LOGINSERAPHINA'S POVThe first thing I felt was cold.Not the gentle chill of a winter night. This was deep. Bone-deep. The kind of cold that seeped into your veins and made you forget what warmth felt like.The second thing I heard was silence.No guards. No healers. No Kaelan's voice booming through the corridor.Just... nothing.I tried to open my eyes. My eyelids felt heavy, like someone had pressed weights against them. I tried again. Slowly, the darkness blurred into shapes.Stone ceiling. Flickering torchlight. Shadows dancing on the walls.Where am I? I was in the private hospital just now. What happened? Is Kaelan safe?I tried to move. My wrists were tied. Rough rope bit into my skin. My ankles too.Panic clawed at my chest.Nathan.I turned my head, ignoring the pain that shot through my neck.He was there. In a small bassinet a few feet away. Sleeping. Unharmed.Relief flooded through me. Then rage.Who took us?The answer came as footsteps echoed from the shadows.---A figure
KAELAN'S POVI released Asher and ran.I threw open the door to Seraphina's room without slowing down.The bed was empty.The sheets were rumpled. Still warm. Her scent lingered—lavender and honey—but it was already fading, mixing with the cold night air pouring through the open window.Nathan's bassinet was empty too.The blankets were tossed aside. A single stuffed wolf lay on the floor.I picked it up. It still smelled like him. Like baby powder and milk and that soft, sweet scent that only infants carry. I pressed it to my nose for just a second. Just one breath.Then I shoved it into my pocket.I spun around, my chest heaving. My hands were shaking. I couldn't breathe."WHERE ARE THEY?"Asher stood in the doorway, calm. Collected. His smile was gone now, replaced by something colder. Satisfaction."Alyssa," he said softly. "Seraphina. Nathan." He tilted his head. "You took one from me. I'm taking two from you."He let the words hang in the air like a death sentence."Fair trade,
KAELAN'S POVThe moon rose over Stonecrest, fat and silver, spilling its light across the palace walls like spilled milk.I stood at the window of my study, my fist pressed against the cold glass. Tempest stirred inside me, restless. Hungry. The full moon always did this to him. To all of us.But tonight was going to be different. I knew it. I felt it in my bones.The air was too still. The shadows too deep.Asher's text from earlier burned in my memory. "He's beautiful, Kaelan. It would be a shame if something happened to him."No matter what, blood was going to spill tonight. The fight between me and Asher had been delayed for too long. It needed to be let out.Asher and I needed to fight man-to-man. Blood-for-blood. I had always shed blood when it came to something I needed to protect.I did it for her in her past life. Even though I doubted she had seen that in her past memories. Even though I later had to kill her myself—plunged a dagger through her chest because my hands were ha
ISOLDE'S POVThe news spread through the palace like wildfire.The Luna had given birth. A son. A healthy male Alpha pup.I sat in my chambers, staring at the wall, my hands clenched in my lap.A son.That damn witch gave birth to a fucking son. An heir to the throne. If she couldn't miscarry her baby, she could have at least given birth to a girl.I hissed, running my hands through my hair.This was all Asher's fault. That slow maid confirmed she had delivered my letter, so why hadn't I gotten any reply? Why hadn't Asher and his forces stormed Stonecrest yet?I stood up and paced. My heels clicked against the marble floor. Every click felt like a countdown, a reminder of time slipping through my fingers.I thought about Seraphina. About the way Kaelan looked at her. Like she was the only person in the world. Like I didn't exist.I had been here first. I had played my part. I had done everything they asked. And what did I get? Nothing. A dead pup. A broken body. A title that meant not
KAELAN'S POVI had been pacing for almost an hour now. The tempo of my steps increased the moment I heard Seraphina scream.She'd better be fine.She'd better be.Because why was it taking this long?The speed at which I had rushed here when I heard she went into labour was unmatched. I had been in a meeting with Rio when the maid burst in, pale as death, shouting that the Luna was in labour. I didn't remember leaving the room. I didn't remember running through the halls. I only remembered the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.And since then, I had been stuck in this corridor, pacing like a caged animal.Damn.I should have just taken her to a hospital. But I had purposely surrounded myself with the best healers in the country. I had them flown in from every territory. I had personally vetted each one. A mini hospital was set up right here in the palace. I made sure the healers were paid handsomely. I made sure they had everything they needed.So why the hell was it takin
SERAPHINA'S POVThe hall was silent for a while before the Luna spoke."Normally, I would have told you that she has been killed. But I know you can feel that she's still alive, and that's why you're causing this much terror."She stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her. She didn't even look at the bodies on the floor twice."You cannot take in that girl, Soren. No one ever opposes you. And if anyone does, I'm usually the one that rips their heads off their necks." Her voice hardened. "But this time, not only is the whole pack against you—I and your father are against you as well. She is an Elyxis Princess!"Soren tilted his head, his smirk never fading."But the Moon Goddess isn't against me, is she?" He paused, letting the question hang in the air. "So for the last time... where is my mate? I still have ten more soldiers that were sent to capture Aehrys and kill her." He shrugged. "I can add more to the count. I really don't mind."The Luna didn't move.Soren's eyes twitc
SERAPHINA'S POVA sensation of weightlessness surrounds me; as if I’m submerged in deep water, floating without direction. There is no light, no sound, only a silent, endless dark.Where am I?My mind strains to remember. I was in the bath, the water warm against my skin… then nothing. Now, only th
KAELAN'S POVMy jaw tightened as I watched the Grand Empress smile, a slow, deliberate curl of her lips that didn’t reach her cold, observant eyes. How did she know to come here? The question coiled in my gut like a serpent. No one outside my most trusted circle was aware of Seraphina’s condition—o
Anyone looking at Kaelan's face right now wouldn't be able to detect a hint of his true expression, but I could.I could see the subtle curve of his lips and I know he's doing this on purpose.He was fully aware that I hadn't been listening to a word of their discussion, and now, he was trying to p
Anyone looking at Kaelan's face right now wouldn't be able to detect a hint of his true expression, but I could.I could see the subtle curve of his lips and I know he's doing this on purpose.He was fully aware that I hadn't been listening to a word of their discussion, and now, he was trying to p







