Mag-log inLizs povStaring down at the book in my hands, they shock just enough for me to see it. My fingers tightened around the edges of it.I hadn’t even opened it yet, just holding it felt like too much. Like the moment I turned that first page, everything about my life might change.A knock came from the door, making me jump to my feet, the book falling from my hands, pages scattering on the floor in front of me.The door opened a second later, and Alice stepped inside first. Diana followed right behind her, and Melissa slipped in last, carrying a package and closing the door quietly behind them.For a second, none of them said anything.They were all just stood there staring at me.Then Alice crossed her arms and shook her head.“Oh no,” she said immediately. “That look has to go.”My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “What look?”“The one that says you’re about to lock yourself in this room and spiral into an overthinking mess,” Diana said as she walked further into the room, plac
Lizs povAlice stood there staring at me with wide eyes. “No, you're shitting me. Lumian's a hybrid.” Her hand came up to her mouth as she bit down on her nails. “This has her written all over it, but why…” She turned away from us, taking a minute to let everything I'd just told her settle in her mind.I wished I had the answers that everyone wanted. I'd been trying to find an explanation myself. “Shes desprate,” Melissa said when no one else spoke. “With Silas dead and Liz talking back her powers, she needs someone to protect her.”Everything Melissa was saying made sense, but it didn't sit right. It all felt too messy to be something that Angelica had come up with. “I don't think it is.” Everyone's eyes snapped to me. “Angelica seems to always have a plan, but turning Lumian into a hybrid just seems to be out of control for her. Hybrids are unpredictable”I didn't know much about hybrids, only what I'd read in books. Until today, I'd never met one, but what I did know is that a ne
Lumian’s POVMy hand tightened around her throat. I could feel her weak and fragile bones beneath my fingers, slowly crushing. Her pulse thudded wildly under my grip, and every beat of it sent a fresh wave of hunger crashing through my body.The smell of blood filled the cave, wrapping around my senses. I couldn't think clearly.My fingers twitched, making my grip tighten without me thinking about it, and Angelica’s body jerked as the last of the air in her lungs escaped in a strangled gasp.Good.Let her suffer.Let her feel what it was like to have someone stronger than her decide if she lived or died.“You promised me,” I snarled, my voice echoing through the cave. The words ripped out of my throat like they had claws. “You said if I took you, she would come.”My head pounded.My heart slammed violently against my ribs as the power inside me surged again. It moved through my veins like fire. Every second, it felt like my body was trying to tear itself apart just to contain it.My
Angelica’s POVThe cave receded of wet stone and decay. The cold, damp air seeped into my weak, brittle bones. The air was stale, and every breath I took left a foul taste in my mouth. I had stopped trying to count how long I had been here.Time meant nothing in a place like this.There was no sun.No moon.No sound of life outside.Just darkness… and the slow, humiliating weakness spreading through my body. My hand gripped the stone wall beside me as I forced myself to stand. a wave of dizziness crashing through my head as I did. My knees buckled slightly, but I refused to fall.I would not die on the floor of some pathetic cave.Not like this.Not powerless and weak.My breathing was heavy as I slowly made my way toward the door of the cave. The faint light spilling through the cracks around the massive boulder at the entrance was the only thing breaking the darkness.Lumian had sealed it shut himself. His smug face flashed through my head as he rolled the rock into place. It sent
Arthur’s POVGuilt ran through me like fire. I had left her alone. I hadnt felt her fear or anything. I could have lost her. Everyone else in the room had their eyes locked onto the crystal and the map, but my eyes stayed on Liz. How could I have been so careless? The crystal dropped onto the map. The second it did, Liz stepped forward. “No, that can't be right. He said,” Liz said.I moved towards the table, looking down at the crystal, the chain still in Melissa's steady hand, as the crystal slowly moved along the map, drawing a line with it. She was here in the palace's grounds for a split second. Relief washed over me, but it was drowned out faster than it came. Lumian had told Liz that he had her.If Alice were here, then he could be too. My wolf growled low and dangerous in my chest, and I held it in. “He had her,” Liz went on. My eyes went back to her face. I could see her thinking, I could see her piecing the pieces together. Liz leaned closer over the table suddenly. Her
Liz’s POVEveryone scattered at Arthur's words. More fear and panic came crashing over me. Pushing myself up despite the way my legs trembled. My body was still catching up to everything that had just happened, but my mind was already racing ahead.The library.That's where I had left her with Melissa, she had to still be there.I started walking, my bare feet slapping against the marble floor as I headed down the corridor, every step becoming faster the closer I got.“Liz,” Arthur called from behind me. “Slow down.”“I can’t.”My heart wouldn’t let me.Every second felt like it was stretching longer than it should. My stomach twisted tighter, like it could feel something terrible was already happening while we wasted time.I reached the library doors and shoved them open so hard they slammed against the walls.“Alice!” I shouted, my eyes scanning every inch of the room.Melissa stood at the same tables I had left her at not long ago, books spread out in front of her. Nothing had cha
Judy’s POVHe meant nothing by it.That night. Those touches. That kiss.He said it meant nothing.I sat in my room, still and silent, though the war inside me screamed. My nails dug into my palms. My legs bounced without permission. Rage pulsed through my veins like wildfire, as his words and the
Liz’s POVArthur moved around the room in silence, packing. Every now and then, he paused, his shoulders tensing.The mating bond between us pulsed stronger with every hour. It lived in my chest like a second heartbeat. A constant ache. A low hum that never stopped. It was more than desire. More t
Arthur’s POVMy wolf paced inside my chest, growling softly, impatient to finally rip the truth free from its cage.The hallway stretched ahead of me, silent and cold. Shadows flickered against stone walls, and each echoing footstep tightened the knot of rage and grief inside my chest. Finn waite
Arthur’s POVLiz was asleep in the bed, or as close to sleep as someone like her could get.She lay curled beneath the sheets, her ghostly form flickering faintly in the soft light of the lamp. Peaceful. Still. As if death hadn’t stolen the colour from her skin or the warmth from her bones. If I d







