LOGINThird Person POV:The room was quiet, save for the faint rustle of fabric as Talia adjusted the fall of her dress before the mirror. The lamplight caught along her shoulders and in her hair, picking out every detail she had already checked twice.Nothing about tonight would be left to chance.A slow smile curved her lips as she studied her reflection.Things were falling into place.The events of the day had shifted something within the pack, subtle enough that most would not notice, but she had. Moments like that were never random; they were opportunities, and she had learned long ago how to recognize them when they appeared.Denver had noticed her.That alone was enough to set everything else in motion.Her fingers stilled briefly against the fabric at her waist as the thought settled deeper. It was not simply about being seen—it was about being remembered.About standing apart in a way that could not be easily dismissed or forgotten. Tonight would ensure that.Dinner had not been
Selena. Later that evening, after Denver’s mother had stabilized and her personal maid had taken over, I returned to my room.Something felt off.Not in a way I could clearly define, not in a way that had shape or substance, but it lingered beneath the surface like a thought I couldn’t quite grasp, slipping away every time I tried to focus on it.I stood by the window, my fingers resting lightly against the frame as I watched the fading light stretch across the pack. Everything looked the same. Nothing had changed, and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had.Maybe it was just me.That thought came easily now. Lately, everything seemed to circle back to me—my body, my failures, the quiet, unspoken tension that sat between Denver and me like something neither of us acknowledged, yet both of us felt.I pressed my lips together and exhaled slowly.Denver had never pressured me, never said anything outright, but something had shifted weeks ago after he asked if I had been taki
DenverAfter she closed the door, I did not ask her to sit, and that was intentional.Silence had a way of exposing people. Most tried to fill it when it stretched too long, their discomfort slipping through in small, careless ways. They shifted their weight, spoke too quickly, and offered explanations that had not yet been asked for. It was never the obvious reactions that gave them away, but the subtle ones, the things they did without realizing they were being watched.Talia did none of that.She remained where she was, composed in a way that did not feel forced, her hands relaxed at her sides, her posture balanced between ease and awareness.She carried herself like someone who understood the weight of attention and knew how to stand under it without letting it show.I let the silence linger longer than necessary, my gaze fixed on her as I observed every detail.There was no fidgeting, no unnecessary movement, not even a shift in her breathing to suggest unease.That, more than a
Talia.By the time the hallway emptied and the noise faded, everything had already settled exactly the way I wanted it to, at least on the surface.The servants moved more carefully now, their voices lower, their steps quicker, as though the walls themselves were listening. Fear had a quiet way of spreading in a place like this. One moment everything was normal, and the next, everyone was reminded how quickly things could fall apart.I walked through it all without drawing attention to myself.No one stopped me, and no one questioned me. If anything, the few glances I received held something new. It was not the casual indifference I had grown used to since arriving, but something warmer, something more aware.Respect.Gratitude.It almost made me smile, but I kept my expression composed as I turned down one of the quieter corridors, my steps steady and unhurried. Outwardly, nothing had changed, but inside, my thoughts were already moving, replaying every detail of what had just happ
Denver.The moment the door closed behind the doctor, the room fell into a kind of silence that didn’t feel like relief.I stood there for a while, my gaze fixed on my mother where she lay resting against the pillows. Her breathing was steady now, her face no longer flushed, the swelling slowly fading. To anyone else, it would have been enough to ease the tension.It wasn’t enough for me.My hands rested loosely at my sides, but I could feel the tightness in my muscles, the quiet strain sitting just beneath the surface. I had learned long ago how to control it, how to keep it from spilling over, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.It was always there.Selena hadn’t moved from where she stood.I could feel her presence behind me, quiet, uncertain, carrying a weight I didn’t need to turn around to recognize. Guilt. Worry. Questions she hadn’t asked yet.But my focus stayed where it needed to be.On what had just happened.On what should never have happened.A severe allergy wasn’t s
Selena. I knew something was wrong even before I stepped into the corridor.It was the noise.Voices overlapped, urgent and sharp, echoing down the hall in a way that made my chest tighten. Nothing about it felt normal. Nothing about it felt controlled.Something was wrong.I quickened my pace, my heartbeat picking up as I followed the sound toward the Queen’s wing.By the time I reached the open doorway, I stopped.The room was full. Staff, guards, and a few members of the household. Everyone was talking at once, no one was really listening. The air felt thick with panic.And at the center of it all was the Queen.She was struggling to breathe.Her hand clutched at her throat, her face flushed, her lips slightly swollen. Fear filled her eyes as she tried to pull in air.My stomach dropped.“What happened?” I asked, pushing my way through the crowd.“No one knows,” one of the staff said, clearly shaken. “She was fine, and then suddenly—”“She must have eaten something,” another added
Selena.Later that evening, I sat at the edge of my bed, fingers tracing the edge of the silk sheet, thinking about the day. The conversation.with Denver mother, Tiana cold words lingered, but none was enough to take my mind from thinking about him.About Denver. About the way his eyes lingered o
Selena. Dinner was announced just after sunset.I had hoped the day would end quietly, that I could retreat to my room and gather myself after seeing Silas earlier, but that hope dissolved the moment a servant informed me that the family would be dining together in the private chamber.Family.The
Denver.I left the dining hall without looking back.Not because I didn’t care.Because I couldn’t afford to.The elders were already waiting in the upper chambers. I could feel it in the stillness of the halls, in the way the guards stood straighter as I passed. Word always moved faster than foots
Selena. I slowly woke up the next morning in Denver’s bed.For a few seconds, I forgot where I was. Then I felt the warmth beside me, the heavy scent of him on the sheets, and it all came rushing back. My cheeks warmed, and a small, shy smile lifted my lips.Denver was still asleep, his face calm







