INICIAR SESIÓNAuthor’s POVSomething inside Lysera changed after the prison visit.Henry noticed it almost immediately. She did not suddenly become louder or reckless or endlessly cheerful. Lysera would probably always carry some quietness inside her after everything she survived.But she seemed lighter now and like some invisible weight had finally loosened from around her throat. The nightmares stopped first. For weeks, Henry had grown used to waking in the middle of the night whenever Lysera shifted restlessly beside him. Sometimes she whimpered softly in her sleep. Other nights she woke up gasping quietly before forcing herself to calm down.After the prison visit, it stopped. Now when Henry woke during the night, he usually found her sleeping peacefully curled against his chest while one of his hands rested protectively over her stomach.Their son. The realization still overwhelmed him every single time.One evening, Henry found Lysera standing near the nursery doorway quietly staring inside.
LyseraI wanted to see my parents abs Isyra and for the life of me, I cannot understand why.Even while the carriage rolled slowly toward the eastern prison grounds, part of me still questioned the decision. I had spent weeks convincing myself I never wanted to lay eyes on my family again after their arrest. I thought leaving them behind would be enough closure.Apparently, it wasn’t.Henry sat beside me quietly throughout the journey, though tension radiated visibly from him. His hand remained wrapped around mine almost the entire time like he was still debating whether he should turn the carriage around and drag me back home instead.“You don’t have to do this,” he said again quietly.I looked out the carriage window toward the distant prison walls rising against the gray sky. “I know.”“Then why come?”The question lingered heavily between us. Truthfully, I did not fully know myself. Maybe I needed to see them broken to finally understand I survived them. Maybe some wounded part of
LyseraThe next evening, Henry came back. The moment the servants announced his arrival, my pulse immediately lost all sense of dignity. I spent the next few seconds pretending to rearrange shelves of books inside the sitting room before finally hearing his footsteps approaching down the hallway. The bond stirred instantly beneath my skin, warm and restless and far too aware of him.Then Henry stepped into the room and stopped. For a second, neither of us spoke. The memory of last night still lingered heavily between us. The truth, the kiss and the way everything between us had shifted so completely that it almost felt fragile now.Henry looked exhausted and like he had spent the entire night replaying every moment between us exactly the same way I had.His green eyes settled on me carefully. “You look well rested.”I almost laughed because I knew what I looked like. I didn’t look well rested at all. “I barely slept.”A faint huff escaped him. “Good. At least I wasn’t suffering alone
LyseraAfter Henry left, I lay sprawled dramatically across my bed for several long minutes staring at the ceiling while my heart continued beating far too fast inside my chest.I kissed Henry. Actually kissed him.A muffled groan escaped me before I buried my burning face deeper into the pillows. How did I suddenly become bold enough to do that? One minute we were emotionally unraveling over the realization that he was the father of my child and the next minute I was standing on my tiptoes kissing him like some shameless woman inside a romance novel.My wolf sounded deeply pleased with herself. She actually pushed me to do that. “You’re welcome.”“Traitor,” I muttered weakly into the pillow.Still, beneath the embarrassment and nerves twisting wildly inside me, something softer lingered too. Warmth. Because Henry kissed my forehead first.Not possessively. Not hungrily. Tenderly. Like I was something precious.The memory alone made my stomach flutter all over again.I rolled onto my
Author’s POVSilence swallowed the room afterward. Neither of them moved. Neither of them seemed capable of breathing properly.Henry could still feel the slight trembling in Lysera’s body beneath his hands while her wide eyes remained locked on his face like she no longer recognized the man standing in front of her.Moon Goddess. He had done this. All those months, all the hatred and all the accusations. And through it all, she had been carrying his child.Guilt ripped viciously through his chest.“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, the words rough and uneven. “Lysera, Moon Goddess… I’m so sorry.”Pain flashed visibly across her face at the sound of his apology. Henry dragged a hand harshly through his dark hair before continuing.“If I had just looked at your face properly that morning—”“It’s not only your fault.” The interruption startled him enough that he stopped speaking entirely. Lysera finally looked down shakily before laughing softly at herself. The sound carried no amusement.
Author’s POVThe silence inside the living room stretched unbearably after Lysera reached the bottom of the staircase.Neither of them knew where to look.Lysera’s face remained bright red while she clutched the robe tightly around herself like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole. Damp strands of hair still clung lightly against her neck from her bath and the sight alone nearly made Henry lose his mind all over again.Not because she was beautiful. Though Moon Goddess, she was. But because everything has changed now.Everything.Henry stood slowly from the couch the second she stepped fully into the room.“I’m sorry,” he said immediately. The apology came out rougher than intended.Lysera finally glanced toward him briefly before quickly looking away again. “It’s fine.”It very clearly was not fine. Henry dragged a hand through his dark hair in frustration while guilt clawed viciously through him again.“I should’ve knocked properly.”“You did knock.”“I should’ve waited for an
LyseraI snapped awake to screaming.Not the kind that belonged to nightmares or memory, but real—raw, panicked, echoing through stone and corridors like a warning bell rung too hard, too fast.“Maids! Healers! Someone come—now! The alpha is drying!”Harlow’s voice.My heart slammed against my ribs
Author’s POVThe visiting Alpha arrived just before dusk, his presence announced long before his footsteps ever crossed into the pack house.There was a shift in the air when another Alpha entered foreign territory—an instinctive tightening, a low hum of awareness that ran through the guards and se
Author’s POVHenry stood ankle-deep in water.The lake was small and shallow, the surface barely disturbed except for the faint ripples spreading out from where he stood. The water was cold enough to bite, but not enough to hurt. Pale reeds ringed the edges, bending slightly as though moved by a br
LyseraFor a long while after I fell silent, Healer Apollo said nothing.The room felt strangely small then, as though the walls had crept closer while I was talking. The quiet pressed against my ears until I almost wished he would interrupt me, accuse me of lying, do something to break the tension







