LOGINAURELIAN POV:I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against the glass.I couldn't go on a death mission anymore, not now. I couldn't leave Iris alone. I couldn't leave my child fatherless. I had already made that choice once, and Iris had mourned me. I had seen her grief. I had felt it. I couldn't put her through that again.But I couldn't stay either. Vaelthor had Zevaris's power now. He was stronger than before. More untouchable. If I did nothing, he would eventually come for me. He would come for Iris. He would take advantage of our child as he did with me.I was trapped. There was no way forward that didn't end in loss."Hey."Iris's voice came from behind me. I turned around. She was standing now, holding the edge of the bed for support."What's wrong?" she asked.I forced a smile."Everything is alright," I said. "I just didn't think this day would ever come."She laughed softly."Neither did I. But here we are."I walked back to her and took her hand."Here we are.""Can we
IRIS POV:"Two months?" I heard myself repeat.The older nurse gave a small nod."Approximately."I looked at Aurelian. He wasn't looking at me. His eyes remained fixed on the nurse, his brows drawn together as if he were trying to make sense of something that refused to fit."I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head. "I think... I think I misunderstood you.""You didn't."My fingers curled against the blanket."Then..."She stepped closer to the bed, stopping just beside the rail. She rested the clipboard against her hip before speaking again."You're carrying a Lycan."The room fell quiet. Even the steady beeping of the monitor seemed farther away. I lowered my eyes without thinking. My hand moved almost on its own until it rested lightly against my stomach. Nothing had changed. I couldn't feel anything.I looked back at the nurse."Are you saying..."She nodded before I could finish."You're pregnant."I looked at Aurelian's face again. He was staring at the bed, his eyes were the wides
IRIS POV:I walked slowly along the corridor, one hand trailing lightly across the smooth wooden wall beside me. But for some reason, I felt tired. Not the kind of tiredness that sleep could fix. My legs felt strangely heavy. Every step took just a little more effort than the last.I rubbed the back of my neck as I walked. Maybe I just needed to lie down. The room wasn't much farther.I rounded another corner. The hallway stretched ahead, bright with sunlight pouring through the tall windows lining one side of the mansion. I took another step and something shifted. It was so slight at first that I almost ignored it. The floor didn't feel steady anymore.I slowed. My brow furrowed."...That's strange."I blinked hard. The hallway swayed gently, as though I were standing on the deck of a ship instead of solid marble. I stopped walking. One hand reached for the wall beside me. I leaned against the cool stone until the strange feeling passed. I closed my eyes.For a second, everything see
IRIS POV:For a second, neither of us spoke. The corner of his mouth lifted into the smallest smile, almost amused."I had a feeling you were there."Heat crept into my face. I pushed myself away from the wall and folded my arms across my chest, trying to look far more confident than I felt."Did you?""I did."He tilted his head slightly, studying me."Is everything alright?"I let out a quiet breath through my nose."That's what I was about to ask you."His brows drew together a little."Me?""Yes, you."I looked past him toward the library doors before bringing my eyes back to him."You came straight here after everything that happened.""I did.""You didn't eat.""The maid brought you tea.""I know.""You didn't touch it.""I know that too."I searched his face, hoping something in his expression would tell me what was going on inside his head. Instead, he simply looked at me. Then his eyes narrowed ever so slightly."You weren't planning on sneaking into the library, were you?"I
IRIS POV:The mountain disappeared behind us as Aurelian carried us through the forest.His enormous black wolf moved steadily beneath us, despite the battle he'd just survived. The forest had changed.The birds had begun to sing again, welcoming the morning as though nothing had happened during the night. Sunlight filtered through the branches in long golden streaks.I rested one hand gently against the side of Aurelian's neck.His ears twitched slightly."You should rest," I whispered.After everything that had happened on the mountain… There was something different about him."Do you think he's okay?" she asked quietly.I looked down at the black fur beneath my fingers."I don't know."None of us said another word.The trees slowly thinned until the familiar iron gates of the Virx estate appeared ahead.The guards stationed outside spotted his massive black wolf first.Every one of them straightened instantly.No one reached for a weapon.The gates swung open before he even reache
AURELIAN POV:I reached out and took his hand. The moment my fingers touched his, the world around me vanished. The mountain, the cave, the rising sun, all of it disappeared in an instant. I was standing in the white realm again, but it wasn't the same as before.The ground beneath my feet was cracked and broken. Deep fissures ran across the surface like veins of darkness, and through those cracks, I could see nothing but endless black. The white sky above me was dimmer, faded, like a painting left too long in the sun.Zevaris stood beside me, his body barely holding itself upright. He gestured weakly toward the destruction around us."The place is already breaking apart," he said. "It's dying. Just like me."I looked at the cracks spreading beneath my feet. They stretched in every direction, growing wider as I watched."That's how it ends for me."He raised his trembling hands and the white space in front of us shifted. The air rippled like the surface of water, then became clear, li
IRIS POV:I hated the way my body responded to the voice of someone I had just met a few hours ago.“I don't know what you're saying,” I lied. I totally knew what he meant.I looked behind him. There was the door. I could simply run away from him and head out, but my feet and body just couldn't mov
IRIS POV:The car kept moving north for what felt like forever. The highway slowly turned into narrower roads, then into private lanes lined with tall pines. No more billboards. No more lights from other packs. Just the soft glow from the dashboard.Finally, the Rolls-Royce slowed. Tall iron gates
IRIS POV:The highway stretched out like an endless ride; the estate lights had disappeared completely behind us. The Rolls-Royce glided so smoothly I almost forgot we were moving, only the low hum of the engine and the occasional soft click of the tires over expansion joints reminded me this wasn
IRIS POV:I squeezed myself to the end of the car, leaving a huge space between me and him.His right hand suddenly moved toward me, making me flinch hard, my body still wired from everything that had just happened, but then he calmly clicked a discreet button on the center console.A hidden panel







