MasukAria:By the time we reached the lower chamber, the air in the tunnel had turned damp and close, it wasn’t suffocating, but thick enough that every breath reminded you we were underground.It wasn’t the birthing chamber.That was further in.This was a holding room, stone walls, old benches carved from the rock, lantern hooks along the sides. A place meant for women and children during siege, not for delivery. But we couldn’t care at this point, as long we were safe, then it didn’t matter where we were.Most of the consorts were already there, some pale, some shaking.They all looked up when we entered.Relief washed over their faces at the sight of Luna Isobel, and then shifted to alarm when they saw Lia. She was still breathing heavily, and I knew that she was still far into the contractions, but it didn’t mean that it wouldn’t coming soon.“You need to breathe, Lia.” Maria urged gently.“She’s in labor,” one of them whispered.“Early,” I corrected. “But not active. We are going to
Elara:From the upper balcony of the east tower, the pack looked like it was bleeding.Flames climbed the west wing in hungry streaks, devouring curtains, beams, years of history. Smoke rolled upward in thick waves, dark against the night sky. Shouts echoed below, orders, panic, metal clashing.It was chaos.Beautiful chaos.Katherine stood beside me, arms folded neatly across her chest, watching the destruction like she was observing a lesson unfold exactly as planned.“You see?” she said softly. “All it takes is one fracture. Just a little fire for them to scramble and the right time when he is not even here to protect her.”I didn’t answer.My eyes searched the movement below, guards scrambling, servants rushing water lines, rebels blending into the confusion.But she wasn’t there.“And yet, the one person who I want dead is not even here.” I muttered, knowing well that her presence was the one thing that I needed right now. “She is the reason behind all of this.”“She might be, bu
Marcel:“This seems to be clean,” Dominic said, and I scoffed.“Clean is a way to describe it.” I muttered, knowing well that this was nothing more than an illusion in our world. One that practically didn’t exist.A familiar scent hit me fast before an Omega burst out of the trees so fast Dominic nearly cut him down.Steel flashed.My wolf surged forward.Five more men followed behind him, weapons raised, breath ragged, and for half a second, I thought it was an ambush.Then I caught the scent.Pack.“Alpha!” the Omega gasped, skidding to a stop. “It’s us…”Dominic lowered calmed his stance, but only slightly. “Report.” I snapped, glaring at him.“The pack is under attack,” the Omega said, voice shaking with urgency. “Fire in the west wing. It spread fast. We don’t know how it started, but it is getting out of hand.”My stomach dropped.West wing.My mother’s chambers.The consort hall.Lia.“Where are they?” I demanded immediately.He blinked. “Alpha?”“Lia. Aria. My mother. Has anyo
Lia:The tunnel felt tighter the deeper we went.Not because it narrowed, but because the air felt heavier with every step. Smoke didn’t reach us down here, but I could still taste it in the back of my throat. Or maybe that was fear.Another contraction built slowly, starting low in my back before wrapping around my stomach. I stopped without meaning to, my hand flattening against the cold stone wall.I forced myself to breathe as Aria’s words kept playing in my mind. I needed to be brave for my babies, they needed their mother to be able to stand strong. And right now, though I couldn’t say it out loud, strength was not my main virtue, but I knew the risk that would follow if I wasn’t for them.“Still space?” Aria asked quietly.I nodded, breathing through it. “Yes. They’re not close. At least, not directly on top of each other to be positioned fully.”It hurt but it wasn’t relentless, but I was no fool, I knew that this was the very beginning of it.Two weeks early. That thought kep
Aria:Smoke didn’t pour down the corridor in thick waves, it was just starting, and I could the feel the fire intensifying around.Isobel was already at the far end of the hall when we stepped out of Lia’s chambers. She must have moved the moment she heard the explosion. Even now, even with chaos rising behind us, she stood straight-backed, her composure nearly frightening.“Lia,” she breathed, stepping forward. “Are you hurt? Aria?”“I’m fine,” Lia answered, though her hand had tightened around her stomach. I simply nodded in response as I looked at Luna Isobel.“How did it start?” I asked.Isobel shook her head. “I don’t know. It wasn’t contained to one room. It spread too quickly. There is a rebellion going on, they started in the wing nearest to my room and the consort hall… I came here before going anywhere. The other girls should be going to one of the safe paths.”That wasn’t an accident.“Do you have any idea who it might be?” I asked, but Isobel shook her head at me.That was
Lia:Aria had stopped sounding like an advisor and started sounding like a mother.“I thought I would break,” she admitted, her fingers loosely folded over the parchment in front of her. “Not physically. Just… emotionally. Everyone watched me like I was glass. Like one wrong breath would shatter something. Dominic always feared that something might happen to me, but I couldn’t blame him either… I think that I almost broke his hand while I was pushing.”I smiled faintly.“That must have hurt.” I said, and she laughed.“Not as much as pushing a human out of you.” She said, making my heart drop. I looked down at my stomach and she smiled, putting her hand on my knee. Both she and Dominic were one of the few who knew that I was carrying twins, and she’s been there for me since. “Don’t worry, it is going to be worth it when you hold them in your arms. They are going to be that blessing, and that pain is going to be the bitter sweet moment of it,”“Does it ever become less painful?” I asked







