told him cooperate or watch his wife and kids pay for it."Megan's lips press together, but the hardness in her eyes softens fractionally. "I'm glad he's been caught at least. Regardless of his reasons.""Yeah." I nod once. "We shouldn't dwell on it though." I murmur, and then, because I can't think of a better transition and the flowers are starting to feel heavier by the second, I just hold them out to her. "Here."She loo

XARION'S POVI've been leaning against my car for almost ten minutes, holding a bouquet of flowers in front of this hotel like an idiot, trying to talk myself into walking inside.This is ridiculous.I'm a thirty-year-old Alpha. I've negotiated treaties with hostile territories and faced down rogue packs without breaking a sweat, and right now I'm leaning against my car in a parking lot, staring at a bunch of white peonies, wondering if they're too much, too little, or simply the wrong flower entirely. I'm also genuinely unsure whether walking through the hotel doors is a good idea or the worst one I've had all week.I should've asked Andrew. Andrew would've had an opinion, even an annoying one.But I didn't ask him, because Andrew would've made a comment about my hands shaking slightly, and my hands are not shaking, they're just resettling their hold on the stems.I keep running the scenario in my head.Megan opens the door and sees the flowers. She either softens, just a bit, enoug