LOGINXavier’s POVSilence followed Rylan’s words. Not the kind that settled. Not the kind that passed. The kind that stayed — thick, heavy, pressing against the walls like something alive.“An Alpha.”The words didn’t just hang in the air. They carved through it.I didn’t move immediately. Neither did Ronan. But Marcus—Marcus surged beneath my skin. Not fully. Not enough to take control. But close.‘Find him.’The instinct wasn’t a thought. It was a command. Sharp. Violent. Absolute.My jaw tightened as I forced it down, forced him down.Rushing now would fracture everything we had built — and if Rylan was right, if the betrayal ran as deep as it seemed…Then one wrong move would warn them. And we would lose more than just a traitor.“We lock this down,” I said finally, my voice cutting clean through the tension.Rylan didn’t look surprised. Ronan did, but only slightly.“No announcements,” I continued. “No accusations. Nothing leaves this room.”Ronan exhaled sharply, dragging a hand dow
Rylan’s POVI didn’t believe in coincidence.Not when blood had already been spilled and patterns had begun to form where there should have been none.So when things started lining up too neatly, I stopped trusting what I was being told. And started watching instead. The palace hadn’t settled since the ambush.It looked intact. Guards rotated. Messengers moved. Orders were given. But beneath all of it—There was a fracture.And I intended to find it before it split us apart completely.********I started with the records. I didn't expect to find something obvious but lies leave traces. Even when they’re careful. Even when they’re buried.Movement logs. Guard rotations. Messenger routes. I went through all of it, looking for patterns.At first, there was nothing evident. Everything seemed in place. But the more I read, the more something began to itch at the back of my mind.A delay here. A reroute there. A missed check-in.Individually? It was all insignificant. Together? It was som
Alara’s POVSomething had shifted. Like a crack forming beneath still water. And I could feel it.The palace — once a place of strength, of unity — now breathed differently. The corridors felt longer. The silences lingered too long. Conversations hushed the moment I stepped into a room.Not out of respect. But out of distrust.I stood by the tall arched window overlooking the inner courtyard, my fingers resting lightly against the cool stone as my gaze followed the movement below. Warriors trained. Guards rotated. Alphas moved in small groups, speaking in low, measured tones. Everything looked normal which only made it worse.Because I knew better now.Nothing was as it seemed. “You’re doing it again.”I didn’t turn.“I don’t know what you mean.”Ronan stepped beside me, his presence steady, grounding.“Watching everything like it’s about to break.”A faint, humorless smile tugged at my lips. “Isn’t it?”He didn’t answer immediately. He didn’t need to. We both knew the truth.After
Ronan’s POVThe silence after battle was always worse. Not the kind that followed victory. Not the kind that settled with relief.This one was hollow. We hadn’t lost the fight. But we hadn’t won it either. And that sat heavier than any defeat I had ever carried.The temporary encampment had been set up just beyond the tree line, far enough from the ambush site to regroup but close enough to monitor any movement. Fires burned low, not for warmth — but for light, for visibility, for control.Because no one trusted the dark anymore. Not after what we had just seen. I stood near the center of the camp, arms crossed, watching as the wounded were treated and the fallen were laid out in a quiet, growing line.They were too many.“They hit us where it would hurt,” one of the warriors muttered nearby.“Like they knew,” another replied.I didn’t interrupt. Because they weren’t wrong.They knew. And that was the problem.My gaze shifted toward Xavier.He stood at the far edge of the encampment,
Xavier’s POVThe first wave hit like a storm that had been waiting. The moment the shadows shifted, the forest came alive with violence. They didn’t charge blindly. They moved. Coordinated. Precise.The first rogue lunged straight for the left flank, exactly where the formation thinned around the ridge dip. Steel met claws with a sharp, brutal clash, but before the impact could even settle, a second wave surged from the opposite side.Too fast. Too calculated.Marcus tore forward through me, ripping control free as bone snapped and muscle reformed. My body expanded, twisted — Lycan rising fully into dominance with a force that shook the ground beneath my feet.‘THEY KNOW.’“I see it.” My voice was no longer entirely mine.The battlefield exploded into chaos.Warriors held formation, shields locking, blades flashing as they met the first assault, but it wasn’t enough. The rogues didn’t hesitate. They didn’t break. They pressed forward like they had nothing to lose and everything to ga
Alara’s POVThe morning felt wrong. Sunlight spilled across the palace courtyard in soft gold, catching on polished stone and steel armor alike. The banners along the high walls stirred gently in the breeze. Servants moved quietly along the edges, careful not to disrupt the formation already taking shape.It should have felt like any other departure. But nothing about this was routine or safe.I stood at the top of the palace steps, the weight of a hundred watchful eyes settling against my skin like something tangible. Warriors lined the courtyard in precise rows, their armor gleaming, their stances rigid.Too many. Too visible. Exactly as planned.“You look like you’re about to walk into a war, not a journey.” Xavier’s voice came low beside me.I didn’t look at him.“Maybe I am.” I added softly. “We both are.”His presence shifted slightly closer, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him, steady and grounding despite the tension coiled beneath it.Marcus was restl
Ronan’s POVThe archives were not meant to be comforting.They were carved into stone beneath the oldest wing of the estate — older than Xavier’s reign, older than the alphas’ council as it currently stood. The air down there never warmed, no matter the season. It smelled of dust, iron, and old ink
Alara’s POVRonan did not bring the news lightly. He was a man built of shadows and strategic silences, and I knew the moment he crossed the threshold of the solar that the world had shifted. He carried a particular stillness.He closed the heavy oak doors himself, the latch clicking with a finali
Alara’s POVFollowing the uneventful incident, Ronan didn’t ease his said training sessions for the twins. Instead, he made it intense — deliberately so.The first morning, I woke to the sound of measured footsteps in the lower courtyard. Not the light scuff of play. Not laughter. Not the chaotic t
Alara’s POVThe silence after Lucian moved, after space itself bent to his will, felt heavier than any scream.I stayed on my knees, one hand on Artemis’ shoulder, the other resting over Lucian’s small chest as if my touch alone could anchor him to the world. His heartbeat was steady. Calm. Too cal







