Kiernan’s PovI heard their laughter before I saw them.It was light, drifting through the stone halls like sunlight through trees. Ivy’s laugh. Followed by Elias’s. And something sharp twisted in my chest.I didn’t go looking for them. Not really. But when the healer told me Ivy had gone out without a coat and Elias had followed, my legs moved on their own. Down the corridor, past the courtyard, toward the forgotten path behind the west wing.I knew where they were going.Elias had taken me there once, years ago. When we were just boys trying to grow into men. It was his place. I should’ve known he’d share it with her.I stayed behind the trees, hidden by the quiet hush of falling snow. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But then Ivy laughed again, and I saw her lean into him. Saw Elias pull out a blanket. Saw their heads lean together.And then he kissed her.It was soft. Hesitant. The kind of kiss that doesn’t ask for anything but gives everything.She didn’t pull away.I looked away firs
Ronan’s POV.I don’t dream much anymore.When I do, it’s usually of the past. Of fire. Of blood. Of the sound my father made when he told me I would never be enough.But tonight, I dream of Ivy.Not in the way I expected.She’s not smiling. Not glowing in sunlight or dancing through wildflowers. No, she’s in the middle of a storm, soaked and shaking. Her eyes are wild with something between fear and rage. And she’s calling my name, but I can’t reach her.I wake with a sharp inhale, chest tight.The room is dark. Still. Cold.I sit on the edge of my bed and drag my hands down my face. It’s been days since I got real sleep. Days since the fight between Elias and Kiernan. Since Ivy came back from the ridge with her heart caught between them.I stayed out of it.That’s what I do.The steady one. The logical one. The heir. The one who doesn’t get involved.Except I am involved.More than I want to be.More than I’m supposed to be.I see her the next morning outside the training yard. She’s
Narrator's Pov.The storm rolled in slow, creeping like a secret across the mountains. By mid-morning, the clouds had settled thick over the valley, muffling sound, muting light. Ronan stood at the edge of the training yard, the steady drizzle soaking into his cloak and boots, but he didn’t move.He was waiting.Ivy had said she wanted space. That morning, she'd left early without a word. No note. No goodbye. Just gone. It wasn't like her, not anymore. Not after last night.He had barely slept. Her warmth had lingered on his skin like a ghost. The scent of her hair still clung to his pillow. But when he opened his eyes, she was gone.Now, the absence felt louder than thunder.Footsteps behind him pulled him from his thoughts. Kiernan. Ronan didn’t have to turn to know. The younger twin’s presence always came with quiet tension, like a wire pulled too tight.“She’s at the chapel,” Kiernan said without greeting.Ronan glanced back. “Alone?”Kiernan nodded. “She wouldn’t let me stay.”Th
Elias’ Pov.I haven’t seen Ivy all day.Not since that moment in the hall. When I passed Ronan and didn’t say a damn word. He didn’t either. But his silence said everything. They’re getting closer. I’m not blind.And it’s killing me.I shouldn’t care. I told myself I’d let her go if that’s what she needed. If it made her happy. But I didn’t mean it. Not really. Not when every breath feels heavier without her near. Not when I can still hear the way she said my name the night she almost kissed me.I’m losing her.I go to the training yard. I hit the dummies until my knuckles bleed. Then I shift and run. Fast. Hard. Until the trees blur and the air burns in my lungs.But I can’t outrun this.Ivy’s in my head. She’s under my skin. She’s every damn heartbeat.By the time I shift back, it’s dark. My clothes are soaked with sweat. My body aches. But it’s not enough.Nothing is.I make my way back to the house and stop at the river trail. I smell her before I see her.Ivy.She’s sitting on a
Narrator's POV.The morning mist clung low to the ground, curling between the tree trunks like a secret. Ivy stood barefoot in the clearing behind the main house, the grass cold and wet under her toes. She wasn’t sure why she came out here. Maybe to breathe. Maybe to remember what it felt like to be something other than caught.She wrapped her arms around herself and stared up at the grey sky. Everything felt too quiet. As if the whole world was waiting.Behind her, she heard a step. Slow. Careful.“I thought I’d find you here.”Kiernan.She didn’t turn around. She didn’t flinch either. He always moved like a shadow—quiet but strong, like the storm inside him had learned to walk soft.“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.“Me either.”He stopped just beside her, close enough she could feel his heat, but not touching. He never touched unless she let him. That used to frustrate her. Now it felt like kindness.“What’s wrong?” he asked.She didn’t know how to answer that without giving too much a
Ronan’s Pov,I stood by the window longer than I meant to. The sun was already past the ridge, bleeding color across the trees like spilled wine. Ivy’s scent still lingered on my shirt, soft and warm like wild violets crushed in the heat. I hadn’t changed. I hadn’t moved. My hand was still tingling from where she held it last night, curled beside me like something fragile and breakable.I knew I shouldn’t let it get to me.But it already had.I didn’t hear the knock until it came again, louder this time. I turned away from the window and opened the door to find Kiernan leaning in the frame like he owned it. He didn’t smile. Just looked at me, slow and quiet.“We need to talk,” he said.I stepped back and let him in.Kiernan paced once, twice, then turned on me. “What are we doing?”The question was short, blunt, sharp enough to cut bone.I didn’t answer right away. He crossed his arms, waiting.“I don’t know,” I said truthfully.“She was with you last night.”It wasn’t a question. It
Ronan's pov.The sky was painted in dusky gold when I stepped out onto the back terrace. The garden below glistened with dew that hadn't burned off from the morning. It had rained just before dawn, leaving everything soft and damp. The air smelled like pine and wet stone. And something sweeter—like a promise just waiting to be broken.Ivy was already there. Barefoot, in an oversized shirt that didn’t belong to her. I knew because it was mine. I’d left it in her room last night, folded neatly at the foot of her bed before I slipped out just before the servants stirred.She didn’t say anything when she saw me. Just looked. Like she was memorizing something small and quiet. Like she needed to carry it with her a little while longer.“You’re up early,” I said, softening my voice.“I didn’t sleep.” Her words were low, brushed with something heavy. Not sadness. Just tired.I moved to her side, close but not touching. Not yet.“You okay?”She hesitated. “I keep asking myself that too.”I nod
