로그인Fay's POVAs I followed Vesha deeper into the estate, I was becoming increasingly certain that whatever she was doing had absolutely nothing to do with a harmless walk.I kept several steps between us, ducking behind pillars whenever she slowed down and pressing myself against walls whenever she glanced over her shoulder.The corridor seemed to stretch forever but Vesha moved quickly. Too quickly for someone who was supposedly taking an innocent evening walk.She didn't wander, she didn't hesitate. She knew exactly where she was going.I pulled my shawl tighter around my shoulders."Where are you going, Vesha?"I whispered the question even though she was far enough ahead not to hear me.She turned another corner and I hurried after her then stopped abruptly.Two guards stood at the end of the corridor and my stomach tightened. Beyond them stood a massive iron door. It looked nothing like the doors leading to ordinary rooms.This one was reinforced with thick metal bands, and a heavy
Liora's POVThe garden had become a battlefield without a single weapon being drawn. Amarok stood to my left, Alpha Kael stood several feet away on my right and somehow, I was the one caught between them.Neither of them looked willing to take a step back and they didn't look willing to let me make a decision without trying to influence it.My heart hammered painfully against my ribs."Come with me, Liora," Amarok said. His voice was calmer now, but there was still urgency beneath it. "You don't owe Kael anything."Alpha Kael's eyes immediately hardened."Enough."Amarok glanced at him."You don't get to decide when I've said enough" he shot at him."I do in my territory" Alpha Kael replied.Amarok frowned. "This isn't about your territory" he said.Alpha Kael's jaw tightened."It is when you're standing inside it" he countered. Amarok gave a humorless laugh."Everything is about control with you" he said.Kael took a step forward."And everything is about taking what doesn't belong
Fay's POVSomething was wrong and I knew it. No matter how much I tried to calm myself down and reassure myself I was overthinking the situation, I had this sick feeling that I was unable to ignore.I could feel it in the pit of my stomach.Liora had promised she wouldn't be gone for long but she was still gone. Maybe I should've tried harder to stop her from leaving, but she would've gone either way. She had promised not to go but she still had left because that was the kind of person she was. Once she made up her mind about something, it was hard to make her change her mind.I paced across her bedroom for what felt like the hundredth time, glancing toward the open window.The curtains swayed gently in the night breeze and every time they moved, my heart jumped.What if someone had caught her? What if Alpha Kael had found her?What if—"No."I shook my head."Liora is fine."I said the words aloud as though repeating them could make them true."She's fine."I walked toward the wind
Alpha Kael's POV(Several Moments Earlier)The moment I realized the gun had never been the real threat, everything fell into place.None of it had been a coincidence. Someone had wanted me away from the rest of the estate, someone had known exactly which weakness to exploit.And there was only one name that came to mind.Amarok.My jaw clenched. That bastard had somehow found another way to sink his claws into my territory.I turned toward the corridor."I don't have time for this" I said.The guard immediately raised the gun again."Don't move!"I stopped then slowly, I looked over my shoulder."You still don't understand what you've done" I said."I said I won't let you leave!" He threatened. "You think that weapon gives you power over me?" I asked.His hands trembled."It can kill you" he replied. I turned fully toward him."Perhaps, but you're forgetting something."His eyes narrowed."I'm an Alpha and you're pointing a weapon at someone who has been fighting killers since befo
Liora's POVI couldn't breathe. Amarok's words kept replaying inside my head. I stared at him, but somehow I wasn't really seeing him anymore.My mind had transported me somewhere else, back to every moment I had spent with Alpha Kael, every strange look, every unanswered question, every time he had touched me.Had all of it been a lie?My fingers curled tightly into the fabric of my dress."No..."Amarok watched me carefully."Liora."I shook my head."You're wrong. You don't know what you're talking about" I said.His expression hardened."I'm not. I've spent a considerate amount of time investigating your bloodline" he replied. "But you don't know Kael" I said."I know enough about him" he replied. My voice cracked."You don't" I countered. He took a slow breath."Then tell me I'm wrong" he said.I opened my mouth but nothing came out because I didn't know. I had always assumed my blood was dangerous.I thought perhaps that was why Alpha Kael hadn't killed me immediately. Maybe
Alpha Kael's POVThe barrel of the gun remained fixed on my chest, steadier than I would have expected.The guard's hands still trembled, but there was enough determination in his eyes to convince me he believed he could actually pull the trigger.I looked from the weapon to his face then I laughed and I took one slow step toward him."You are either incredibly brave or astonishingly stupid" I said.His grip tightened."Don't move. I mean it!" He said.I continued forward, my expression calm."You think pointing a gun at me will force me to change my mind?"His breathing became ragged."I don't have another choice" he said.I stopped only a few feet away."You had countless choices.""I exhausted all of them" he replied. "You exhausted your patience.""I exhausted my hope" he countered. For the first time since this absurd confrontation had begun, I looked at him properly.There were dark circles beneath his eyes, his uniform was creased, his beard had begun to grow unevenly.He loo
The Alpha Losing ControlKael’s POV“Your blood… shouldn’t exist.”The words left my mouth before I could stop them.For a moment, silence settled between us.Liora stared at me as if I had spoken a language she did not understand. Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling beneath the
Liora’s POV“She is dangerous.”Alpha Kael’s voice followed me like a shadow as the guards dragged me from the room.My feet barely touched the floor as they hauled me through the doorway, their grips iron-tight around my arms. The heavy doors slammed shut behind us with a thunderous boom that ech
Alpha Kael's POVThe fire’s warmth did nothing to chase the chill that had settled into my chest. She knelt there, slick with oil, the faint scent of jasmine clinging to her skin. The linen she wore was thin, clinging to her body, leaving nothing to the imagination. Every curve, every swell, ever
Liora's POVMy skin tingled as the maids’ hands glided over me, spreading oil down my shoulders, across the slope of my collarbone, over the curve of my breasts, down my ribs and over my waist. Their touch was careful, almost timid, as if I were a fragile artifact rather than a living woman.The s







