Tamara’s POV By the time Dante and I made it back to the hotel, the sun had set, and the warm, romantic glow of the city lights greeted us. As we stepped into the suite, Violet was sprawled on the couch, flipping through a magazine. The moment she saw us, her eyes narrowed in amusement. “Well, well,” she drawled, sitting up and smirking. “Look who’s finally back from their innocent picnic. You guys were gone for hours.” I tried to keep a straight face, but the heat creeping up my neck betrayed me. I could still feel Dante’s hand on the small of my back as he guided me inside, his possessive touch sending tiny shivers down my spine. But Violet, being the sharp observer she was, didn’t miss the ruffled state of my hair or the slightly wrinkled clothes I was trying—and failing—to smooth out. “What exactly happened out there, Tamara?” she teased, her voice full of mock innocence. “Because it sure doesn’t look like you spent the day just eating sandwiches and enjoying the view.” Dant
Tamara’s POV I pulled my suitcase onto the bed, the sharp zip of the compartments opening echoing through the room. Packing to go home should have been easy—straightforward even—but my mind was elsewhere. My fingers hovered over a soft blouse I’d worn the day Dante proposed to me. A rush of warmth filled me at the memory, but it was quickly replaced by a pang of sadness. Negaria was beautiful, a place of both pain and joy, and leaving it behind felt...strange. Still, I tried to focus on folding my clothes, one piece at a time, until I noticed something odd. “Where’s Sophie?” I muttered to myself, realizing I hadn’t seen her all morning. I stepped out of my room and found Violet in the lounge, sipping tea as she flipped through her phone. “Hey,” I said, sitting down next to her. “Have you seen Sophie? I wanted to check if she needed help packing.” Violet looked up, her expression softening. “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you.” She set her cup down and shifted closer. “Sophie left
Tamara's pov Lady Regina gestured toward a chair by the window. “Please, sit.”I obeyed, perching on the edge of the seat while she remained standing, her gaze unwavering. “Do you swear by the goddess,” she began, her voice calm but firm, “that you truly love my son? That you’re not using him for power or personal gain?”My mouth fell open slightly in shock. “What?” I asked, stunned. “Lady Regina, we’ve had this discussion before. I thought I already made myself clear.”“Lies are easily said, Tamara,” she replied, her tone carrying a weight that made my stomach twist.“I’m not lying,” I said firmly, meeting her gaze. “I love Dante with all my heart. I would never—”She held up a hand, cutting me off. “Let me explain,” she said. Her tone wasn’t angry, but there was an undeniable edge of authority that silenced me immediately.“I didn’t support this marriage,” she began, pacing slowly across the room. “When Dante first told me he wanted to marry you, I advised against it. I didn’t know
Tamara’s POVI left Lady Regina’s room with my heart pounding. The worry of her words—her doubts, her warnings—felt like they were sinking into my chest. I knew she wasn’t wrong to want to protect Dante, after all, he was her son, but her lack of faith stung, especially since i actually thought we had been getting along well. I didn’t have time to dwell on it long, though.A tug at the back of my mind—a familiar warmth spreading through the bond—stopped me in my tracks. Dante was calling me.I followed the pull to his office, knocking lightly on the door before stepping inside. Dante was seated behind his desk, looking over a stack of papers. When he saw me, his face lit up, the tension in his shoulders easing instantly.“Sweetheart,” he said, his voice warm as he stood and rounded the desk to greet me. He pulled me into a hug, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “How did it go with my mother?”I hesitated, my heart skipping a beat. “It was…fine,” I said, forcing a smile.He raised an e
Jack’s POVI stood frozen, Adrian’s words echoing in my head. Tamara…his mate? It didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t make sense.“You’re lying,” I said, my voice colder than I intended. “You have to be lying.”Adrian didn’t flinch. Instead, he met my gaze with an intensity that made my stomach twist. “Why would I lie about something like this, Jack? Tamara is my mate.”“That’s impossible!” I snapped. “If she was your mate, she would have known. She would have felt it!”Adrian sighed, his frustration showing. “She didn’t sense it because something’s wrong. That day, when I saw her, she couldn’t feel the bond. That’s why I didn’t tell her.”I frowned, his words tugging at something in the back of my mind. “But Why couldn’t she sense it? That's not normal, all mates can sense each other” I argued.“I’ve been asking myself the same question,” Adrian said, his voice low. “At first, I thought it was just me—maybe I was mistaken. But I kept digging, and I found out it’s because of her…rebirt
Tamara's POV Morning came too quickly, dragging with it a heavy sense of unease. As I paced the room, my thoughts circled like vultures around one persistent worry: how was I supposed to serve Lady Regina? She wasn’t just Dante’s mother—she was a woman of power, experience, and sharp wit. One wrong move, one misstep, and she’d see right through me. I sighed, pulling my hair back into a loose braid as Violet sat on the couch, watching me with a bemused expression. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor,” she teased. “Maybe I’ll disappear into the hole and save myself from whatever disaster today holds,” I muttered, earning a small chuckle from her. “You’re overthinking it. Sophie always knew how to handle these kinds of situations. She was raised with all the proper etiquette,” Violet said offhandedly. I froze mid-step. “Sophie. Why hasn’t she returned yet?” Violet’s smile faltered. “I don’t know. She’s not answering my calls.” “Have you spoken to anyone else who’s seen her?
