LOGINRoisinOlivine held my hand as we stepped out of the palace gates, guiding me toward a destination I didn’t yet know. The night air was cool, soft against my skin, and the stars above twinkled like diamonds. I couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement in my chest as I glanced at him, his strong profile illuminated by the moonlight. His grip was warm and reassuring, grounding me in the moment.He didn’t say where we were going, only smiled every time I asked, a glimmer of mystery dancing in his eyes. “You’ll see soon enough,” he teased, his voice low and velvety.We arrived at a secluded garden just beyond the palace grounds, a place I hadn’t even known existed. It was breathtaking—a hidden paradise filled with softly glowing lanterns, their light casting a warm golden hue across the space. The trees were adorned with delicate blossoms, their fragrance sweet and intoxicating, filling the air with a sense of calm. Beneath the branches, a small table was set up for two, surrounded b
RoisinI remained sitting by his bedside, feeling the weight of everything that had passed between us. My heart ached in ways I couldn’t exactly describe, but I forced myself to say something, anything, to cut through the silence that was quickly becoming unbearable.“You’d make a great brother-in-law,” I blurted out, my voice suddenly awkward. The words came from nowhere, and the moment they left my lips, I regretted them instantly. Why had I said that? It felt like a betrayal somehow, even if I hadn’t meant it that way.Visaris turned his head to look at me, his expression unreadable at first. His brows furrowed slightly, and a small, almost sad smile touched his lips. “Would I? I don't believe that was the role I had envisioned for myself, Roisin.”His words were so calm, but the meaning behind them twisted something deep inside me. The air between us shifted, growing heavy with awkward tension. I felt the pressure to escape, to run from this moment that felt too real, too raw.“I.
RoisinVisaris' words hung in the air, stirring something deep inside me. "Make no mistake, it's not the bond I'm trying to protect. It's you I can't stand to lose. I know I've been stuck in my ways, but only a fool would let go of something so precious, and I am no fool."I felt my heart skip a beat. He meant every word. But still, I couldn’t help but point out what I knew to be true. "No, you're no fool, Visaris," I concurred, the edge of a smile curling my lips. "You're just wildly indecisive and incredibly stubborn."To my surprise, he chuckled—really laughed—and it caught me off guard. I had never heard him sound so... free. His laughter was deep and rich, like a warm fire on a cold night, and it stole my breath away for a moment.He noticed, his emerald eyes softening as they met mine. I regained my composure, though my pulse still fluttered in my chest. “Will you be alright?” I asked him, needing to hear it from him even though his strength had always reassured me.Visaris gave
VisarisLater, I woke up in my bed, my body bandaged, my muscles aching. My mother sat beside me, her face streaked with tears as she gently wiped the sweat from my brow. She cried for days while I healed, her hands trembling every time she touched me, as if the very act of holding me caused her pain.I survived that day. But the scars I earned—the ones that still burned when the weather turned cold—reminded me of the lesson my father had intended to teach: weakness had no place in the world of Lycans. Not even for a child.Then, when I was ten, my mother became pregnant again. Her body was too weak to carry another child, and yet my father insisted. He didn’t care about her health, only about producing more heirs. I confronted him, furious, and all he said was that it was her duty as the Lycan Queen. He claimed he had been lenient with her for too long, and she had yet to provide a brood of royal children.I was disgusted. I left him standing there, his cruel words echoing in my ears
VisarisI was a fool.For years, I had prided myself on my ability to make decisions with clarity and purpose, steering the Lycan kingdom through power and influence. But when it came to matters of the heart, I was hopelessly lost. I failed time and time again to guard myself from the one thing that stripped away all my reason—love.The pain gnawing at me then, the raw ache deep in my chest, was painfully familiar. I had felt it the first time when my mother died. It was as if someone had taken a jagged blade to my soul, cutting me apart piece by piece until there was nothing left. Even then, decades later, I remembered that loss as if it had happened yesterday.My mother… Rhiannon.I closed my eyes and saw her face—delicate, ethereal, like something out of a painting. Pale skin, long blonde hair, deep green eyes, and long lashes that fluttered against her cheeks when she laughed. She had a kindness in her gaze that could melt the coldest of hearts. But she was weak. Not in spirit—no,
RoisinThe nightmares hadn’t stopped.I woke up with a start, my body drenched in sweat, my heart pounding against my ribcage. It was always the same—Azmariah, the blood, the haunting image of her reaching out to me, calling my name with her lifeless eyes. No matter what I did, I couldn’t escape it.I thought that rejecting Visaris would bring an end to all this. I thought the nightmares were a result of the bond, that maybe the connection between us was dragging me into something dark, something I shouldn’t have been a part of. But even then, after the rejection… they persisted.With a sigh, I pushed myself up from the bed and ran a hand through my tangled hair. Jaeni stirred in the back of my mind, offering a soft grunt of understanding, but even she was puzzled by the relentless dreams. “Do you think it’s still the bond?” I asked her silently.“Unlikely,” she replied, her voice tinged with uncertainty. “The bond is fractured, not completely broken. But this... this feels like somet