Ronan’s POV,I left Ivy in the garden with her hair tangled by the wind and her eyes turned toward the stars. She didn’t say much after resting her head on my shoulder. She didn’t need to. There was a quiet peace to her that I hadn’t seen in days. Maybe weeks. And I’d take whatever pieces of calm she could find in this place.I couldn’t sleep again. Not that I expected to.I tried. I lay there, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, listening to the sound of my breath. But every time I closed my eyes; I saw her face. Not the peaceful one from the garden—but the one from the dream. Wild. Afraid. Calling for me in the storm.So I got up, dressed in silence, and walked until my feet led me somewhere new.The eastern edge of the territory was quiet this time of night. Cold, even though spring had started to thaw the ground. The moon hung low, half-shrouded in clouds. The air smelled of frost and pine. And I walked.It wasn’t the kind of walk that had a destination. It was the kind that hel
Magnus Pov.The night was thick with tension. The air felt heavy, like a storm was brewing just out of sight, and the only sound I could hear was the faint rustle of the wind pushing through the trees outside. I sat in my private study, the candlelight flickering weakly against the shadows that seemed to stretch across the room. The cold stone walls pressed in, but it was the weight of the plans I had in motion that felt suffocating.I had always been good at waiting, good at letting things unfold in their own time. But tonight, it felt like the pieces were finally clicking into place. Every move I’d made, every person I’d manipulated, had led me to this moment. The control was mine now. It was only a matter of time before Ivy’s reign would come to an end.There was a knock on the door.I didn’t bother looking up. I knew who it was."Enter."The door creaked open, and Selena stepped inside. She was draped in a dark cloak, her expression unreadable. The candlelight caught in her eyes,
Ivy's pov.The morning air was biting, and I could feel it in my bones, even as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. It painted the sky in soft hues of pink and gold, casting long shadows across the training grounds below. I stood by the window, staring at the mist that hung low over the hills. It felt like the calm before the storm.I hadn’t been able to sleep much. The events of the past few days had left me restless, my mind constantly spinning. The trial. The poison. Selena’s accusations. The whispers still followed me wherever I went. The issues that have arisen include Selena's ups and downs with switching sídes. The entire pack had changed overnight, and I wasn’t sure where I fit into it anymore.I wanted to be strong. I wanted to stand tall, to prove that I wasn’t the curse they thought I was. But every time I tried, the weight of their distrust pressed harder against my chest. It was hard to fight something that invisible.I turned from the window, pulling the blanket tight
Ivy’s POV,It was cold that morning, the kind of chill that settled into your bones no matter how many layers you wore. I stood by the window in my room, watching the frost creep slowly along the edge of the glass. The world outside was still and gray, mist coiling low over the hills like a breath held in a lung too long. I wrapped the blanket tighter around my shoulders and tried not to think about the silence pressing in from all sides.Kiernan had left before sunrise. He didn’t say much—he never did—but his eyes had lingered too long on my face. Like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.Or maybe he didn’t want to.Either way, he was gone.And I was alone again.It felt like everything was shifting. Every step I took felt watched. Every word I said was weighed and measured. The pack pretended to smile, to accept me, but their eyes still held that edge. Suspicion. Fear.I was the outsider. The cursed girl. The one they whispered about when they thought I couldn’t h
IVY’s pov,I kept my eyes on the fire, letting its low crackle fill the silence in my head. It was late. Everyone else had already gone inside, but I couldn’t sleep. Not with the way my thoughts kept spinning, nor with the way my heart kept pulling in three different directions.I’d told Ronan I loved him. And I meant it. But love didn’t stop the ache in my chest when I thought of Elias. Or the steady calm Kiernan gave me, like a lighthouse in the storm.I didn’t know how to love them all. I didn’t know how to stop either.The sound of footsteps made me turn. I expected Kiernan. Maybe even Elias. But it was Ronan again, a blanket over one shoulder, two mugs in his hands.“You left without tea,” he said, sitting beside me.“I didn’t want to wake you.”“You didn’t.” He handed me a mug. The scent of chamomile drifted up, soft and familiar.We sat in silence for a while. The kind that stretched, but didn’t hurt, not with Ronan. With him, quiet was easy.“I don’t regret last night,” I said
Ronan’s Pov,The wind had a bite to it that morning, a sharp edge curling around the keep's corners and slipping under collars. I stood in the training yard, arms folded, watching the younger wolves run drills. They were too fast, forgetting the importance of patience, of reading your opponent before striking. I should’ve corrected them. But I didn’t.Ivy hadn’t come down yet. I told myself I wasn’t waiting for her, but that was a lie, and I no longer believed it.The dream from nights ago still haunted me. Not the image of her in the storm—that had faded—but the way she called my name. Not with love. With fear. With anger. It had etched itself into me, deeper than any scar.When I finally saw her, it was like the air shifted. She wore that heavy coat again, with the fur lining that brushed her jaw when she walked. Her hair was braided to one side, simple and loose. But her eyes—gods, her eyes—held something that made my heart stutter. Determination. And something else. Sadness maybe.
