Tamara's POV Dante’s hand was like iron around my wrist as he dragged me out of the courtroom, his fury radiating off him in waves and everyone around us backed away immediately. I barely had time to process what had just happened before Reuben stormed after us, his face twisted with anger. “You have no right to disrupt the court like that, Dante!” Reuben’s voice echoed through the empty hallway. “What the hell are you doing?” Dante spun on his heel, his grip on my wrist loosening but his fury growing. “What am I doing? What the fuck are you doing, Reuben? That wasn’t a court hearing—it was an illegal setup against my fiancée!” Reuben’s eyes narrowed. “That’s just ridiculous. We were simply following protocol. Tamara has questions to answer. You can’t just storm in and stop the process.” “Questions based on fabricated evidence!” Dante’s voice was a growl now, sharp enough to make me flinch. “Lord Jarek couldn’t even explain how he got that vial, and you expect me to belie
Tamara’s POV For the first time since I’d met Dante, this waacthe first time i saw something crack in his armor. This was the first time that he showed he could feel really shitty too. As we sat in the car, his posture stiff, his face grim, there was a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes that struck me harder than any harsh word or glare he’d ever thrown my way. It was raw, unguarded, and it made my chest tighten. He looked like a young boy in so much pain. Dante had always been so strong, so unshakable. Seeing him like this, like the weight of the world had finally pressed too hard on his shoulders, made my heart ache. The drive to the hotel was quiet, the air heavy with unspoken words. I didn’t push him. I just held his hand, tracing my thumb over his knuckles. When we finally arrived, Dante got out without a word, his shoulders tense, his jaw clenched. As soon as we entered the room, I turned to him. “Come on,” I said softly, taking his hand and leading him toward the bath
Tamara's POV I sat across from Dante, the low flicker of the fireplace casting shadows across his face. His jaw was tight, his eyes distant, as if he were somewhere else entirely. I could feel the weight of what he was about to say before he even opened his mouth.“I want to know everything,” I said, my voice steady. “From the beginning. How did my mother even have any connection with the North?”Dante’s gaze flicked to me, then down to his hands resting on his knees. He hesitated, and I could tell he was choosing his words carefully.“Tamara,” he started, his voice low and cautious, “what I’m about to tell you... some of it might not be fact. A lot of it is based on what I was told or things I pieced together later. There’s no way to confirm everything.”I frowned, leaning forward. “i know You’re trying to protect me again,” I said, my tone more frustrated than I intended. “But I don’t need that, Dante. I need the truth, no matter how ugly it is. I can handle it.”He studied me for
Tamara’s POVI woke up early the next day. Dante was still fast asleep beside me, his arm draped protectively over my waist. His breathing was steady, peaceful, and I smiled to myself as I carefully slipped out of bed. For everything he’d done for me—his patience, his care—I wanted to show him that I could be there for him too.I tiptoed to the kitchen in our suite, determined to make breakfast. It definitely wasn’t my strongest skill, but I was set on doing something special. Pancakes, eggs, and a pot of fresh coffee later, I carefully arranged everything on a tray and carried it back to the bedroom.“Morning,” I said softly, nudging Dante’s shoulder with my free hand. He stirred, his lashes fluttering open, and when his gaze landed on me, his lips curved into a sleepy smile.“What’s this?” he asked, his voice still rough from sleep.“Breakfast,” I said, setting the tray on the bed beside him. “Like you did for me before, remember?”Dante pushed himself up, his eyes crinkling with am
Tamara’s POVI stared at Dante, completely speechless. The space around me felt smaller somehow, the air heavy with the weight of his words. He knew. All this time, he knew the vial was mine, knew I had secrets, and yet he never said a word.“I—” I started, but my voice faltered. “You knew?”Dante nodded, his expression calm but serious. “I’ve known for a while, Tamara.”My stomach churned. “I... I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I shouldn’t have kept secrets from you. You didn’t deserve that.” I looked down at my hands, guilt pooling in my chest. “But having secrets doesn’t mean I don’t love you, Dante. It doesn’t mean I’m not loyal to you, I swear by the goddess that your the love of my life and I would never ever do anything to hurt you or your mother.” I pleaded with tears beginning to form in my eyes.Dante surprised me by reaching out and tilting my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. His dark eyes were steady, unwavering. “Oh sweetheart, I know that,” h
