Chapter Forty One : The PainZarina's POVI sat on the bed, my body weak, my heart even weaker.The soft breathing of my babes filled the air. Their small bodies curled beside me, safe, warm… unaware of the storm outside these walls.I should be smiling. I should be happy.But my chest was constricting.It hurt to breathe.It hurt to think.Everyone was whispering about it.The fight.Asher vs. Elior.Two men.Both strong.Both powerful.Both capable of hurting each other.I closed my eyes, trying to close out the voices, the fear… but it didn't go away.Nothing could stem the way my heart wracked painfully every time I thought of what was ahead.The door creaked suddenly.I opened my eyes, my heart jumping into my throat.And there he stood.Asher.He walked in, light from the hall falling gently about him.He looked… fatigued.Aged.Chilled.The man I knew — the man who smiled so easily, who hugged me as if I were something fine — was gone.And in his place, another man. A harder ma
Chapter Forty Two: Elior’s MissionZarina's POVIt was very dark and cold in the evening.The moon was high up in the sky, and the wind blew against the windows softly.My triplets were fast asleep beside me, their tiny chests rising and falling slowly.I pulled the blanket over them so they were cozy.I sat on the bed for a second, just watching them.My heart was heavy.I knew what would happen tonight.Everyone knew.The fight between Asher and Elior.It was going to take place tonight.I bit my lower lip hard, not to cry.I didn't want the babies to wake up.I didn't want them to see their mother frightened and broken.Gingerly, I got up and went to the door.I looked back again at my children."I'll come back to you," I whispered, my voice shaking."I promise."I took a cloak and slipped out of the room quietly.The night air hit my face, cold and sharp.I went as fast as I could but was careful, my heart beating so loudly I thought everyone could hear it.I knew I wasn't suppose
Chapter Forty-Three: The FightZarina's POVThe night was even colder as I returned.My hands were shaking, and my heart felt heavy.I kept looking back over my shoulder, making sure no one followed me.The trees were blacker, and every slight sound made me jump.I hugged my cloak around me tighter and kept walking.I had to get back to my babies.I had to hold them near.But way down inside of me, I knew I wasn't going to sleep tonight.Not until Asher was safe.I ducked behind a tree near the fighting area.There were already individuals there.Lots of them.Some of them looked worried.Some of them looked excited.Everyone wanted to know who would be Alpha tonight.I saw Asher standing on one side.He looked relaxed, but I could see the spark in his eyes.He wore plain fighting gear.His muscles were tense, ready for battle.And then I saw Elior.He was on the other side.He was smiling confidently.He thought that he had already won.I pressed my lip hard.I prayed silently.Pleas
Chapter Forty-Four: A Cold GoodbyeZarina's POVI sat on the ground, cold, behind the trees, my heart still racing from what I had done.My hands wouldn't stop shaking.My chest felt tight like someone had put a tight rope around it.I had poisoned Elior.I had put that strange thing in his drink.I had swapped Asher's cup and saved him.But now… what if someone found out?What if Elior found out?What if they blamed me?Fear crawled up my spine.I wrapped my arms around my knees and pulled them tight against my chest.Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I blinked them back."I had to do it," I whispered to myself."I had to… for Asher. For the babies."But still, the fear would not leave me.My mind would not quit racing.What if Elior got sick?What if he got mad and came after me?What if Asher discovered what I had done and despised me even more?I shut my eyes tight.The images of my babies appeared in my mind.Their little hands, their gentle breaths."I had no choice," I whisp
Chapter Forty-Five: The Weight on My Heart(Asher's POV)It was a cold night.A cold, cold night.I could sense it in my bones, but I remained silent.I simply stood there outside the healer's home, my children tightly holding on to me.Their little bodies were warm against mine, their tiny faces so calm, so innocent.They didn't understand what was happening.They didn't understand how broken everything was around them.I was jealous of that.I glared at Zarina.She was a couple of paces ahead of me, arms folded tightly across her chest.She was so tiny.So lost.Her face was pale.Her eyes, usually so bright, were empty now.She didn't even look in my direction.She just stood gazing at the floor as if she didn't have energy left in her body.I clenched the babies tighter.I had no idea what to say.I had no idea what to do.Some of me did want to yell for her, to snatch her from thin air and swear to her that all would be well.But the rest of me.The hurtful, bitter half.It stopp
Chapter: Forty Six The Day After - Tension RisingThe next day after we had arrived at the pack house, all felt. strange. It was supposed to be a fresh beginning, where we'd finally get to be established as a family. But it ended up feeling like this suffocating pressure on my chest, choking me whenever I breathed.Asher had not spoken to me more than two words since we went inside the house yesterday night. He had been so cold, so aloof. The love in his eyes was absent, and in its place was a hollowness. He treated the triplets so gently, but it was different. It did not feel like he was doing it because he loved me anymore. It felt like it was something he had to do.And knowing that, I was suffering more than I could bear.We were already adjusting to the idea of living in this gigantic mansion. It was to be a refuge, a home where we would create happy memories. But it was too quiet. The silence was deafening. It seemed like every section of the house reminded me of everything that
