When his lips fell on mine, the world swept away. Calix kissed like he fought—ruthless, claiming every sound, every breath. His tongue slid against mine, deep and slow, making my body tremble. One of his hands fisted in my hair, tugging just enough to make me gasp against his lips. The other hand gripped my waist, pinning me beneath the full heat and weight of him. I arched against him, desperate for more, for all the things he’d denied me the past week. His teeth grazed my bottom lip before he bit down gently, pulling a whimper from my throat. He swallowed the sound with a growl, his hips grinding against mine. “You are so stubborn,” he rasped against my mouth. “You make me want to break every bone in your body, and at the same time, you make me want to protect you.” “By protecting, do you mean caging?” I whispered back, dragging my nails down his back, feeling his muscles ripple under my touch. He pulled back slightly, just enough to look at me. His eyes weren’t just hungry—the
His body jerked in surprise, but he didn’t pull away. He let me. He wanted me to. My wolf's teeth broke the skin at the curve of his neck. His blood flooded my mouth. It was like drinking lightning. My entire body lit up, the bond roaring to life between us until I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. Calix growled low and deep, his cock thrusting up into me again as I drank from him, matching his savagery with my own. He was mine too. And I would claim him as ruthlessly as he claimed me. When I finally tore my mouth away, blood smeared my lips, my chin, his skin. He stared down at me, wild and wrecked, his hand cradling the back of my head like I was the most precious thing he’d ever touched. “My beautiful, vicious wolf,” he whispered, voice wrecked. “You were made for me.” He caught my mouth in another kiss—filthy, desperate. Blood and spit and hunger slicked between our lips. Our teeth clashed, tongues tangling messily, neither of us caring about grace or tenderness.
Back in Velmira, reaching into Mae's mind had been as easy as breathing. I could mindlink with her without thinking. A simple nudge, a focused thought, and the connection would slip open like a door left on a latch.But here—In this large hall with so many supernatural bodies, it was like shouting into a hurricane.I narrowed my focus. Tried again. Reaching, searching.Mae.Mae.Mae.Nothing.The threads tangled and twisted against each other, too many open minds coming to me at once.Frustration burned through my chest. I wanted to shake her. I wanted her to know I was coming for her, that there would be no rest for her here.I pushed harder.And that was when I realized something was wrong.I wasn’t just brushing against minds anymore.I was in them.Reading them. People's thoughts. I'd been so focused on Mae that I hadn't realized the significance of the words I could hear.‘Weak humans. They won’t last one breeding session.’‘Heard the mages are good in bed, with their spells and
I felt the king's stare like a claw digging into my spine, but I didn’t flinch. I leaned into Calix instead, lifting my chin. Let him look.When Lorcan had rattled off the rules earlier, he’d mentioned that the royal family had to draw last, as some sort of show of leadership.Lucky us.I scanned the room again, taking in the other Khra’gixxes with the royal markings.Some were old, their bodies shriveled and hunched.Some were young, looking almost as terrified as the invaders they were supposed to claim.Others looked somewhere in between—middle-aged and cold-eyed, ready to add new blood to their aging lines.Cousins. Uncles. Grandparents. And so on.The lucky invaders were the ones picked by one of the old Khra'gixxes. A wrinkled, broken thing would be too tired to use them properly.I watched the royal members step up one after the other to pick from the baskets.One by one, names were drawn. One by one, the invaders were claimed.But somehow—miraculously—Mae was still there.Stil
The next few seconds happened in a blur.Calix shoved me behind him so fast I nearly stumbled, his body coiling in front of mine like a shield. And then his sword was out. The sound of metal unsheathing sent silence through the room.All around us, guards flinched. Steel scraped in response.One by one, the king’s soldiers drew their blades, stepping forward. Boots marching against the stone floor echoed around the room, louder than they should have. The elites and royals who hadn’t left yet started backing away, their fine robes rustling like leaves caught in a gust.They were frightened. They should be.Calix’s blade was steady in his hand, his body taut with fury. But I knew that if he made a single wrong move, they’d all come for him. Even his own guards would come too. Yes, they were as alert as they should be to protect their commander.But still, in the end, the king was the grand commander of the Khra'gixxian army.This wasn’t just a prince versus a kingdom.This was a prince
I woke up with a pounding headache.And pain.The first thing I registered was the aching stretch of my limbs. My arms and legs were pulled tight, splayed out in an X. Metal cuffs bit into my wrists and ankles. The table beneath me was cold, and it felt like iron. Heavy. Brutal. Like it had seen a thousand prisoners before me.My throat was dry. My lips were cracked. My head throbbed, a dull, pulsing echo behind my eyes.I realized soon enough that something sharp was on my arm.My body jerked against the restraints.“Lie still, wolf,” came a voice.Revka.Her face appeared above me, framed in shadows. Her mouth was flat, her eyes empty. Cold.“It will hurt less if you do.”My vision swam. I could feel something burning through my veins. A thick pull. Like my blood was being siphoned straight out of me.“Where am I?” I asked. My voice was barely more than a whisper.“Somewhere,” she said blandly.“You need to let me go.”“You’re not going anywhere anytime soon, Princess.”I blinked ag