Tamara's POVThe silence was unbearable. Dante hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken. His hand was still wrapped around mine, but his grip was so still, so tense, it felt as if he were frozen in place. My heart thudded against my ribs, and every second that ticked by only made the knot in my stomach tighten.“Dante,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Please, say something. Anything.”His dark eyes snapped to mine, intense and unreadable. “What do you mean, ‘when you died’?” he asked, his voice calm but laced with a quiet demand.I sucked in a shaky breath, my mind racing. How could I possibly explain this? My fingers trembled in his, and I pulled my hand away to clasp them in my lap, as if holding onto myself would steady my nerves. “This is… this is my second life,” I finally said, the words tasting foreign on my tongue even after all this time.His brows furrowed, and I could see the questions forming in his eyes. “your Second life?”I nodded, swallowing hard. “Yes, I died, Dante. In my past
Tamara’s POV I stared at Dante in shock, his words replaying in my head like a broken record. "It’s my fault that you and your baby were killed." “What are you talking about?” I finally asked, my voice trembling. “How could it be your fault? Dante, we only met once in our past lives. And that was… on the battlefield.” His head snapped toward me, his eyes wide in shock. “We were at war?” I hesitated, biting my lip. I hadn’t meant to say that much. “Yes,” I admitted softly. “But it wasn’t what you think. Jack told me you were attacking our pack. He convinced me that if I didn’t act first, you’d destroy us.” I lowered my gaze. “So, I sent my people to fight you.” Dante’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing as realization dawned. “Jack lied to you,” he said, his voice full of bitter certainty. “He played us both.” I nodded, my throat tightening. “I only found out too late. By then…” My voice cracked, and I looked away, unable to meet his gaze. “By then, everyone I loved was already g
Dante’s POVI watched Tamara, her shock and confusion was practically flashing across her face, and I knew there was no easy way to explain what I was about to tell her. Still, she deserved the truth—everything.“You remember when I told you I was closely working with my brother before and during the war?” I began carefully, keeping my voice steady.Tamara nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing as if she were trying to piece together a puzzle. “Yes, I remember. You said you were helping him, or something like that.”“it wasn't just plain paper work though,” I explained, “I wasn’t just some advisor, Tamara. I was his general.”Her eyebrows shot up, her lips parting in surprise. “General? But… weren’t you—”“Young?” I finished for her, a small, humorless smile tugging at my lips. “I was. Too young, some would say. But I was also good—better than anyone else my brother could trust. I was always an excellent fighter, and strategy came naturally to me. Even when I was still a teenager, I could
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
Kayla's POV Adrian had left so early this morning that I didn’t even get a chance to really talk to him and find out if he was okay. He came back drunk last night so I was really beginning to worry.I calmed myself down by telling myself that maybe he just needed some time to cool off after last night, but when noon came and he still wasn’t back, a sick feeling started growing in my stomach.I paced around our room like a caged animal, glancing at the door every few seconds, hoping to hear his footsteps. Breakfast came and went. Then lunch. Still nothing.He wasn't even bothering to eat. Was he that hurt?Finally, I gave up waiting and tried to mind-link him."Adrian? Have you eaten yet?" I asked softly, sending the thought across our bond.Nothing.I tried again."Please answer me. I'm worried about you."This time, I could feel the block. Solid and cold, like a wall had been thrown up between us. I gasped quietly, clutching my chest. He never blocked me before. Not even during ou
Adrian's POV I was waiting for Logan's answer but he was hesitant to look at me."Logan? Why shouldn't I talk to her?"“Because I don’t trust her,” he finally snapped. “You shouldn’t either.” I leaned back in the chair, watching him. “No that's not it... I think You hate her. But I what I want to know is why?” Logan crossed his arms, his whole body tense. “Because I don’t like women who choose power and money over love.” For a second, I just stared at him. That was… personal. Before I could ask more, he shook his head like he regretted saying anything and muttered, “Do what you want, Alpha. Permission to patrol the border sir!" He requested. I waved him off and called for a guard. “Send for Candice. Now.” Logan cursed under his breath but didn’t stop me. Candice arrived not long after, dressed too perfectly for the late hour, her blond hair in place and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You called for me, Alpha?” she said sweetly, walking in with a little too much sway in