Se connecterOne night of masked deception. One night of feral heat. A lifetime of secrets. ~~*~~*~~ Morgana was a shadow in the house of Silas. A servant tasked with scrubbing the floors and hiding the scandalous secrets of her Mistress, Victoria, the Betaâs daughter. When Victoriaâs debauchery threatens her betrothal to the lethal Alpha King Kieran Shadowfang, Morgana is once again forced into a mask and a royal gown to play the part of the perfect bride. She expected a cold meeting. She didn't expect the pull. One touch from Alpha Kieran ignites a fated mate bond that screams through her veins. One forbidden kiss leaves the Alpha obsessed with a woman whose face he hasn't seen. But when the truth is twisted by a master manipulator and a drugged rejection shatters her soul, Morgana is hunted into the woods with her new born. Three years later, she is no longer a servant. She is the queen of the rogues. A survivor, raising a son with the alphaâs eyes and a power that could level the kingdom. When Alpha Kieran, no longer the drugged puppet but a man desperate for the mate he thought he killed, he finds a woman who doesn't want him or his crown, and a son who doesn't know his name. Will Alpha Kieran be able to reclaim his mate, and son, or lose them to his mortal enemy, alpha king of the north?
Voir plusMorganaâs POV
~~âê©ËđŒËê©â~~ âAhâah⊠yesâŠâ Lady Victoriaâs breathless cries seep through the heavy oak doors, thick with lust and indulgence. The sounds of bodies slapping, of pleasure being taken without restraint, echo down the corridor. I donât flinch. I stand where I always do, outside the door, hands folded, staring at it like it has personally offended me as I wait. Waiting for them to finish so I can clean up the aftermath like I always do. Because that was my role. Clean the mess. Stay invisible. Say nothing. Lady Victoria never did anything halfway. Not her tantrums. Not her cruelty. And certainly not this. âVictoria?â The voice of my master, Beta Silas, thunders from the end of the corridor. I drop to my knees instantly, my forehead nearly touching the cold floor. His footsteps are heavy, vibrating through the wood. He stops right in front of the door, his shadow looming over me. âVictoria, I told you not to indulge tonight,â Beta Silasâs voice snaps, cold and controlled despite the situation behind the door. âYou are to meet the new Alpha. Have you forgotten what this alliance means?â âFather! Ah! Not now!â Victoriaâs voice drifts through the door, followed by a wet slap and a moan. âWe just started. I canât meet him. Tell him to wait. Tell him Iâm... indisposed!â she adds, completely unashamed. I roll my eyes. Of course she canât. I wouldnât either, not after what she has been doing for the past hour. The ânoble ladyâ of the House of Silas, so pure, so virtuous in public, spread open for guards behind closed doors. If the kingdom saw her like this⊠they would choke on their own praise. âDo you hear me?â Silasâ voice hardens. My head snaps up, and I realize with a jolt of ice in my veins that he isn't looking at the door anymore. He is looking at me. Oh no. Oh no. Silas is a man of calculation and cruelty. He doesn't repeat himself, and those who fail to anticipate his needs usually find themselves in the dungeon or at the end of a blade. âYes, Master,â I say, even when I have no idea what Iâm agreeing to. Because thatâs exactly how people like me survive. âNo, Father!â Victoria shrieks. âYou can't let her meet the Alpha. This isnât some banquet or game. That servant reeks of the slums. Sheâll ruin everything if she pretends to be me this time! Ah, yes!⊠There, fasterâŠ!â My thoughts freeze. Pretend again? Wait. No. No, she didnât mean⊠The realization hits me like a physical blow. Silas wants me to stand in for her. I know. I've done it countless times, maintaining her noble and virtuous appearance at the banquet, at the games, when she's too 'busy.' But Beta Silas wants me, a servant girl, to play the part of a high-born lady before the most dangerous man in the realm. No⊠I canât do this. This isnât a crowd. This is the Alpha. Iâve survived this game before. Smiled. Bowed. Lied. But this time⊠I might not survive the ending. Oh, goddess, have mercy on me. âShe will go,â Silas says. The words are a death sentence, delivered with the casualness of ordering tea. A cold wave crashes through my chest. Meet the Alpha. The ruthless one. The one they whisper about in hushed voices for being unpredictable and merciless. A man who could decide your fate based on a glance⊠or a mood. Prince Kieran. The Alpha who returned from the human realm after fifteen years of exile. The man who ended the Great War with a trail of bodies in his wake. They say his heart is made of the same silver that killed his father. And I⊠I just agreed to lie in front of him without knowing. A bitter laugh almost escapes me. Not that I would have been given a choice to refuse. Two senior maids appear from the shadows, bowing low. âClean her thoroughly,â Silas orders. âScrub the dirt from her skin. Manicure her nails. Strip her of every trace of where she came from, and dress her in Victoriaâs finest silk and her finest mask. She will meet the Alpha this time. If she speaks out of turn⊠or makes a single mistake, she dies. And so do you.