My Grief Counselor’s a Liar
Elijah Black was born to lead. He is the alpha heir, a billionaire empire builder, and a man whose wolf once roared with purpose. But when his fated mate died, the bond shattered, and so did he. His wolf went silent. Elijah stopped shifting, stopped living, and forced himself into a grief support group in the basement of St. Catherine’s Church because disappearing into the sorrow of strangers felt easier than facing his own.
Then Jaxon Reed walks in, late, loud, and chaotic, completely out of place in a room full of mourning hearts. He does not claim to grieve a person, but instead the version of himself he destroyed. He lies with charm, performs with reckless humor, and unsettles everyone, especially Elijah.
Elijah wants to hate him, but his wolf wants to chase him. Jaxon wants to vanish, but his smile refuses to leave.
Their connection is electric. It is grief meeting chaos, discipline clashing with wild instinct. Elijah is pulled back to life against his will, and Jaxon is seen for the first time in years. But Elijah’s world is not human, and Jaxon’s past is far from harmless.
As the tension between them grows, both men must confront a truth neither is ready to name.
What happens when the alpha who refuses to shift meets the man whose very existence wakes the wolf inside him?
The answer will change everything, if they survive long enough to face it.
Baca
Chapter: CHAPTER 13The hallway outside the basement smelled cleaner than the room itself, but it still carried the faint, clinging trace of old grief. Elijah walked beside Jaxon in silence, keeping his pace measured. He did not rush, or linger. He simply stayed close enough that the space between them felt intentional.Jaxon did not speak at first either. He zipped his jacket halfway, then unzipped it again as if he could not decide whether he wanted the barrier.They climbed the stairs, passed the heavy door, and stepped out into the night.Cold air met them like a slap. It cleared the stale scent from Elijah’s lungs and replaced it with wet pavement, exhaust, and the faint sweetness of pine from a tree somewhere nearby.Jaxon exhaled. “That room always feels like it is holding its breath,” he said.Elijah glanced at him. “It is.”Jaxon looked over, brow lifting. “That sounded like you believe the room is alive.”“It is full of people who are,” Elijah replied.Jaxon’s mouth twitched. “That is almost po
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-19
Chapter: CHAPTER 12Elijah left Jaxon's loft with the taste of certainty lodged in his throat.The hallway outside the apartment smelled like old wood and detergent. Somewhere below, a neighbor's television played too loudly. The building felt ordinary in a way that made everything inside Elijah feel sharper.Elijah stepped out into the street and let the cold air hit his face. The wolf did not pace, and that was the first thing he noticed. For weeks, it had been restless, an animal trapped behind ribs and discipline, scraping at the inside of him whenever his thoughts wandered too close to Elena. Tonight it stayed quiet, watchful, as if it had finally found a reason to stop circling.Elijah knew why. Jaxon's presence settled the beast in a way nothing else had managed since the bond had severed. That should have disturbed him more than it did.He drove home with both hands steady on the wheel. The city moved around him—bright windows and wet pavement, people crossing intersections, restaurants filled wi
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-19
Chapter: CHAPTER 11Elijah woke with the same tension he had fallen asleep with. His body felt rested but not restored, as if he had run through danger instead of sleeping through it. Every time he shut his eyes, he saw Rafe stepping out of the alley with that satisfied, dangerous smile. Every time he inhaled, he remembered Jaxon behind him, silent but steady, trusting him enough to stand close.The memory only sharpened his focus when he arrived at Lunaris Tower. The lobby doors opened before he could reach for them. People straightened as he walked past, sensing something different in his posture. Even the elevator seemed to move faster than usual, as if aware that interruptions would not be tolerated today.The mirrored walls reflected his face with cool clarity. His eyes looked darker than they had in months.You left him in danger.“I did not leave him,” Elijah murmured. “I stepped away to think.”His wolf remained silent after that, which unsettled him even more.The board meeting at nine passed wi
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-26