Chapter Forty SevenChapter Forty Seven: The PressureAsher's POVThe morning had been filled with nothing but tension. The silence hung thick in the air, the kind of silence that makes your thoughts sound too loud, too loud. I stood in the hallway outside my parents' room, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open. My mother and father were sitting by the large fireplace, talking quietly, but when they saw me, they grew quiet.My chest was tight, and I could even feel my hands shake. I had kept this inside for far too long, but today, I simply could not take it anymore. Not after what they had done to Zarina yesterday."Mom. Dad," I said, my voice a little bit harsher than I intended it to be. "We need to talk."They both looked at me in surprise but did not utter a word. I took a step closer, my heart pounding in my chest."Why are you treating Zarina like that?" I asked, my voice now lower but still laced with irritation. "She just gave birth to our children. She needs to r
Chapter Forty N: She CameZarina's POVThe sun filtered through the curtains.I sat in the nursery, cradling my baby boy in my arms.He was so small, so cuddly. His tiny hands were clutching at my dress as if he'd never let me go.I smiled ruefully.At least he still needed me.At least someone still did.In the corner of the room, Asher's mother gently swayed another of the babies in her arms.She didn't glance at me.She hadn't spoken to me that morning.Asher's father was leaning against the window, cradling the third triplet as if he was carrying a sack of groceries, not a baby.There was nothing warm in their expressions, only chilly courtesy.I didn't mind.I tried to comfort myself — "It's all right, Zarina. You have your children. They adore you. That's enough."But deep within, it pained.It pained so excruciatingly that it became hard to breathe sometimes.I carefully shifted my son and placed a soft kiss upon his forehead."You're my everything," I whispered.Then the front
Chapter 89 – The InvitationZarina's POVI wasn't feeling well that morning.My head was dizzily spinning a bit when I stood up from bed, and my stomach was. wrong. Not how you're ill as in how you dash for the bathroom but how something inside you just does not feel quite right. I sat on the edge of the bed, hands in my head, and breathed deeply. I thought maybe it was stress. Too much thinking. Too much crying. Too much aching in my chest about it all.Asher left early. I never asked where he was going. I knew he was trying to fix it all again, try to keep the pack together, try to protect me and the kids. That's all he ever did. And I loved it.But love couldn't stop the way I felt that morning. Hollow. Lost. Weary.But still I rose. I went to check on the kids, then cleaned the little sitting area by the rear of the house. I needed to move. To breathe. To keep going.I didn't expect I'd be seeing her again so soon.But then, just shy of noon, the front door softly knocked. I stiff
Chapter 89 : The ApologyZarina's POVI did not anticipate having her at my door.It was a peaceful morning. Asher had departed early to meet the patrol leaders, and the house was quiet. The children were outdoors playing with the nanny, and I was ironing clothes in the cozy living room. I was drained, both physically and emotionally. Everything was too much to endure.Then there was a knock.Not the typical kind. Not loud, not persistent. Just… soft. Gentle. Almost like the person on the other side of the door didn't want to scare me.I opened it carefully.And there she was.Cara.Her face was altered—exhausted, melancholy, not angry as typical. Her dark hair was loose, and she had on a simple gray cloak. No trinkets. No cosmetics. She looked… human. Sort of harmless.My heart skipped in my chest, and I gripped the doorjamb tightly."What do you want?" I whispered."I just. I want to talk," she replied. She was talking low and trembling. "Please, Zarina. I'm not here to fight. I swe
Chapter Title: The Weight of LeadershipThe moon was low in the sky, casting a pale light over the packhouse. Inside, the air buzzed with tension. I sat by myself in my study, the weight of what had occurred during the day oppressing me.The elders were gone, their words lingering within me. The Red Moon Pack was cutting all ties with us. No further supplies. No trade. It was all due to the choice I had made to be with Zarina. I drew a hand over my hair, irritation welling up within. Had I erred? Would I have done better with Cara? Would keeping the peace been better that way? The very thought plagued me.And yet I thought about Zarina's tear-streaked face, her silence, her unwaivering belief in me. She was my companion. She had given birth to our pups. She was the future of the pack.The elders, though, did not view it so. They saw her as danger, as a vulnerability. They saw her as the reason that the pack failed.I leapt up, pacing the room. The pressure in my chest was too much to
