First Person’s PerspectiveHermoineI took another gulp straight from the bottle, letting the burn claw its way down my throat like I deserved it. The liquid scorched my insides, but I welcomed the pain. It was better than feeling hollow.The bottle was nearly empty. Not that I cared. I had nothing left anyway. No pride. No dignity. Just this bitter aftertaste and the dull ache of a heart that had been stomped on too many times.I sat curled up on the edge of Ares’s leather couch, legs tucked beneath me like a lost child. My hair was a knotted mess down my back, my mascara smeared into black shadows beneath my eyes. I looked like a wreck,and I was. The kind of wreck people turned away from in disgust.Ares was across the room, leaning against the wall like he always did. Calm. Confident. Untouchable.“You’re going to finish the whole thing?” he asked, his voice almost bored, like he’d seen this movie before and knew how it ended.I didn’t even look at him. “What do you care?”“Just wo
Third Person PerspectiveElena walked through the quiet halls of the packhouse, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her bare feet padded softly against the stone floor, but the chill that clung to the walls didn’t bother her. The scent of pine and damp earth drifted through the open windows, whispering of the woods beyond,but she barely noticed.Her mind was elsewhere.She had just finished helping the kitchen staff sort supplies,something she often did when she couldn’t sit still. When her thoughts were too loud. When she needed distraction from everything else,like the stares she still got, the whispers that followed her, the way even the walls of the packhouse seemed to question her place here.But nothing distracted her now.Two guards’ voices carried faintly from the staircase up ahead. They weren’t loud, but something in their tone,tight, hushed, a little too cautious,caught her attention immediately.“She’s lucky Alpha Ares stepped in,” one of them said.“I know,” the oth
First Person PerspectiveAresI couldn’t help but laugh at how stupid Elena was. Every time I showed her a fake smile, she returned it with that hopeful glint in her eyes, like a starving dog lapping up scraps. Every time I said something kind,some hollow reassurance about her place in the pack,she swallowed it whole, desperate for validation. She truly believed I was trying to be her friend, that I was the one person in this damned pack who actually gave a damn about her. Pathetic. She was so desperate for acceptance that she didn’t even notice the trap tightening around her. I didn’t have to do much,just pretend to listen, nod at the right moments, offer a well-timed compliment or a sympathetic frown. It was almost too easy. She was so starved for connection that she didn’t question why I, of all people, would bother with her. Salvatore had grown weak. Soft. I heard it with my own ears,him telling one of the elders that he *loved* her. *Loved her.* The Alpha of our pack, the
Third Person PerspectiveSalvatoreSalvatore sat alone in the war room, the only light coming from the faint glow of candles flickering against the stone walls. His fingers ran over the map of his territory, tracing the borders he’d fought to expand, but his mind was far away. It wasn’t the plans for the war or the movements of the enemy that consumed him,it was the image of Elena’s tear-streaked face after Hermoine’s attack. He could still hear the desperate words Hermoine had spat at him, and more haunting, the moment when his own mate had been hurt right before his eyes.“She doesn’t belong here,” Hermoine had screamed. “You’ll regret this, Salvatore. She’ll destroy you.”The words echoed in his head, growing louder with each passing minute. He could still see Elena’s face, eyes wide with shock, the disbelief that someone,someone from their own pack,would do such a thing. And the worst part? That he hadn’t been able to stop it fast enough. The sound of Elena’s body hitting the grou
First Person’s PerspectiveElenaThe morning air was quiet, almost too quiet.Birds chirped softly in the distance, and the dew still clung to the grass, glistening like tiny crystals under the rising sun. But none of it brought me peace. Not today. I walked through the training grounds alone, my boots crunching against the gravel path as I tried to shake the heavy feeling pressing against my chest.Salvatore hadn’t spoken to me since the day before. No messages. No glances. No warmth. Just… silence.A part of me kept replaying his words,the ones I wasn’t meant to hear. She’s a weakness. Loving her clouds things. Each time, they hit like a stone to the ribs.I hadn’t slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face, distant and cold, like I was just another soldier under his command. Was he regretting everything? Was I just a mistake he was now trying to fix?A loud noise shattered my spiraling thoughts.It echoed from the main pack house. Shouting. Screaming.I froze mid-step, the
First Person’s PerspectiveElenaI stood by the window, watching the sun slowly fade behind the tall pines that lined the edge of the estate. The sky was melting into shades of orange and purple, casting long shadows across the stone courtyard below. It should have been beautiful. Peaceful. But to me, it only felt like another sunset I was spending alone.Another day without Salvatore.He hadn’t come to see me. Again.I rested my forehead against the cold glass, trying to steady the storm of thoughts in my mind. It wasn’t just about him being busy anymore. I understood responsibilities. I understood the weight of leadership. But this felt different.Distant. Deliberate.He used to pull me into his arms the second he saw me. Used to brush his thumb across my cheek and whisper that I made everything easier. Now, I was lucky if I got a nod in the hallway. Lucky if he even made eye contact.At first, I told myself not to overthink it. War was coming. Maybe it was already here. But each da