LOGINDRAVEN
He meant it! I had never felt my heart sink the way it did the moment my father told me I was going to Lunaris Academy. He didn’t even warn me. He just sat there in his study, polishing his dagger like he always did when he wanted to remind me he was tougher than everyone else. The windows were open, and the cold evening air blew inside. I had walked in expecting another lecture… maybe another long rant about how I was soft or how I didn’t have the makings of a future Alpha yet. But then he looked up at me and said, very casually, “Pack your things. You’ll be going to Lunaris Academy in two weeks.” I froze. My throat tightened immediately. “W–What?” I asked, hoping I misheard. He didn’t even blink. “You heard me, Draven. Go pack your things.” I staggered closer. “Dad, Lunaris Academy is…” “A place where real Alphas are made,” he snappedALPHA CYRUS Where is he? I will never forget the moment the news reached me. I was halfway through a council briefing when the doors of the hall burst open and one of my sentinels stumbled in, face pale, chest heaving as if he had outrun death itself. “Alpha… we were ambushed.” My heart stopped. Just stopped. For a second, the world around me blurred… the murmurs of the elders, the crackling torches, the endless rows of carved wooden seats. Everything drowned beneath that single word. Ambushed. My first thought wasn’t of the men I sent. It was of my son. Draven. “What do you mean ambushed?” I demanded, my voice deeper, harder than I intended. The sentinel swallowed. “The scouts… the men you sent to accompany the young Alpha… they’re all dead.” Silence fell over the hall like a shroud. I stood so quickly my chair slammed backward to the ground. “Where is my son? Where is Draven?” His eyes flickered with panic… panic he was tryin
DRAVEN “Don't let him escape!” I didn’t think the morning of my departure to Lunaris Academy would feel so heavy. When I stepped out of the packhouse, the guards were already loading the transport vehicle. My father stood tall beside them, his hands behind his back, the Alpha in him radiating authority even before sunrise. My mother stood beside him… but there was something strange… her eyes were too bright, her smile too fixed, her fingers tapping nervously at the folds of her gown. Father waved me over. “Stand straight,” he said the moment I reached him. “You’re a man now. Represent this family well.” I tried to nod, but my throat was too tight. His gaze softened for a moment… only a moment. “Do not shame me, Draven.” “I… I won’t,” I murmured, though my stomach churned violently. Mother took my hands immediately, pulling me to her in a brief embrace. “Remember what I told you,” she whispered urgently into my ear. “If anything happens on the way… any
LYDIA Plans A, B, C, D, Execution… I barely slept the night after my ‘fight’... or whatever it was… with Cyrus. My mind raced, my heart burned, and every thought I had circled back to one single truth: He was going to send Draven to Lunaris Academy, whether I liked it or not. But I am no fool. I know Cyrus. I know how stubborn he is. And I know that fighting him directly would only make him dig his heels in deeper. So I did what any intelligent woman would do… I crafted a different approach. A sweeter one. A gentler one. A lie wrapped in silk. By sunrise, I practiced my smile three times in the mirror before going to find him. I entered his office quietly, letting the scent of morning tea and old scrolls wash over me. He was standing near the window, arms folded, gaze fixed on the training grounds below. “Cyrus,” I said softly. He didn’t turn immediately. When he did, his face was unreadable, guarded. “I came to apologize,” I began. His eyes
ALPHA CYRUS She didn't like it… The council room smelled of parchment, wax, and the faint iron tang of weapons polished earlier that morning. I sat at the head of the long table, arms folded, listening to my advisors argue over border patrol schedules and rogue sightings. Their voices blended, a low rumble beneath the storm inside my mind… Draven. My son. My heir. But my greatest worry. Before I could respond to the question one of the men asked, the heavy wooden doors slammed open with a force that rattled the hinges. Lydia barged in. Her eyes were blazing, her gown trailing behind her like the tail of an angry comet. I didn’t need to be told she was furious… her aura hit the room like a slap. “Cyrus!” she snapped. “How dare you?!” My advisors stiffened. I closed my eyes briefly. Goddess help me. “Men,” I said, keeping my voice level, “excuse us. I need to handle this alone.” They scrambled out, half relieved, half terrified of being caught in
DRAVEN He meant it! I had never felt my heart sink the way it did the moment my father told me I was going to Lunaris Academy. He didn’t even warn me. He just sat there in his study, polishing his dagger like he always did when he wanted to remind me he was tougher than everyone else. The windows were open, and the cold evening air blew inside. I had walked in expecting another lecture… maybe another long rant about how I was soft or how I didn’t have the makings of a future Alpha yet. But then he looked up at me and said, very casually, “Pack your things. You’ll be going to Lunaris Academy in two weeks.” I froze. My throat tightened immediately. “W–What?” I asked, hoping I misheard. He didn’t even blink. “You heard me, Draven. Go pack your things.” I staggered closer. “Dad, Lunaris Academy is…” “A place where real Alphas are made,” he snapped
ALPHA CYRUS Nothing like me! I had always known my son, Draven, was soft. I had known it from the day he first shifted… late, trembling, and confused, the way a pup who had been sheltered too long would tremble. But I had hoped that time, pressure, and responsibility would mold him into something worthy of Lunaris blood. Hope is a curse. Hope was a foolish thing for an Alpha to cling to, but a father… a father sometimes allowed himself that weakness. This morning, however, was yet another reminder that Draven was nowhere near ready. And I was running out of patience. I stood in the training yard, arms folded across my chest, watching him spar with one of the senior warriors. Or rather… watching him fail to. The boy had heart, that much I would give him, but heart meant nothing without discipline, instinct, or the will to dominate when necessary. The warrior lunged, Draven d