[[The Northern Kingdom of Velmira. Home of Wolf Shifters]]***~~PRINCESS LYRIC VAELGOR~~***The happiest day of my life was supposed to be my wedding day.Or so I thought.I was glowing with joy, counting down the minutes until I became Jorath Dainvale's wife—the Beta's son, my perfect match. I couldn't wait one more second, couldn't wait to stand before the world and vow myself to him forever.What I didn't know, however, was that I’d be walking into a trap, that I’d be betrayed by everyone I loved that day."Where are we going, Uncle?" I asked.My uncle, Alpha Tiberan Vaelgor, the Alpha Regent of our pack, was leading me away from the castle gates and into the woods. “To meet your groom, Lyric,” he replied."Do we have to walk this far? I'm tired, and these shoes are killing me.”"Be patient, Lyric. You'll be with him soon enough."I'd been awake since dawn, enduring hours of preparation—servants scrubbing my skin until it gleamed, arranging my hair with moonstone beads, paintin
Jorath stared at me as if I were a stranger, his eyes cold and distant. "Don't beg," Mae sneered. "It makes you look pathetic." Tears burned in my eyes. "You're my blood. How could you do this to me? How could you betray me like this? I trusted you all." No one answered. At that moment, the clearing began to grow colder. Much colder. A sound filled the air—like the beating of a thousand wings. "They're here, Alpha," one of the guards announced, his voice tight with fear. I forced my head up, looking to the sky, and what I saw made my blood freeze in my veins. Descending through the canopy were about ten winged figures, their massive wings blotting out the moonlight. Everyone around me was backing away. Of course they were. You'd be a fool not to fear the Khra'gixx, tribrid creatures born from the unholy union of vampires, shadow wraiths, and demons. They ruled over all four kingdoms of the world. They'd built their kingdom, Noctis Vhaelor, offshore on the
I woke up with a pounding headache.And pain.The first thing I registered was the aching stretch of my limbs. My arms and legs were pulled tight, splayed out in an X. Metal cuffs bit into my wrists and ankles. The table beneath me was cold, and it felt like iron. Heavy. Brutal. Like it had seen a thousand prisoners before me.My throat was dry. My lips were cracked. My head throbbed, a dull, pulsing echo behind my eyes.I realized soon enough that something sharp was on my arm.My body jerked against the restraints.“Lie still, wolf,” came a voice.Revka.Her face appeared above me, framed in shadows. Her mouth was flat, her eyes empty. Cold.“It will hurt less if you do.”My vision swam. I could feel something burning through my veins. A thick pull. Like my blood was being siphoned straight out of me.“Where am I?” I asked. My voice was barely more than a whisper.“Somewhere,” she said blandly.“You need to let me go.”“You’re not going anywhere anytime soon, Princess.”I blinked ag
The next few seconds happened in a blur.Calix shoved me behind him so fast I nearly stumbled, his body coiling in front of mine like a shield. And then his sword was out. The sound of metal unsheathing sent silence through the room.All around us, guards flinched. Steel scraped in response.One by one, the king’s soldiers drew their blades, stepping forward. Boots marching against the stone floor echoed around the room, louder than they should have. The elites and royals who hadn’t left yet started backing away, their fine robes rustling like leaves caught in a gust.They were frightened. They should be.Calix’s blade was steady in his hand, his body taut with fury. But I knew that if he made a single wrong move, they’d all come for him. Even his own guards would come too. Yes, they were as alert as they should be to protect their commander.But still, in the end, the king was the grand commander of the Khra'gixxian army.This wasn’t just a prince versus a kingdom.This was a prince
I felt the king's stare like a claw digging into my spine, but I didn’t flinch. I leaned into Calix instead, lifting my chin. Let him look.When Lorcan had rattled off the rules earlier, he’d mentioned that the royal family had to draw last, as some sort of show of leadership.Lucky us.I scanned the room again, taking in the other Khra’gixxes with the royal markings.Some were old, their bodies shriveled and hunched.Some were young, looking almost as terrified as the invaders they were supposed to claim.Others looked somewhere in between—middle-aged and cold-eyed, ready to add new blood to their aging lines.Cousins. Uncles. Grandparents. And so on.The lucky invaders were the ones picked by one of the old Khra'gixxes. A wrinkled, broken thing would be too tired to use them properly.I watched the royal members step up one after the other to pick from the baskets.One by one, names were drawn. One by one, the invaders were claimed.But somehow—miraculously—Mae was still there.Stil
