LOGINđ Fenrir POV Martha left silence behind. It filled the room the moment the door closed. I welcomed it. Full control had to be rebuiltâ piece by piece and breath by breath. For that, I needed her. My gravity. I didnât let her go. I kept her pressed against me âclose enough to feel the steady rhythm of her breathing. To match it. To follow it back to myself. Arria didnât resist. She stayed. Willingly. And that... mattered more than anything she could have said. âIs it true?â My voice came out lower than I intended. Rougher. âWhat you said.â She shifted slightly against me. Not pulling away. Adjusting. âYes,â she murmured softly. âYou are way too much.â There was no edge in it. No accusation. If anythingâ it sounded like something else entirely. I exhaled. âNot what I meant.â A beat. âI know,â she murmured against me. âBut you scared me.â That I felt. âDid I ââ I stepped back to look at her. My gaze moved quickly over her. Nothing out of place. No vi
đ Arria POVâNo.âFenrirâs voice cut through the roomâcold, final.He straightened abruptly, the sudden movement almost knocking me off the sofa.Everything shifted at once.The air thickened, heavy and charged, pressing against my lungs.Fenrir looked⊠calm.His face unreadable. Composed.But something beneathâbroke free.I felt it before I fully understood it.That overwhelming presence he always kept buriedâheld back with impossible controlâwas gone.He let it loose.All of it.The force of it tore the breath from my chest.A dull thud sounded behind me.I turned sharply.Martha had dropped to her knees, her palms braced against the floor as if the weight of something unseen was crushing her down.âMarthaââI moved toward her, panic rising, but she didnât look at me.Not at first.When her gaze finally liftedâthere was no guidance in it.Only dread.Pure, unfiltered dread.âWhatâs going on?â My voice came out tight.She didnât answer immediately.Her breath came shallow, uneve
đ Arria POV âDid you see that symbol, Martha?â My voice came out quieter than I expected. A slow breath left her. âYes.â âDid you find something?â I pressed. She shook her head. âNo⊠not exactly.â A brief pause. âBut it doesnât look random.â She glanced briefly at Fenrir, then back at me. âThe songâŠâ she said. âIt doesnât survive like that by accident.â Her fingers folded together in her lap. âIt suggests there are others. People who knew what truly happened back then⊠and chose to preserve it.â A society. Hidden. Watching. Guarding the truth while the rest of the world rewrote it. My chest tightened. âAnd if thatâs true⊠they would need a way to recognize each other.â Martha drew a breath. âA signature.â Her eyes flicked to the paper in my hands. âThat symbol could be itâthe mark that ties them to the heir.â I didnât answer. My fingers tightened around it. It made sense. But they were missing a piece. Lost in my thoughts, I didnât notice the exact moment h
đ Arria POV âOne more thing,â Martha said, unsure.Her eyes moved to Fenrir, then back to me.She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.âMelanie saw me reading about the previous Gamma family,â she said. âHer mother was from that pack.âA small pause.âShe used to sing her a song. In a language she didnât understand.âHer gaze flicked to mine.âItâs about a lost princess of the elves.âSilence stretched for a moment.âAnd thisâŠâ she placed the paper in my hands, âwas given to her.âAnother beat.âSo she would know where her loyalty lies.âMy fingers trembled.I just held it.âArria,â Fenrir said, pulling my attention to him.âWe need to know what we are fighting against.âI nodded.Still, I didnât open the paper.Not yet.Instead, I took a slow breath.The shadows had been silent these past few days.While we pretended it was just him and me.TodayâŠthey were back.I could hear their whispers.Even with Alaric circling in my mind, keeping them at bay.I cau
Arria POV A few days later. We had been awake for a long time. Still, no words came. I refused to let go of him, and he just pulled me closer. âI donât want it to be true,â I said eventually. âI know.â âBut you are usually right.â He didnât answer. âI am afraid,â I forced the words out. âOf being different again. Of being pushed into something I donât want.â âAm I different for you because I am the king?â I considered my answer. âYes⊠in a way,â I said. âYou have duties. You can slip away any minute.â He pulled back just enough to look at me. âI am not going anywhere, Arria.â A beat. âI am right here.â I smiled. Not quite sadly. âYouâre leaving in four days.â He shook his head. âNot because I am the king.â A pause. âTo protect him.â âYou think there is a difference,â I said quietly. âThere isnât.â A breath. âThis is your legacy. What you were shaped for. My hand hovered near his face. The fear that one day⊠he would simply be gone made me hesitate. I almost
đFenrirPOV“Tell me your favorite memory.”She went still.Thinking.







