LOGINSelene's POV I hurried back up the cold stairs. My heart felt like a trapped bird hitting its wings against my ribs. I had to get the key back to Bren. If he noticed it was gone, the whole plan would fall apart. I reached the top and saw him. He was still standing by the wall. He looked sleepy."Bren!" I said. I tried to make my voice sound light.He jumped a little. "My Lady? You're still out here? It’s late. You should be in bed.""I know," I said. I moved closer to him. "I'm so sorry. I’m such a mess today. I think I dropped a small silver pin when we were talking. It’s very small. It has a tiny blue stone on it."He looked down at the floor. "A pin? I didn't see anything fall, my Lady. Are you sure you had it?""I'm sure," I said. I stepped right next to him. "It’s a gift from my mother. It’s very dear to me. I’d be so sad if it stayed here on the floor. Can you help me look? Maybe it rolled under that bench.""Of course," Bren said. He leaned over. He started looking near the le
Selene's POVThe whisper reached me through the servant girl who brought my morning water."Luna." She kept her eyes down, her voice barely above a breath. "There are wolves at the northern border, with frostveil markings on their cloaks, six of them. They're asking for Lord Casimir."I said nothing. I took the cup from her hands and dismissed her.Frostveil had come.---By midmorning, the tension in the keep had shifted. I could feel it in the way the guards moved faster, spoke less, and avoided eye contact. Word traveled in a pack the way blood travels through a body—fast and everywhere at once.I found Malakar in the war room, standing over a table with his Beta and two of the senior elders. The map spread between them showed the northern border in red."They have no standing here," the Beta was saying. "Six wolves are not a peaceful group; they are a threat.""Six acknowledged warriors of Frostveil at our border constitutes exactly what I say it constitutes," Malakar said. His vo
Selene's POVThe great hall was packed.Every pack elder, every war captain, every ranking wolf from Deathmoon and the outlying territories had been summoned to Malakar's table. Torches lined the walls. Long tables groaned under the weight of food and drink no one had asked for. It wasn't a feast. It was a performance.And I was the prop.Nothing happened between us last night, I don’t know what came over him—he left so abruptly then he asked them to take me out of that High Tower. I should feel nothing but relief, and in a way, I do. Still, I know it’s not truly over, I saw the desire in his eyes; it hasn’t faded.For now, though, I’m grateful. I don’t know what might have happened if he had stayed, if he had touched me. How would I have faced Ronan after that?"Sit straight," Malakar said quietly, not looking at me. His hand was on my knee under the table, pressing down, not affectionately, but possessively. The way you pin a document so the wind doesn't take it.I straightened.He
Selene's POVThe High Tower was pitch black and hard to breathe in. The air felt heavy, smelling of cold stone and old dust that made me cough. I sat on the floor, my back against the bolted oak door, listening to the frantic drumbeat of my own heart.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the fountain. I saw the water turning red. I saw the way Ronan’s head snapped back when Malakar hauled him up by his hair.He’s alive, I whispered to myself, a mantra to keep the panic from swallowing me whole. He has to be alive.Hours passed into what felt like an eternity. Then, the heavy slide of the bolt groaned. The door swung open, and the flickering orange glow of a torch spilled across the floor, blinding me. A figure stood in the doorway—broad, jagged, and terrifying.Malakar.He stepped inside. He was dressed now, but a thick bandage was visible beneath the collar of his shirt where Ronan had driven the silver tip into his shoulder. His jaw was set, his eyes two burning coals in the dimness.
Selene's POV "Shoot him! Take the shot!" the Beta roared again. The click of crossbows being cocked sounded like the ticking of a death clock. The Elder’s grip on my arms was like iron, his fingers digging into my bruises. "Let me go!" I thrashed, my voice cracking. "Malakar, stop! You’ll kill him!" "That is the point, child," the Elder hissed in my ear. "Watch the price of rebellion." Rebellion? Just because he took me to Frostveil for three days, even though Malakar himself approved it? Yet he still wanted to punish him so he wouldn’t try something like that again, so I would be afraid to leave him—especially since I saw how he punished Ronan. And just because he killed Kael while defending himself? I can see that Malakar is definitely insane in this world. But Ronan wasn't done. As Malakar reared back to throw his weight into another wall, Ronan did something impossible. He didn't tighten his grip; he released it at the peak of the movement. Using the High Alpha’s own momentu
Selene's POV Malakar stormed off the balcony, leaving me alone. I struggled to stand up, my vision blurring. I had to do something. I couldn't let them kill Ronan.I ran toward the stairs, but two guards blocked my way."The High Alpha said you are to stay in your room, Luna," one of them said."Move," I commanded, trying to sound like the woman they feared.They didn't budge. They crossed their spears, locking me in. I was trapped.I ran back to the balcony. The courtyard was empty now. Everyone had gone into the woods to join the kill. The forest was dark and silent, like a giant mouth waiting to swallow Ronan whole.I closed my eyes and reached out with my mind. I didn't know if the bond we had in the real world worked here, but I had to try.Ronan! I shouted in my head. Ronan, can you hear me?For a long time, there was nothing but silence. Then, a faint whisper touched my mind. It was cold and sharp, like a blade.I hear you, Selene.They're all coming! I told him. Malakar sent
Ronan's POVI gripped my head as memories tore through me. Every piece fell into place, Selene's laugh, the way she used to look at me, the moment that monster ripped me apart."This can't be real," I muttered, staring at my shaking hands. "I died. I watched myself dissolve in her arms.""You did d
Selene's POV I didn't sleep. How could I? Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Malakar's hands on me. Felt his weight pinning me down. Heard Casimir—or whoever he really was, calling me by that other name. Selene. The name haunted me. It felt familiar, like a song I'd forgotten but my body st
Seraphina's POVThe hall erupted into complete chaos. Wolves shifted everywhere, teeth bared, claws slashing through the air. Garrick's pack crashed into Malakar's guards like a wave smashing against rocks."Let her go!" Garrick roared, charging straight toward us.Malakar's grip on my wrist tighte
Ronan's POV The moment we crossed into Frostveil territory, Selene yanked her arm free from my grip. "What was that?" She spun to face me, eyes blazing. "What game are you playing, Casimir?" I kept walking toward the pack house. "We need to get inside first." "No!" She grabbed my shoulder,







