LOGINZane's Point of View I shoved myself backward, breaking free from Ronan's possessive grip in a frantic flurry of movement. The shock running through my blood completely eclipsed the throbbing pain in my ribs as my bare feet slapped hard against the cold stone floor. My heart hammered against my chest so violently I thought it might crack through my bandages entirely. Everything else in the room, the smell of antiseptic, the dim flicker of the medical wing's lanterns, the quiet murmurs of concern, faded into nothing beside the sight in front of me. "Easy, Zane!" Ronan shouted, stepping forward with his arms outstretched, his golden eyes wide with sheer panic for my freshly wrapped injuries. "You're going to tear your bandages!" I ignored him entirely, deaf to everything but the roaring in my own ears. I sprinted across the medical wing, throwing my weight straight forward, and launched myself into my father's arms. He caught me effortlessly, his sturdy frame absorbing the impact as
Zane's Point Of View My heart thumped against my bandaged chest so hard I thought my ribs would snap wide open. The echo of that ancient, resonant voice still vibrated through every thread of my spirit, turning my blood into hot, boiling liquid. I pressed a hand to my sternum, half expecting to feel the pulse of Daekan's presence beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. Everything around me seemed to blur at the edges, the sterile white walls of the medical wing fading into nothing as the weight of what I'd just heard settled over me like a physical force. I felt strangely untethered, as though the ground itself had shifted beneath me without warning, leaving me scrambling to find something solid to hold onto. 'What do you mean by that, Daekan?!' I screamed inside my head, clutching the front of Miles's jacket as my mind spun in wild, dizzying circles. 'I... I already have a mate and that's Ronan!''Quiet down, kid! You're making my head echo!' Daekan's voice rumbled deep inside my
Zane's Point Of View "What do you mean by that, Miles?!" I demanded, my voice cracking through the quiet room as I pulled back slightly from his embrace, my eyes locked on his with frantic disbelief. Before Miles could answer, Ronan pushed himself up from the medical couch, his broad frame towering over us. His golden eyes flared with a dangerous, predatory intensity, his jaw clenched tight as he stalked forward, every muscle in his body coiled with barely restrained fury. I could practically feel the heat radiating off him, that familiar possessive energy that always seemed to fill a room the moment he decided someone had crossed a line. "Yes, Miles..." Ronan growled, his voice dropping into a low, rumbling alpha tone that vibrated through the floorboards. "What do you mean? You can't just disappear for a year, show up out of nowhere, and start dropping cryptic, half-baked riddles on us in the middle of a royal medical wing." Miles didn't even flinch. He just slanted a cool, unim
Zane's Point Of View My vision blurred as hot, frantic tears stung the corners of my eyes. My heart hammered violently against my bandaged ribcage, every thump echoing like thunder in my ears. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Part of me was certain my mind had finally cracked under the weight of everything, conjuring ghosts out of desperation, stitching together a fantasy my shattered heart desperately needed. "Miles...?" I whispered again, my breath hitching in my throat. "Is it... is it really you?" Miles stood at the threshold, his frame illuminated by the pale morning light streaming through the arched windows. Dust motes drifted lazily through the beams around him, as if the room itself had slowed down to let the moment sink in. A soft, weary smile touched his lips, his dark eyes brimming with a quiet, overwhelming warmth. He gave a single, slow nod, as though he, too, needed a moment to steady himself before speaking, as though the weight of twelve long months presse
Zane's Point Of View The heavy scent of antiseptic herbs and fresh linen drifted through the quiet room. Sunlight poured softly through arched stone windows, casting long, golden beams across the royal medical wing. Dust motes drifted lazily through the light, and somewhere beyond the walls, birdsong filtered in, faint and distant, as if the world outside had continued on without me, indifferent to whatever battle I'd fought to return to it. The silence pressed in close, broken only by the occasional creak of settling stone and the distant murmur of voices too far away to make out. My eyelids fluttered open. A dull, throbbing ache echoed through every bone in my body, making even breathing feel like lifting lead. My chest was wrapped tight in fresh white bandages, clean cotton covering the jagged cuts and deep bruises left behind by the lower realm's raw magic. I blinked against the harsh morning light, my vision clearing slowly, each heartbeat pulsing dull and heavy behind my eyes
Blood on Alpha King Torin's broadsword had already dried sticky and black by the time the next wave of wraiths crashed against the royal shield line. His arms ached with a deep, bone-weary exhaustion that settled into his very marrow, and his shoulders screamed with every swing, yet he could not afford to feel any of it… not now, not while his son's life hung somewhere beyond the veil, in a realm he could not reach, could not protect. "Hold the line steady!" Torin roared, his voice shredded from hours of nonstop battle as he cleaved a shadow-beast from skull to chest. "The prince and his mate are still in the Siren realm! Buy them enough time! Give them every second they need!" Beside him, General Vane shoved a massive tower shield forward, locking steel with three charging Siren spearmen. Sweat mixed with blood ran down the general's weathered face, carving pale tracks through the grime, and his arms trembled from the strain of holding the line. He had fought beside Torin for thirt