Back in Velmira, reaching into Mae's mind had been as easy as breathing. I could mindlink with her without thinking. A simple nudge, a focused thought, and the connection would slip open like a door left on a latch.But here—In this large hall with so many supernatural bodies, it was like shouting into a hurricane.I narrowed my focus. Tried again. Reaching, searching.Mae.Mae.Mae.Nothing.The threads tangled and twisted against each other, too many open minds coming to me at once.Frustration burned through my chest. I wanted to shake her. I wanted her to know I was coming for her, that there would be no rest for her here.I pushed harder.And that was when I realized something was wrong.I wasn’t just brushing against minds anymore.I was in them.Reading them. People's thoughts. I'd been so focused on Mae that I hadn't realized the significance of the words I could hear.‘Weak humans. They won’t last one breeding session.’‘Heard the mages are good in bed, with their spells and
His body jerked in surprise, but he didn’t pull away. He let me. He wanted me to. My wolf's teeth broke the skin at the curve of his neck. His blood flooded my mouth. It was like drinking lightning. My entire body lit up, the bond roaring to life between us until I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began. Calix growled low and deep, his cock thrusting up into me again as I drank from him, matching his savagery with my own. He was mine too. And I would claim him as ruthlessly as he claimed me. When I finally tore my mouth away, blood smeared my lips, my chin, his skin. He stared down at me, wild and wrecked, his hand cradling the back of my head like I was the most precious thing he’d ever touched. “My beautiful, vicious wolf,” he whispered, voice wrecked. “You were made for me.” He caught my mouth in another kiss—filthy, desperate. Blood and spit and hunger slicked between our lips. Our teeth clashed, tongues tangling messily, neither of us caring about grace or tenderness.
When his lips fell on mine, the world swept away. Calix kissed like he fought—ruthless, claiming every sound, every breath. His tongue slid against mine, deep and slow, making my body tremble. One of his hands fisted in my hair, tugging just enough to make me gasp against his lips. The other hand gripped my waist, pinning me beneath the full heat and weight of him. I arched against him, desperate for more, for all the things he’d denied me the past week. His teeth grazed my bottom lip before he bit down gently, pulling a whimper from my throat. He swallowed the sound with a growl, his hips grinding against mine. “You are so stubborn,” he rasped against my mouth. “You make me want to break every bone in your body, and at the same time, you make me want to protect you.” “By protecting, do you mean caging?” I whispered back, dragging my nails down his back, feeling his muscles ripple under my touch. He pulled back slightly, just enough to look at me. His eyes weren’t just hungry—the
“Come down, little wolf,” Calix said, eyes never leaving mine as I struggled to get my magic under control. Reluctantly, I began to descend the stairs. My fingers were still tingling, shadows still retreating beneath my skin like ink pulled back into a quill. Each step felt heavier than the last. At the foot of the stairs, I stopped. “Come closer,” he said. I did. Step by step. Until I stood in front of both princes. No one spoke. Lorcan stared openly, his eyes gleaming as they traced the faint glow of runes flashing along my collarbone and arms. “I’m very sure that decades from now, they’ll write a song about you, Lyric,” Lorcan said. “A wolf with magical powers.” Calix hissed a spell under his breath, and immediately, the glow vanished. He stood slowly, body taut with tension. “We’re all going to agree right now that this never happened,” he said, glaring at Lorcan. “What part?” Lorcan asked innocently. “That your mate didn’t try to kill our father, or that she has magical
A week later, 1500 citizens from the three other kingdoms arrived in Noctis Vhaelor. I stood by the window, watching them flood the streets as they were ushered in, their heads down, movements slow. I didn’t know why I was looking so closely. It wasn’t like I was going to recognize anyone. I’d grown up surrounded by Alphas, warriors, and councilmen. The ones sent here? Likely omegas, nameless and discarded by their own people. Still, I couldn’t stop watching. Maybe some foolish part of me hoped to see a familiar face. A glimpse of home—whatever that meant now. Behind me, Calix was still asleep. Sharing a room with him was a nightmare dressed as luxury. The bed was massive, the sheets like velvet, and the view divine—but I was trapped. Caged in a golden chamber I couldn’t leave. He slept during the day, like now, sprawled out with his hair a mess, face calm, runes glowing faintly along his arms and collarbone. And then at night, he disappeared. Duties, he said. Royal business. No
The king's stare bored into me. "You’re telling me," he said, voice like ice breaking under pressure, "that she is the child of the monster who killed my wife." Was he forgetting the part where he killed my parents? My throat tightened. Not with fear. With rage. His wife? What about my mother? What about my father? The thousands of soldiers who died on that field? The people who lost their mates, their siblings, their children? All because King Draekor couldn’t accept that the other kingdoms wanted independence. All because the Khra’gixx believed they were owed everything. The kingdoms were never meant to bow to one throne. Each was meant to be independent. That was the point of the division. But the Khra’gixx… they hardly produced anything. They had very few farmlands, fishing waters, and mines. Just magic. Power. And the arrogance that came with both. So they leached from the rest of us. They didn’t ask. That wasn’t their custom. They demanded. Took. Enforced monthly tribute