Karl’s POVThe moment my boots touched the soil of the werewolf kingdom, a satisfied ensation crawled up my spine, happy sensation. Despite the long journey, my pulse quickened. Because every step forward was a step closer to Leah.Her name alone was enough to anchor me through storms. And now I was here, in her kingdom, no longer a phantom lover drifting between borders and phone calls. We would be in the same space, breathing the same air. I found my way to the hotel easily enough.Inside, the reception area felt cozy and warm. A young woman at the desk straightened as I approached, her eyes taking quick stock of me before softening into a polite smile.“Good evening,” I greeted, voice roughened by the travel but steady. “I have a reservation. Under my name.”She typed briskly, fingers fluttering across the keys like wings. “Yes,” she confirmed a moment later, sliding a small brass key across the polished counter. “Top floor, room twenty-one. Welcome to Mooncrest Hotel. We hope yo
Karl’s POV“How about we take a quick shower?” I suggested. She smiled and nodded and then I got up and pulled her up slightly. She took off my boxers and singlet while she wasn’t wearing a bra or panties. Then, I watched her walk into the bathroom.She’s now standing in front of the bathroom mirror. I stood behind her, my arms wrapped around her from behind. Her eyes found mine in the mirror and she slightly turned around and swallowed my nipples. Her fingertips grazed my waist, featherlight, and it was ridiculous how fast my breath caught from something so simple. I turned to face her, leaning against the wall.“Leah,” I murmured, my voice filled with pleasure. “You should know what you’re doing to me right now.”She tilted her head, a small, knowing smile playing at her lips. “Maybe I do,” she said, stepping closer until the distance between us was nonexistent, our skin was rubbing each other’s. “Maybe that’s why I followed you here.”Her hands slid up my chest, slow and searching
Karl’s POV Steam from the running water curled in lazy spirals around us. The warmth of the water drummed gently on my shoulders, trailing rivulets down my skin as my eyes were passionately shut as I felt every inch of her tongue movement.Her palm, slick with water and now the subtle trace of soap, were placed around my member. My back pressed against the cool tiles. I watched her face, her lips parted just slightly in focus. Her eyes then flicked up to meet mine, her lips liting up with smile as she caught my reaction.Her hand movements were slow at first, almost playful, my breath caught in my throat when she tightened her grip just slightly, a subtle pressure that sent a tremor through my legs. I bit down a groan, my hands bracing against the slick tiles behind me.She smiled then. God, that smile and I felt it all unraveling inside me.The water continued to pour over us.When I finally shuddered and came undone under her hand, I exhaled a rough breath, my body tensing and then
Georgia’s POVI barely had the energy to lift my head from the couch when I heard the front door creak open. The twins were finally napping. Then I heard her unmistakable voice, humming some tune outside. That was Leah’s voice. Then I heard my name.“Georgia!” she called. I smiled, already sensing the whirlwind of excitement she carried with her. “In here,” I answered, pulling the throw blanket tighter around my legs as I tried to sit up straighter.She walked in, her hair still a bit tousled, cheeks flushed with that telltale glow. The moment our eyes met, she gave me a grin so wide it could have split her face in two, then she flopped beside me on the couch like she was boneless.“God,” she sighed dramatically, “I need to tell you everything, Georgia.”I smiled softly.She started immediately, not wasting a single second. “Georgia, I swear to you, it was magical. I’ve never felt anything like it,” she gushed, her eyes sparkling as she fanned herself with her hand like she was still
Georgia’s POVThe next day, Leah came rushing into the sitting room, her eyes filled with that kind of excitement that’s hard to contain. “He’s coming today!” she declared. “Karl’s finally coming.”I couldn’t help but smile at her joy, even if my chest tightened just a little from the nervousness of seeing Karl. But I pushed it aside, determined to enjoy this happy moment with her.“That’s good news,” I said, setting down my morning cup of tea. “Let’s make it special.”Ruth, who had been bouncing little Nathaniel on her hip while Natalie played with her wooden blocks on the carpet, nodded at us. “I’ll keep the twins busy,” she offered with a soft smile. “You two can handle the kitchen. Make something nice.”Leah’s eyes shone brighter. “Come on,” she urged, grabbing my hand with a playful tug.We moved to the kitchen. “You know,” she said, glancing at me as she kneaded dough with her hands, “Karl loves sweet bread. He always tells me how much he misses it..”“Then we’ll make the best
Karl’s POV After the call with Leah,I stood by the window of the hotel room, the thin curtains doing a poor job of keeping the sunlight at bay. My reflection in the glass mirror stared back at me with hollow eyes. I saw the man I’d become.“She will remember,” I said under my breath, barely a whisper. My throat felt like sandpaper. “Goddamn it, she will remember.”My hands tightened into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms like I needed the pain to anchor me. Georgia’s face haunted me with an intensity that no drink, no distance, no lie could ever wash away. I saw it in flashes, like lightning in the dark. And worse, far worse I knew she remembered him too Kael so showing up wasn’t really a good idea to avoid chaos. No matter how many times I tried to bury the thought, it clawed its way back to the surface. I knew Kael had entrusted Georgia’s safety to me but I still hadn’t gotten the courage. She remembers everything we made her forget. No amount of sedatives, no fal
