RYANThe castle felt heavier than usual as if even the walls held the weight of what had occurred. Jaden's anger, Jermaine's return, Jackson dragging Alexia back against her will—everything was just happening so fast. Too fast.I stood in my office, staring out into the vast forest beyond the borders of our pack. The night sky was clear, yet even the stars shone dull, weighed down by the storm brewing within these walls.The words of Jaden still echoed within my mind."She is nothing to me but the Queen."My fists clenched, claws threatening to extend.The rage that surged through me then was nothing besides the pain that I felt on behalf of Hailey. My mate, who has suffered more than anybody, is still suffering, and all she received finally having gotten her sons back home were resentment and accusations.I should have been able to handle it better than that.I should have watched over her a little more, at least.A light, soft knock upon the door cut into my mood."Come in," I calle
RYANThe ground shook under my feet. The very foundations of the earth we stood on shook as a primordial force, something old and wild, reverberated through the trees. Throughout the night, a roar so deep it echoed in my bones caused my body to tighten automatically. Whatever was on the way wasn't pleasant. Isaiah remained still, staring into the darkness over the boundary with an unreadable face. However, Logan had partially moved, his claws longer, his breathing laboured with barely restrained rage. "What on earth is that?" Logan's gaze darted to the Seer as he snarled. Isaiah’s voice seemed unnaturally calm. "The result of cutting off fate's plan." The air changed before I could insist on an explanation. The wind increased, bringing with it a touch and chaff of unease.A whiff of strength, of the resurgence of the past. Between the woods, a flash of black and silver travelled more quickly than my eyes could track. Then there was quiet. A gigantic figure entered the area after a sin
ALEXIAThe pain was unbearable.It wasn't the kind of pain I could push through, wasn't something I could grit my teeth and ignore. It was inside me, tearing at my very existence, splitting me apart in ways I didn't understand.I couldn't breathe.I clutched at my chest, digging my fingers into the skin as something inside me unravelled. My vision blurred, shifting between reality and something else, a realm of dark and silver light. Whispers in my ears-full of voices all calling my name.Alexia…You must wake up…You must remember…The words made no sense, yet they felt like a command written into the fabric of my soul.A pair of hands shook my shoulders."Alexia! Look at me!"The haze parted, and I knew the voice. Turtela.I gasped, making myself turn to face her. She knelt beside me, alarm written all over her face. The room swung behind her, shadows stretching out fantastic shapes on the walls."What's… happening?" I croaked.She swallowed hard. "I don't know. One second you were
ADRIAN I was hit with the smell of the wolves overpowering, lingering on the trees, to the very air that I breathed. It felt like their presence weighted down and choked, like this land belonged only to them, spewing out everything else in its wake. But I had not come here for them. I had come for her. Turtela. The name itself was a whisper upon my lips, a yearning buried deep within the recesses of my immortal heart. The bond that tied us together was ancient, strong, and unbreakable-whether she accepted it or not. It was time for her to return to my side, to accept what had been written between us by the hand of fate. My boots barely made any sound as I stepped past the thick tree line, crossing into the wolves' domain. The shadows danced at my will, bending in the moonlight to move with me, like loyal subjects waiting on my command. I knew they had already scented me. Let them come. I wanted them to. Because no force, no army, no king-not even the mighty Alpha Wolf Ki
MARISSAThe castle halls had never felt this cold.Even with the comfort of warmth from the torches dancing along the stone walls, a chill ran deep into my bones. It wasn't because of the night air, nor because of the tension that had thickened since the triplets returned.No, it was something more.This was fear.Fear for her.For my daughter.Alexia.She was here, finally back home where she belonged, but not under the circumstances I had prayed for. She had been taken from the human world, thrust back into a destiny she hadn't chosen, surrounded by mates she refused to accept.And worst of allShe had lost her wolf and then regained her wolf, who is a goddess of Chaos, and I played a part in her predicament; I was desperate for power, acceptance, and love, so I messed things up terribly, yet I can't undo the wrongdoings even as I feel bad.The very thing that connected her to this world, to our kind, to herself has been restored without so much preparation or any prior notice, and
MARISSAThe space was tight, suffocating beneath the presence that stood in the doorway.A shiver darted ice down my backbone as I tightened my hold on Alexia, her trembling just noticeable but there.The knock sounded again—this time louder, more insistent.I shifted my head toward the door, my heart pounding against my ribcage.They had arrived.Jaden. Jermaine. Jackson.The triplets had returned for their mate, my precious child.Alexia gasped and stepped back from me. I saw the storm build in her eyes, the raw defiance that wavered between fear and determination."I don't want to see them," she whispered.I raised a hand, brushing a strand of golden hair from her face. "You don't have to, at least not now when you don't want to. I'd talk to them."Her mouth parted as if she wanted to believe me. As if she needed to believe me.But destiny was cruel.The doors opened without welcome.They entered, their tall figures stretching out in long shadows under the soft glow of the torches.
