Ivy's pov.The room felt colder than usual, despite the fire crackling softly in the hearth. I sat alone on the edge of the bed, running my fingers through my hair, my mind still replaying the conversation with the council over and over again. Their words echoed in my head, like sharp stones bouncing off the walls of my skull.They were starting to turn. I could feel it. The tension in the room, the sideways glances, the carefully measured words—they all pointed to the same thing: doubt.Ronan had been quiet the whole ride back, his jaw clenched, eyes fixed ahead. Elias tried to speak once, but I shut him down with a look. I didn’t need empty reassurances. I needed truth. Kirian, as always, stayed closest. He didn't speak much, but his hand on my back, the subtle squeeze of my shoulder, grounded me.I rose to my feet, moving toward the window. Outside, the forest swayed gently in the night breeze, its rhythm steady and unchanging. I envied that calm. My world was anything but steady n
Ivy’s POV.It had been three days since that night with Kirian, and everything between us had changed. Not in a bad way, but in a way that made me feel things I never allowed myself to feel before. The way he looked at me now, the way he touched my hand when no one was looking, it made my chest feel warm. But there was no time to stay wrapped up in those feelings, not with everything going on around us.The pack was growing restless. Whispers had reached my ears about council members questioning my position. I tried not to show it, but the pressure was getting to me. I could feel it building, like a storm waiting to break. Ronan and Elias had been busy with patrols, tracking strange scents near the borders. Something wasn’t right.Kirian stayed close, as always. He didn’t speak much about the politics or the rumors, but I knew he heard them too. Everyone did.Today, I stood before the council, trying to keep my voice steady as I addressed them. We were gathered in the main hall, the s
Ivy's POVThe sun had barely risen when I woke up, Kirian’s warmth still wrapped around me like a comforting blanket. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to. For a while, I just lay there listening to the sound of his breathing. Calm. Steady. It gave me a kind of peace I hadn’t felt in so long. Last night had changed something between us—deepened it. But this morning, everything else came rushing back.There was still a storm brewing outside these walls.I pulled away gently, not wanting to wake him. But as soon as my body left the bed, I felt the shift. Kirian stirred, one hand reaching out for me. His eyes opened, still heavy with sleep.“You’re up early,” he mumbled.“I have to be,” I whispered, brushing my fingers through his messy hair. “We can’t stay hidden forever.”He sighed and sat up, resting his back against the headboard. His eyes followed me as I got dressed.“You’re right. Things are moving too fast to ignore. The council’s getting bolder.”I nodded, pulling my tunic over my he
Ivy's Pov.The moonlight poured through the thin curtains, casting soft silver light over the wooden floor of my room the next night after meeting up with te council members, Everything felt still. The warmth of the fireplace crackled quietly behind me, offering comfort against the chill of the night. I had barely moved since returning from the council meeting. My thoughts were a tangled mess, full of worry, questions, and a strange ache I couldn’t name.I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands clenched together in my lap. My head felt heavy. I could still hear Aidan's words from earlier, echoing in my ears. Doubt had been planted. The council was splitting. My position as Luna felt like it was slipping away from me, even though I had done everything right. I had tried. I had sacrificed. But it was never enough.The door creaked open.I didn’t turn. I already knew who it was.His scent reached me first—pine, earth, and something warm. Something safe. Kirian."You should get some sleep,"
Ivy's Pov.The early morning air was cold and still, but the quiet wasn’t peaceful. It was the kind that pressed down on your chest, heavy and full of warnings. I stood by the open window, watching the trees sway gently in the wind, but I wasn’t really seeing them. My mind was too full, my heart too uneasy.I’d barely slept.Ever since the last council meeting, something had changed in the air. I wasn’t new to pressure, or whispers, or doubt. But this—this felt different. It wasn’t just one or two sideways glances anymore. There were too many. Too often. And it was no longer just behind closed doors.I wrapped my shawl tighter around myself and turned away from the window. The bed behind me was still untouched, the sheets smooth and cold. I couldn’t rest when I knew eyes were watching me—waiting for me to fail.Kirian had offered to stay with me last night. He’d seen the way Aidan looked at me during the meeting, how Malric crossed his arms and refused to speak. Edrin had spoken too s
Magnus PovThe fire crackled low in the hearth, throwing long shadows across the stone walls of my hidden cabin. The smell of burning oak filled the air, familiar and grounding. I sat alone at the table, an old wooden thing, worn by time and carved with marks from a life lived in silence and planning. The ink on the parchment before me had dried, but I continued to stare at it, my mind drifting over every word I’d written.Each note, each symbol, represented a step closer to reclaiming what was once mine.The pack.They had cast me out like a sickness. Forgotten me. But they would remember me soon enough. Every night I watched them from afar. Every day I listened through the mouths of others—servants, scouts, traitors. All of them brought me pieces of the puzzle. None of them knew the full picture. Only I did.A gust of wind blew against the side of the cabin, making the wooden beams creak like they were groaning under the weight of fate. I stood slowly, walking toward the shuttered w
Magnus’ Pov.The following morning brought a thick fog, the kind that clung to the trees and blurred the edges of the world. I liked it that way. The fog made it easier to move unseen. It was as if the world itself was working in my favor.I stood at the edge of the forest, my eyes locked on the packhouse in the distance. The windows were lit, figures moving behind the glass. From this far, they looked like ants scrambling to hold their world together. I almost pitied them. Almost.The time was drawing closer. Soon, the seeds I’d planted would grow into something much bigger. And when that happened, nothing would stop me. Not Ivy. Not the triplets. Not Blackwood.I turned back into the trees, walking the narrow path that led to the abandoned cabin I’d claimed as my own. It wasn’t much—just a roof, four walls, and silence—but it served its purpose. From here, I could watch everything. Plan everything.Rhea was waiting when I arrived, pacing the room with her arms crossed tightly over h
Magnus’ Pov.It had been years since I was cast out of the pack. Years of silence, and isolation. But that silence had been the perfect cover for what I’d been doing. The pack, their Alpha, and Ivy—all of them thought they were safe, that they had rid themselves of me. They were wrong. They had no idea what was truly going on behind closed doors.I’d been watching, always watching. I heard it all about every move they made and every word spoken. No one suspected a thing. I was a ghost now, nothing more than a whisper in the shadows. And it was in these shadows where I thrived.From the outside, the pack had returned to its normal rhythm. Ivy was still playing the role of Luna, just as expected. The triplets followed her lead, faking their support. But I knew better. I knew how fragile everything was beneath the surface. The triplets—sons of an Alpha—had their own ambitions, their own hunger for power. Ivy was merely the tool they used to keep their position secure, to keep the peace.
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,