로그인JASMINEI saw them coming before anyone else did.Three of Kael's mercenaries. Breaking through the eastern corridor. Moving fast toward where Maya knelt beside the wounded King. She was focused on Asher. On keeping him alive. On the bond between them that was flickering like a dying candle.She did not see the threat.But I did.My mate's mark still burned on my collarbone. Marcus. Dead because of the attack on Blue Moon. Dead because Maya had loved the wrong man and brought hell to our doorstep.I had hated her for that. For months. For good reason.But I had also watched her carry Olivia on her back. Watched her train until she collapsed. Watched her stand on walls and fight beside us when she could have run.She had earned something. Maybe not forgiveness. But a chance. A future where she could build something bet
MAYAI charged Isabella before anyone could stop me.The crossbow clattered from her hands. Her eyes went wide. She tried to run. Too late.I hit her. Full force. Drove her into the marble floor. My fist connected with her face. Once. Twice. Blood sprayed.Hands grabbed me. Pulled me back. Rhea's voice in my ear."Maya. Stop. She is not worth it. Asher needs you."Asher.I spun. He was on the ground. The crossbow bolt through his shoulder. Blood pooling beneath him. His face was pale. Too pale.I dropped beside him. Pressed my hands to the wound. Blood seeped between my fingers."You idiot. Why did you do that?""Could not let you die" he said. His voice was weak. Strained. "Not when I just got you back."Through the bond I felt his pain. Sharp. Overwhelmi
ISABELLAI arrived at the palace expecting triumph.Ten fighters. Damien's most loyal. The ones who had not turned when Gabriel betrayed. The ones who still believed in rescuing Maya from the Lycan King.Fools. All of them. But useful fools.We rode through the battlefield. Bodies everywhere. Damien's army shattered. Gabriel's forces scattered. Lycans holding their walls. Chaos that smelled like failure and blood.But I did not care about the battle. I cared about the promise.Kael had promised me Maya. Promised me justice. Promised me the satisfaction of watching Damien's obsession die in front of him.I walked through the palace gates like I owned them. Guards tried to stop me. I showed them the seal Kael had given me. They stepped aside.Inside was chaos. Fighting. Loyalists against mercenaries. Blood on marble flo
MAYAI felt it the moment the bond went silent.Not broken. Not severed like it had been with Damien. This was different. Muffled. Suppressed. Like someone had thrown a blanket over the connection and was slowly suffocating it.Wolfsbane.My hands tightened on my blade. Around me the fighting continued. Rogues scaling the southern wall. My unit holding them back. Blood and screams and the chaos of war.But all I could focus on was the bond. Trying to push through. Trying to reach Asher. Trying to feel him.Nothing. Just fading warmth. Like watching a candle die."Your Majesty."I turned. A young soldier. Palace guard. Maybe seventeen. His face was white. Blood running from a cut above his eye. He was breathing hard. Had run from somewhere."What?""The palace. Lord Kael. He ha
ASHERI knew something was wrong the moment I entered the palace.Too quiet. The usual bustle of staff and guards replaced by an oppressive silence that made my wolf snarl. I had left the eastern wall in Ethan's hands to check on Maya. To make sure she was still breathing after the chaos of the last hour.Through the bond I felt her. Alive. Exhausted. Fighting somewhere in the southern quarter. But alive.Then the bond flickered. Not severed. Suppressed. Like something was blocking the connection.Wolfsbane.I reached for my blade. Too late.They came from both sides. Ten men. Not palace guards. Mercenaries wearing neutral colors. Kael's colors."Seize him" a voice commanded from the shadows. Kael's voice. Calm. Controlled. Like he was ordering dinner instead of treason.The mercenaries moved with
DAMIENI woke to darkness and pain.Not dead. Should have been dead. Gabriel's blade had found something vital. I felt it. The cold spreading from the wound. The weakness in my limbs. The way my heartbeat stuttered.But my wolf would not let me go. Stubborn bastard. Even betrayed. Even broken. Still fighting to keep this pathetic body alive."Alpha. Stay still. We are getting you out."Hands under my arms. Dragging me. Rough. Urgent. Voices I recognized. My personal guard. The few who stayed loyal when Gabriel turned."Leave me" I tried to say. It came out as a wheeze. Blood in my mouth. Copper taste."Not happening Alpha. We did not follow you this far to let you die in the dirt."They pulled me through mud and bodies. Away from the battlefield. Away from the smoke and screams. Into the treeline wher
GABRIELInformation was the most valuable weapon in existence.Not armies. Not claws. Not bloodlines or ancient powers or thrones made of bone and legacy. Information. The right piece at the right time placed in the right hands could topple empires faster than any sword.And I had just received a v
MAYAThe wolfsbane was eating me alive from the inside.Every step back to the kingdom was a war between my body and my will. The poison spread through my bloodstream like liquid fire. It burned along my veins and settled into my muscles and turned every movement into agony.My wolf fought it. I co
MAYAWe moved through the darkness like ghosts.Eight of us. Ethan at the front. Rhea covering the rear. Six Lycan soldiers spread between them in a formation so tight and silent that even the wind did not know we were there.And me. Somewhere in the middle. Heart pounding. Blade drawn. Every sense
ISABELLAHe smelled like that basement room again.Dust and old paper and obsession. The scent clung to his clothes and his skin and followed him through the house like a ghost that refused to leave.I was sitting in the bedroom when he walked in. Midnight. He did not look at me. He walked straight







