Mag-log inLYRA'S POVI make a small noise of relief when I come to again. My body still feels sore and heavy, but at least the room is mercifully quiet this time."Good. I thought you weren't going to wake up again."Ronan Blackthorne's deep voice pierces the quiet, and I startle violently.Fuck. How did I completely miss his overwhelming aura filling the room?I gently peel my eyelids open, and this time, the entire space isn't washed out in blinding light. In fact, I can only count four flames, strategically placed far away from where I lie.My eyes land on the large man sitting in the armchair beside my bed, and I groan internally. His entire frame is bathed in shadow, giving him an eerie yet distracting presence.How long has he been sitting there, just watching me? I desperately hope I didn't murmur anything embarrassing or incriminating in my sleep.My gaze drifts back to the candles. Thank the Goddess for whoever s
RONAN'S POV"Alpha, healer Ana-"The guard by the tent flap is cut off by my sister's unannounced entrance, though she is probably far too riled up to care about protocol.I look up from the paperwork I had been pretend-dealing with and give Anna an arched brow."Why aren't you in Lyra's room?" she demands, her face flushed with... well, I don't know what the fuck it was flushed with, but she looked thoroughly pissed off.And I already knew why."Is that why you decided to storm into my office rather than wait for an invitation?" I ask instead.She makes a frustrated, high-pitched sound and turns on her heel, marching back out of the tent. A moment later, I hear some muffled murmuring outside, followed immediately by the guard awkwardly announcing her official visit. I roll my eyes at the theatrics."If you were actually doing it right, you would know you're supposed to wait for me to invite you in," I remi
LYRA'S POV My entire body hurt. In fact, it felt like I had taken a brutal beating from a pack of frontline warriors. I tried to ignore the healer rummaging around me, keeping my eyes squeezed shut. Tears had leaked down my cheeks when I initially woke up and blinked open to the blinding glare of far too many candles. Footsteps thundered out in the corridor, and I instantly realized I was far too hyper-aware of my surroundings. It felt like I was a newborn again, like the exact day my wolf had first awakened inside me. Was this the lingering effect of nearly dying, combined with Ronan Blackthorne's incessant, turbulent thoughts flooding across the bond with lightning precision? I didn't know if he was doing it deliberately or if my end of the bond was simply too weak to shut him out. Time and time again, I could feel him lingering so close in the connection that it felt like he was lying right beside me. In fact, I wasn't even sure he had let up on the bond the entire time
RONAN'S POVI scoff at the smug look on Nicole's face as I walk into the conference room."Make it quick," I snap, sinking into one of the empty seats."Ross?" Nicole calls out, and one of Misthollow's wolves steps forward. For some reason, he looks nervous as hell."Well..." I say through clenched teeth. I didn't have all day to sit here and play whatever game Nicole was trying to orchestrate."I... I was one of the warriors who shook down your guard while he was delivering the medicine to the Alpha," Ross stammers.That instantly makes me sit up. After a heartbeat, I stand and slowly approach the trembling wolf."You are not allowed to lay a finger on him," Nicole says defensively, stepping into my path. "Let's hear what he has to say first.""If I wanted to lay a hand on him, his legs would already be dangling off the floor," I reply nonchalantly, turning my gaze back to the warrior. "Do you know that your victim is dead?"His eyes widen to the size of silver coins, and he shakes h
RONAN'S POV"For someone who has been so adamant about being innocent in Lyra's condition, you sure are awfully happy to hear about this," Keyon scoffs.This runt."Of course I'm happy to hear this news. It helps set in motion the events that will lead to the execution of whoever thought they could hurt Lyra," I snap back. "Honestly, you should be happy, too."I look at Keyon again and almost laugh at the look on his face, because if the only elder of my pack currently stationed at Misthollow had just been bumped up to the top of the suspect list, I'd probably look like that, too.Especially if I were a self-righteous bastard.But I wasn't. I was Ronan Blackthorne, the dark menace , and I was going to make whoever did this to Lyra pay with their life.I motioned to one of the Misthollow warriors inside the tent to go fetch Marco and a few of my own commanders, because I couldn't help noticing that I was severely outnumbered in this room.A few minutes later, the warrior, Commander Spe
RONAN'S POVI snatch the parchment out of Nicole's hands and spread open the wrinkled paper. My brows climb when I finally see what is written inside."It's empty." I eye her as I shove the letter back toward her."Yes, it's empty. But aside from your handwriting addressing the letter to my Alpha, there are traces of rust," she presses."You can't possibly tell me you don't see how suspicious this is?" one of Lyra's commanders argues.Actually, it was suspicious, but I was finding it hard to remember when I had ever sent Lyra a completely blank letter."It's not just one letter, either." Commander Ed steps forward, pulling out four more parchments, and the memory of how those notes ended up in Lyra's hands suddenly clicks into place.Fuck."After the riot where Lyra was attacked, she was patched up by my sister," I inform them, keeping my voice steady. "She wouldn't accept any direct help from us, but Ana was worried, so I had the healing herbs wrapped in letters and sent to her every