Chapter: CHAPTER 10Elijah did not go home immediately.He stood on the sidewalk for a long moment after Jaxon turned the corner, letting the cold night air settle into his lungs. The city moved around him with its usual indifference. A bus rumbled past. A cyclist whistled as he rode by. A group of students laughed loudly near the café they had left earlier.None of it grounded him.Rafe’s scent clung to the street like a stain he could not wash away.The wolf inside him paced in a tight circle.He will come back. They will all come back.Elijah exhaled slowly and began walking toward the parking lot where he had left his car. Every sense remained heightened. Shadows felt deeper, sounds felt sharper. He passed an alley and paused, scanning the darkness out of instinct.Nothing moved. He continued on. When he reached his car, he found a small piece of paper tucked beneath the windshield wiper. The sight stopped him. Humans left flyers. They did not leave folded notes.He pulled it out with two fingers and
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-26
Chapter: CHAPTER 9The meeting blurred.Elijah left the circle with only scattered impressions. Margaret had spoken about a photograph she finally took down. Sarah had mentioned the day when she forgot to cry. Robert had confessed that he almost hummed in the kitchen again. Jaxon had been there beside him, warm and present, making a quiet joke that only Elijah heard.The details slid out of focus as soon as they climbed the stairs.Jaxon pushed the door open and stepped into the cool night. “Walk me,” he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.Elijah could have refused. He did not.They fell into step along the sidewalk. The street outside the church was calm. A line of trees caught the wind and stirred gently. Cars passed in the distance, their engines softened by space.“Do you feel different?” Jaxon asked after a few moments.“From what?” Elijah replied.“From the man who sat in the back and refused to say more than three words,” Jaxon said. “The one I met on my first day in there.”Elij
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-26
Chapter: CHAPTER 8Elijah woke before sunrise.The city beyond his window still lay in a soft gray hush. The sky had not decided on a color yet. He stood in the dim light, one hand resting against the glass, and watched the faint glow at the horizon.He had dreamed of running.His dreams were not of Elena, the pack, nor of blood or battle.He had dreamed of streets wet with rain, and of a shadow ahead that he could never quite catch. Every time he reached out, his hand closed on air. When he woke, his chest felt tight and empty.The wolf stared out through its eyes at the sleeping city.You will lose him too.Elijah ignored the thought and stepped away from the window. He moved through his morning routine with careful precision. He had a shower, wore his shirt and then his cufflinks. The familiar weight of a watch on his wrist. Every movement measured and controlled.Yet beneath the routine, his mind kept circling the same point.Coffee.He had agreed. He had said the word aloud. Tuesday, before the mee
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-26
Caged by a King
The kingdom of Valdris has survived a thousand years through blood and fear, ruled by kings who never flinched and never forgave. Corvin, the current ruler, is no different. He is beautiful in a dangerous way, undefeated in battle, and feared by every soul who speaks his name. He has never wanted anything he could not take. Until the spy.
On the eve of his coronation anniversary, a fox is discovered inside the inner palace. It shifts into a young man named Elowen, a shifter from the eastern wildlands who carries ancient magic and a smile sharp enough to cut. By every law, he should be executed. Instead, Corvin makes a shocking decision and claims the spy as his personal “pet,” a living trophy meant to remind the world of his power.
Elowen, however, did not end up in the palace by accident. He was sent to infiltrate Corvin’s court, earn the king’s trust, and destroy him from within. What he did not anticipate was the man beneath the crown. Corvin is the one person who sees through his lies, challenges him in unexpected ways, and becomes difficult to resist.
As influence shifts and their loyalties blur, desire turns into a weapon neither man can fully control. Corvin’s Crown Sight cannot read Elowen’s heart, and Elowen cannot decide whether the king is his target or greatest weakness.
War brews at the borders, treachery spreads within the palace walls, and their growing connection becomes the most dangerous secret in Valdris. If Corvin’s court uncovers the truth, he could lose his throne. If Elowen’s people discover his feelings for the man he was sent to kill, he may never escape alive. Their bond threatens the kingdom, and the decision they face could set Valdris on fire.
