LOGINDAPHNEThe double doors of the court room did not just open. They exploded inward.Malakai stood in the open doorway.He was bare-chested. Rainwater and thick red blood ran down his broad shoulders, pooling over his tight abs. His skin was pale and hot, steaming in the cold draft coming through the high windows. Three dark bullet holes marked his ribs and chest, but his wolf blood was already closing the skin over the metal. In his right hand, he held a heavy iron blade, dripping thick gore onto the white rug.His wolf eyes burned with a bright, bloody red light. He looked like a demon rising out of the dirt.My heart hammered against my ribs, but I did not step back. I did not blink. I stood tall beside the grand wooden throne in the center of the room. My head was held high. My spine was straight as iron. My bare feet were planted firm on the cold stone floor. I did not hide behind anyone. I stood like a queen watching a storm break over her castle.Julian stood right behind me. His
MALAKAIThe heavy iron bumper of my black lead truck slammed into the main wooden gates of the Capital keep.The impact sounded like a bomb going off. The thick oak doors split down the center with a loud, violent crack. Iron bolts flew through the air, tearing into the stone archway. Splinters the size of swords exploded into the courtyard.I did not wait for the truck to stop.I kicked the driver side door open and stepped out onto the running board. I was shirtless. The cold morning rain hit my bare chest, washing away the dry blood on my knuckles from the hotel room table. My dark wolf skin was hot, burning with a black, heavy rage that made the rain turn into white steam against my shoulders. My broad iron blade rested in my right hand, six pounds of solid metal waiting for bone.Behind me, eight black war trucks smashed through the wrecked timber frame. Their heavy engines roared, filling the stone yard with gray exhaust and flying mud."Out!" I roared over the noise of the truc
DAPHNEThe air inside the Council room Three old men sat behind the table. They wore heavy red silk robes with thick gold embroidery. They were the last remaining Elders of the Council. Elder Marcus sat in the middle seat, resting his thin, spotty hands on the table. He had thin white hair, small blue eyes, and skin as pale as dead lard.I stepped through the wide wooden doorway. My head was held high. My spine was straight as iron. I did not hurry. I walked like a queen stepping onto her own lands. Julian walked two paces behind me, his boots hitting the stone with a quiet thud. He wore his black coat, but his face was blank and silent. The two guards who usually guarded this door were gone. Julian had cleared the hall on my orders.Elder Marcus looked at me as I stopped ten feet from his table. His lips twisted into a fake, soft smile."Daphne," Marcus said. His raspy voice was slow and dry. "Thank you for coming upstairs. Terrible news reached us an hour ago. Elder Vane was found m
DAPHNEI sat behind Elder Vane’s heavy wooden desk in his private office. Julian was busy giving orders to guards who did not know their leader was dead in his bed.I leaned back into the soft leather armchair. My body felt hot and restless. The linen tunic hung loose over my shoulders, unlaced down to my waist from Julian’s hands. My bare skin was flushed. The cold night air coming through the open window felt like tiny needles against my warm chest.I closed my eyes and pulled a deep breath into my lungs. I reached inward, past my beating heart, down into the raw heat of my wolf. I searched for the gold thread running through my chest—the ancient, unbroken mate bond linking my soul to Malakai across fifty miles of muddy roads and dark pine forests.I squeezed the bond tight with my mind. The connection flared alive instantly.A sharp shock of heat shot straight through my belly, so intense it made my toes curl inside my boots. Fifty miles away, I felt Malakai’s sudden, violent gas
JULIANI stepped through the dark hallway of the keep. The stone floor was cold under my boots. I held a long iron knife in my right hand. The metal blade felt heavy and sharp against my palm.I stopped outside Elder Vane’s private bedroom door. I took a slow breath. I could hear his loud snoring from inside the room. He slept like a peaceful old man while he planned to kill Daphne at dawn.I pulled the small silver key from my pocket. I pushed it into the lock and turned it slowly. The lock made a soft click. I pushed the heavy wooden door open and stepped inside.The room was warm. A fire burned low in the fireplace, throwing long red shadows over the stone walls. Elder Vane lay on his grand wooden bed under heavy velvet blankets. His mouth was open. His thin gray hair was messy on his white pillow.I closed the door behind me. I did not make a sound. I walked across the rug until I stood right next to his bed.I looked down at his old face. He had ruled the pack for thirty years. H
DAPHNEA low scraping sound came from the back wall.I turned my head fast. A secret wooden panel in the stone wall slid open. Lord Julian stepped into the dark room. He pulled the small door shut behind him, leaving us in total shadow.He took one step forward and stopped cold. His eyes fell on the dark red pool of blood near the iron bars. A pack guard lay dead in the hallway, killed by my blood magic an hour ago.Julian looked up at me, his breath coming out short and fast. He wore a fine black coat with gold buttons, but his hair was messy and his face was flushed."You killed him," Julian whispered. He took two fast steps toward my bed. "Daphne, you are out of time.""What happened?" I asked. My voice was low and steady."Elder Vane changed his mind," Julian said, leaning down close to my face. I could smell dark wine and sweet oil on his skin. "He knows you are playing him. He moved your execution up to sunrise. He has ten guards coming down here at dawn to drag you to the yard.







