LOGINNikolai finally found out about the garden… Was Vena wrong for entering a place he told her not to touch, or was Nikolai too blinded by his pain to see what she was really trying to do? Updates would now be 5am and 5pm (UK time/GMT +1) let me know your thoughts in the comments. See you on the next!💚
Vena.I had been in the garden almost the entire day, since I heard Nikolai leave the mansion early in the morning.I carefully poured water over the flower beds, watching as the soil darkened. I was almost finished for the day. Just this last section and then I would go back inside before it got too late, and before Nikolai got back.“You’re stubborn,” I muttered quietly to the weeds that kept coming back as I tugged them free.Miriam, Sasha, and Elena were not coming today because of the ceremony for the late Luna and honestly, I was grateful for the silence. I needed time to think, and to figure out how I was supposed to tell Nikolai that I was pregnant.I swallowed and grabbed the watering can again and I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not hear anything. I didn't hear the car pull into the driveway, nor the kitchen doors that I was certain I had closed, nor did I hear the footsteps approaching the glasshouse until it was too late.“What the hell are you doing in here?” A vo
Nikolai.The room smelled like medicine and death, it was the first thing I noticed every time I stepped inside.No matter how expensive the cleaners were, no matter how often the nurses opened the windows or replaced the sheets, that scent always remained. A constant reminder that the man inside this room was no longer the Alpha who once made entire packs lower their heads in fear.I stood near the doorway, staring at the figure sitting silently by the window.Vladimir Ivanshov. The former Alpha of Thornmoon and my father.Once, that name alone was enough to make people tremble. He had been a monster disguised as a ruler. Tall, powerful, merciless. A man who believed fear was the only way to earn loyalty.Now all that remained was a shadow.A frail old man trapped inside a body that had betrayed him.His wheelchair faced the window, his back turned toward me as he stared out at the land that no longer belonged to him. His once thick black hair had thinned, with streaks of grey, and hi
Vena.I stood at the end of the bathroom staring at the pregnancy test on the edge of the sink and suddenly it was somehow the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.Miriam had placed it down only a few minutes ago, but every second felt painfully slow. The silence in the bathroom made everything worse and I could hear my own uneven breathing. But what felt like the loudest was the sound of my heart beat. It pounded against my chest so hard it almost hurt.I kept biting my finger nails, unable to stop myself as my eyes remained fixed on the test.The only thing that could determine if my life was going to change.“Vena.”I blinked, looking away from the sink as Miriam’s voice pulled me back from my thoughts and I didn't miss the worry that flashed across her face.“You’re going to hurt yourself,” she said softly, reaching forward and gently pulled my hand from my teeth. I had not even realized how hard I was biting it.“Sorry,” I whispered.Miriam sighed before resting a comforting han
Vena.I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck.My head pounded painfully the moment I opened my eyes, and even the soft morning light filtering through the curtains felt too bright against them. A nauseating heaviness settled inside my stomach while my entire body felt weak and sluggish beneath the blankets.I groaned softly before pressing a hand against my forehead.What the hell happened last night?I couldn't remember anything and the more I tired, the more another sharp throb of pain shot through my head.“Oh…it hurts,” I muttered weakly. A knock sounded against my bedroom door before I could think further. “Come in,” I called out hoarsely.I forced myself upright carefully, though the movement immediately made dizziness sweep through me. By the time the door opened, I was barely sitting properly against the headboard.Miriam stepped inside carrying a glass of water in one hand and a small plastic pharmacy bag in the other.The moment she looked at me, she sighed deeply.
Nikolai.The office overlooked my pack territory.Floor to ceiling windows stretched across the far wall, giving a perfect view of Thornmoon below. Usually the view helped me think. Usually it reminded me exactly why every decision I made mattered.Today it did nothing.Because no matter how many reports sat open across my desk, my mind kept returning to one sentence.“You’re still as handsome as the first time I met you in House Rose.”I leaned back slowly in my chair, my jaw tightening as the memory replayed again.The words ‘..the first time I met you in House Rose’ bothered me most.As if she had seen me before and even worse in human lands.As if there had been another meeting long before the day I captured her and brought her back to my house.I stared out toward the skyline again, my thoughts growing darker the longer I sat with them. At first I had tried convincing myself Vena had simply been drunk and confused. Maybe she meant the day we met at the border in my land. Maybe sh
Nikolai.By the time I returned to the mansion that night, every muscle in my body ached.The sparring session with Ivan after work had been unnecessarily brutal, even by our standards. My shoulder throbbed faintly where he had slammed me against the training wall earlier, and the bruising along my ribs was already beginning to darken beneath my shirt. Normally neither of us held back much during training, but tonight there had been something sharper behind Ivan’s attacks.And I knew exactly why.But I didn't care, my mother’s death anniversary was in two days.I loosened the collar of my black shirt slightly as I stepped into the lobby, already preparing myself for the usual silence waiting inside the mansion.Instead, laughter echoed through the house.I stopped immediately.My brow furrowed as another sound followed it.Singing. Very bad singing actually.I glanced briefly at the time on my watch. The maids should have gone home nearly an hour ago, which meant there was only one pe
Vena.I didn't realize so much time had passed in the garden glasshouse. I had found some tools by accident.At the very back of the glasshouse, behind a row of tangled vines and a leaning wooden shelf, there was a small storage cabinet half hidden by overgrowth. It looked like it hadn’t been opened
Vena.The next time I opened my eyes, I thought I had died.I was back in my room in House Rose, the air was thick a metallic scent.For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.Then the pain hit.It was everywhere. Between my legs. Along my neck. My wrists. My thighs. My body felt split open, hollowed out and
VenaI woke up with a sharp ache pressing behind my eyes.For a few long seconds, I did not move. I just lay there, staring at the pale strip of light cutting across the dark ceiling above me. Someone had opened the curtains while I slept. Only a small gap, just enough to let morning light in.My he
VenaI woke up with a dry throat and my head felt like there was someone playing drums in there. It took a few seconds for me to remember where I was. The ceilings weren't familiar and I didn't remember my bed to be this comfortable.I blinked again, slowly sitting up as memories of earlier today re







