LOGINAria's POV Astra’s voice didn’t waver. “Years ago, when you went to the Spirit-walker, you paid a price far greater than you realized.”“I gave blood,” I said slowly. “And my eggs.”“Yes,” he replied. “And part of your wolf essence.”My breath caught. “My… wolf?”“When you agreed to the exchange, she followed you,” he said quietly. “By instinct.”My pulse roared in my ears.“Your essence neutralized the venom in my blood,” Astra continued. “It only worked because the bond already existed. You were my mate.”Mate.The word settled deep in my chest.“You remember that night,” he went on. “You knew he would die if you didn’t agree. You believed that was everything.”My chest tightened.“But it wasn’t,” he said. “Your eggs were fused with my essence, my blood, my wolf. That’s how the children were conceived. They were always ours.”Silence stretched between us.“You were never told,” Astra said, regret finally breaking through. “I thought hiding the truth was the only way to protect you
Aria's POV I didn’t realize how badly I was shaking until Astra tightened his hold on me.At that instant, everything I had been forcing down broke loose. My wolf, stretched raw and exhausted, finally sagged back into my chest. The world tilted, then steadied, anchored by the sound of his heartbeat beneath my ear.I was alive.The corridor lights flared as ward after ward reactivated, scent and sound rushing back all at once.Felix lay crumpled where Astra had thrown him, pinned by runes etched into the floor. His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, blood soaking through his sleeve where I had bitten him. He was conscious now, eyes glassy with pain and disbelief.He laughed hoarsely when he saw me in Astra’s arms.“So,” he rasped. “You chose her anyway.”Astra looked at him. The shift in the air was immediate. Even injured, and restrained, Felix felt it. His laughter died.Astra’s voice was calm.“You wanted to restore things to how they were,” he said. “So you convinced yourself
Aria’s POVI came back to consciousness in silence.The air was flat, stale, stripped of scent so completely that even my wolf stirred in confusion, pacing inside me with no direction to orient herself.I tried to inhale deeper. Nothing.Panic rose fast, but I forced it down before it could take over. Panic wasted strength, and I didn’t have much to spare.Stone pressed against my back. My wrists were bound, firm enough that struggling would only scrape skin raw. My ankles were free, but the floor beneath me sloped unevenly, making it hard to find leverage.It was an underground basement. Ward-sealed.I swallowed hard.That explained the silence and lack of scent. Also the emptiness where my bond should have been a steady pull toward Astra’s presence.Someone had cut me off.“Hello?” My voice came out hoarse, swallowed almost immediately by the stone walls.No answer.I tried again, louder this time. “Is anyone there?”Still nothing.My wolf pressed against my ribs, uneasy now. She tr
Astra’s POV“Where is she?” I asked.The air itself seemed to tense.Sera stood near the bedside, her face pale. She looked like she hadn’t moved from this spot since the last time I’d been here. When she met my eyes, there was no attempt to hide her fear.“She was here,” she said quickly. “I swear she was. I only stepped out to fetch her medicine. I was gone less than five minutes.”Five minutes.That was all it took.I dragged a hand through my hair, the restraint I’d been holding onto cracking at the edges. “You were ordered not to leave her side.”Her shoulders stiffened. “I know. And I didn’t go far. The medicine station is just down the hall. I never thought—”“You never thought,” I cut in, the words sharp before I could stop them. “She was barely stable. Her wolf is still fragile. You knew that.”Guilt flooded her expression, immediately. “I know,” she said hoarsely. “If you want to punish me, I’ll accept it. Chain me. Kill me. But I don't think she's gone far.”That made my ch
Aria's POV I wasn’t supposed to be out of bed.Sera had been very clear about that, her tone gentle but unyielding as she adjusted the wards around the room and reminded me again, that my wolf was still knitting itself back together. Too much movement would slow down the healing process. Too much stress could undo days of careful work.I nodded. I agreed. I waited.And the moment she stepped out to fetch fresh medicine, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed anyway.It wasn’t defiance. It was instinct.The bond stirred, soft, insistent, like a pull beneath my ribs. Astra was back. I didn’t need anyone to tell me. My wolf had lifted her head, ears pricked, heart quickening with a mix of anticipation and unease.He’s here.I wrapped myself in a cloak, careful to keep my injured hand close to my body, and slipped out through the side passage meant for servants. The corridors were quiet at this hour, every step felt stolen.I told myself I just wanted to see him. From a distance. Just
Astra's POV I had never spoken her name in front of the children.Not once.Even now, standing on the island with the sea wind carrying salt and moon-scent through the air, I kept it locked, like a curse I refused to pass on.They knew me as their father.They knew this island as their world.They knew nothing of the woman whose blood had shaped their existence.Five years ago, when the wolf venom tore through my body, I thought I would die.It wasn’t ordinary poison. It carried fragments of my bloodline, my wolf, my rune signature, woven together with a powerful talisman array meant to devour from the inside out. Whoever had crafted it knew exactly what they were doing. They wanted extinction, not just death.I remember collapsing onto cold stone, my wolf howling as the venom ate through bone and spirit alike. The venom could be neutralized. But the array had bonded to my blood. If I survived, it would echo through anything I created. Through any life tied to me.I remember Aria st