â âYes, Beta Silas.â Before I can even process it, hands seize my arms, dragging me toward the royal bathing chambers this time. I don't struggle. To struggle is to invite a beating I can't afford. Steam curls thick in the bathing chamber, perfumed water shimmering under dim light. They strip me of my rags without ceremony and usher me into a pool. I sink into it slowly, my body betraying me as tension melts from muscles that have known nothing but labor and punishment. For a moment, just a moment, I close my eyes. This⊠This is how they live: clean water, gentle hands, and care, not survival, not scraps, not pain. My fingers curl beneath the surface. Fifteen years of scrubbing floors, washing stains, and carrying burdens that were never mine. Fifteen years of punishment for mistakes I didnât make. Locked in darkness. Starved. Forgotten. Except when they needed me. Needed me to erase evidence. To play pretend. To clean secrets. To make sins disappear without a trace. My chest tightens. For fifteen years, I have been the invisible ghost of this house. I was six when the spirit creatures slaughtered my pack and parents during the Silver Moon. The Silver Moonâa rare, cursed night in Valtheris when the barrier between worlds breaks, and monsters return. The night everything was taken from me, when monsters walked freely, and no one came to save us. Silas found me wandering the forest the night of the silver moon fifteen years ago and brought me here, not out of mercy, but for utility. As the maids work, scrubbing my skin, a dangerous thought takes root. I have spent my life in the dirt and the kitchens. I have been starved in the dungeons for the smallest mistakes. Now that I'm being sent to meet the ruler of Valtheris⊠What if⊠What if I seize the moment? What if I told him? The Alpha. What if I walked into that room and exposed Lady Victoria? Her filth. Her lies. Would he reward me? My freedom? Wealth? A name? The thought burns. Bright and tempting. But dies just as quickly. Because that will be foolish. Men like the Alpha wonât reward people like me. And Silas? He wouldnât just kill me; he would make sure I suffered first. I swallow hard. This isnât an opportunity; itâs a test, or worse, a sacrifice. They pull me from the water, drying me with care that feels foreign against my skin, and wrap me in a robe before leading me to Lady Victoria's dressing chamber. Sitting in front of the vanity, they brush my hair and do my nails. Perfumed oils rub into places no one has ever treated with kindness. They lace me into a corset so tight I can barely breathe. Then comes the dress. Royal blue. Heavy. Elegant. They lace it tight, molding me into a shape I barely recognize. I catch my reflection in the mirror; I see the girl beneath the dirt. Under the grime, I have the same hair as Victoria, the same height, the same eye color, only our faces betray the lie. A delicate, jeweled mask is placed over my eyes, gold and intricate. Beautiful. A lie. âThe Alpha is waiting in the royal gardens,â one of the maids whispers, her voice trembling. âHe is already displeased. Do not make him wait a second longer.â I nod. They lead me down the hall toward the heavy double doors. My heart hammers against my ribs like a trapped bird. I am no longer Morgana the servant. I am a sacrificial lamb. And I am being sent straight into the den of a monster. Because deep down⊠I know this isnât just dangerous. This is the kind of night that changes everything. Or ends it. If I fail⊠I die. If I succeed⊠I still might. The doors swing open, and cold night air brushes against my skin, sharp and unforgiving. There is no turning back now. I step forward. Into a lie that could get me killed.Rowan doesnât wait for my answer.He straightens up, shifting as he turns away from the bed.However, he doesn't leave through the main door.Instead, he strides back toward the balcony, his white shirt billowing in the freezing wind.With one fluid motion, he leaps off into the shadows.The French doors click shut, leaving me alone in the freezing silence.I stare at the small vial resting on the silk sheets. The silver liquid inside seems to pulse with a low, magical luminescence.The blood of one of the lycan kings who hate me more than life itself.Every stubborn cell in my body screams at me to throw the vial against the wall.And I really want to shatter it.I hate them, and taking their blood feels like a burden.But then I look down at my throbbing foot. I look at my trembling, bruised hands. I'm practically one giant wound.âHe wants to break your spirit,â Rowanâs words echo in the quiet room. âBut tomorrow... he hands you over to me.âIf I don't take this tonic, I will enter
