MasukArtemis's POVSleep had become dangerous. It wasn't because of nightmares, enemies, or even the strange tension that seemed to follow me everywhere lately. No, sleep had become dangerous because every time I closed my eyes, I found myself somewhere else. And each time, the dream felt a little more real. The first time it happened, I thought nothing of it. It was just a strange dream, nothing more. Everyone had them, especially those carrying powerful bloodlines. At least, that was what my mother had always said.But this wasn't like the fragmented images or meaningless visions I had experienced as a child. This felt deliberate, purposeful.I stood in darkness. It wasn't a frightening darkness, nor was it the kind tied to Lucian’s shadows. This darkness felt ancient, soft, and endless, like standing beneath a sky before stars had ever existed. I couldn't see my body or feel the ground beneath my feet, yet somehow, I knew I wasn't alone. The certainty settled deep inside my chest: som
Cassian's POVI had encountered many formidable challenges in my life: hostile future Alphas, bitter territorial disputes, and my own father. Unfortunately, none of them quite compared to Artemis.Unlike everyone else I met, Artemis seemed genuinely, deeply committed to disliking me. She did it for absolutely no reason at all. I was charming, reasonably intelligent, and exceptionally handsome. Yet, every single time I spoke to her, she looked at me as though she were actively reconsidering the kingdom's laws regarding murder. It was fascinating. And, admittedly, it was becoming a bit of a problem, mostly because I couldn't stop thinking about her.The problem persisted the very next morning. I spotted her sitting alone in the sun-drenched palace gardens, lost in a book. It was a perfect opportunity. Naturally, I walked directly toward her.Artemis noticed my approach immediately. Her expression shifted from entirely peaceful to thoroughly annoyed in less than a second. "Good mornin
Artemis's POVI knew I was going to dislike him before I even met him.It wasn't because I was gifted with some mystical intuition, nor because my Crescent powers whispered warnings into my ear. It was simply because everyone kept talking about him. Whenever people spent that much time praising someone, disappointment was usually inevitable."The southern delegation arrives today." Mama glanced up from the documents spread across her desk.I was seated across from her, pretending to organize reports while actually doing everything in my power to avoid them. "That doesn't sound exciting enough," I sighed dramatically."It isn't the delegation." A knowing smile touched her lips. "Cassian."I groaned. The name alone had become deeply annoying. For three weeks, I had heard endless stories. Cassian this, Cassian that. The future Alpha of the Southern Territories. The brilliant warrior. The charming diplomat. The prince who could apparently talk his way out of any situation. It was exhaust
Selena's POVBy the end of my first full day in the Lycan Kingdom, I had come to one very important conclusion: everyone here was completely ridiculous. Especially when it came to Lucian.I was halfway through exploring the eastern wing of the palace when an older she-lycan stopped me near the grand staircase."Lady Selena," she said, her voice laced with hesitation.I smiled politely. "Yes?"She glanced nervously over her shoulder, lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, and said, "I hope you're settling in comfortably.""I am, thank you."An awkward pause stretched between us before she finally blurted, "You should be careful around Prince Lucian."There it was again. The warning. That was the fifth one today, if not the sixth. I was genuinely starting to lose count. Folding my arms, I looked her dead in the eye. "And why exactly should I be careful?"She blinked, clearly taken aback by my bluntness. "As everyone knows... his powers can be unpredictable.""Has he ever harmed
Lucian's POVSix years had passed…People feared me. I noticed it long before anyone thought I did. The younger lycans lowered their eyes when I passed, and warriors twice my age measured their words carefully around me. Servants grew nervous whenever shadows trailed me through the palace corridors. It wasn't entirely their fault. I understood why.The stories had grown over the years, ballooning into myth. They whispered about the boy who had stepped through shadows as a child, the boy who had helped end a war before he was old enough to comprehend it, and the boy whose raw powers had once terrified even the strongest Alphas. Most of those tales were exaggerated. Some weren't. Either way, they all led to the same result: distance. People respected me, they obeyed me, and they feared me. Very few actually knew me. And honestly? I preferred it that way. At least, that's what I told myself.The training grounds echoed with the rhythmic sound of clashing weapons as I stepped into the a
Sera's POVOn the polished mahogany of my desk, the formal parchment from the Human High Council sat entirely untouched. I hadn't broken the heavy wax seal.As the hours bled toward morning, the strange thing was that the decision itself wasn't what kept my mind locked in a frantic loop. That part of the equation had actually become clear days ago. It was a long buried truth, a ghost I had carried in my shadow for nearly a decade.I knew that if I was truly going to choose this life, if I was going to choose a future beside Rylan, then I could no longer look him in the eye while hiding behind a shield of omissions. I stared out the window as the first fingers of dawn slowly painted the jagged horizon in strokes of brushed gold and violet. Then, with a quiet exhale, I stood up.I found Rylan exactly where I expected him to be: the western cliffs that flanked the outer ramparts, overlooking the vast valley below. For a long moment, I simply stood at the edge of the tree line and looked
Alara’s POVI felt like a ghost moving through the palace.Every hallway seemed longer than before. Every murmur felt sharper, directed at me even when I couldn’t hear the actual words. Eyes followed me and each one carved deeper into the hollow stretching inside my chest.The air carried the same q
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







