LOGINEMIRIEL’S POV.
Monsters. Gods. Devils. Those are the names we’ve been given and called over time. Since we were six, we’ve been branded as ‘the mad brothers’, alphas of the shadowcrest pack, the unattainable, the undetectable. It should be something to be proud of, to revel in, to boast and shout about. But instead, it’s a shame. A plague. A curse. A disaster. Because every good thing comes with a price, and hunger is our price to pay for whatever good we have left in us. My eyes flicked to where Rowan was seated, a woman maid was pleasuring him, his hand on her ass as she bounced up and down on his cock, her moans mixed with pain. I looked over at Malakai, Melissa, his personal favorite, bent back as he pushed in and out of her, spanking her as she pleaded for him to go faster. It has always been a shock how Melissa could handle him, and that’s why he liked her. I looked at Nikolai, our above-and-beyond. His hunger was insatiable, unmatched. We were all cursed, but his hunger knew no bottom. Three women were on him, two on their knees, taking turns kissing each other, fondling each other, and sucking his dick. The last one was on his face, feeding him all sorts of small fruits while burying herself right in his mouth. This was our shame, our harem, our dirty little secret. Never to be told. Never to be seen. It was our hunger, unreached, unmatched, insatiable. I watched all of this with a bored expression, my eyes drooping, almost closing. I was the only one who had grown past all of this. Our hunger knew no limit, from food to sport, to sex, we had to do it 100 times more than the average werewolf. It was our curse and our life. A knock came on the door, halting every movement in the room. Malakai slid out of Melissa, spanking her one more time as she walked naked to the door before opening it. Our beta, Basil, worked in, nodding at me before pushing a woman inside the room. “Another spy?” I asked, groaning as I did. When will they get the memo and stop sending them? “Yes, my alpha. She was fou… He stopped as I stood up, stalking towards the whimpering woman on the floor, her hands clasped together. “Pl…plea…please I beg you…I don’t want to die…please..” I grabbed her jaw, my wolf coming so close to the surface of my skin. He wanted something. Anything. Even if it was this woman in front of me. “Who sent you?” “Pl…plea..” tears rolled down her cheeks, her lips quivering as she stared into my eyes. “Who sent you?” I asked again, my voice low and calm. I clenched my jaw, stopping the growl that was about to slip out. “Ridgesaw pa..ridges…alpha Cole..” I released her from my grip, standing up as I stared at her, contemplating whether to kill her or not. How many of her have I killed? Thirty? Fifty? Hundred? I’d lost count at this point. And I know exactly the moment her blood touched down, I won’t be able to stop myself. To stop my hunger. I’d said Nikolai was the worst of us all, but I lied. I am the worst. Sex, food, sport, hunting, all those still satiated my brother. But I needed something new. Something worth fighting for. Something that didn’t kneel and beg. Something to challenge me. “What should I do with her, Alpha?” “Please, I beg you…spare me and I’ll leave. I beg you…he… In a flash, I was in front of her, my teeth sinking into her neck as her blood spilled on the floor. Her cries came to an end, life draining out of her body. I pulled back, wiping my jaw with my sleeve as I stared at her lazily. She was small. They were all small. And yet they still kept sending them in hopes that they’d figure out something about us. And they’ll use that to destroy us, take our power. But instead, we kept killing them or enjoying them. Some became too attached to leave, like Melissa, all in hopes that we might fall in love with her or keep her forever. Others tried to run, but most of them only ended up dead, unable to leave this place. The minute you entered our world, it became yours too. We never forced them, so they never blamed us. “Clean this up, and send a message to Cole. Tell him we’ll be attacking in a week. Ask him to prepare.” I said as I returned to where I was sitting, watching my brothers continue their actions. “Yes, alpha. The priestess is outside. She said she has news.” At that, everyone stopped what they were doing, my brother's eyes snapping to Basil. Nikolai was the first to talk, “Everyone out!” The beta carried the dead woman off the ground, the other ladies slipping their clothes on as they exited the room. At their exit, the priestess, a middle-aged woman, walked into the room, scrunching her nose up at the smell of everything. “Do you have news this time?” Rowan spoke first. “Yes, your highnesses. I have come bearing news.” “Good or