MasukUh-oh... the Shadow Alpha seems to be closing in on Alara...
Alara’s POVDarkness curled around me, thick and suffocating, as if the very air had turned into molten shadow. I could feel Xavier’s warmth behind me, his presence a tether I wasn’t sure I wanted to hold onto anymore. My wrist throbbed violently, the crescent mark flaring with a force that made my bones ache. Every pulse was like a drumbeat of rage and desire, an untamed, screaming power that seemed to belong to someone else — someone I couldn’t control.And then… the vision came.I was standing in the hall of the palace, but the world was distorted, everything drenched in black and gold. Xavier was there, moving toward me with that fierce, unyielding gaze I had loved and feared all at once. But in this vision, his eyes were not molten gold. They were opaque, empty, as if he had been stripped of his humanity.I raised my hands instinctively. The crescent mark burned through the glove, silver light licking out like liquid fire. I felt its raw, chaotic energy course through my veins, w
Alara’s POVDarkness swallowed the grand council hall whole. It was a complete, suffocating eclipse.Gasps rippled around me of Alphas, dignitaries, and warriors, shuffling, reaching, bristling. My pulse thundered in my ears as the last whisper slithered away like smoke dissolving in the night.‘I wonder how long before you break.’My crescent mark blazed under my glove, burning so sharply I pressed my wrist against my chest to contain it. It pulsed once, twice, then steadied into a feverish thrum that made the air hum around me.“Alara!”Xavier’s voice cut through the chaos, deep and raw, threaded with a very specific sound; fear.I barely had time to turn before golden fire exploded across the hall like a sunrise crashing through stone.His Lycan pushed forward, his aura slamming into the room with enough force to silence every Alpha mid-growl. Light sculpted itself around his silhouette, shadows scrambling away from him like living things.The torches re-ignited on their own, one a
Alara’s POVThe palace woke before the sun. Today was different. Despite the ongoing threats from corrupted rogues, it was decided that no palace events would be postponed to portray the image of stability of the crown.Footsteps echoed through marbled corridors, fabrics swished, voices rose and fell in urgent waves. Servants rushed past my door carrying scrolls, polish, trays heavy with silverware that sparkled like stars fallen from the sky. The diplomatic week had begun under tighter security and with it came expectations I wasn’t ready for.Acting Luna.The words alone pressed against my ribs like a too-tight corset.My magic still burned under my skin, my bond with Xavier was frayed to threads, and my nightmares had become so vicious that I jolted awake more than I slept. Being paraded before visiting Alphas and their councils felt like a cruel joke.Yet that was exactly what I was expected to do.I sat at the vanity as a handmaiden pinned my hair into place, the mirror reflectin
Xavier’s POVThe storm clouds rolled low over the palace as I descended the grand steps toward the council courtyard. A familiar scent — dark pine, steel, and wolf — cut through the wind long before his silhouette appeared.Ronan. Alpha of the Midnight Pack. Former battle brother. Once the closest thing I had to a brother besides my own blood.We hadn’t spoken in months. Not since the border wars, not since everything began shifting, twisting into something darker that neither of us could fully name.But today he was here. And I already knew it wasn’t for pleasantries.Ronan stood tall in the courtyard, his cloak whipping behind him. The moment our eyes locked, something tight in my chest loosened, but just as quickly twisted again because the look in his eyes wasn’t the one I remembered.It wasn’t camaraderie. It wasn’t relief. And it was a grim warning.“Xavier.” He clasped my forearm, his grip firm, but the tension in his jaw robbed the gesture of comfort.“Ronan.” I steadied mysel
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 corridor like distant drums. Even without looking, I could feel the change in their posture whenever they neared my room.Wary. Alert. On edge because of me.Or maybe because of what hunted me.Astrid was restless. She paced inside my mind like a caged ember that refused to dim. Xavier’s absence gnawed at her, but she kept her comments to herself after last night. The bond between us hummed faintly, tender and bruised, like we had both been holding knives by the blade.But today, I refused to sit and drown in the aftermath.I needed answers. I needed control. I needed to do something.Even if Xavier didn’t want me wandering around, there was one person who would help me anyway.Just after dawn
Alara’s POVThe palace felt smaller the next morning.Narrower halls, tighter rooms, shadows that seemed to press in on all sides. It wasn’t the walls that trapped me, Xavier had sealed every corridor leading out of my quarters, posted more guards at my door, and stationed two more inside my sitting room.All of it because of what happened last night. Because of the intruder. Because the rogue had whispered that I belonged to something ancient. And because Xavier was terrified.I should have felt safe.Instead, I felt watched. Contained. Controlled.I paced in front of the balcony doors, the crescent mark beneath my wrist tingling with a faint pulse. The silver shimmer had grown more visibl