LOGANThe castle had never felt this empty.Not in the early years when Hailey and I struggled to rebuild our kingdom, not even when Marissa and I stood at the altar with ghosts of the past haunting our vows. This emptiness wasn't from the walls—it was from within.From me.From my daughter.Alexia.She was here, under the same roof as me again, but she felt further away than ever. The sudden rift between ùs was created as a result of the Seer's vision, I could've been visiting her steadily in the human world but I couldn't bear seeing her then walking away hence I never visited her even once and now she believes she was abandoned and is hated by me but that has never been the case.I had spent years imagining this moment, rehearsing the words I'd say, the apologies I owed, the promises I'd make. But nothing had prepared me for the look in her eyes tonight.She wasn't my little girl anymore.She was a woman now broken, furrow broken and burdened by truths no one should have to carry a
ALEXIAI never thought I'd be here.Standing in my father's arms.Letting myself feel small again.Letting myself… need him. The feeling is surreal and astounding but I had been strong for so long, too long even with Jackson's never-ending presence, I felt alone because I couldn't accept the bond with him, I was two years older than the triplets and had treated them as my siblings but everything changed the moment Jackson clocked Eighteen years. Granted, all through his growing stage, he never allowed males around me. He was super possessive, but it got worse the moment he turned Eighteen as his jealousy couldn't be managed even by me, but here in my father's arms, I feel so much peace and quiet.I had built fortresses of steel and stone around my heart to protect it from the pain of abandonment for years. I spent so long telling myself I was not worth it; that no one would ever truly fight for me.And yet… here he was.Logan. My father.Holding me like he was afraid I would disappear
AUDACUS The moment I stepped through the massive glass doors of Kings Enterprises, the atmosphere shifted. Clean, polished, professional—exactly how humans liked to present their tiny empires. It was nearly funny. The whole building reeked of ambition, desperation, and carefully hidden fear. It smelled like opportunity.I adjusted the mortal guise I was wearing: well-pressed suit, comfortable leather loafers, and a pair of glasses perched low on the bridge of my nose. The perfect image of a struggling investor who'd at last been able to scrounge up sufficient capital to swim with the sharks. Beneath, I smiled. They had no idea.The receptionist greeted me with that rehearsed corporate warmth. "Welcome to Kings Enterprises, Mr.?""Addison," I supplied the alias with ease. "Jon Addison. I'm here to see your investment representative. I'm interested in purchasing direct stock."Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and within a second she nodded. "Right this way, Mr. Addison."It all pr
AUDACUS The moment I stepped through the massive glass doors of Kings Enterprises, the atmosphere shifted. Clean, polished, professional—exactly how humans liked to present their tiny empires. It was nearly funny. The whole building reeked of ambition, desperation, and carefully hidden fear. It smelled like opportunity.I adjusted the mortal guise I was wearing: well-pressed suit, comfortable leather loafers, and a pair of glasses perched low on the bridge of my nose. The perfect image of a struggling investor who'd at last been able to scrounge up sufficient capital to swim with the sharks. Beneath, I smiled. They had no idea.The receptionist greeted me with that rehearsed corporate warmth. "Welcome to Kings Enterprises, Mr.?""Addison," I supplied the alias with ease. "Jon Addison. I'm here to see your investment representative. I'm interested in purchasing direct stock."Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and within a second she nodded. "Right this way, Mr. Addison."It all pr
RAYThe night was mine. The odor of war clung heavy to the atmosphere, and the promise of approaching chaos made my skin crawl, bones moving just below as I stretched through all my shapes. Tonight the game was set, and I, Ray, his most trusted one, had the honor of delivering the king's new scheme.Audacus loomed over us, demonically serene, every inch of him a vision of lethal refinement. That voice, so smooth but colder than winter's cold, was a force no sane man would want to challenge. "Keep them busy," he instructed us, fingers lazily spinning a glass of dark wine as if this plan wasn't going to break the world. "Isolate Hailey and Ryan at all costs. The two of them together are trouble. Alone, they fall apart."A vicious grin crept gradually across my lips. Simple in appearance. Deadly in purpose."What about the others?" I asked, masking my enthusiasm with polite calmness.Audacus's golden eyes flashed to mine, as cutting as a knife. "The triplets are strong, but unripe. Diver