bad?” Malakai asked. The priestess gulped down, her smile faltering on her face before she replied, “Bad. Very bad.” I could already feel Rowan rolling his eyes, Malakai leaning back into a bored position, and Nikolai crossing his legs—their actions whenever they didn’t want to hear anything. “Go on Miasan.” I said. “I have finally found her, your highnesses. Your mate. She has been found.” We all fell silent at her words. For years, we had thought ourselves mateless, another curse to add to our hunger. Miasan continued, “But there’s a problem, my lords.” Nikolai scoffed, “What problem can there be, Miasan? This is good news. She’s our mate.” She shook her head, her white eyes full of pity. It was a wonder how she always seemed to know where to look without eyeballs, “She’ll be your doom or your making. She’ll have the power to liberate you from your hunger. Or she can push you further into it. It’ll be challenging, riveting, you’ll reach a state you’ve never reached before.” I felt all my brothers sit up, their ears now attentive and intrigued. I met Nikolai’s eyes, a small smile dancing on his lips. They’ve also been bored, grown tired of the senseless killing and sex. “If she’s your making, your highness. It’ll be something to celebrate. But if she’s your doom..” She shuddered, the rest of her words dying in her throat. “What would happen if she’s our doom?” Malakai asked. She shook her head, a distraught look on her face, “I don’t know either, my majesties. I was only shown. It’ll be everyone’s undoing if not taken care of.” Something rippled in my chest. Sweet. Charming. A challenge. Just like I’ve always wanted. “And when is she to arrive?” Rowan asked. “Soon. Soon.” The priestess said as she bowed and exited the room. I closed my eyes, savoring her words all over again. I could feel the blood of the woman I just killed trickling down my throat, tangling with my excitement. For years, it has been a senseless hunger, killing, maiming, claiming with nothing to look forward to. Now there was something to look forward to. My wolf growled inside of me, whining and snarling. Red flashed in my eyes as I shut it, calming myself down. When I opened them, I met my brothers, and I could tell we were all thinking the same: “I want every woman prepared. We’re going to have lots of fun.”ANOKAII knew what they wanted.Even without Nikolai saying it, even without the way they were all looking at me, I knew.They wanted the words I’d refused to give that first night.The admission I’d been holding back like a shield, like the last piece of control I had left in this forced marriage.They wanted me to say I wanted them.And I was half-naked on a meeting table, trembling with need, my body still aching from where Nikolai’s fingers had been, my mind barely functioning through the haze of desire and they were asking me to surrender the last thing I had.To give in completely.“We won’t have you unless you say it.”Emiriel’s voice cut through my scattered thoughts, calm and controlled even now. “It’s your choice, Anokai. It’s always been your choice.”Choice.The word felt like a mockery when my body was screaming for them to continue, when every nerve ending was on fire, when I could still feel the phantom sensation of Nikolai’s fingers inside me, bringing me so close to t
NIKOLAI“Prove that you desire me as if your life depends on it.”The words echoed in my head, and everything else went silent.My beast. My thoughts. The world itself.Everything narrowed down to one single point—her.Anokai standing there, chin lifted defiantly, challenging us. Daring us. Her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths, her eyes bright with something that looked like fear and anticipation mixed together.Beautiful.She was so fucking beautiful it hurt to look at her.Before Emiriel could respond, before Rowan could move, before Malachi could say anything, I was already walking toward her.My feet carried me across the room, my shadows trailing behind me like a cloak. Her eyes widened as I approached, tracking my movement, but she didn’t back away.Didn’t run.Good.I stopped directly in front of her, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her skin, to smell that intoxicating scent of moonflowers and something uniquely hers.“Let me prove,” I said quietly, my
