MasukMabella's POV "She said something," Alfredo told me, appearing in the Luna quarters doorway with an expression I had never once seen on his face before—completely undone and completely certain at the same time. The specific look of a man who had just witnessed something irreversible and magnificent.I looked up from the papers spread across the low table, my quill freezing mid-sentence. "Alfredo, what is it? You look like you've seen the moon itself descend.""Sol," he said, stepping inside, his voice rough with emotion. "She said something. Our daughter. She spoke."My heart slammed against my ribs. I set everything down immediately, papers scattering slightly. "What did she say? Tell me exactly, Alfredo. Don't leave anything out.""It wasn't—it might not have been a full word exactly," he said, trying to be precise but clearly struggling, running a hand through his hair. "It was more of a sound, but deliberate. Come, love. You need to hear it yourself."I rose so fast that the cha
Alfredo's POV "She ran this morning," Caspian told me, standing just inside my study with that specific expression on his face—somewhere between professional satisfaction and personal bewilderment. It was the look of a healer who had witnessed a miracle he still couldn't fully explain."Ran?" I repeated, setting down the patrol roster I'd been reviewing. The word felt almost foreign after everything my mother had endured."The east garden," Caspian continued carefully, his hands clasped behind his back. "At the sixth hour. Three full circuits at a pace I would describe as determined. Not a jog. Not a walk. A run, Alpha. Strong strides, steady breathing. She even outpaced one of the younger warriors who tried to keep up."I leaned back in my chair, a slow smile tugging at my lips despite the weight of everything else on my mind. "You're certain it was her? Serena?"Caspian nodded, a rare chuckle escaping him. "No doubt. She waved at me when she passed the second time and shouted some
Mabella's POV(Dual POV )"You've been awake since the fourth hour," Alfredo said, his voice low and rough like aged whiskey as he filled the doorway of the sitting room. The palace had finally gone quiet around us, the baby had settled in the next room, and I'd pushed the papers to one side, but they still called to me like unfinished business.I looked up at him, my mate, my Alpha, standing there in nothing but loose pants that hung low on his hips. The lamplight carved shadows across his broad chest, highlighting every hard-earned line of muscle. "The Collins monthly report came in," I told him, gesturing at the stack. "And the documentation cross-reference from Vida. And Fred left the bilateral framework draft on the table. I thought I'd get through them before morning.""It's the eleventh hour," he said, stepping closer, his bare feet silent on the rug."I'm aware," I replied, rubbing my eyes. Gods, my body felt heavy, but the work wouldn't wait.He crossed the room in three stri
Mabella's POV "He wants to see you," Fred told me, placing the formal request form squarely on the polished oak table in my private study. The late afternoon light slanted through the tall windows, catching the edges of the parchment and making the ink look almost alive. "Nathan. Not Alfredo. You specifically."I stared at the paper, my fingers hovering just above it without touching. Eight months of confinement in the secured wing. The sharp warning he had delivered about Elan during those chaotic days before the coronation. The man who had been Alfredo's closest friend for fifteen years, who had built shadows against this very pack, only to sit in silence afterward, processing the wreckage of his choices. My heart gave a slow, heavy thud."Why me?" I asked Fred, finally meeting his steady gaze. "He hasn't asked for anyone in months. What changed?"Fred leaned against the edge of the table, crossing his arms in that thoughtful way of his. "I pressed the guards for details. He’s bee
Mabella's POV "He asked me to be his mate," Senna told me, sitting across from me in the small east wing sitting room at a late hour with that expression—warm and slightly self-conscious in a way that Senna rarely was.The words hung in the air like the soft glow of the flickering lanterns on the walls, casting dancing shadows across the ancient tapestries that depicted generations of Crest pack bonds. I looked at her, my heart giving an unexpected flutter as the weight of her confession settled over me. Senna, the formidable Senna, who had stood like an unyielding oak through political storms and personal tempests for fifteen long years. Here she was, in the quiet hush of midnight, her usual sharp edges softened by something vulnerable and new. The late hour wrapped around us like a secret, the distant howl of a night patrol wolf echoing faintly through the open window, carrying the wild essence of our pack lands.I set down the quill I had been using to review the latest healer su
Mabella's POV "She's pushing too hard," Serena told her, appearing in the Luna quarters doorway at the early hour with that expression she wore when she had been sitting on something and had decided it couldn't wait any longer.I looked up from the baby nestled in my arms, her tiny fingers curled against my chest like the most fragile anchor in a storm I hadn't realized was raging. The soft glow of dawn filtered through the tall arched windows of our private quarters, painting the stone walls in hues of rose and gold. My body ached in ways I hadn't allowed myself to acknowledge—shoulders tight from hours bent over documents, eyes burning from late-night reviews of healer protocols. But the weight of the crown was still so new, its invisible pressure settling deeper into my bones with every passing hour."You," Serena continued, crossing the room with that directness she brought to everything. She dropped into the chair across from me without waiting for an invitation, her posture st
Mabella’s POV“The true heir cannot be installed while the Ruby of Binding remains unbound to its rightful blood purpose.”The words hung in the air like a challenge wrapped in ancient formality. I stared at the scroll in Fred’s hand, the black wax seal broken, the silver sigil of the Voss bloodlin
Mabella’s POV“Let him in. But under guard. If he wants to meet her… he’ll do it on our terms.”The words left my mouth steady, but my pulse raced. Collins Argent. Alfredo’s father. The man whose absence had shaped so much of my mate’s hardened edges. I hadn’t expected him to show up on our doorste
Mabella’s POV“Then we make sure they both know exactly who she is. Starting now.”I spoke the words with more confidence than I felt, my fingers still wrapped around the glowing split-stone pendant. Alfredo nodded, jaw set, but his eyes softened when they dropped to Liora’s bassinet. The mysteriou
Dual POVMabella’s POV“It’s time we talked about what those eyes mean.”Vida’s voice was soft but carried the weight of centuries. I shifted carefully against the pillows, wincing at the deep ache in my body, and reached for Alfredo’s hand. Our daughter slept soundly against his chest, her tiny fa







