LOGINLucian's POVThe birth happened three days after I returned from the forest.I had never been so terrified in my life. Nothing can ever prepare a man for this moment. Watching the woman I love scream in pain, her body straining, her face pale with exhaustion. The women moved around her, their voices calm, their hands steady. I could do nothing. I could only hold her hand and pray. I had never felt so helpless in my entire life."Push," the woman said.Elara screamed. Her grip on my hand was crushing. I did not care. I would have let her break every bone in my hand if it meant she would be okay."One more," the woman urged. "Just one more."Elara's face was red, streaked with sweat and tears. She looked at me, her silver eyes wide with fear and determination."I cannot," she gasped."You can." I pressed my forehead to hers. "You are the strongest person I have ever known. You can do this. I am right here."She pushed.And then we heard it. A cry. Small and fierce and full of life.The h
Lucian's POVThe beast took over without warning.I felt it happening—the crack of bones, the tearing of muscle, the scream that was not quite human. The world went red. The pain was immense, but I did not fight it. I let it consume me. I let it take control.I remembered Darius's face. The triumph in his red eyes. The dagger in his hand, gleaming with enchanted light. Then the blade sinking into my chest.The pain was white-hot and unbearable.Then nothing._____________________I woke in darkness.I was in a forest. The trees were massive, their branches twisted together overhead, blocking out the sky. The ground was thick with moss and fallen leaves. The air was cold and damp.I did not know how I had gotten there.I pushed myself to my feet. My body ached. My chest was tender, but there was no wound. No blood. Just a dull throb where the dagger had pierced me.Then I heard it, a growl. Low and deep, rumbling through the darkness like thunder. It came from everywhere and nowhere, v
Elara's POVI immediately called for the maid waiting outside."Send for Gaius and Gwen. Immediately."The girl nodded and hurried away. I turned back to Lucian, my hand still clasped in his. His breathing was still shallow, still fragile, but the spark inside me pulsed with a faint, steady warmth.The fate sisters had given me enough. Just enough to try.Gaius and Gwen arrived within minutes. Their faces were lined with exhaustion, but their eyes sharpened when they saw the change in me."Something has happened," Gaius said. "You look different.""The fate sisters came," I said. "They told me what I need to do. Lucian's soul is trapped by the beast. I have to go into his mind. I have to find him and bring him back."Gwen stepped forward. "That is dangerous. If you get lost in there—""I will not get lost.""You do not know that."I met his gaze. "I do not care. I can not just give up on him, I have to try."Gwen was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded. "The ritual is possible. We
Elara's POV I did not remember walking to the room. One moment I was on my knees in the great hall, the dagger in my hand, Lucian's blood on my skin. The next, I was here. The room was small, I don't remember ever being in it before. But I'm certain we were still in the palace. Torches flickered on the stone walls. The air smelled of herbs and blood and something else—something that smelled like death. Lucian lay on the bed. His face was pale, his lips blue. The wound on his chest had closed, but his skin was cold to the touch. His chest rose and fell, but barely. Each breath was shallow, ragged, a battle he was losing. I sat beside him, my hand locked in his. I had not let go. I would not let go. Gaius and Gwen moved around the room, their voices low, their faces grim. They had done everything they could. Herbs, tinctures, prayers to gods I did not believe in. "He is not waking," Gwen said. I did not look up. "Try again." "There is nothing left to try." "Then find something.
Elara's POVThe light surged from deep within me.It was not like before. Not controlled. Not measured. It exploded out of me like a dam breaking, white and blinding, fueled by rage and grief and terror. I felt it burning through my veins, scorching my skin, pouring from my eyes like tears of fire.I looked down at my hands. They were covered in blood. Lucian's blood. Dark and thick and still warm. It dripped from my fingers, soaking into my gown, pooling on the stone floor beneath me.His chest was still rising and falling. Barely. The dagger was still buried in his heart, its runes pulsing with sickly light. I could see his life ebbing away with each weak beat of his heart.Then I suddenly felt a warm trickle between my legs. Wet. Wrong.I looked down and saw blood. Dark red, spreading across my thighs, staining the torn fabric of my gown. The baby. The child I had been carrying, the life I had been protecting, the future I had been dreaming of."No," I whispered. "No, no, no."Dariu
Elara's POVThe world was spinning.I hit the wall hard, my head cracking against the stone. Pain exploded through my skull, white and blinding. For a moment, I could not breathe. Could not think. Could only feel the cold stone against my back, the blood trickling down my neck.I tried to move. My limbs were heavy, unresponsive. My vision swam, the great hall blurring in and out of focus. I blinked, trying to clear the haze.When I managed to focus my gaze, I saw a figure move faster than anything I had ever seen. It wasn't one of Darius's creatures. It was—Lucian.No. Not Lucian.The beast.He was almost fully transformed. His body had grown massive, his muscles bulging beneath dark fur that was still forming, still spreading across his skin. His face was twisted, the bones shifting, reforming. His eyes burned red—not gold, not human. Red. Like embers. Like fire.No. The word was a whisper in my mind. No, no, no.The beast roared. The sound shook the walls, rattled the chandeliers,
Lucian’s POVI led them to the royal infirmary myself.The seven alphas and their warriors followed close behind, their boots echoing heavily down the stone corridors like the march of an invading army. The air was thick with suspicion and barely contained hostility. My elders walked on either side
Darius’s POVThe fire crackled in the hearth of my private study, casting long shadows across the walls lined with maps of the seven realms.I leaned back in my chair, a glass of aged wine in hand, savoring the burn as it slid down my throat. Reports had been arriving all day. The plague was spread
Lucian’s POVI stood at the tall window of my study, staring out at the horizon without really seeing it. The silence was deafening.My thoughts were consumed by Elara. The way her white hair had glowed under the moonlight before she left. The softness in her eyes when she looked at me. The way she
Elara’s POVThe little girl’s hand felt so small and fragile in mine.Her skin was burning with fever, dark lesions spreading across her arms and neck. Her breathing was shallow, each inhale a struggle. Her mother knelt beside us, tears streaming down her face, whispering desperate prayers.I didn’