ANOKAIThe temperature in the room dropped.Not literally—the air was still warm, the fireplace still crackling in the corner. But something shifted, something charged and dangerous that made goosebumps rise on my skin despite the heat.I pushed against Emiriel’s chest, harder this time, and he let me go.I scrambled out of his lap, putting distance between us, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.“It was just for them to believe us,” I said, my voice coming out more defensive than I intended. “It’s not like I wanted to kiss any of you.”The words felt like a lie even as I said them. Because some traitorous part of me had wanted it. Had enjoyed the taste of them, the feel of their lips against mine, the way they’d responded like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.But I couldn’t admit that. Couldn’t give them that power over me.Nikolai scoffed, the sound low and rich with amusement. “Little orchid.”I turned to glare at him, but the look in his eyes m
ANOKAII didn’t know what I was doing.I didn't know why the words had come out of my mouth. Didn’t know why I was standing here, heart pounding, face flushed with anger and something else I couldn’t name.What was my business if the council didn’t pick them? If they decided the Shadowcrest brothers weren’t fit to be alpha kings? It wasn’t like I cared for them that much. It wasn't like their success or failure meant anything to me personally.I was just their wife in name. Their contract bride. The spy who’d been forced into this marriage and marked against her will.So why did my blood boil at the way these faceless figures spoke about them? Why did their condescension and their invasive questions make me want to tear something apart?Why was I defending them?I didn’t have answers. I didn't have time to think about it.My feet were already moving, carrying me across the room before my mind could catch up. The nearest brother was Nikolai, seated in his chair, his shadows completely
ANOKAI I sat on the edge of my bed, my mind churning with questions I had no answers to. The council. The word echoed in my head, heavy with implications I didn’t fully understand. I’d heard of them before, of course—everyone had. The mysterious governing body that oversaw all werewolf packs, that made the rules we all lived by, that held more power than any single alpha. But I’d never seen them. Never met anyone who had. They were like ghosts. Present but invisible. Powerful but untouchable. And now they were here. In the Shadowcrest pack. Something had changed the minute Basil had announced their arrival on that hilltop. The atmosphere had shifted so dramatically it was like the air itself had been replaced. Emiriel’s expression had gone carefully blank. Rowan’s entire body had tensed like a coiled spring. And even from a distance, I’d felt the weight of their presence settling over the pack like a shroud. Who were they, really? Why did they command so much respect, so much fear?
MALACHI The air in the room was suffocating. Tension rolled off every surface, thick and oppressive, making it hard to breathe. I stood beside my brothers, all of us positioned in a loose semicircle facing the three figures seated across from us. The council. Three of them, draped in white cloths that covered them from head to toe, obscuring any identifying features. Not a glimpse of skin, not a hint of face. Just white fabric that seemed to shimmer in the dim light, making them look more like ghosts than people. In all my years, I’d never seen the council. None of us had. They existed in shadows and whispers, pulling strings from behind closed doors, making decisions that affected entire packs without ever showing themselves. And now they were here. In our territory. In our meeting room. The power radiating from them was undeniable—not physical strength or supernatural ability, but something more insidious. Authority. The kind that came from generations of control, of being the ultim
ANOKAI’S POV.“Put me down! Put me down!”All my thrashing, yelling, and kicking fell on deaf ears as he slung me on his shoulders, my weight nothing compared to his brick-hard muscles. I pounded on them, my fingers digging into them and my legs kicking frantically, but he didn’t bulge, didn’t yiel
ANOKAI’S POVThe ceremony dissolved into conversations and group meetings afterwards. After the marking ritual, Rissa had arrived to help me change into something simpler than the ball gown I was wearing. I would have loved to just retire for the night and forget this, but Basil had been with us, l
EMIRIEL’S POV. “It’s such an honor that you’ve opened your pack up to receive people now, Lord Emiriel. This would do us more good.” One alpha said. “If we had known that all it would take you is a bride, we would have given you one.” Another added. “We would love to make trades with you. The B
ANOKAI’S POV.For someone whose life was in disarray, getting multiple threats and about to be married to monsters in human clothing, I slept so well. Even so much better than I had since getting to the Shadowcrest pack. According to Rissa, my personal maid, the wedding was to take place in the ev







