LOGINAMAYA I shut my eyes in frustration as Ronan and Father's argument filled the air so loud and uncomfortable. Mother held me tight, sniffing on my head—wait, was she still crying? I was fine, for goddess's sake! Why were they acting as though something catastrophic had happened?“Look at you! I told you to take care of your sister, and yet you let that bastard push her down,” Father yelled at Ronan.To my greatest surprise, Ronan instantly went dead silent as he slowly shifted his gaze to me. Guilt was written all over his face. Without being told, I knew he regretted everything; he and I both knew Lucien hadn't pushed me—Ronan had. But he would have to be a fool to admit it here, knowing Father would beat him senseless.“But sweetheart, you never cared when they fought—that's how you earned the 'cold, unbothered princess' name. Why did you have to go near them today?” My mother asked in a sobbing voice.My heart dropped. Damn it. I had been so scared my name would be dragged into the
LUCIEN My fists tightened until my knuckles turned white, my blood boiling in my fucking veins as I stood directly behind my father's chair. Across from us, Ronan stood behind his own father. The two Alphas had just finished a massive, screaming argument the second they stepped foot into the room. But when the nurse announced that the man who summoned them was Old Blackthorn himself, they went dead fucking silent. They had been sitting here in tense, suffocating silence for almost five minutes. Ronan cast me a cold glare. I gladly returned it before giving him a taunting thumbs-down. He almost lost his damn mind right then and there—he actually twitched, ready to speak before the wooden door clicked open.Old Blackthorn walked in, his frail weight leaning against a golden walking stick. He was the proprietor of the academy and was practically a ghost. He only ever made a damn appearance when something serious or utterly outrageous went down on school grounds. And honestly? This
LUCIEN I sat at the basketball court, bouncing the ball repeatedly as my head remained completely fucked up over her. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was my own desire or my fucking wolf taking over.Last time, she was feeling cold, so I had to come early today to drop some medication on her desk. But when I checked back just now, she wasn’t in her class.Is she not coming to the damn academy today?I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was almost time for the first lecture. Exhaling a heavy breath, I got to my feet and threw the basketball toward the hoop in one fluid motion. It swished straight through the net.“You only hit that because you’re close. Don't feel so fucking high and mighty,” an annoyingly familiar voice cut in from behind me.My fists clenched instantly. I turned around to face him. He bounced his own ball and tossed it effortlessly from where he stood. It swished into the net just as smoothly.He shrugged, a cocky smirk on his face. “Born powerful because my f
AMAYAMonday came faster than I had imagined, and I found myself gradually drifting away from my usual routine of reading and writing my fantasy stories just to scroll through the school group chat. Out of everything I had seen, one video stood out: two girls fighting over Lucien while he sat nearby smoking, watching the chaos unfold without even bothering to separate them.The caption was almost impossible to ignore: “No woman can resist the Ice King.”What a ridiculous caption.Wondering what today's headlines were, I slowly reached into my bag for my phone.“What are you doing with your phone? Eat your food,” Ronan snapped before I could even unlock the screen.I instantly dropped the phone back into my bag and focused on my plate.Our parents had left yesterday night for only the Moon Goddess knows where, and they hadn't returned yet. It was always like this—sometimes they stayed away for two or three days, though three days was usually the maximum.Ronan stood up from his chair,
AMAYA “Oh my gosh, don't mention Luis!” My mother’s voice rang out loudly from the hallway before she burst into laughter. My brows furrowed in confusion as I hopped off the bed, dropping my notebook into my drawer before turning the knob and cracking the door open to peek outside. Luis was making his way toward Ronan's room while my mother headed downstairs. Ronan had been sleeping since last night; he hadn't even gone for his usual morning run with Father, and surprisingly, Father hadn't pushed him and had gone alone. Now Luis was at our house on a Saturday morning? Was something wrong with Ronan? I slowly watched until Luis opened the door and stepped inside Ronan's room. I tried to turn back toward my bed, but an unfamiliar weight hung tightly in my chest: curiosity. I was never the type to meddle in things that weren't my business, but ever since yesterday—after standing up for that girl—a strange part of me had become annoyingly curious. Against my usual habits, my feet
LUCIEN My fist tightened as the belt cracked heavily against my bare back. “You useless son! Winning a match isn’t enough! That still didn't stop their company from being the leading enterprise in the territory!” my father snapped before another strike landed across my shoulders. A loud growl tore from my throat as I clenched my jaw, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out. “Fight him! I’m an Alpha wolf too! Let’s fucking fight him!” Keal growled violently inside my head, clawing at my mind. We had tried that on the very first day Keal and I were bonded five years ago. That day, I got the beating of my fucking life. Even after years of relentless training, and even with the fact that my father’s wolf was slowly weakening with age, I had promised my mother I would never raise a hand against him. She never knew he had been hitting me after that day. Five years ago, she had made one thing crystal clear: if my father ever laid a hand on me again, she would pack







