LOGINSelena's POVMy eyelids felt heavy as I slowly forced them open, staring up at the intricately carved wooden ceiling of the palace healer’s chambers. The sharp, clean scent of crushed herbs and medicinal salves hung thick in the air. Every time I tried to shift, a dull, throbbing ache flared beneath the crisp white bandages tightly wrapped around my shoulder, a physical reminder that the chaos of the previous afternoon hadn't been an absurd dream.Fragments of the training incident replayed relentlessly behind my eyes. The sudden, erratic trajectory of the wooden practice blade. The sickening thud as it collided with my collarbone. The ground rushing up to meet me. And then... the absolute madness that followed.I had never seen him like that. Not even close. That wasn't the composed, calculating prince the court whispered about in hushed tones. It wasn't the quiet boy who spent hours hiding away in the dusty corners of the palace library, nor was it the fiercely sarcastic companion
Artemis's POVThe temperature in the arena plummeted so fast that my breath hitched, turning to white mist in the air. One moment I was casually watching the training rotation, and the next, the bright midday sun was choked out as the entire valley plunged into pitch-black darkness.Terrified gasps and shouting erupted from every corner of the gallery.Down below, the shadows were exploding outward from Lucian in a violent, terrifying, and utterly uncontrolled storm of dark mass. It was exactly like the training accident that had occurred weeks ago, but this was exponentially worse. The darkness didn't just pool around his feet; it raged."Lucian!" His name tore from my throat before I could stop it, but the sound was swallowed by the roaring wind generated by his power.Chaos descended upon the training grounds. The darkness swallowed the stone floor and the sand pits like a living, predatory ocean. Experienced warriors stumbled backward in panic, their nocturnal vision useless again
Lucian's POVThe training arena was an assault on the senses, filled with a chaotic symphony that I usually had no trouble tuning out. Dozens of young Lycan warriors occupied the massive stone grounds, their bodies moving in blurred, predatory sequences as they sparred in tightly monitored groups. The air was thick with the scent of kicked-up dust, sweat, and iron. Steel clashed against steel with deafening cracks, punctuated by the booming commands of instructors and the heavy thuds of bodies hitting the dirt. Normally, this display of raw power was routine to me, a familiar backdrop to my daily responsibilities.Today, however, my focus refused to lock onto the training drills. Instead, my gaze kept drifting toward the western boundary of the courtyard.Towards her, over and over.Selena stood near the edge of the chalk lines, paired with a massive trainee who towered over her. Unlike every other highborn heir present, she possessed no wolf. She had no Lycan blood running through
Cassian's POVMy father had lied.The realization wasn’t exactly a grand epiphany. I’d known Alpha Darius long enough to recognize the subtle shift in his posture, the calculated shadow in his eyes whenever he was withholding information. But lately, a darker, more suffocating suspicion had taken root: I was beginning to think he’d been lying to me my entire life.I stared at the heavy parchment spread across my desk. It had arrived that morning, sealed with the crisp, unmistakable wax crest of my home pack. On the surface, the contents were aggressively ordinary. Father wrote of shifting pack borders, tedious political maneuvers, trade agreements, and training quotas — the usual bureaucratic nonsense he loved pretending was the center of the universe.Yet, it was what he didn't write that made the skin on the back of my neck prickle.Once again, there was no mention of my mother.I leaned back in my chair, frustration simmering like a low-grade fever beneath my skin. For years, I ha
Artemis's POVThe dreams were evolving. I couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse.Lately, the abstraction had bled into a terrifying reality. They didn't feel like dreams anymore. They felt like memories, which was entirely impossible, because the places I saw hadn't existed for centuries.I woke with a sharp, ragged inhale, my pulse hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. Moonlight streamed through my chamber windows, casting stark, cold shadows across the floor. Sweat dampened my skin despite the chill in the room.I tried to breathe through the panic, to convince myself that it was just a trick of an overactive imagination. But the details refused to fade. They remained crisp, precise, and hauntingly tangible. I could still perfectly picture the stone towers piercing a silver sky, the massive temples carved from moon-white marble, and the women in flowing robes whose eyes glowed with a fierce, crescent luminescence.And then, there was the voice. It was always th
Lucian's POVMy shadows had officially mutinied.There was simply no other explanation. For nearly twelve years, they had been my loyal extensions, listening to my silent commands, cloaking my movements, and keeping the rest of the world at a safe, intimidated distance. They were mine.Now? Now they apparently answered to Selena just as much.I leaned against the trunk of an ancient oak tree in the royal gardens, my gaze fixed entirely on the small ribbon of sentient darkness currently curled around her left wrist.The little traitor shifted, weaving between her fingers like a living silk bracelet, looking disgustingly content. I was starting to take it personally."You know, staring is considered rude," Selena said, her voice laced with amusement. She didn't even look up from the heavy, leather-bound book resting on her lap."Most people don't wear my shadows as accessories," I countered, crossing my arms.That finally earned me a full grin. She lifted her wrist, tilting it toward t
Alara’s POVThe massive training hall, deep in the palace’s hidden levels, was silent save for my sharp, ragged breaths and the muted thud of my bare feet on the matted floor. Sunlight filtered through the high windows, illuminating the dust and the sheen of sweat that coated my skin. I paced, the f
Alara’s POVXavier didn’t want to leave.I saw the internal battle raging on his face—the tense, rigid way his jaw clenched, the white-knuckle grip of his hands on the door frame, the way his eyes lingered at my waist longer than usual, tracing the curve before flickering toward the main hall where
Xavier’s POVThe moment I left Alara’s suite, the air around me shifted — thickening with tension I couldn’t ignore. I hadn’t expected Aria to corner us like that. Not in front of her. Not now.Alara’s wide eyes, the way her hand instinctively guarded her stomach — those images burned behind my eyel
Alara’s POVThe night tasted like metal, cold and bitter.Branches whipped against my arms as I ran, breath burning in my lungs, my feet pounding the forest floor with the stubborn rhythm of desperation. I didn’t know where Emily had gotten the courage to steal the keys — or how she had managed to







