LOGINHansel’s POVThe first thing my mother taught me was how to hide, it wasn’t how to fight or cast spells, it was to survive.Because witches like us didn’t survive by being powerful. We survived by never being found.And even then sometimes that wasn’t enough.I was eight years old when my childhood ended.The memory still haunted me everyday since then and it felt like a punishment.Sometimes when I looked into a mirror and saw pieces of my mother staring back at me.Back then, life was simple.Our village sat hidden deep in the southern forests, we were all witches and we had magic woven quietly into everyday life.Nobody outside our village knew we existed.Or at least that was what we believed.I slept peacefully that night beneath a patchwork blanket my mother had made. The smell of lavender candles filled our little home.A storm rumbled faintly outside theb someone shook my shoulder hard.“Hansel.” I groaned.“Mama”“Hansel.”Her voice sounded panicked and fear shot through my s
Mila’s POVI woke up screaming. The sound tore itself from my throat before I even understood where I was.One moment there had been darkness.The next all I could see was death around me, I sighed and looked around, Knox wasn’t here but he rushed in immediately.His arms wrapped around my shoulders while I shook violently.Moon Goddess, the dream had felt real, too real.The smell of burning flesh still lingered in my nose.The sound of children crying still echoed in my ears.The image of entire kingdoms collapsing refused to leave my mind.“Mila, look at me.” He said I looked up and his eyes were filled with concern.“What happened?”I opened my mouth but nothing came out.Because how was I supposed to explain what I’d just seen?A knock sounded at the door then another. Before anyone could answer, the door burst open and Hansel rushed inside first with Conrad right behind her.Then Caleb and Sasha even Marie then Eric and Elise, Marcus came in lastly.Everyone looked half dressed
Bastian POVThe Void never slept. That was something I learned years ago.It didn’t rest or go quiet. Didn’t leave you alone it was like a bug, it whispered constantly in my head.Sometimes it sounded like distant voices. Sometimes like scratching beneath stone. Sometimes like screams carried through water.But lately it had become louder.I stood alone inside the cavern beneath my fortress watching the black candles burned with unnatural flames around the chamber.Ancient runes covered the walls. Darkness pooled in the corners and in the center of the room stood a massive stone altar.The same altar where I trained every night. The same altar where I bled for power.The same altar where I had sacrificed pieces of myself until almost nothing human remained.I rested both hands against the cold stone and closed my eyes. Immediately the whispers began and it was clawing inside my skull and my jaw tightened.“Speak clearly.” I snapped A single voice emerged and it was not the demon fro
Bastian POVVoid magic made me feel alive. That was the first thing I learned after making the deal.It wasn’t power you controlled it was power you fed and the more hatred you carried the stronger it became.Years passed after my mother’s death I practiced in secret, draining the blood of servants and weak omegas to strengthen the bond.I learned how to hide the darkness inside me beneath fake smiles and careful obedience to everyone.In the eyes of the pack, I was simply the forgotten son, the rejected one and the troubled older brother of Knox Mercer.But underneath that mask the Void grew. I trained in hidden caves beneath the mountains. Every night I pushed the magic further.Until darkness obeyed me like a living weapon at first it nearly destroyed me, the Void demanded blood constantly.Sometimes I woke with blood on my hands and no memory of where it came from. Sometimes the shadows whispered for days without stopping.Sometimes I heard the demon’s voice in my dreams.Open the
Bastian POVPeople believed monsters were born. They weren’t they were made in a slow and painful way. And mine began the night I watched my mother die.I was eight years old when I learned love meant weakness in the Mercer kingdom and my father didnt give a shit about me.Rain hammered violently against the palace windows that night while thunder shook the mountain walls.The servants stayed silent as always. Because silence kept people alive in our house.I sat on the cold marble floor outside my mother’s chambers clutching a wooden wolf figurine she carved for me herself.“You should sleep, little prince,” my mother had whispered earlier that evening while brushing my dark hair away from my forehead.I remembered smiling at her and remembered the warmth in her eyes. That was the last night I ever felt safe.Voices echoed faintly from inside her room now they were arguing again. Father’s deep furious voice and another softer voice but also cold.Isobel Mercer My stepmother.Even as
Mila POVBreakfast in Elise’s kingdom was never peaceful.I realized that very quickly not because the food was bad.The food was amazing actually there was warm bread and hot chocolate thick enough to heal any emotional damage.Breakfast was chaotic because apparently everyone in our group had the energy of escaped criminals deranged.I walked into the massive dining hall beside Knox while still half asleep and immediately regretted being awake so early.Sasha was already yelling “THAT WAS A CHEAP MOVE!”“It was tactical,” Marie replied calmly while sipping tea.“You kicked dirt in my face!”“You left your guard open.”“That’s because I was WINNING.”“You were losing beautifully sweetheart”I rose my eyebrows at them, something was definitely going on Sasha looked personally offended meanwhile Conrad and Caleb sat beside each other looking entirely too relaxed while Hansel aggressively avoided eye contact with both of them.I narrowed my eyes immediately.“Hansel.”She pointed a spo
Knox’s POV….. 15 Years ago….The sun had been warm that afternoon.I remember that clearly. The way it filtered through the trees, the way the grass smelled freshly cut, the way Bastian laughed like the world was simple.He was older than me by two years. But he was smaller and more faster on his
Mila’s POV…..I didn't want to hear anything else he had to say.I was just about to push myself off the couch.The room felt too small, too heavy with everything that had just happened. The lake, the chase and the kiss he said meant nothing.I didn’t want to sit there anymore, didn’t want to brea
Mila’s POV…..His mouth was still on mine when the shock finally caught up to me.For one suspended second, I forgot about the lake, forgot about the cold, forgot about the wolves and the chase and the way my lungs had been burning seconds ago.There was only him.His lips were firm, insistent not
Knox’s POV……“Lock your doors. Don’t come out. No matter what you hear.”Those were the strict instructions I had given Mila,three unmated powerful males in the house wasn't safe for her.She had her look of distrust, of course The equinox was not a night for trust. It was a night for survival.I







