LOGINVALENI had created the very problem I wanted to avoid.The last thing I wanted was for anyone to learn about Calithea's mark, yet my own mouth betrayed me before I could stop it.She remained quiet, standing close beside Calithea as she watched Ivy conceal the mark, with a flesh-toned herbal salve mixed with tree resin, carefully blending it into her skin until it looked almost invisible.No doubt everything still felt like a dream after Calithea confessed she had shifted into her animal form.My gaze drifted to Calithea. She sat stiffly, her fingers twisting the fabric of her skirt while her heartbeat echoed loudly enough for my heightened hearing to catch.It was nothing like the fierce woman who had confronted me minutes ago over seeing me with Zirelle.I smiled to myself, the calm Calithea I knew had resurfaced, but she was fading faster with every passing hour.It hadn't even been a full day since her first shift, yet the changes were happening at an alarming pace.What I sensed
CALITHEAMy mate...The words surfaced in my mind before I could stop them. My mate?No.He wasn't supposed to be my mate.The single word might not belong to him, but it echoed inside me as though some hidden part of me had already accepted it.My gaze drifted back to them.Zirelle buried her face against his chest while sobs wracked her body. Something ugly twisted inside me.I wondered what her screams would sound like if they came from real pain instead of this pathetic heartbreak.Would they satisfy the fury clawing at my insides?The thought horrified me. I knew I wasn't acting like myself. I was aware of it.Yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force myself to react the way I wanted to.I had been so consumed by the sight before me that I completely missed another scent approaching.Only when someone stepped beside me did I finally notice him. The man from last night.His face was unreadable, but I caught the hesitation there before he spoke up."You should leave. Go fini
CALITHEAI clenched and unclenched my fists, feeling the sharp tips of my claws graze my palms. If I pressed any harder, they would draw blood.And although the thought of seeing blood strangely soothed me in that moment...It wasn't mine I wanted to spill.What was wrong with me?I quickly shook my head, forcing those dangerous thoughts away just as she placed a small basket of fruit on the table.I hadn't even noticed she'd been carrying it. "I didn't know you had a key to the house," I said, keeping my voice calm.At least on the outside, because within, I was anything but calm.I steadied my racing heart, refusing to let her see just how much she was getting under my skin. Losing control now would only make things worse."Ryden gave me the key the last time he came to visit me." Her smile remained bright.Too bright it made me slightly uncomfortable.Far too bright for someone who'd just been caught letting herself into another person's home unannounced."I... thought you'd already
CALITHEA"Take this. It'll help conceal your scent," Valen said, handing me a small pouch.I accepted it, adjusting the shawl around my neck to hide the mark that has formed. I had tried acting as though everything was normal. It was a hopeless attempt, because nothing was anymore. Healing takes days, but the bite injury healed in just a few hours.My mind still couldn't process everything that had happened.I'd fallen asleep last night hoping I'd wake up and discover it had all been some bizarre dream. But it hadn't been.Valen stepped closer to me. My heartbeat immediately picked up as his arms slipped naturally around my waist. I simply stared at him, silently. He felt very guilty. Last night I'd been too overwhelmed by my own transformation to notice, but now, it was written all over his face.I wanted to tell him he didn't have to carry all the blame, that I didn't regret...No.I couldn't even finish that thought. The words simply refused to come, because I knew they wouldn't
VALEN How much more could happen in a single night?I stared in stunned silence as Calithea transformed into something that shattered everything I thought I knew. It stood taller than any wolf I had ever seen.Hell!The sheer power radiating from it erased every possibility I had imagined.It wasn't a wolf.Not with forelimbs far too long for one. The dense silver-white fur. The spine, curved with impossible feline flexibility...The tail swayed behind it, curling upward to keep its balance, though I caught the slight uncertainty in the way it stood.Then there were the claws. They weren't the blunt claws of a wolf built for speed. They were long, wicked talons meant for climbing, and tearing through anything in their path.My gaze lifted to its eyes. Silver.They locked onto mine with an intensity, without realizing it, I took a cautious step toward it.Never in my life had another creature unsettled the authority that came with being an Alpha. It released a low growl before I coul
CALITHEAEverything felt strange.The dream was so vivid that it almost felt real.That had to be the only explanation for why the last person I ever expected to see was crouched in front of me.It also had to explain why my palms were stained with blood, and the pain that continued to spread with every passing second from my neck.Yet no matter how many times I blinked, the scene refused to disappear. It stayed exactly the same.My heart pounded wildly against my ribs as the cold night air bit into my skin.When he moved closer, the illusion shattered.He looked just as stunned as I was.If anything, it seemed we were competing over who was more horrified by what had just happened.One of his hands remained suspended in the air, frozen in place like he had forgotten how to move.This wasn't a dream. It was real as hell.Valen had...marked me, just utside my father's house.The thought sounded impossible even inside my own head.Something I had once dreamed of with all my heart had be
“Spare me, Luna. I will tell the truth!”Everything in the room felt suffocatingly heavy. I clutched the side of my head, the room spinning so violently I felt like I was going to faint. “It wasn’t my intention to incite that rumor," Betty sobbed from the floor. "I only told Rue what I thought I s
“Look at her,” Zirelle said, her tone dripping with boredom. “You always find a way to make everything about yourself, don’t you, Calithea? The absolute audacity to stand tall while everyone else bows to our new Alpha.”I didn’t say a word. My tongue felt like lead, my eyes locked on the regal form
Calithea I felt an unexpected tightness in my core, as our position made me completely at his mercy, but it was exactly the kind of reality I needed to completely break through the one I wanted to be free from tonight. “Then please fuck me” I whispered, my voice trembling. His grip loosened, a
Calithea“What did you say?”His voice was low and rough, as a flicker of shock crossed his dark eyes. He stared down at me as if the question had come out of the blue.“I said kiss me,” I repeated courageously, without batting an eye.But the words had barely left my mouth when he stepped into my







