MasukKali's POV I walked slowly deeper into the forest, my pulse hammering against my ribs as my eyes darted frantically between the trees.The footsteps.I knew I heard them.Heavy boots crunching against leaves and twigs. Someone had been out there behind the guest house. The sound came again faintly ahead of me.My breath caught.Without thinking, I hurried forward.The footsteps grew fainter with every passing second.Panic flickered inside me and I broke into a run, branches snagging against my sleeves as I chased after the sound. My lungs burned almost instantly, but I kept going.This was crazy.Absolutely crazy.But if I could find whoever it was…Maybe this would finally be useful.Maybe if I discovered something important enough to tell Emmett, then I wouldn't have to do something as crazy as this or drag Celine into any more messed with Kora.My feet pounded harder against the forest floor.Then suddenly Celine flashed through my mind.Her standing alone in Kora’s room.Her sm
Celine's POV The letter felt strangely heavy in my hand. The way Kora stared at it made it feel like I was holding a live coal fresh from a fire pit. One wrong move and everything would burn. For the first time since sneaking into the room, uncertainty crept into me. Kora wasn’t bluffing. I could see it clearly now in the rigid set of her shoulders and the dangerous stillness in her eyes. If I ran with this letter, she would go straight to Emmett. And that would be a disaster. Not for me. For Kali. My jaw tightened slightly. I hated that thought. Hated that somehow, in the middle of all this chaos, I was actually worried about her. Kali was frustratingly soft, all nerves and trembling, like a rabbit trying to survive among wolves twice its size. Half the time I wanted to shake sense into her. The other half… The other half I wanted to protect her from everyone in this pack. And Kora. Including herself. My fingers curled tighter around the folded paper.
Kali's POV I pressed myself tighter against the wall beneath the window, barely daring to breathe. My pulse thundered wildly in my ears as I listened to everything happening inside the room. The rough sound of shuffling footsteps. The sharp edge in Kora’s voice. The dangerous calm in Celine’s replies. I should run. I should leave Celine and get far away before this became an even bigger disaster. But my body refused to move. “What do you think you’re doing?” Kora demanded again. “Sheesh, relax,” Celine replied casually, though I could hear the strain beneath her voice now. “You act like I uncovered state secrets.” “You broke into my room.” “I was looking for something.” “And you found it?” Kora asked coldly. Silence. My stomach twisted. Celine had definitely found something. I carefully lifted my head just enough to peek through the open window. Kora stood near the door, her silver eyes blazing with suspicion. Her hair was slightly messy, like she had rus
Kali's POVMy eyes widened in shock the moment Celine laid out the plan. “What?” I screeched, my voice cracking with disbelief.Celine shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s pretty simple, Kali. Either we spy on Kora and find useful information for the Alpha, or you get punished. So…” She tilted her head, giving me a pointed look. “Do you want to get punished? Because of Kora no less?"I paused, my mouth suddenly dry. Of course I didn’t want to get punished. The mere thought of what Emmett might do to me made my stomach twist. Slowly, I bobbed my head in reluctant agreement. "Fine."“Great,” Celine said with a satisfied smile. Then, without missing a beat, she added, “Well, let’s go snoop now.”“Now?” I squeaked, rubbing my arm nervously. “I thought we would go at night, when it's dark there would be less chances of getting caught. What if we get caught?”"At night, Kora would be in her room. Sleeping or doing whatever witches do at night.""How sure are you t
Kali's POV The moment Emmett stepped out of my room and the door clicked shut behind him, my heart started racing so violently I could feel it pounding in my throat. I stood there motionless, staring at the closed door, my mind spinning.How the hell was I supposed to get closer to Kora and find information? The idea alone made bile rise in my throat. Was he intentionally pushing me toward my death? Did he truly see me as nothing more than a tool he could use and throw away?I had foolishly let myself think that things might be different between us after what happened in his study. The heat of his touch, the way he had kissed me, the raw hunger in his eyes… for a brief moment, I had let myself believe he saw me as something more than just the weak, white haired freak. I had hoped that things just might change for me.But I was so stupid to think that.How did I even let myself think that what happened in the study meant something to him?Kora would kill me, if she caught me snooping
Emmett's POV What the hell was I doing? I cursed under my breath, immediately turning my head away. I had talked myself through this on my way here. To avoid whatever it was that happened between the both of us and focus on the more pressing matter. Kora. But looking at her flushed, the memory of the other day in my study burning fiercely in my mind and Dogo hell bent on getting a repeat, made it difficult to focus at the task at hand. I had to get it together now. When I returned my attention to Kali, her head was bowed, her feet drawing invisible lines on the ground. "I am willing to forget about you attacking my guest...." Her lips moved but I didn't hear a word she said. I frowned. "Do you have something to say?" I growled. She shook her head almost immediately. "Look at me." She hesitated. "Look at me when I'm talking to you Kali." Slowly she raised her head to meet my gaze. The fear in her eyes, a sight I was used to, suddenly made my hear
Kali's POV When I opened my eyes that morning, it was to a soft golden light filtering through the sheer drapes and the faint chirping of birds outside the balcony. For the first time since I got to Emmett's house, I felt at peace and relaxed. My body felt light, almost new. I stretched my
Zara's POV When I was a kid, I had this friend Amanda. She had the prettiest dolls and she would never shut up about them. Then on her birthday, while others played in the backyard, I had snuck upstairs to her room. I grabbed the prettiest doll I could find and stuffed into my backpack. T
Zara's POV Several hours later and I was still shuddering from relief. If Kora had had even a single drop of magic in her ,her life would have been turned upside down in less than a second. And there would have been nothing I could do to save her. Sure, it wasn't my job to save her. But Kora
Emmett's POV The heavy air in the throne room pressed against my skin as I sat on the throne, the weight of the crown digging into my skull like a curse I couldn’t shake. I tapped my fingers impatiently on the armrest waiting for the council to show up. Ike stood to my right side, quietly.







