LOGINAella POVSol had not returned.At first, I told myself there were reasons.The attack.The chaos outside the sanctuary.The wounded.The children.The pack.Then one day passed.Then two.Then four.Four days inside the sanctuary.Four hours outside.And with every passing moment, the bond between us grew stranger.Not broken.Never broken.But distant.Muted.Like something heavy stood between us.I sat in the nursery when Marcus arrived.Or rather—When he stormed into the sanctuary looking half feral.The castle barely had time to announce his arrival before he burst through the doors covered in dirt, blood, and panic.My entire body tensed instantly.Marcus looked terrified.Not worried.Terrified.My stomach dropped violently.“Where is Sol?”Marcus stopped abruptly in front of me, breathing hard.“We can’t find him.”The room went silent.Queen Alors immediately straightened beside the window while Beatriz froze halfway through organizing medical supplies.“What?” I whispered.
Sol POVThe silence after my words stretched unnaturally.Elias stood motionless outside the cell, shadows writhing slowly around his feet while the iridescent darkness pulsed beneath his skin like a second heartbeat.Then slowly—He smiled.Not with amusement.With pity.“You still believe you have a choice.”Something about the way he spoke made my instincts sharpen immediately.His voice felt wrong.Too soft.Too deep.Too close.“The only way you survive this,” Elias continued calmly, “the only way you see your mate again…”His gaze locked onto mine.“…is if you give me your child.”Rage exploded through me instantly.The frozen flame surged violently beneath my skin, blue and silver energy flashing faintly through my veins while the loosened chains rattled softly around my wrists.But before I could answer—Pain struck my mind.Sharp.Violent.I froze.Not physically.Internally.Something cold forced itself into my thoughts like claws digging beneath skin.Elias’ eyes darkened i
Sol POVThe shadows exploded across the floor violently at my words.The entire prison trembled.Black vines lashed against the stone walls while the iridescent darkness surrounding Elias twisted like something alive, reacting directly to his emotions.Good.That meant he still felt.Still bled.Still carried wounds deep enough to hurt.Elias stepped closer to the bars slowly.Not calm anymore.Not distant.For the first time since entering the cell—He looked furious.“You think you understand me?” he hissed.The sound barely resembled a human voice anymore.The shadows thickened around him instantly, curling up the walls like smoke mixed with living darkness.“You think this is a joke?”I remained slumped against the wall, chains hanging loosely around my wrists while I forced myself to appear weak.Vulnerable.Helpless.Elias moved closer still until his face was partially illuminated by the flickering prison lights.“You know nothing.”The hatred in his voice felt ancient.Raw.Un
Sol POVThe King left without another word.The heavy door closed behind him with a hollow metallic sound that echoed through the prison chamber long after he disappeared.Silence settled again.Cold.Still.But this time, I welcomed it.Slowly, I lowered my gaze toward the silver chains restraining my wrists.Suppressants.Magic dampening metal.Ancient restraints forged specifically to weaken powerful shifters.Too bad for Elias—I was no longer only a shifter.I inhaled slowly and reached inward, not toward the fire, not toward the Monarch power.Toward the frozen flame.The cold answered instantly.Blue and silver energy stirred beneath my skin, quiet and controlled, threading itself carefully through my veins without triggering the suppressants aggressively enough to alert anyone.Slowly—Very slowly—I pressed that power into the chains.The silver resisted at first.Then weakened.The frost-like energy spread carefully across the restraints, altering them little by little, chan
Chapter — The King in ChainsSol POVThe silence stretched heavily between us after my words.My father still refused to meet my gaze directly.That alone told me everything I needed to know.The chains dug into my wrists as I shifted slightly, silver restraints burning against my skin while suppressants dulled the flow of my power. My body still felt heavy, weaker than it should have, but my mind—My mind was clear.Too clear.I stared at the man seated outside my cell and realized something horrifying.I could no longer see my father.Not truly.A father protected his children.A father did not hand over his son to a monster.A father did not gamble innocent lives hoping evil would honor its promises.No.The man before me was a King.A mate.A desperate man drowning in grief.But not a father.The realization settled coldly inside my chest.And strangely—It hurt less than before.Because once I stopped expecting him to behave like my father, his betrayal finally made sense.I inha
Sol POVPain dragged me back into consciousness.Not sharp pain.Heavy pain.The kind that settled into bones and muscles until even breathing felt exhausting.My head throbbed as I forced my eyes open slowly. Darkness surrounded me, thick and damp, carrying the smell of stone, blood, and magic suppression.Chains rattled softly above me.The sound froze my blood instantly.For one horrible second, I could not breathe.Because I knew this place.Not truly.But enough.I had seen it before.In the vision.The future where I died.My wrists burned where silver restraints dug into my skin, chained high enough to keep my body strained awkwardly. Every movement felt sluggish, wrong, as if my power itself had been drowned beneath layers of ice and poison.Drugged.Magic suppressants.The realization settled heavily inside me.I inhaled sharply and forced myself to focus.Think.Remember.Leo.Aurora.The hiding place.Pain exploding through my back.Betrayal.My heart slammed violently agai
Maxwell was gone. Truly gone.For a flickering second, a memory I had tried to bury surfaced. I remembered his laughter as a pup, high and bright. I remembered him rolling around in the dirt with Caleb and Jax, four children making a mess of the world. He used to help me in ways no one else dared,
The announcement arrived via a royal scroll at breakfast: a Medieval Masquerade Gala. Attendance was mandatory for all towers. The King’s decree was clear—this wasn't just a party; it was a showcase of the hierarchy. "A group entrance," Marcus proposed, leaning back with a grin that was all sharp
Two months had passed since the cafeteria incident, and the hierarchy of the Imperial Tower had shifted permanently. Amelie had leaned fully into her "victim" persona, limping through the halls and wearing silk scarves to hide bruises that had long since healed. She whispered to anyone who would li
The arena was a theater of carnage. Maxwell stood on the sands, his chest heaving, his wolf pushing so hard against his skin that his eyes were a constant, unstable amber. Sol stood opposite him, calm and immovable. Before the first blow was struck, Pamela stepped onto the lower ridge of the stand







