로그인MAYA
The vehicle stopped and the sudden silence woke me up.
I blinked a few times trying to get my bearings. My body still ached from the rejection but the short nap had given me just enough strength to sit up without wincing.
Ethan opened my door from outside and cold mountain air rushed in like a slap to the face. I shivered and pulled the thin auction gown tighter around my body. It did almost nothing.
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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
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
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







