LOGINLIAM'S POV I reached my chambers only to find the guards Iâd trusted to stay alert were out cold. Their spears were leaning uselessly against each other, and their legs were sprawled out across the floor. One of them was actually drooling, a thin trail of saliva dripping from his lip like a leaky faucet.âWhat is going on here?â My voice sliced through the air, sharp enough to cut through their dreams.âMy lord!â They both scrambled to their feet, nearly tripping over their own boots. âDid you sleep well?â the second one asked, looking like a total idiot.I leveled a look at him that could have frozen a volcano. He flinched, glancing at his partner who was frantically trying to signal him to shut up.âMy lordâŚââGo in and bring her out,â I snapped, cutting him off. I didn't have the patience for excuses. Thatâs all these guards ever had, and I was in no mood to play games today.They both hurried into the room, but then they started acting strange. They ran forward a few steps, then
LIAM'S POV. "Move her to the side. Chain her hands and feet," I commanded, my voice flat and cold as the guards entered.They didn't move at first. They just stared at me, their eyes wide with a mix of horror and sick surprise. I could hear the faint, cocky vibration of their suppressed laughter as they dragged her to the corner of my room. They thought they knew what had happened behind those closed doors."I have important matters to attend to," I said, my voice shallow and raspy.I reached for my coat on the hanger. I moved slowly, pulling it across my chest and sliding my arms into the sleeves, one after the other. Every movement was deliberate, masking the chaos twisting inside me.I walked toward the stone pillar at the far end of my chamber. I looked down, letting out a heavy sigh before pressing my palm against the cold surface. Instantly, ancient runes glowed to life under my touch, and a hidden compartment ground open. I reached inside and pulled out the stone tablet. I sta
SERA'S POV I sat there, my body feeling like it was made of lead. The silver chains had finally stopped tightening against my neck, and the ones on my ankles had stopped burning through my skin. I learned the hard way that fighting back was a death sentence. Every time I tried to break free, the metal bit deeper, making my slow end feel inevitable.However the cell was still a tomb of silence. The only sounds were the ragged, heavy rasp of my breath and the lonely *clink-clink* of the chains whenever I tried to shift from one side of the cold floor to the other."Crawl outâ.A voice sliced through the quiet, dripping with a disgusting, saucy attitude. I heard the heavy turn of the lock as the cell door groaned open."I said *crawl*!"A loud burst of mockery followed. One of the guards doubled over, his laughter filling the room as he pointed a finger at me. He was hitting his own chest, gasping for air because my misery was just that funny to him.I guess to them, I was just a joke.
LIAM'S POV."Alpha Zambia needs our help?" Elder Ping sneered, the sound like a jagged blade against glass."We can't just turn our backs on him now," Elder Hamel replied, his voice heavy with a sadness that reached his eyes. "Those rogues... theyâve bled for our soldiers more times than I can count. If our borders aren't littered with the bodies of our young men, itâs because of their help. Help we didn't even ask for."*Bang!*The sound echoed through the council hall, a violent vibration that made my teeth ache. Elder Ping stood, his white garment flowing around him like a shroud of pure arrogance. "Insolence! Hamel, how dare you? Our kingdom, our nation... you want us to crawl into the dirt with a pack of rogues? To fight in a war that belongs to monsters?"His gaze was a sharpened arrow, aimed straight at Hamelâs heart. He didn't just want to win the argument; he wanted to draw blood."Yes. We should," Hamel countered.He didn't scream. He didn't even flinch. He just opened and c
SERA'S POV âI bet youâre all just grumbling at his feet like a bunch of lapdogs,â I shouted, my voice bouncing off the empty, cold stone walls of the cell block. I yanked on the long chains binding my wrists, the metal groaning as I tested the distance. âYou stand there guarding me like Iâm some kind of monster!â.I let out a raw, deep roar, my anger a fire that refused to be put out. âIf you call yourselves warriors, open these chains now! Letâs have a real fight. One on all! Iâll rip you limb from limb. And when Iâm done, Iâm going for your Lord. Your precious Lord who needs to be put out of his misery, for the Moon Goddess's sake.âI tried to lunge forward, to break the chains through sheer will, but the heavy iron around my ankles slammed me back down. I stared at the metal, the Banshee Runes etched into the surface pulsing with a sickly light. I pulled again, harder this time, but the chains around my neck only tightened, choking off my breath like a cursed item from the abyss.
LIAM'S POV I walked through the palace hallways, my hands clasped tightly behind my back. My head was tilted up, but my feet felt like lead with every step. The silence in the air was awkward, thick and heavy, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.My gaze fell on a small male wolf sitting on the cold floor. He was hunched over, silently wiping away tears. As I drew closer, I saw the jagged injury on his foot."What happened to you?" I asked softly. He looked up at me for a long moment, then buried his face in his hands and sobbed. I swept my wolf sense across the hallway sixty-five feet in every direction. But the air was clear. No danger."Iâll bet you did this playing," I said, lifting him gently into one arm. âI'll take you to the healer's quartersâ. He stopped crying immediately. Leaning into me as I carried him toward the healers. A small, sad smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.As we got to the healer quarters I knocked on the door and was greeted by the sm