Tamara's POV The moment Lady Regina uttered the words “in front of noblewomen of the north,” my stomach plummeted. My mind raced with the implications. This wasn’t just a game—it was a spectacle, a test designed to humiliate me. Lucy’s smug grin confirmed my fears. I could already imagine her scheming ways to make me look like a fool. As soon as I excused myself from Lady Regina’s presence, I rushed to find Dante. My heart pounded with urgency, and my feet barely touched the ground as I navigated the corridors of the palace. When I burst into his office, I didn’t even bother with pleasantries. “Dante, Dante! you have to help me,” I blurted, barely catching my breath. “Lady Regina wants me to participate in some... ridiculous game in front of the noblewomen of the north. And Lucy’s involved! You know she’ll do everything to humiliate me! help me get out of it” Dante looked up from his paperwork, his expression amused. “Oh, that. Mother and Lucy tricked you into agreeing, didn’t
Tamara's POV I looked between them, my concern growing. “Sophie, is he… is he hurting you?” “No!” Sophie said quickly, though her voice wavered. “He’s just… frustrated. I don’t blame him. I should’ve communicated better.” I wasn’t convinced, I knew signs of abuse from my experience with Jack and Sophie was clearly being abused and manipulated. “Sophie, you don’t have to defend him. If he’s treating you badly, we’ll protect you.” She shook her head again, her tears starting anew. “It’s not that simple, Tamara. He’s my husband. I made a vow to be with him through thick and thin, I can't just let it go because he has some flaws.” "Flaws?" Casper gaped. "Flaws could be him forgetting to say I love you, not telling you that you're a piece of shit that is better off dead!" Casper yelled and my eyes widened. "He said that to her?" I asked and Casper nodded, "that was one of the nicer things actually, I can't repeat the rest or I might go back there and kill him." Sophie sobb
Kayla's POV After breakfast, I insisted on helping the staff with chores—cleaning the tables, washing dishes, folding laundry. I needed to do something with my hands that would keep my thoughts from spiralling intodark thoughts.Plus I was eager to start helping the children as fast as possible. The funny thing was that the kids followed me around, asking questions about where I came from, if I had a wolf, if I’d ever seen the Alpha in real life. I smiled and answered as vaguely as I could, not ready to explain the chaos I’d run from. But for the first time in days, I felt a strange sense of peace.Like I was right where I should be. I was hanging laundry out back when one of the staff—Elara, a tall woman with sharp gray eyes and a strong build—approached me. “You’re quite the helper Miss Kayla,” she said, nodding with a basket on her hip. “I needed something to keep me busy,” I replied. She glanced around before adding, “You know, Lady Anna swears you’ve been here before.”
Kayla I ended up spending the night at the Orphanage and it was one of the most restful nights I've had in weeks.Sure, I might have had one or two night mares where I saw Adrian kissing Candice in her room while my body wrecked with painful sobs, but hey, it was better than the nightmares I usually had about the darkness that was trying to take control of me.I knew that I would finally be able to get rid of the problem when I finally get to the Oracle's sanctuary, but I just had to wait until the guards weren't searching for me so persistently.To be honest, I'm surprised that Adrian was putting that much effort into finding me now when he had been ignoring me for the last few days.Hadn't Candice satisfied him enough? Or was he so greedy that he wanted the two of us at the same time?Men! I should have known better than to let myself trust them again. Especially after how Xavier treated me.I had stupidly let myself become a fool for love again! How pathetic!I definitely won't le
Kayla's POV I really didn’t know where I was going at first. Not really. My feet just kept moving, dragging me farther away from the palace, from the pack... from Adrian. Every step felt more gut wrenching than the last, like my body wanted to turn back even though my heart refused to. Where do I go? I paused in the shadow of an old bakery, pressing my back to the cold brick wall as I hugged the jacket tighter around me. My breath was beginning to puff visibly in the cold evening air, and the wind cut through my clothes like icy knives.I would go to mountain, I finally decided. It was the only place I knew where I would be accepted by someone.I obviously couldn't go back to Xavier's pack but it was the only other place I knew, so the Oracle's sanctuary was my best vet.Plus If there was any place I could find answers—or strength—it was with her. Maybe I could even finish my training. Maybe I could finally understand why I was… this. Why I couldn’t control my power or trust my
Kayla's POVI sat on the cold marble floor, clutching one of Adrian’s shirts to my chest, tears streaming down my face like a damn faucet I couldn’t turn off.How could he do this to me? After everything. After all his promises to always fight for me. To never let me feel alone again.He spent the night with her.Candice.It took one fight, one misunderstanding, and he ran straight to her. I didn’t even need to ask anyone. The moment Connor hesitantly told me the truth, I saw it. Clear as day. The shattered pieces of my heart lay scattered around the room like the vases I’d broken last night.The bed smelled like him. The sheets, the pillows — all of it haunted me. His scent, his warmth... gone. Just like that.“He was never going to choose you,” the necklace whispered in that low, silky voice that made my skin crawl. “Men like him choose women like Candice. Pretty, obedient. The kind that don’t challenge them.”“Shut up,” I muttered, dragging myself up to the bed to unzip the duffe
