LOGINMAYAI woke to white light and the smell of healing herbs.Not dead. Somehow. Against all odds. Not dead.My body felt wrong. Heavy. Distant. Like it belonged to someone else. I tried to move. Pain exploded through my shoulder where Gabriel's blade had been."Easy." A voice. Familiar. Female. The palace healer. "You have been unconscious for two days. The wound was severe. We almost lost you three times."Two days. The war. The battle. Gabriel."Asher" I croaked. My throat was raw. "Where is Asher?"The healer's face was carefully neutral. Professional. The expression that meant bad news delivered gently."The King is alive. Stable. He woke yesterday. But Maya the damage from the wolfsbane and blood loss. He is weak. It will take time."Alive. That was all that mattered. I tried to sit up. The healer pushed me back down."You are not going anywhere. That shoulder needs another week minimum. You used power that should have killed you. Your body is still recovering from burning through
ASHERI was dying.Not metaphorically. Not dramatically. Literally dying on a surgical table while a healer worked frantically to save me.The crossbow bolt had done more damage than anyone realized. Punctured something vital. The wolfsbane in my system prevented proper healing. My wolf was too weak to fight.I could feel it. The cold spreading from my core. The way my heartbeat stuttered. The darkness pressing in from all sides.And through it all. The bond. Screaming.Maya was fighting. I felt every impact. Every near miss. Every moment of terror as Gabriel's forces overwhelmed the palace.She was trying to hold. Trying to protect my kingdom while I bled out on a table.I wanted to help. Wanted to stand beside her. Wanted to keep the promise I made on the balcony.But my body wo
MAYAKael's body hit the marble floor with finality.The throne room went silent. Mercenaries who had been fighting for him stopped. Looked at their dead leader. Looked at Asher standing over him. Looked at the twenty loyal soldiers surrounding us.One by one they dropped their weapons."Surrender" Ethan commanded. "On your knees. Hands behind your heads."They obeyed. The coup was over. Kael was dead. The palace was ours.But Asher. He swayed. The effort of killing Kael combined with the crossbow wound and lingering wolfsbane was too much.I caught him before he fell. Eased him to the floor. His face was gray. Breathing shallow."Someone get a healer" I shouted. "Now."Through the bond I felt him. Pain. Exhaustion. But also satisfaction. He had avenged his mother. Ended Kael's manipulation. Reclaimed his throne."Did we win?" he asked. His voice barely a whisper."The palace is ours. Kael is dead. Yes. We won this part.""Good. That is good." His eyes closed. "I am very tired Maya."
MAYAThe throne room was silent except for the sound of my boots on marble.Bodies everywhere. Loyalists. Mercenaries. The price of the coup scattered across polished floors that had never seen this much blood.And at the center. Sitting in Asher's throne. Kael.He looked comfortable. Relaxed. Like he had been waiting for me. His pale eyes tracked my approach with genuine amusement. Not fear. Not concern. Just the satisfaction of a man who believed he had already won."Maya" he said. My name casual. Like we were discussing the weather. "I wondered when you would arrive. Took you longer than expected. The palace guards put up more of a fight than anticipated."I stopped twenty feet from the throne. Blade still drawn. Blood covering my armor. Some of it mine. Most of it not."Get out of that chair."He
JASMINEI 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
ASHERTwenty years ago.The palace was too big for a boy my size.Every hallway stretched on forever. Every ceiling reached up so high I could not see where it ended. Every room echoed with emptiness no matter how many candles were lit or how many servants walked through.I was eight years old and
ETHANI did not trust the wolf girl.Not when she climbed into the King's car and refused to leave. Not when she proposed marriage to a man she had known for less than an hour. Not when she signed the contract and moved into the palace like she belonged there.I had served Asher since we were boys.
DAMIENThe merchant arrived at midnight.He was not really a merchant. His name was Silas and he had been one of my best scouts long before I became Alpha. He was small and forgettable. The kind of man your eyes passed over without registering. That was what made him perfect for this job.I receive
MAYAThe arena was bigger than I expected.It sat at the heart of the kingdom. A massive circular pit carved from dark stone with tiered seating rising up on all sides like the jaws of a beast waiting to swallow me whole. Hundreds of Lycans filled the seats. Nobles. Soldiers. Servants. All of them







