Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Five: Seraphine[Wern's Pov]"Get down," Damian said sharply, pulling me low behind the stone wall flanking the gate just as a second shot rang out, closer this time, striking the ground near where my father stood."Dad!" I shouted, panic surging through me as he dove for cover behind his own vehicle."He's fine," Kane said, already moving into position, weapon drawn despite his injuries. "Stay down."Adrian crouched beside us, scanning the tree line with sharp, focused eyes. "Multiple shooters," he said. "At least four, maybe more. This isn't Marcus's men. Their formation is too disciplined.""Isolde?" I asked."No," Damian said grimly. "This is someone else entirely."My father's voice carried across the chaos, strained but urgent. "Wren, listen to me. Whoever she is, she wants you alive. That's the only reason we're not already dead.""Then who is she?" I shouted back, ducking as another shot cracked through the air."The true head of your mother's bloodline," my father called out. "Isolde was nev
Last Updated: 2026-09-01
Chapter: Chapter 24: The Gate[Wern's Pov]Damian arrived within minutes, his expression sharpening the moment Kane relayed the new message. He read it twice, his jaw tightening with each pass."This changes things," he said. "Whoever this is, they're done hiding.""Which means they're confident," Adrian said, appearing in the doorway right behind him, phone still in hand. "Confident enough to announce themselves directly, rather than working through Isolde or Marcus.""So it's someone new," I said. "Someone we haven't dealt with yet.""Or someone circling back," Damian said grimly. "Either way, we don't have the luxury of guessing. Midnight is less than three hours away."Adrian moved to the window, glancing out toward the damaged grounds still bearing the scars of last night's attack. "We need eyes on every entrance," he said. "Not just the front gate. If this is a distraction, whoever sent it could be planning to hit us somewhere else entirely while we're focused there.""I'll coordinate the guards," Damian sai
Last Updated: 2026-09-01
Chapter: Chapter 23: Midnight[Wern's Pov]My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I nearly dropped the phone. I turned it away instinctively, some instinct telling me not to let Damian or Kane see the message just yet."Wren?" Damian said, noticing the shift in my expression immediately. "What's wrong?""Nothing," I said, too quickly, the lie sitting uncomfortably in my mouth.Kane's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're a terrible liar."I hesitated, torn between the instinct to protect this information and the promise I had just made to myself about trusting the people who had fought for me tonight. Finally, I turned the phone around, letting them both read the message.Damian's expression darkened instantly. "Give me that," he said, reaching for the phone."It's mine," I said, pulling it back before he could take it. "I'm not hiding it from you. I just needed a second before showing you.""Who sent it?" Kane asked, leaning closer to read the message again."I don't know," I said. "The number isn't saved. It could b
Last Updated: 2026-09-01
Chapter: Chapter 22: Trust No One[Wern's Pov]My hands trembled so badly the paper nearly slipped from my fingers. Kane rose immediately, his injury forgotten as he crossed the room to steady me."Wren," he said. "What is it?""It's from my father," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "He's alive."Elena's eyes widened. "That's not possible. Isolde's men found the letter?""She said it arrived through her network," I said, scanning the words again, disbelief and fury tangling together in my chest. "That means she's had contact with him. Or knows where he is."Kane took the letter gently from my hands, reading it quickly, his jaw tightening with every line. "This doesn't sound like someone who ran out of fear," he said. "It sounds calculated.""Read it out loud," I said. "I need to hear it again. I need to make sure I understood it right."Kane hesitated, then nodded, his voice steady despite the tension radiating from him."Wren. If you're reading this, it means the vow has already been spoken, and there's no un
Last Updated: 2026-09-01
Chapter: Chapter 21: The Letter[Wern's Pov]"Engaged," I repeated, the word feeling strange in my mouth as I looked between Viktor's sleeping form and the three men standing around the room, each of them processing this revelation in their own way."He's never mentioned that," Damian said quietly, staring at his father like he was seeing a stranger for the first time. "Not once, in thirty two years.""Some things are buried for a reason," Adrian said, though his voice carried the same uncertainty gripping the rest of us.Kane leaned against the wall, arms crossed despite his injuries, his expression thoughtful. "That changes things," he said. "If Isolde and Viktor have history that deep, then tonight wasn't just about an inheritance or a bloodline. It was personal, for both of them.""Which means she might be more dangerous than we realized," Damian said. "Or possibly less predictable.""Both," Adrian said grimly. "Which honestly might be worse."I sank into the chair beside Viktor's bed, exhaustion finally catchin
Last Updated: 2026-09-01
Chapter: Chapter 20: Old WoundsWern's Pov "Get away from her," Kane said instantly, moving to stand between me and Isolde despite the fresh strain visible in his injured stance."Relax," Isolde said, her tone almost bored. "If I wanted her dead, I would have done it already, and considerably more efficiently than poison and games.""Then why are you here?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended, exhaustion and fear finally curdling into something close to fury."Because Viktor is dying," Isolde said simply. "And despite what you clearly believe about me, I don't actually want him dead. Not yet, anyway.""Not yet," Kane repeated bitterly. "How comforting."Isolde ignored him entirely, her attention remaining fixed on me. "A dead don creates chaos," she said. "Chaos makes negotiation impossible, and negotiation is precisely what I came here for tonight, before your men decided threats were more productive than conversation.""You poisoned him," I said. "That's not exactly an invitation to negotiate.""I didn't poi
Last Updated: 2026-08-15
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