Adrian's POV I tried hard to remember last night but my head soon began to hurt from the effort and I still came up blankPanic was quickly beginning to seize me until I suddenly heard Candice's voice. "Relax Alpha," she said from across the room, her legs tucked under her in a chair by the window with a mug in her hand. "You don't need to try hard to remember what happened last night.""Huh?" I asked in confusion.Candice smiled. "I can read your emotions on your face, and what I meant to say was Nothing interesting happened." I blinked blearily at her. "What...?" "You passed out last night after drinking that extra bottle I told you not to drink," she said simply. "I didn’t want the entire palace gossiping about how their great Alpha can’t hold his liquor so I brought you to the guest room in my quarters. I just brought coffee for you this morning." She gestured to the tray on the table. I let out a breath of relief. I didn't betray Kayla because nothing had happened between us
Adrian’s POVI'm an idiot, I know that. I'm an idiot who's hopelessly in love with a woman but still too scared of his feelings for her.These last few days have really wrecked my mental state and drinking with Candice made me forget my worries for just a few hours.But even that, didn't last long. Because once my eyes landed on Kayla, everything came flooding back.She had made lunch and brought it to me, which meant that she had been thinking of me and probably tried to reach me earlier but I had blocked her.I just wanted time to process thoughts without interruptions or guilt. But that turned out to be impossible because the second I saw the look on Kayla’s face when I refused the food she brought, a bitter knot formed in my stomach. Her smile faltered and was replaced by something smaller, tighter. Hurt. She held the tray down carefully, almost as if she were afraid it would shatter if she moved too quickly.Then she offered to make dinner but I turned it down too and I could
Kayla's POV "It's not any of your concern Kayla. I suggest you drop it... for your own good."What nonsense was he saying. Xavier was my ex husband and very obvious enemy of Adrian. What did he mean it was non of my concern?I was very confused now. Didn't Hector say he had nothing to do with Xavier? Didn't he say he was going to change his relationship with Adrian for the better? What was he hiding now? I pressed on. “You know meeting with him, especially after everything that happened, is only going to make things worse with Adrian. Do you really want to make things more complicated?” He turned his head toward me, his expression hardening slightly. “I don’t care anymore what Adrian thinks. He’s never cared about what I’ve done, and he never will. Besides, I don’t see the problem with talking to someone who actually listens to me.” I felt my heart twist in my chest. “I know you’re upset, Hector, but you promised me—even before I stopped Adrian from banishing you—that you’d stop w
Kayla's POV I couldn’t get Xavier’s smug face out of my mind as I stormed down the hall. I needed to get away from him. From all of it. Adrian, Candice, Xavier... everything felt like it was crashing down. But I still had something to do. I walked briskly toward the holding cells, tray of food in my hands, trying to ignore the flutter of doubt and anger in my chest. I had come this far. I wasn’t going to let Xavier’s words, or my own jealousy, ruin everything. When I reached Hector’s cell, I paused for a moment. The guards were standing nearby, looking bored as usual. They didn’t even seem to notice me at first, so I took the chance to slip past them. But then one of them suddenly stepped in my path, a scowl forming on his face. “Where do you think you’re going?” he sneered. I blinked. “Excuse me?” “You can’t bring food to him,” the guard snapped, his tone rude and dismissive. I frowned. “Actually, I can. And I will. I’m Lady Kayla the Alpha’s fiancée, and I’ll bring food to
Kayla's POV My heart sank at Adrian's words. He didn't even want to talk to me this morning but he was here laughing his ass off and eating with Candice.I forced a smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Of course,” I muttered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Candice beamed at me, clearly in a much better mood than I was. “It’s good to see you again. I’ve really missed you,” she said, taking another bite of her food. I stood there, frozen, trying to ignore the bitterness that crept into my thoughts. Why was she so comfortable here? Why was she eating with him like they did this every day? And why had Adrian invited her to his office when he wouldn't even talk to me?Candice noticed the awkwardness and tried to bridge the tension. "Come sit with us! We have so much to catch up on, but we also have all the time in the world since I'm back living at the palace now!"That made me freeze.“What?” I asked, voice a little higher than I intended.Candice beamed. “Alot happened when you were aw