MasukELENA I lay on the dirt, body heavy and aching, legs still numb and useless like they belonged to someone else. The ground was rough and damp beneath me, small rocks digging into my back, the soil cold and gritty against my skin. My eyes stared up at the sky, dimmed with heavy clouds, gray and empty, mirroring the despair that weighed on my chest like a stone. My ears filled with the constant sound of water lapping all around me, waves crashing softly but endlessly against the shore. The salty air stung my nose, cool and briny, carrying the faint rot of seaweed and isolation. I was trapped. Helplessly trapped. {Elena} Roundy's voice echoed in my head, soft and worried, pulling at me. I couldn't answer. The words stuck in my throat, too heavy, too broken to come out. Was this how I was going to die? I opened my mouth, voice coming out weak and cracked from thirst and exhaustion. "You know, Roundy, ever since I came to this world, I've suffered so much. Being a poor food blogger
KAELI pulled every werewolf guard and human cop I could reach to find Elena. Orders flew from my mouth sharp and urgent, voices echoing through the palace halls as men scrambled to obey. The night blurred into a frenzy of activity, search parties spreading out like shadows across the kingdom. I barely slept, barely breathed, my mind fixed on her face, her scent, the way the bond felt frayed and distant.But it was as if she vanished.No trace. No witnesses. No leads beyond the wrecked car and the dead driver. The bond tugged at me constantly, a dull ache that grew sharper with every hour, whispering that she was alive but suffering. Guilt gnawed at me, heavy and unrelenting. I had promised to protect her. I had let her go home alone. How could I have been so careless?El, my wolf, grew restless inside me, pacing and growling, demanding his mate. His agitation fed mine, making my skin itch, my temper short. I wasn't calm either. Not even close. Rage simmered under the fear, hot and r
KAELI drove into the palace as night fell, the gates closing behind me with that familiar heavy clang. The day had been endless—meetings, reports, decisions that never seemed to end. I had been so busy I barely had time to check on my mate, except for the quiet humming of the bond inside me. It was there, steady and warm, like a promise that kept me going.As I stepped out of the car, Liam was already waiting, holding my phone out with that knowing look he always had. He didn't say a word, just handed it over.The first thing I did was text Elena.My fingers moved fast, a small smile tugging at my lips as I typed a simple hello, asking how her day was. I leaned against the car, waiting for the reply, heart lighter than it had been all day.We started talking. Light, easy words back and forth. Her messages made me grin like an idiot, imagining her face as she typed.Then all of a sudden, I felt an intense tug through the bond. Sharp. Painful. Like something had snapped or torn.Her re
ELENAI sat there on the dirty floor, legs sprawled out like dead weight, staring at nothing while Roundy's words looped in my head like a broken record.Was I permanently crippled?The question hit me hard, making my chest ache. I dragged myself across the rough concrete to lean against the wall, SCRAPING my palms as I went. Took a deep breath that didn't help at all."Roundy," I said, voice cracking a bit. "I want to ask just one question. And if you dare tell me you can't say because it's confidential, I'll... I'll do something you'll never imagine."What is black slin?The silence dragged on forever. My eyes started twitching from the mix of anger and frustration bubbling up, making me want to scream.Then Roundy's voice finally came, quiet and reluctant.{Original Elena created black slin for reasons I can't recall right now. But here's how it works: First day of contact, nothing happens to your wolf, but the human's lower body gets numb. Second day, all five senses start failing
ELENAWhen I woke up, my head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. Throbbing. Heavy. Everything blurry at the edges.I tried to move and realized I couldn’t. My arms were tied behind me, wrists bound tight to a chair. Ankles too. The room was dim, only a weak bulb hanging somewhere behind me, throwing long shadows across cracked concrete walls.All I remembered was the car speeding up, that creepy driver’s smile in the mirror, my panic spiking… and then the sudden jolt. Metal crunching. Glass shattering. A truck coming out of nowhere.After that, nothing.Roundy? I thought, voice small even in my own head. What the hell is going on?{I’m as lost as you are. I couldn’t see or hear anything while you were out.}I tugged at the ropes, testing them. They didn’t budge. Great.Before I could say anything else, a voice echoed from the darkness, male, rough, coming from somewhere I couldn’t see.“Ice. Remember me?”My stomach twisted.No. I don’t even know you, I thought frantically.O
ELENAThe two days after that nightmare with Father dragged by in a weird blur. I didn’t see him once, not in the halls, not at meals, not even a shadow in the corner of my eye. Part of me was relieved. The other part kept waiting for him to pop up like a jump scare.I basically turned into a hermit. Stayed locked in my room, curtains half-drawn, phone in hand. The maids kept bringing food, fancy little plates of pastries, fruits cut into flowers, soups that smelled amazing. At least I was eating like a queen while hiding from my life.Silver linings, right?Until today.The door opened without a knock, and Mum swept in like she owned the air itself. She took one look at me buried under blankets on the chaise, phone glowing in my face, and planted her hands on her hips.“Do you want to turn into a mushroom that badly?”I blinked up at her, brain stalling. “What?”She sighed dramatically, crossed the room, and sat right next to me. Then she cupped my face in both hands, deadly serious.







