Novel-novel oleh Green

CHAPTER EIGHTTHE MARK Isla’s POVThe first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was heat. Not the comfortable kind. It was the kind that made my skin feel like it had been sitting too close to a fire. I frowned and slowly opened my eyes. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, falling directly across my face. I immediately turned away from it and pulled the blanket over my head, but the movement sent a sharp pain through my skull. I groaned.My head was pounding. For a few seconds, I stayed exactly where I was, eyes closed, trying to remember where I was. Then everything came rushing back. The ceremony. The ballroom. Ryan. His hand around mine. The energy. The scream that had left my mouth. The strange burning feeling beneath my collarbone.I sat up so quickly that the room spun.“Whoa.”I grabbed the edge of the bed and waited for everything to settle. My breathing became heavier as I looked around. This wasn’t my room. I knew that immediately.The room I had been given when I first

THE THIRD KING Zion’s POV(Ambassador of Alpha King Leon)“Leaving already?”Zion spun around, coming face to face with an Alpha. He looked no older than fifty years old, streaks of grey hair peeking from his head and brows.‘Must be one of the Elderly Alpha from the nearby province’ Zion thought to himself.“My king does not appreciate delays.” Zion replied while studying the elderly man.“You haven’t even congratulated Alpha Ryan.”“I wasn’t invited to congratulate him.”From the corner of his eyes, Zion spotted Alpha Ryan walking in his direction. He excused himself from the conversation and turned towards the King.“Your King sent you.” Ryan said.“As you sent yours to ours seven years ago.”Ryan let out a soft snort. In all his dealings with the Eastern territory, they had always kept things political, polite but tense. Ryan noticed Zion studying Isla, his wolf at the verge of breaking out. “You’ve seen enough.” He said immediately, trying to keep his wolf at bay.“Oh, Have I?

THE RED CRESCENT Kael’s POV(Ambassador of Alpha King Aarav)Silence.The entire ballroom remained frozen beneath the crimson glow spreading across the young woman’s collarbone I couldn’t breathe.The mark burned brighter. A perfect crescent. Red. A pulse slammed violently against my ribs ‘Impossible! This cannot be.’For one terrifying second, I genuinely wondered whether history had decided to repeat itself. “No…”The whisper escaped my mouth before I could even realize it. Around me, every Alpha wore the same expression. Some were Disbelief, while others were Fear. Something older than memory had awakened inside this room. Yet no one uttered a word. Not one person moved.Every wolf present in this ceremony, no matter what territory they belonged to, knew the truth. Red Crescent did not exist. They belonged to forgotten stories. Children’s tales. Ancient warnings told around fires. Yet there it was. Alive. Burning against her trembling skin. My gaze shifted from the mark

DANGEROUS CURIOSITYRyan’s POVTHE PAST WEEKSomething was wrong with me.That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I stared down at Isla Warren, standing in the middle of my private floor, looking completely terrified and completely defiant at the same time.The addictive scent in the air was becoming unbearable.My wolf paced violently beneath my skin while I watched her struggle to breathe properly under the pressure of my aura. Any other wolf would have lowered their eyes by now. Most avoided direct eye contact with me entirely.But Isla kept looking at me. Confused. Suspicious. And strangely unafraid.I should have called security immediately. Instead, I found myself studying her.Again.“You are either very brave,” I said slowly, “or very foolish.”Her throat bobbed slightly as she swallowed.“I got lost.”The answer came too quickly to be rehearsed.Honest.I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You ignored direct instructions on your first night here.”“I said I got lost. Not

STAYRyan’s POVONE WEEK LATERThe bar was quieter than I preferred, but that was the reason I had chosen it.No wolves here. No subordinates watching my face for something they could report back to the estate. Just low lighting, the smell of aged whiskey, and Dorian sitting across from me with the particular expression he used when he had something to say and had not decided yet whether to say it.I let him sit with it.The glass in my hand was still half full. I had been staring at it for twenty minutes."The northern pack leaders are requesting a third meeting," Dorian said finally."I know.""And the council wants a response by the end of the week regarding the territory boundaries.""I know that too."Dorian was quiet for a moment. He was my aide, my most trusted one, and the only person in my employ who had ever looked me directly in the eye and told me I was wrong about something. That quality was the reason I kept him close."You came out tonight," he said carefully, "and it w

CRESCENT ESTATEIsla’s POVThe gates of Crescent Estate were taller than the house I grew up in. That was the first thing I noticed.Not the black iron bars stretching endlessly upward or the massive walls disappearing into the distance like they had no end. Not even the two wolves standing beside the entrance. Breathing and vigilant.Their eyes followed the car slowly as I pulled closer, and suddenly, for the first time since accepting the job, panic settled heavily inside my chest.What exactly had I walked into?I swallowed hard and rolled down the window halfway.Before I could even speak, one of the guards stepped forward.He was huge. Not just tall. Huge enough to make me feel smaller from inside the car alone. His expression remained cold as his gaze moved over me briefly before checking something on a device in his hand.“Name,” he said.“Isla Warren.”His eyes lowered again, but now to the driver. A few seconds passed. Then he stepped back.“Follow the drive. Do not stop unti