AUDACUS The council chamber stank of old magic and old pride. It clung to the stones, bleeding into the mortar like the blood of all fools who'd ever sat upon high thrones and imagined that they were invulnerable.I was in the center, hands clasped behind my back, the gravity of a century measured in the loose bend of my shoulders. Ten wizard elders stood around me, faces etched with lines made of centuries, eyes filmed over by complacency. The robes flowed over the marble floor as they shifted to stand nearer, as if attitude itself might distort fate in their direction."Audacus," the oldest, Master Callum, said, his voice husky with a challenge never breached in all his years. "Your arrogance does not belong here. You are not welcome."A smile flared at the edge of my lips. "Arrogance is the right of the already triumphant. You just haven't quite caught up with reality."Whispers circulated around the circle, soft, trembling shivers from tired old gods in mortal flesh. I could near
AUDACUSBeen out again in the mortal world feels so surreal but good, it's been so long, too long really but the night tasted sweet. Sweeter than a vow. More bitter than deceit.I stood beneath the crooked arm of a dying oak, one hand leather-gloved, the other bare, tracing my finger along the cold curve of my ring. The dark stone pulsed softly beneath my fingers, full of the quiet, slow hunger I always kept just beneath my skin.The world was still tonight. Even the wind had enough sense to whisper not when I heard it. I could sense the earth beneath my feet, the shift of shadow as it crawled towards me, drawn like a moth battering itself around its own funeral place.The shifter was late.It was always so with beasts bound by fear and not by love. Still, I was impressed by its cunning. Its guile. The art of slinking in and out of hides like leaves from a book.Finally, the beast emerged out of the woods.A distorted shape, wrapped in the stolen form of a man — the fifth, I think, si
LOGANThe air reeked of blood, pungent enough to slice through bone-deep exhaustion. I arrived too late for the battle, but just in time for the cleanup.Marissa stood with her arm raised over the shape-shifter's deformed body, which collapsed at her feet like a crumpled flower. Its body shook as if even death would not claim it cleanly. Her sword dripped with black, noxious ichor.I'd wanted to feel proud — darn it, I was proud — but my wolf howled inside my chest walls, screaming for vengeance."Are you alright?" I pressed forward, ready to catch her if her legs gave out under her.Marissa cleaned the knife on her hand, jutting chin as if the fighter I knew her to be was finally free of that cage she'd been holding herself in."It won't be the last."That solitary stark truth weighed between us like a boulder."Not if I have any say in it," I growled. And I meant every damn word.ISAIAH The scent of smoke still hung in the air, seeping into the stone walls like an unwelcome memory.
TURTELA The castle had never been this still, not really. Even at midnight, its old bones vibrated with the thrum of wards and remembrances. But tonight, after the fight, after blood and smoke, the stillness was oppressive as ever. It lay on my chest like a heavy hand, smothering the wolf inside me who trotted in ceaseless circles, anxious and watchful.I should have stayed in my own chambers. Should have soothed myself with a hot bath or the echoing sound of dad's voice up and down the halls. Instead, my own feet led me out, past the marble pillars, to the garden where everything was bathed in moonlight.And she was there.Serenia.Sitting on the stone bench like it was her own, as if she had burst forth from the earth itself, dark hair falling like silk down her back. She was so still that I almost mistook her for another statue, some forgotten relic the old kings had left. I did not sneak up on her. I wanted her to hear me coming. I wanted her to know that I was not afraid."You'
ISAIAH The moment Hailey's call brushed my thoughts, I felt it — the shift in the air. There was no desperation in her tone, no panic, but resolve. And that scared me more than any battlefield ever managed.I arrived in the courtyard as the moon carved silver wounds in the stone. My steps faltered as my gaze met hers.Serenia.The last time I'd ever seen her was under other skies — when I'd lost all hope of having a mate. When fate woke me up, I'd never expected that she would be bound to me again, or in this manner.She was now by Hailey's side. Not as an enemy. Not even as a stranger.Her eyes settled on me, hard and unflickering."You came," she said.I cleared my throat, finding my balance. "Your mother summoned me."Her lips curled into a semblance of laughter, but there was no warmth behind it. "Oh, naturally she would. Always the Queen, always the commander."I started to open my mouth in defense of Hailey — habit — but Serenia raised a hand, stopping me. Her voice softened, a
HAILEYThe moon hung low in the heavens, casting a silver glow across the courtyard. The air was thick with anticipation, a silence that reeked of danger waiting to happen. I stood alone, senses heightened, muscles bunched and prepared to move.I was startled by a sudden stir within the shadows. A figure emerged, veiled in the shadows, moving with lethal grace. I recognized her immediately—Serenia, daughter of Lilith. She was a storm, her eyes burning with a mix of rage and grief.She attacked silently, her sword flashing towards me. I parried, the sound of steel on steel ringing out like a thunderclap. Our battle was a dance of fire and ice, each strike a question, each parry an answer."Why?" I shouted, our blades intertwined. "Why attack me?"Her eyes twitched, agony clouding her features. "Because he wants you," she snarled. "The Serpent King wants you, and I need to know why."Comprehension dawned. This wasn't a straight-up attack—it was a test, a desperate search for information