LOGINHi lovely readers!
This is a quick check-in, not a chapter, so you shouldn't need to unlock this. I wanted to take a moment to hear your thoughts so far on the story, so I can know someone is reading. I always appreciate your feedback. I also wanted to address today's update: I uploaded only one chapter today instead of the usual two. This was due to the fact that I've been unwell. I have been to the hospital and am back home now, and I'm currently recuperating. Please bear with me! Consistent daily uploads will resume again starting tomorrow. And you can vote with gems to give the book more exposure. I look forward to your engagement everyday, and it keeps me going. Thank you for your understanding, and have a lovely day everyone!Lucian’s POV“Does that change the fact that we were let in on less information and had us going about looking for some lady who supposedly stole from you? While in fact, you’ve been shielding her all along!”Tyler’s voice was the loudest of the Council members. As their leader, it was understandable that he was the voice of their collective indignation.I leaned back in my chair, unbothered.“She went back,” I replied without much emotion. I’d rather be anywhere but here, facing this legislative circus that was established to keep “checks and balances” on Alphas.“You let her go back?” Tyler’s jaw almost fell to the ground.“If you are asking if I was there when she went back, and I allowed her... yes, you’re right. I did.”“Though you’re free to go bring her back here to justice,” I continued, my voice smooth. “Just one thing—she didn't take anything of mine, so you can't charge her with theft. And lest I forget... just hope you know that before you get to her, you must know you don
Maelis’s POV I woke up disoriented. The afternoon light pierced through the heavy curtains, stinging my eyes. My head felt heavy, and breathing was a chore. I pulled myself up, sitting against the headboard. The room was unfamiliar at first glance but then the familiarity settled in. I reached up instinctively to touch my face. And just as I suspected, my fingers brushed against cold, hard metal. The silver mask was back in place, perfectly secured. Exhaustion, anxiety, and fear crashed down on me all at once. I threw the covers off and swung my legs to the floor. My knees wobbled as I stood up, making for the door. A small part of me hoped this was a dream, that I would open the door and find Melanie. But upon opening the door— “Boss!” Luka’s scream almost made me deaf. He jumped on me immediately, his momentum causing both of us to stumble backward, knocking us hard against the wall. “Ouch! What's gotten into you?” I groaned, grimacing at the pain radiating through my
Maelis POV I swung the metal pipe with every ounce of strength I had, aiming right for the center of the glass. CLANG! The impact vibrated right up to my shoulder socket. The glass didn’t even crack. Instead, the force rebounded, sending a shockwave that felt like it was going to rip my muscles apart through my arm. I dropped the pipe, gasping in pain, clutching my numbing wrist. Inside the box, Lucian had slumped to the floor. His eyes were half-closed, his chest heaving as he fought the gas. Kellan was already unconscious beside him. “Selene, stop!” Melanie rushed toward me and grabbed my shoulder, “It’s reinforced! You can’t break it!” She yelled, trying to pull me away, toward the exit. “We have to go. We can get people to help them out of here, but we’re going to die if we don’t leave right now. That gas is going to leak!” I knew that. Of course I knew that. But I looked at Lucian. I saw the way his hand was reaching out toward the glass, toward me, even as he was fading.
Maelis’s POV“You must be kidding me,” Melanie muttered as we entered.I stopped beside her, staring at them.Lucian was pacing the small enclosed space, his jacket discarded on the floor. Kellan was inspecting the electronic lock mechanism from the inside, looking thoroughly defeated.“How did you guys get yourself into this kind of situation?” I asked with a deep frown, staring up at the reason I’d ditched the safety of the room and come running out here, thinking he was caught in a life-or-death battle.Instead, he was just... stuck.Still, for some unknown reason, a heavy weight lifted off my chest. I was a little relieved that he wasn't in any immediate danger. He wasn't bleeding. He wasn't fighting off a hundred rogues. He was just locked in a box.Lucian stopped pacing when he saw me. His eyes softened instantly, and he walked up to the glass. “What are you two doing here?” I rolled my eyes, “Well, I'm not the one trapped in some glass.” I muttered, expecting him to bite back,
Maelis’s POV“Lucian might be in trouble,” I said tightly, my body already roaring at me to move, to leave Melanie there and go chase him down. But I didn't move.“Aren't you going after him?” Mel asked, looking at me with surprise.“Didn't you say his Beta went for him already?” I stressed, trying to convince myself more than her. “They are adults. They are capable enough to watch each other's backs and keep each other safe.”“But you literally just said you had a feeling of him being in danger.” Of course I did. Exactly why I'm trying to push the feeling away. Given that, all I got then; when I acknowledged the bond despite knowing the implications was betrayal. And now I'm getting the same signal, definitely because he got himself caught up in some danger. But I'm not going to charge into it when I don't have Rosa anymore. At least with her, survival would've been certain.It's because of her that I'm here, alive right now after all and I'm not going to throw that away like some
Maelis’s POVI tossed and turned on the narrow bed, unable to sleep a wink no matter how much I tried. My mind was all over the place, replaying everything that has happened so far, including earlier events. Unable to take it anymore, I stood up and made for the small locker bathroom. The sink was old, but Melanie had confirmed the water still worked a while ago.Thankfully, Kellan had some lamps set up in here, so we won't have to bother about electricity. I turned the tap. The pipes groaned, then spat out a stream of cold water.I splashed my face repeatedly, sputtering and blowing out the droplets that tried to get into my eyes. I gripped the edges of the sink, locking eyes with the strange woman in the cracked mirror.I almost expected a snarky remark. “You look like shit.”Even though I knew better, I was expecting some miracle where she would come back. But the space in my mind where she always curled up, where she existed every second of the two years of my life, was now empt