Baca
Chapter: CHAPTER 20The mage tower felt too small after the truth was spoken.Elowen became aware of it the moment Corvin ordered the room sealed. The walls pressed inward, not with stone but with consequence. The sigil sat on the table between them, inert now, as if it had already said what it came to say and was content to wait.Theon moved first. He gathered the chalk, wiped away the outer markings, and covered the disc with a cloth that shimmered faintly when his fingers passed over it.“I will secure this,” the mage said. “I will leave no copies or witnesses.”Corvin nodded once. “And no speculation.”Theon inclined his head and moved toward the inner chamber. Before he vanished through the arch, he paused and looked back at Elowen.“Do not mistake attention for condemnation,” Theon said quietly. “Old magic is drawn to what resists it.”Elowen did not respond. He was watching Corvin.When the mage’s footsteps faded, silence reclaimed the room.Corvin remained near the table, his posture rigid, his e
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-22
Chapter: CHAPTER 19Elowen did not return the way he came.He moved through servant corridors and narrow passages where torches burned lower and shadows gathered thicker. The palace felt awake in the wrong way, as if it had learned how to listen. Every sound carried farther than it should have. Every glance felt like it lingered longer than it should.He kept the sigil clenched in his fist until the edges bit into his palm.When he reached the mage tower, he did not bother with polite knocks. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.Theon looked up from his table, already alert, as if he had expected Elowen to come running with blood on his hands.“You found something,” Theon said.Elowen crossed the ro
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-22
Chapter: CHAPTER 18Elowen began to notice the watching the way one noticed a change in weather.It was not all at once. Just a pressure that lingered too long on the skin.It started with servants. A kitchen girl who paused too long at the corner of a corridor. A page who bowed twice when once would have been enough. A chambermaid whose eyes lifted a heartbeat too late when Elowen passed.None of it was obvious that it could be accused outright.That was what made it dangerous.By the third hour after sunrise, Elowen’s nerves were drawn tight enough to hum. Royal protection followed him still, but even the guards felt wrong today. They were alert, yes, but they were also watched. He could smell the tension on them, the unease that came from knowing so
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-22
Chapter: CHAPTER 17The restrictions came quietly.Elowen noticed them first in the morning, when two guards waited outside his door instead of one. They did not follow at a distance anymore. They flanked him, close enough that he could feel the scrape of their armor when he turned too sharply.He said nothing at first.The palace had learned to watch him the way hunters watched fire, not moving too close, not turning their backs. After the attack, fear clung to the walls, and no one trusted shadows anymore.But by midday, the pattern was undeniable.Doors that had once opened for him now required a word from Corvin’s seal. Corridors that had been neutral ground became redirected paths. Even the gardens were off limits, closed “until further notice
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 16The palace did not feel the same after the court dispersed.It had not returned to peace. It had tightened instead, like a body bracing for another blow. Guards moved in pairs now, armor still smeared with soot and blood. Servants kept their heads down and their steps quick. Every corridor carried the echo of whispered speculation.Elowen felt it all like pressure against his skin.Royal protection followed him whether he wanted it or not. Two guards trailed at a respectful distance as he moved through the inner wing, their presence both shield and signal. The king’s choice had not made him safer. It had made him visible, and he hated it.By the time he reached the small solar assigned to him near Corvin’s chambers, his nerves were pulled tight enough to ache. He dismi
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-21
Chapter: CHAPTER 15The palace above them did not fall silent all at once. The noise receded in uneven waves, shouts breaking apart into commands, commands into echoes. When Corvin finally lifted his head from the stone door, his expression had shifted from alert to intent.“Tavris has control,” he said.Elowen watched him closely. “How do you know?”“The cadence changed,” Corvin replied. “Mercenaries do not shout orders like that, guards do. Tavris is pushing them back wing by wing.”Elowen exhaled slowly. The tension in his chest eased, though it did not disappear. “Then we are not trapped.”“We were never trapped,” Corvin said. “We were delayed.”He slid the iron bar free and pressed the concealed latc
Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-20
Masuk
