LOGINDAMIEN’S POV The palace gates loomed ahead as I pushed the car harder down the winding road. Trees blurred past, but my mind was sharper than ever—Scarlett’s voice echoing in my head like a bad dream that wouldn’t end. “We’re going to get our hands on that property. Real soon.” My knuckles whitened on the wheel. The Crescent Moon territory wasn’t just land. It was sacred. Hidden trails where our ancestors shifted under the full moon. Burial grounds. A place where packs gathered for rituals no human eye had ever seen. If they built a resort there—tourists, workers, cameras—it would be the end. Exposure. War. I slammed on the brakes at the guard post. The guards recognized me instantly, dipping their heads in respect as the gates swung open. No time for greetings. I parked roughly and strode through the grand halls, boots echoing on the marble floors. Guards nodded, but I barely saw them. My wolf paced inside me, claws scraping for a fight. Maximus’s office door was cracked
DAMIEN’S POV The alarm hadn’t even gone off yet, but Rose was already bouncing around the bedroom like a live wire. “Oh my God, I’m going to be late for class!” she cried, voice high with panic as she hopped on one foot while trying to pull on her jeans. “I heard the professor is super strict—he locks the door at eight sharp! Or he docks points if you're even a minute late!” She spun toward me, hair a wild halo of curls, eyes wide with panic. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t kept me up all night—” I leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a lazy grin spreading across my face. “You asked for it, baby. Begged, actually.” She shot me a glare that would’ve been scary if her cheeks weren’t still flushed from everything we’d done just hours ago. “Not helping!” She turned back to the mirror, wrestling her curls into a messy ponytail that somehow still looked perfect. I walked up behind her, sliding my hands around her waist, pressing a kiss to the spot just below her ear t
ADELE’S POVHis words hung in the air like smoke after a fire—thick and impossible to ignore.“Mark me.”I blinked, staring at him like I’d misheard. Lucien—my Lucien, the man who’d spent months holding back, guarding that final piece of himself—was lying beside me, naked and vulnerable, asking me to mark him.I shifted so I was fully facing him, my heart slamming against my ribs. “Are you being serious right now?”His eyes, still a little red from the tears he’d let fall only minutes ago, locked onto mine without a flicker of doubt. “Yes. We should have done this a long time ago. We’re mates. The fear… it held me back. But now?” He shook his head slowly, a small, fierce smile pulling at his lips. “Now I’m not scared anymore.”My throat tightened. All the nights I’d lain awake wondering if he’d ever let me in completely, all the times I’d felt the bond humming between us but missing that final thread—gone in one sentence.“And you don’t think this is sudden?” I asked, voice barely abo
LUCIEN’S POVWe were both breathing hard, our chests heaving like we'd just run a marathon through hell and back. My body still trembled from the release, buried deep inside her, our sweat-slicked skin sticking together in the best way. The wall behind Adele was cool against my palms where I braced us, but nothing could touch the heat still pulsing between us. I leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her lips—gentle this time, not the frantic hunger from before. It was a kiss that said everything I couldn't put into words right then."Adele," I whispered against her mouth, my voice rough and low, "what if you get pregnant?"The question hung there, heavy in the quiet room, mixing with the scent of us—of sex and sweat and something deeper, more permanent.I hadn't planned on saying it, but it slipped out, born from that raw fear I'd carried my whole life. My mom dying giving birth to me, my dad's endless blame—it all crashed back in that moment, twisting the afterglow into something vulne
LUCIEN’S POVThe palace halls were dead quiet as I dragged my ass back to our room, the weight of the day clinging to me like a second skin. It was late—way past midnight—and the moon hung high outside the windows, casting silvery shadows that did nothing to ease the knot in my gut. My muscles ached from the endless hours I'd buried myself in work: reviewing patrol reports, drilling the night guard, anything to keep my mind from spiraling into the shitstorm that had exploded on the training ground. After finally prying Andrea off my leg and sending him back with Naomi—promising him I'd see him soon, just to stop the tears—I'd gone looking for Adele. But she'd been holed up with Emilia, the queen herself, and I didn't have the balls to barge in and make things worse. Not when her silence earlier had already gutted me.I pushed the door open, the creak echoing in the empty space. The room was dark, save for the faint glow from a bedside lamp. "Adele?" I called out, my voice rough fro
DAMIEN’S POV I sat propped against the headboard, laptop balanced on my thighs, going through the latest security reports from the sacred lands. Numbers, maps, patrol schedules…dry stuff, but necessary. Rose was curled up beside me on the bed, wearing one of my black T-shirts that hit mid-thigh on her. She’d been pretending to scroll on her phone for the last ten minutes, but I could feel her eyes on me every few seconds. Quick glances. Then away. Then back again. Her legs kept shifting restlessly under the blanket. Pressing together. Releasing. Pressing again. I knew that little tell by heart. I closed the laptop with a soft click, set it on the nightstand, and turned to face her. “Is there something you want, baby?” Her cheeks went pink instantly. She shook her head too fast. “No…nothing.” But her thighs clenched again—harder this time. “You'll be gone for two days and I'll be here all by myself." She whispered. I let a slow smile spread across my face. “Andddd…?”







