Mag-log inAlara's POVI found Xavier exactly where I expected him to be: in his study, working again. At this point, I was beginning to suspect the man had a secret ability to sense paperwork from several miles away. The moment a report existed, Xavier somehow appeared beside it like magic. The doors to his study stood partially open, letting soft light spill into the corridor. I paused briefly before entering, just watching him. He sat behind the massive desk that had once belonged to kings before him, surrounded by stacks of documents, maps, reports, and letters of kingdom business. Yet, despite everything spread across the desk, I noticed one thing immediately: he wasn't reading. The parchment in his hands remained untouched, his gaze distant and focused somewhere else entirely. He was worrying, doing the exact same thing I had been doing all evening.His Lycan sensed me first. Marcus stirred beneath the surface, warm and familiar, before Xavier finally looked up. The moment he saw me, so
Artemis's POVI hated being injured because everyone suddenly treated me differently. Mother became protective, Father became overprotective, and Lucian became unbearable.And apparently, Cassian had decided to become my personal caretaker.The last part was somehow the most annoying and the most dangerous, mostly because I wasn't entirely sure I disliked it. The realization alone made me want to throw something, preferably at him. Unfortunately, he was currently helping me, which complicated matters greatly.I sat cross-legged on the window seat in my chambers while the afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass. The worst of my injuries were already healing; Lycan blood ran strong through my veins, even if I wasn't a full Lycan. The bruises from the arena incident had faded significantly, and most of the cuts were shallow. It wasn't anything serious. Still, the healer had insisted I apply a medicinal salve to the scratches scattered across my arms and shoulders.It was a task I
Cassian's POVI had been stabbed before, thrown from horses, punched by warriors twice my size. Once, when I was ten, I'd fallen out of a tree trying to impress a girl and broken my arm. The girl hadn't been impressed. But the point was, I wasn't particularly fragile. Which was why being blasted across a room by Artemis should have bothered me less than it did. Not because it hurt, but because it had me scared on her behalf. The thought lingered as I stood outside her chambers long after midnight. The palace corridors were quiet; most of the kingdom had already retired for the night. After the disaster in the arena earlier, everyone had been tense. The Seer had spent hours speaking privately with King Xavier and Luna Alara. Lucian hadn't left Artemis's side until Luna practically forced him out. Even then, he'd looked guilty enough to challenge himself to a duel. The poor idiot. It wasn't his fault, not really.I stared at the closed door, sighed, and then stared some more. This was
Lucian's POVSomething felt wrong the moment Father sealed the arena. The royal training grounds were enormous, typically built to hold hundreds of warriors during intensive military drills. Today, they stood completely empty. Dozens of elite Lycan warriors occupied every single entrance. Ancient runes glowed intensely across the surrounding stone walls, and shimmering protective barriers vibrated overhead. No one was allowed inside.At least, that had been the original plan. Unfortunately, Cassian had never been particularly fond of rules, and neither had Selena.I wasn't surprised when I spotted two familiar figures trying to hide behind one of the eastern support pillars. They weren't succeeding, not even slightly. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.Beside me, Artemis followed my gaze. "Oh, for the love of the Moon."Father mirrored my frustration, while Mother looked suspiciously amused. Uncle Rylan outright laughed. "Should we throw them out?""Good luck with that," Artemi
Lucian's POVI did not get jealous. At least, that was the lie I repeated to myself for nearly an hour. Unfortunately, the evidence suggested otherwise.The training grounds were unusually crowded that afternoon. With many of the younger heirs remaining at the Lycan Palace for advanced training, the arena had become a constant battlefield of sparring matches, competitions, and bruised egos. In one corner, Cassian was currently making a fool of himself, while Artemis looked one sarcastic comment away from throwing him off a cliff.I should have been focused on my own training session. Instead, my attention kept drifting to Selena, and the person standing beside her.Alpha heir Adrian Blackthorne, future Alpha of the Western Ridge Pack, tall, confident, popular, and rather annoying. I didn’t particularly dislike him until today, but today I was reconsidering."What did Adrian ever do to you?"I nearly jumped. Turning, I found Artemis standing beside me, arms crossed, looking far too ob
Artemis’s POV"Sit down," I ordered.Cassian blinked. "That sounded suspiciously like a royal command.""It is. Sit."To my surprise, he actually obeyed, lowering himself onto the bench slowly, with just enough dramatic flair to suggest he considered himself nobility among the wounded. I crouched down in front of him, actively ignoring the fact that several nearby healers had paused their duties to watch us. I told myself to ignore them.One of the senior healers stepped forward in alarm. "Princess, you're not meant to use your—""I know," I interrupted smoothly."But the King specifically said—""I know.""The crescent power boundaries—""I said, I know."That successfully shut everyone up. Nobody needed to keep reminding me that my father had strictly forbidden me from using my unique crescent powers for casual healing unless it was an absolute emergency. He always claimed it dangerously blurred the boundaries between emotion and royal responsibility. He said I used the magic too
Alara’s POVThe morning after my argument with Xavier passed in a suffocating haze of silence.The palace was quieter than usual. As if the walls themselves were holding their breath after the assassin’s intrusion. Guards rotated past my door at regular intervals, their footsteps echoing down the co
Xavier’s POVI felt the bond strain the moment Alara walked away from me in the courtyard — her shoulders tight, her breath uneven, her scent tangled in fear and a kind of distant resignation that made something inside me snap. She had never looked at me that way before. Not even when she’d first a
Alara’s POVThe palace felt different after the incident.The air hummed — alive, restless, vibrating with something just beneath the surface. Even the shadows along the corridor walls seemed darker, heavier, as if they were watching my every move. And every time I walked through them, they whispere
Alara’s POVThe courtyard had always been one of my favorite places in the palace — open sky, moon-washed stones, the hum of pack energy threading through the air. But that evening, the very air felt wrong. Or maybe it was me who was wrong.I had begun avoiding Xavier’s gaze more deliberately with e







