INICIAR SESIÓNLayla POVMilo looked at me seriously. “I imagine you hate what they're trying to make you do. Especially with the other female right next door. But I wanted you to know something. Being a prisoner doesn't mean you're completely at their mercy.”I stared at him, caught off guard by the sudden change in his tone.“As you know, I work for the royal household. If you want out of this situation, just tell me. I can help you.”“Why... would you help me?”The question came out more quietly than I'd intended. He worked for the Alpha King. Helping me meant going against the King's own family, or at least interfering with a situation they had clearly decided to control. Did he really think he could do that?Milo sighed and placed both hands lightly on my arms, his expression earnest.“Because no one should be forced to have babies for someone who only sees them as a baby maker. You deserve to be valued as a female too, Marissa. No matter your rank.”His words struck somewhere painfully deep.
Marissa POVI was tempted to say yes immediately, but the reminder that I was supposed to be on an errand stopped me. I had a job to do, and whatever else was happening around me, I couldn't afford to start treating the Alpha King's castle like a tourist attraction. “Are you allowed to do that?”Milo's mouth curved. “You're already inside the castle. The Alpha King and Luna Queen aren't home. Consider it an opportunity to see something amazing.” He turned down another corridor, heading east, and after a moment's hesitation, I followed. The excitement I had been trying to suppress returned almost instantly. I had never imagined I'd be walking through the heart of the royal residence, seeing more than the small sections of the grounds where I worked each day.We passed several guards along the way. They were all ranked Gammas, and from the easy way they greeted Milo, it was obvious they knew each other well. One of them glanced at me, then grinned. “That's the chick who got the nephew
Marissa POVTwo days have passed since Caden last came to see me, and I haven't seen even a glimpse of him since.Not on my way to the castle grounds. Not during my work nor even from a distance when I happened to look toward the places where the royal family usually moved. It should have been a relief. Instead, every passing hour without him has left me more restless, as though some part of me is constantly waiting for something I have no right to expect.Today is the first sign of the Crescent, and I can't stop thinking about sunset.Caden's mother has already made her intentions clear. She has assured me that when the Crescent comes, her son will take me into the woods and end our bond. She has even visited Gwen again, as though making certain everything is in place before the inevitable rejection. The last visit had been weird though. Caden's Beta had been there, and I'd heard Gamma Linda's raised voice. I should be preparing myself for whatever Caden would do when he came to s
Caden POV"What did I just hear?" Gareth asks, a frown creasing his brows.I look past mom to the male now standing behind her."Look who crawled out of hiding.""I wasn't hiding, Caden." His expression doesn't change. "Who's marrying whom? Miss Harding is with whom?"I move before I even realize I'm doing it. One moment I'm a few feet from my mother; the next, I'm trying to get around her to reach Gareth. My fist is already curling as she throws herself between us, both hands braced against my chest."Caden, stop!"I barely feel her pushing me back. My attention is fixed on Gareth's face. On the maddening calm with which he's watching me. As though I am the unreasonable one for objecting to finding him on my mother's bed.I could rearrange that pretty face of his."You two..." I hate how my voice shakes. I point from Gareth to my mother, hoping that one of them will have the decency to deny what is so painfully obvious. "You're sleeping with him, Mother? After everything?""Lower you
Caden POVAs I bang hard on the door to my mother's suite, the one across the corridor opens. A man peers out, his expression already set in annoyance. He looks ready to tell me to keep the noise down.But when he sees who is standing outside his neighbor's room, his face changes immediately."Oh. Alpha Caden."He gives me a respectful bow and retreats inside, closing the door.I barely register him.My entire attention is fixed on the door in front of me, behind which my mother is apparently doing something I cannot begin to reconcile with the woman who raised me.My phone starts ringing.For one irrational second, I think it's Gareth calling me from inside the room. Maybe to explain himself before I tear the door off its hinges. But when I pull the phone from my pocket, Ryder's name fills the screen.Of course.Work.The unfinished mission is waiting, and I have twenty minutes before I'm expected to leave with the Alpha King."Hey, Beta."I'd planned to speak with my mother, to expl
Caden POVI have to return to River Howl. I need to see Mr. and Mrs. Blue, just as I intended to do on the night of the Choosing Moon. Back then, I planned to formally introduce myself to them. To formally give them the news that Marissa is my fated mate. But everything went wrong before I could get the chance. Now, after everything that has happened between Rissa and I... the desire to do what I intended to do on Choosing Night has returned.It's the one thing that has been on my mind ever since I kissed her. No matter how hard I try to focus on anything else, my thoughts keep circling back to Rissa's lips, the way she'd responded to my kiss, her soft body pressed against mine... And how quickly I'd lost control of myself the moment I finally allowed myself to touch her.That kiss was our first, and I'd kissed her with a desperation I hadn't known I was capable of. She'd opened up to me so invitingly, meeting my hunger with a response that had left me thinking of nothing else but
Tyrel (Third-person) Ty can tell he's not making any sense to the other Alphas. When Axel opens his mouth to speak, he knows the guy is about to pıśs him off some more,"You know, there's rumors that 'playboy Zee' is a little too attentive to his temp assistant. That's your girl, right? Kelsie or
Zach POVAres is no longer ill from the 'evil potion' in the wine. I can feel his strength and passion. As much as I feel the other guy's. All is well in every inch of my body and psyche.Yet I can't help thinking that the drugs have an influence in the feelings run through me. Madison had insisted
Zach POVYes. True. I should listen to her. She's pretty. She'll be Luna Qu--Ares' groans cut off that line of thought. He's struggling to emerge but can't. "Something's wrong...""Nothing is wrong," Madison insists, her eyes turning bright with purpose. I want to disagree with her but can't. H
Kerris POV"Where's the temp?" Zach catches sight of me as soon as he asks the question.“Here she is,” Mary replies.This is it. Time for the meeting I've been dreading and waiting for this past two days. I enter the reception and greet, "Good afternoon, your majesty.""Sure is," he responds, the