Georgia’s POV“Okay,” I said, pulling my apron. She gave me a weak smile, barely a curve of her lips. I frowned, leaning in a little. “What happened?”Leah let out this small breath, like she’d been holding it in all day. She shook her head, but then her eyes softened and she confessed, “Karl. I’m still feeling sad about everything.” She trailed off and sat on the couch and iFollowed behind, her gaze falling to the table. “I really wanted him to meet you and the twins.” There was a pause between us. I felt it, like this quiet ache in my chest, not for me, but for her. She didn’t deserve that. Not the disappointment, not the excuses, not the hollow feeling she was clearly carrying.“Leah,” I said gently, but she just shrugged like she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.“You deserve better.” I said.“Don’t,” she whispered. “If you tell me I deserve better, I might actually cry.”That hurt. It actually hurt to hear her say that, because she did deserve better, and she knew it but r
Karl’s POVThe night had been electric even before we made it to the hotel. My pulse still hadn’t settled, and I could feel the raw edge of adrenaline under my skin. The strippers were draped around me, their words slurred and sultry in the quiet of the night. Every brush of their hands against my arms, every sway of their hips when they stepped closer, sent a rush straight through me. I couldn’t help but smirk. For once, I wasn’t watching life from the sidelines. I was in it, neck-deep, and loving every damn second.As we pushed through the glass doors of the hotel, the warmth inside welcomed us. The lobby was dimly lit, with soft jazz humming through hidden speakers. Plush armchairs and polished floors gave it an air of understated luxury, but all my attention was on the strippers.We approached the reception desk, and I caught the receptionist, a young guy, maybe a year or two younger than me do a double take. His eyes flicked from me to the women at my side, and I saw it clear.
Reveena’s POVI shouldn’t have come.The thought repeated over and over in my mind like a chant as Kael’s amber flared with a fire I hadn’t seen before, not for me, but against me.“You don’t get to decide my fate, Reveena,” he growled, each word seething with disdain. “Over my dead body will Georgia ever be my mate? Is that what you came here to force on me?”I opened my mouth to reply, to remind him of the bloodlines, the council’s expectations.“If you think I’ll let anyone, even you, dictate who I bind my soul to… then I’m sorry to tell you this, Reveena,” he spat my name like it burned his tongue. “But I’ll become your enemy if that’s what it takes.”My breath hitched. I felt my heart crack loudly, painfully as though he’d just ripped it from my chest and crushed it between his clawed fingers. He turned away from me as if I no longer mattered. His hand curled into a fist at his side, shoulders tense, jaw tight. Not because of her he is acting this way towards me.“You would thro
Reveena’s POVI made my way to Kael’s chambers with thunder boiling in my veins.That moment I saw her, draped in simple fabric, eyes lowered like a servant, something inside me twisted. Not jealousy. No. This was something deeper. A storm of disbelief and fury at the very idea that someone like her could be in his presence so comfortably.I didn’t knock as I bagged into Kael’s room.The doors flung open beneath my hands, slamming against the inner walls. Kael was by the window, but he didn’t even flinch. He barely turned his head as I entered, and that only enraged me more.“Unbelievable.” I snapped. His eyes rose to meet mine. calm, cold, and far too steady for someone who’d just been caught entertaining a girl like that. “What?”“You know what I mean,” I hissed, stepping closer. “The girl I saw claiming she’s your mate. The one with her hair tied back like a kitchen maid. What is she doing here?”Kael arched a brow, folding his hands across each other with the kind of infuriating
Georgia’s POV“Leave.” He instructed as he pulled away. I took a step forward but he wasn’t giving me the chance to come closer. “You should leave!” He ordered again.I closed Kael’s door quietly behind me. My fingers lingered on the handle, as if wanting to go back in if I held it long enough. But it didn’t. He had sent me away.I didn’t want to leave, that I could stay and just sit in silence if that’s all he wanted. But Kael was persistent. His words had been gentle but firm. “Not now. Please, just go.”So I did.I walked down the long corridor with a dull ache spreading through my chest, the kind that doesn’t explode, just gnaws quietly beneath your ribs. The pack house was quieter than usual. Even the guards I passed seemed subdued. By the time I reached the new room Leah and I had moved into, I headed towards the bed. The room was bigger than our old one, the ceiling higher, the windows wider. It was nicer.Leah was folding some of Nathalie’s tiny clothes when I walked in. The
