LOGINNaya’s POV The moment I stepped into the house, the memories came rushing back harder than before. It wasn’t just a feeling anymore. It was vivid. Painfully vivid. I could see my mother. She was walking into a massive house with little me in her arms, smiling softly while my father hovered around her excitedly. The same way Zane had been hovering around me since we arrived. The entire place had been decorated beautifully to welcome her home. Flowers. Lights. Maids lined up in rows. Voices chanting greetings with smiles on their faces. Everything looked so similar that it made my chest tighten painfully. It felt like I was standing in two places at once. The present and the past colliding together inside my head. I stared around the grand hall quietly while those memories continued flashing against reality like shadows layered over each other. My father’s smile. My mother’s tired but happy face. Little me reaching toward the chandeliers overhead. Then… “Hey… Naya?”
Naya’s POVI stared down at my child’s face, completely lost in him.It was strange… the way something so small could hold so much weight inside my chest.His tiny features.The soft rise and fall of his breathing.The faint curl of his lips like he was dreaming of something peaceful.For a moment…just one fragile moment… it felt like time had folded in on itself.And instead of seeing my son…I saw my father.“Arthur…” I whispered softly.The name slipped out before I could stop it.It felt right.Too right.Like it had been waiting inside me all along.I lifted my gaze slowly to Winnie, who stood nearby holding him carefully, her eyes warm and full of quiet understanding.“Arthur?” she repeated gently, a small smile forming on her lips.I nodded.“Arthur.”Before anything else could be said…The door suddenly flew open.I flinched, startled, my heart jumping slightly as I turned toward the entrance.Nikolas stepped in first, his usual calm smile already in place.And then…Zane.He
Naya’s POVI sit on the edge of the hospital bed like I’m afraid it might disappear beneath me if I move too fast.My son is warm in my arms.So small. So real.His tiny fingers curl and uncurl against my shawl as if he’s already trying to understand the world he just arrived into. His eyes…those eyes… hits me every time I look at him. They are mine. Exactly mine. But his hair… soft, dark, stubborn little strands that refuse to lie flat… that part is Zane.It’s almost cruel how perfectly he’s split between us.Beautiful in a way that hurts.I trace a finger lightly along his cheek, and he makes a tiny sound.. barely a breath, barely life announcing itself. And still, it shakes something loose inside me.My mother should have been here.That thought comes without warning, sharp and clean like glass slipping under skin.She should have walked into this ward with that proud smile she always wore when she was trying not to cry. She should have looked at me like I had done something miracu
Zane’s POVThe entire pack house had been thrown into chaos since morning.Servants moved in and out carrying decorations, flowers, gifts from neighboring packs, expensive fabrics, baskets, and enough baby items to fill an entire wing.Yet somehow, despite all the movement around me, my attention remained fixed on one thing only.The nursery.I stood in the middle of the room adjusting the final piece above the crib myself while two decorators waited nervously nearby, probably wondering why their Alpha refused to let them do their jobs.“Move it slightly left,” I instructed one of them.The man quickly obeyed.“No… too much.”He adjusted it again.“Perfect.”I stepped back, folding my arms as I examined the room carefully.Soft silver and dark blue curtains.A carved wooden crib.Tiny shelves already stacked with toys Winnie had somehow managed to buy half the city for.I still couldn’t believe I had a son.The thought alone felt unreal.The door behind me opened and Nikolas walked in
Zane’s POV The moment the nurse walked in carrying the baby, I stood up instinctively. Like my body moved on its own. I found myself beside Naya almost immediately, my eyes locked on the tiny child bundled carefully in soft blankets. And for a second… I forgot how to breathe. He had Naya’s silver curls. Tiny soft strands resting against his head exactly like hers. But the rest… The rest was me. His skin was lighter like mine, and when he slowly blinked open his eyes for a brief moment, I saw my own brown pupils staring back at the world. A perfect mix of us. A living reminder that somehow, despite all the chaos, all the pain, all the destruction— Naya had entered my life and changed it forever. I stood there silently while she cradled him carefully in her arms, her entire expression softening in ways I had never seen before. And before I realized it… A tear escaped my eyes. I quickly looked away, swallowing hard. Because the truth was… I hadn’t expected him to survi
Naya’s POVThe first thing I felt was heaviness.Not pain exactly.Just… heaviness.Like my entire body had been dragged through fire and barely stitched back together.My eyelids fluttered slowly as consciousness returned in fragments. Voices echoed faintly somewhere around me, mixed with the rhythmic beeping of machines.The room looked blurry at first.White ceiling.Dim lights.A faint medicinal scent lingering in the air.Then my gaze shifted slightly…And landed on Zane.He sat beside my bed with his elbows resting on his knees, fingers clasped together tightly like he had been praying. His hair was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled, and dark circles sat heavily beneath his eyes.He looked exhausted.Completely exhausted.For a moment, I simply stared at him.“What are you…” My throat burned painfully as the words came out slurred. “…still doing here?”The second he realized I was awake, his entire posture changed.Relief flooded his face so openly it made my chest tighten.“You’
Zane’s POVI tightened the lace of my boot with more force than necessary.The leather strained under my fingers, but it wasn’t the boot I was fighting.It was the audacity.High Priest Frostveil thought he could walk into my territory and blackmail my elders into bending the law for his daughter.
Naya’s POV The steam from my shower still lingered in the room when I stepped out, wrapping a towel tightly around my body. My hair dripped down my back in dark strands, water trailing slowly over my shoulders. For a moment, everything felt calm. Quiet. Like maybe I could pretend the duel wasn’
Zane’s POV Valkyra looked pleased with herself. That smug, satisfied curve of her lips as the chamber buzzed around her made something dark coil in my chest. She thought she had already won. I didn’t bother addressing her. Not now. Not when Naya had just volunteered herself for slaughter. Wi
Naya’s POV The moment the words left my mouth, regret hit me like a physical blow. “I, Naya Rowenfall… accept your challenge.” What the fuck had I just done? My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I thought it might burst. My hands began to shake, even though I kept them clenched at my sides