The brass handle clicks.A breath catches in my throat, freezing in my chest.My heart thumps so violently against my ribs Iâm certain whoever is on the balcony can hear it.Iâm completely defenseless.The omegas cleaned the room too well; there are no shards of glass left, no heavy objects within arm's reach.My body is a roadmap of agony; my foot is throbbing from the deep cut; I doubt I can run.Iâm nothing more than prey.The heavy French door creaks open.A rush of biting winter air sweeps into the room, billowing the sheer curtains.A massive silhouette steps over the threshold, closing the glass door behind him with terrifying silence.The scent hits me before I can even see his face. Rain, pine, and wildfire.Rowan."What is he going to do to me?"This is, this is his brotherâs room, he wonât force me here, right?Fear grips me, my body trembling as I fist the sheets firmly.Rowan steps in; itâs dark so I canât see his face, but the light from the balcony highlights him.He's
âEnjoy the soft mattress tonight. Tomorrow. I start breaking what's left of you.âRonan steps back after that.His massive frame moves away from me, and the sudden loss of his warmth makes the bedroom feel freezing again.My jaw throbs where his fingers gripped me.Ronan turns on his heel and walks toward the door without a single glance back. He opens it, his voice ringing out to the guards waiting in the corridor.âClean up the mess. Lock her in. If she steps one foot out. Your heads roll.ââYes, Your Majesty,â the guards reply in unison.The heavy doors shut with a firm click. The sound echoes through the quiet space, feeling like a final judgment.The moment he is gone, my knees give out. I collapse onto the edge of the desk, my breaths coming in ragged, shallow gasps.The adrenaline that kept me standing evaporates, leaving behind a wave of pure agony.My shoulders burn where Aliciaâs nails dug into my flesh, and a sharp, throbbing pain shoots up my leg.I look down at my foot; a
The silence stretches until it feels like a physical weight crushing the air out of the room.Britney keeps her eyes glued to the floor, her shoulders shaking violently as a soft sob breaks from her chest."I am waiting," Ronan says, his voice a quiet promise of absolute destruction.Britney snaps. The sheer pressure of his royal aura is too much for an ordinary pack member to bear. She raises a trembling hand, her finger pointing directly at the blonde maid beside her."It was Alicia," Britney wails, her voice cracking with terror. "She did it. She knocked over the table, and she tore the photograph. I didn't want to lie, Your Majesty. Please, I swear I had nothing to do with it."Alicia gasps, her eyes widening."Britney, you lying little cow!" She scrambles forward on her knees, reaching out toward the hem of Ronan's trousers. "Your Majesty, she's lying. The prisoner threatened her. I would never destroy something that belonged to Queen Adelaide."For a moment, Claudia simply stare
âYou're just a lowly servant!â Lady Victoria screams. âHow dare you touch my Alpha? How dare you kiss him with your filthy mouth?!â The world spins as my heart stops. I'm doomed. She knows. Of course she knows. There are always eyes. Always ears. Always someone watching. I was a fool to
~~âą~âĄ~âą~~ âNo! AlphaâŠâ I say softly, forcing a smile I donât feel, trying to remain calm. âPlease. Allow me this small mystery for tonight. I promise our next encounter will be different.â He studies me for a long moment, his gaze heavy with suspicion. I can feel the decision forming behind his
~~~âȘââȘ~~~ I stand there, paralyzed, looking into eyes that hold a brewing storm. Iâm a servant in a borrowed dress, a girl who scrubs filth from stone floors and survives on scraps from the kitchen trash. Because of that, they call me Raccoon, a scavenger in the dark, and I'm fated to the King
~~âą~â~âą~~ The doors close behind me with a quiet finality. I take deep breaths, trying to calm the storm inside my chest. âThis way, my lady?â Two guards lead the way. I pause after a few steps and turn, and as expected, Beta Silas is at the upper balcony, a silent threat that reminds me that one
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