Ronan’s POV,I left Ivy in the garden with her hair tangled by the wind and her eyes turned toward the stars. She didn’t say much after resting her head on my shoulder. She didn’t need to. There was a quiet peace to her that I hadn’t seen in days. Maybe weeks. And I’d take whatever pieces of calm she could find in this place.I couldn’t sleep again. Not that I expected to.I tried. I lay there, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, listening to the sound of my breath. But every time I closed my eyes; I saw her face. Not the peaceful one from the garden—but the one from the dream. Wild. Afraid. Calling for me in the storm.So I got up, dressed in silence, and walked until my feet led me somewhere new.The eastern edge of the territory was quiet this time of night. Cold, even though spring had started to thaw the ground. The moon hung low, half-shrouded in clouds. The air smelled of frost and pine. And I walked.It wasn’t the kind of walk that had a destination. It was the kind that hel
Ronan's pov.The sky was painted in dusky gold when I stepped out onto the back terrace. The garden below glistened with dew that hadn't burned off from the morning. It had rained just before dawn, leaving everything soft and damp. The air smelled like pine and wet stone. And something sweeter—like a promise just waiting to be broken.Ivy was already there. Barefoot, in an oversized shirt that didn’t belong to her. I knew because it was mine. I’d left it in her room last night, folded neatly at the foot of her bed before I slipped out just before the servants stirred.She didn’t say anything when she saw me. Just looked. Like she was memorizing something small and quiet. Like she needed to carry it with her a little while longer.“You’re up early,” I said, softening my voice.“I didn’t sleep.” Her words were low, brushed with something heavy. Not sadness. Just tired.I moved to her side, close but not touching. Not yet.“You okay?”She hesitated. “I keep asking myself that too.”I nod
Ronan’s Pov,I stood by the window longer than I meant to. The sun was already past the ridge, bleeding color across the trees like spilled wine. Ivy’s scent still lingered on my shirt, soft and warm like wild violets crushed in the heat. I hadn’t changed. I hadn’t moved. My hand was still tingling from where she held it last night, curled beside me like something fragile and breakable.I knew I shouldn’t let it get to me.But it already had.I didn’t hear the knock until it came again, louder this time. I turned away from the window and opened the door to find Kiernan leaning in the frame like he owned it. He didn’t smile. Just looked at me, slow and quiet.“We need to talk,” he said.I stepped back and let him in.Kiernan paced once, twice, then turned on me. “What are we doing?”The question was short, blunt, sharp enough to cut bone.I didn’t answer right away. He crossed his arms, waiting.“I don’t know,” I said truthfully.“She was with you last night.”It wasn’t a question. It
Narrator's POV.The morning mist clung low to the ground, curling between the tree trunks like a secret. Ivy stood barefoot in the clearing behind the main house, the grass cold and wet under her toes. She wasn’t sure why she came out here. Maybe to breathe. Maybe to remember what it felt like to be something other than caught.She wrapped her arms around herself and stared up at the grey sky. Everything felt too quiet. As if the whole world was waiting.Behind her, she heard a step. Slow. Careful.“I thought I’d find you here.”Kiernan.She didn’t turn around. She didn’t flinch either. He always moved like a shadow—quiet but strong, like the storm inside him had learned to walk soft.“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.“Me either.”He stopped just beside her, close enough she could feel his heat, but not touching. He never touched unless she let him. That used to frustrate her. Now it felt like kindness.“What’s wrong?” he asked.She didn’t know how to answer that without giving too much a