Chapter 87: The Breaking PointZarina’s PovI sat in the quiet room of the pack house, my mind swirling with thoughts I couldn’t escape. The weight of everything happening around me—everything that had changed in our lives—was becoming unbearable. The constant tension, the constant pressure. I could feel myself unraveling.Asher and I had gotten this far, but with everything that had happened with Cara, the elders, and the pack… I didn't know how I could continue to live like this. I had tried to be strong for him, for the children, but my heart ached. The stress was more than I could manage.I knew Asher would do all he could to protect me and the children, but would it be enough in the end? I was torn between clinging to the life that I had with him and the fear that the chaos would never leave.And then the solution hit me, so forcefully it shook me to my foundations. If sex with Cara would harmonize the pack, then maybe Asher should just go and do it.I felt sick to my stomach jus
Chapter 86: The pack future Asher's POVI was in my office, my hands clenched tightly around a tumbler of whiskey, my head spinning with all that was happening of late. It had been a long day, one full of tension, puzzlement, and the overpowering desire to protect what was mine. Zarina seethed, perplexed by everything, and I had not the least idea of what to tell her that would make it better. Every day was a battle, but the war had not yet begun properly.Then my phone rang, shattering my daydreaming. The screen lit up with my mother's name, and for an instant, my heart skipped a beat. I had not spoken to her for some time. I had no idea what this call would be about, but I didn't have to guess very hard to figure that it wouldn't be something straightforward.I sighed and answered the call, trying to conceal my emotions."Yes, Mother?" My voice was level, but the constriction in my chest betrayed me."Asher, I need to talk to you," my mother stated sternly, but I sensed a quiver of
Chapter 85: Asher's ChoiceI walked in the night, my brain foggy, and my heart heavy. The weight of the day, the pack's need, and the pain of it all happening around me had started to strangle me. I considered everything Cara and I had been through at that moment. Her family pressure, the needs of the pack, and my choices.But the more I dwelled on it, the more I couldn't get the image of Zarina and the babies out of my head. The way they regarded me, the way Zarina smiled, the way the children depended on me for everything. The idea of giving that up, of taking Cara, it didn't sit right. Each time I tried to envision it, the only thing that popped into my mind was Zarina's face, her warmth, and how everything felt complete when we were together.I stopped on the trail, where moonlight filtered through leaves at the edge of the woods. It was quiet. Too quiet.Cara.Her face seemed to flash through my mind, the soft, honeyed tone she always had, her elegant hands, yet even with all of
Chapter 84 : The BattlesAsher's POVThe day had been long. Tension was thick in the packhouse, and my mind continued to spin with it all—Zarina's battle, Cara's machinations, the threats on the horizon. I had promised Zarina that I would always be there to protect her, and yet it felt like I was failing her. There was so much beyond my control, so much that I did not understand, and all I wanted to do was keep her and our children safe.I rested against the side of the bed, the weight of the day weighing on my shoulders. My eyes wandered to Zarina, who was lying there with our triplets. They were wrapped in warm blankets, their tiny bodies curled up against her. The peaceful sight of them all curled up together was the only solace in the midst of chaos.Zarina was exhausted too. She had been through so much recently, attempting to assist me, attempting to keep our family intact while the world around us seemed to crumble. I could see the characteristic signs of her fatigue—the faint
Chapter 83: The FearAsher's POVThe moon sat high above the woods, casting a white, ethereal light on the ground ahead of me. My heart was racing, but it wasn't because of the hunt or the dangers of the night; it was because of her.Zarina.I couldn't help but fret. She'd slipped out without warning me where she was heading, without so much as a whisper. As soon as I realized she wasn't there anymore, my heart hit the ground. I rationalized that she must be all right, perhaps needed some solitude, but the apprehension gripped me like an open sore.I needed to locate her.I screamed out her name, my voice echoing into the dense, black woods. But the silence that met my scream only made me more nervous. I struggled through the dense trees, my head racing. What if she was hurt? What if she was in danger? The thought of her being hurt, alone out there, made my chest tighten.Then, there—beneath a giant oak tree, I saw her.Zarina was curled on the ground, shaking, her face smeared with t
Chapter 82: The Choice Zarina's POVI woke before dawn that day and slipped quietly out of bed, trying not to rouse Asher. His steady breathing beside me was comforting, but I knew I couldn't stay. I had to do this on my own. I had to go get the supplies—medicine and rice burn—anything I could do to help. The pack needed it, and I knew I couldn't rely on anyone but myself.As quietly as I could, I grabbed a small bag, filled it with what I would need along the way, and crept towards the door. The house was still, no one stirred. But as I stepped out into the cold morning air, a knot formed in my chest. Ahead of me lay the forest, dark and silent, and a sense of dread crawled up my back. But I had no choice. The pack needed me.I tried to walk softly as I made my way deeper into the woods, away from the packhouse. The trees seemed to close in around me as the woods swallowed me whole. The scent of wet earth and pine was thick in the air, and the silence was oppressive. Still, I presse