Georgia’s POV The night was quiet, too quiet. I looked at Kael as we stood under the tree beneath the moonlight.The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable, just heavy. “You’re awfully quiet,” I said softly, breaking the stillness.Kael didn’t look at me right away. He had that faraway gaze, like he was speaking to the stars rather than to me. His jaw clenched, then relaxed. “I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you something,” he said at last, his voice low and unsure.I turned fully toward him. “Tell me now.”A faint smile touched his lips. “There’s… a way,” he said, “to bring my mortal body back.”For a second, I just stared at him, blinking. Then the weight of his words slammed into my chest and I grabbed his arm. “Are you serious?”He nodded once.I let out a breathless laugh, joy blooming in my chest. “That’s incredible, Kael! That’s how? What is it? What do we have to do?”That’s when his smile faded.He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers like he wasn’t su
Ruth’s POVI don’t remember how I got to the hospital.One moment, I was cradling her limp body in my arms, whispering her name over and over again like it could breathe life back into her. The next, I was speeding through the city streets, horns blaring behind me, lights flashing red and green but never registering. Her head rested on me, blood seeping through the fabric of my shirt, warm and sticky. Her lips were slightly parted, eyes closed. I kept telling myself she was asleep. She had to be.“Sis, stay with me,” I whispered, voice cracking. “We’re almost there, okay? Just… just a little longer.”But she didn’t stir.When I finally reached the nearby hospital and burst into the emergency room, I must have looked insane, my shirt drenched in blood, barefooted, my hands shaking so badly I almost dropped her. Nurses rushed toward me, their calm efficiency making my chaos feel even more unbearable.“We need a stretcher here!” someone shouted.“She’s not breathing,” I choked out, foll
Lucy’s POVI didn’t cry. Not in the cab, not when I stepped through the gates of our estate. Crying would have been easier than this slow, simmering ache twisting through my ribs.I got back home. “Madam?” One of the maids stepped forward, her voice hesitant.“Where’s Damien?” I asked softly, not stopping to look at her.“In the study, ma’am.”I walked past her without a word.The door was slightly ajar, warm light filtering through. Damien’s voice carried low across, probably on a call. I pushed it open.He was there, standing by the wide glass windows, one hand tucked in his trouser pocket, the other holding a tumbler of scotch. When he saw me, he straightened, his brow furrowing with concern.“Lucy?” His voice shifted immediately gentle.I crossed the room and collapsed onto the armchair by the fireplace, burying my face in my hands.He moved closer. “What happened?”I forced myself to look at him. “I went to see Georgia.”His lips tightened slightly, but he said nothing, waiting f
Lucy’s POV The morning sun barely warmed the cold feeling in my chest as I stepped out of the cab. A building loomed ahead, a peeling, grey block of flats that looked nothing like the kind of place someone like Georgia would belong to. But the scraps of information I had gathered earlier, the pharmacy receipt, the old grocery bill, and a stray voice note on a burner phone had led me here. I took a deep breath. I stepped inside the building, the slightly cracked tiles groaning beneath my shoes.I am now standing in front of a door, the third floor. Apartment 3B. I raised my hand and knocked.A few seconds passed before I heard soft shuffling behind the door, like someone trying to open it. Then the latch clicked, and the door creaked open an inch. A familiar face appeared. Ruth?She froze when she saw me. Her eyes widened, and for a split second, something like anher flashed across her face. Then it was gone, replaced by a cold wall of steel.Before she could shut the door in my face
Damien’s POV The table stretched long before us, covered in hand-drawn maps, blood-red markings, and pins that signified victory. I leaned back in my chair as a slow, satisfied grin spread across my face. My cabinet members, generals, advisors, and elders, raised their glasses, celebrating the fact that we had secured nearly the entire werewolf kingdom under my rule.“To Damien,” General Havric bellowed, his voice booming across the room. “The Alpha of Alphas. The King of the Lycan Empire.”“To Damien!” they echoed, their voices roaring in unison.I gave a short nod, accepting their praise with the confidence that came from years of bloodshed and relentless strategy. Every kingdom I had taken had strengthened our dominion, brought unity to the scattered werewolf packs. Tonight, we drank not just to power but to legacy.But the moment of triumph didn’t last long.“I hate to be the bearer of ill news,” Elder Roth said suddenly, setting his goblet down with a grave look. His white beard
Kael’s POVThe next day… I was alone in my study when Karl entered.“Will be,” Karl said, his tone unusually steady. “I have a solution to your problem.”I turned to him. “What problem?”“Your problem of regaining your mortal form.”I took a step forward.“You found something?”He nodded once, face unreadable, though I could see the storm brewing behind his eyes. “Yes.”My heart thudded. Hope was a fragile thing. I’d learned not to grab it too fast, lest it splinter in my hand and leave nothing but shards of regret. “Tell me.”Karl hesitated. His jaw tightened. “It’s Georgia.”I narrowed my eyes. “What about her?”“The solution… is her blood.”It was as though time paused.My breath caught. “What did you say?”Karl stepped closer, voice low. “You need a vessel to anchor your essence. Something strong enough to tether your divinity to flesh again, but also pure enough to harmonize with your original mortal soul. Only one thing in this world fits both criteria. The seer said so.” I sho