LOGINLyra’s POV“I told you to call him. Now!”My voice ricochets off the hospital room walls—cracked, hoarse, packed with pressure. The nurses stand rigid where they are, faces taut—not a single one steps closer.“Lady Lyra, please calm down—”“Calm down?” I let out a short, nearly hysterical laugh. “You want me calm while I’m locked in here like a broken thing?”With a sharp sweep of my arm, I knock over the small table beside the bed. The glass of water falls and shatters, shards scattering across the floor. One nurse jerks back in shock. Another lowers her head, fingers trembling as they clutch her clipboard.“Get out!” I scream. “You’re all useless!”No one answers. They only exchange looks—the look of people who know one wrong move could make everything worse.“He didn’t come,” I
Lyra’s POVNothing is going according to my plan.That’s the first thing I realize every time I open my eyes.The hospital ceiling feels too close, too white, as if it’s pressing down on me. The sharp scent of antiseptic burns my nose, stirring my stomach into another wave of nausea. I close my eyes, hoping the dizziness will fade—but instead, my chest tightens as the sickness surges back.“Lyra, breathe,” I whisper to myself.I clutch the bedsheet. My hands are cold. My body feels heavy—like it’s being held down by something unseen. Every breath is too shallow, as if my lungs have forgotten how to work properly.“He hasn’t come yet?” I ask, my voice hoarse.The two nurses beside my bed exchange a look.Not an ordinary one—but a brief, cautious glance loaded with restraint. One swallows hard, fingers tightening around her clipboard. The oth
Alaric’s POVThe decision is made without ceremony.There’s no second handshake, no empty promises. Once the discussion ends, I know exactly what I need to do—and Orion knows what he’ll do. That’s enough.I leave first.The afternoon air cuts into my lungs, clean and cold. Russel follows a step behind, his pace slightly faster than usual—a sign he’s waiting for orders.“Start from within,” I say. “Shut down any distribution connected to the potion. Audit every SilverFang healer.”“Even the old ones?” Russel asks.“Especially the old ones,” I reply. “Cut their lines one by one. Quietly.”Russel jots it down quickly. “Lyra?”I stop. “Full surveillance. No contact with Iris. No requests passed on without my approval.”“Vania will react.”“Let her,&rdqu
Alaric’s POVI listen carefully to everything they say. How could I have missed something this crucial—something I should have suspected from the beginning? The potion is exactly as Raymond described it. Dangerous. With severe side effects.And maybe… this is what they used to ensnare me.Damn it.“So the conclusion about the potion is—”Silence settles between us before I continue.“The potion isn’t just medicine,” I finally say, breaking the heavy quiet that’s lingered since Vania’s name was spoken. “It’s been used in SilverFang since before Lyra became Luna. In small doses—it calms. With regular use—it binds.”Orion leans back, his gaze sharp but controlled. “Binds how?”“Decisions,” I answer flatly. “Emotional responses. Instincts. An Alpha exposed to it feels stable—even cert
Alaric’s POVI will arrive first.This place is neutral—neither SilverFang territory nor NightFang. An old retreat house on the outskirts of the city, far enough from the Elders’ eyes and quiet enough for a meeting like this. I chose it deliberately. If Orion requested a meeting outside formal council grounds, then this conversation isn’t about protocol. And if it involves Iris, I can’t afford to take it lightly.Could it be that he knows something?Russel stands behind me, one step farther back than usual.“The perimeter is clear,” he reports. “No suspicious movement. Vania’s people haven’t been detected.”“Not yet,” I correct him.Russel nods in understanding. “The latest report—the mass suicide wasn’t spontaneous. They prepared for it. And… it happened on NightFang territory. I suspect that’s also why they a
They laugh—but it isn’t mocking.“I hope Miss Cassandra becomes our Luna. You hope so too, don’t you?”I hear a long exhale. “That’s why we’re happy Miss Cassandra is here.”“And Iris,” the voice adds. “That child… reminds the Alpha of something he once had. Without him even realizing it.”“That’s why don’t ruin this,” the first whispers. “Don’t let the past crash into him again.”Their footsteps fade. The voices disappear—but the words remain, heavy, suspended, suffocating.I stand frozen for several seconds.Losing his wife and child.Right… Ben had mentioned it once, in passing. A tragic story never explained in detail. Now, the fragments feel more real. More painful.No wonder Orion is the way he is. No wonder he keeps his distance. No wonder he chooses to be present without clinging.And no wonder… everyone in this mansion looks at Iris and me as if we’re a small light they’re afraid to see go out.







