LOGINAuthor’s POV The sound of that soft, satisfied whine inside him made Henry’s expression darken even further.“No,” he muttered under his breath, more to himself than to her.Lysera caught it and her eyes narrowed slightly, suspicion sharpening her already hostile gaze.“What is wrong with you?” she asked, her voice low now, controlled—but no less cutting. “First you break into my room, climb into my bed like a lunatic, and now you’re standing there talking to yourself. Are you going mad?”Henry didn’t answer immediately. Because he didn’t have one. Or rather—he did. He just refused to say it out loud.His jaw clenched as he forced himself to move back from her, putting a sliver of distance between them. It didn’t help. The air still felt thick and heavy. Like something unseen was pressing them together no matter how far apart they tried to stand.Lysera noticed it too. Of course she did. Her breathing had changed. Subtly. It was now slightly faster than before.She hated that. He cou
Author’s POVThe moment Henry stepped close enough to the bed. He was hit by a sweet scent.It was floral. Soft. Familiar. His body went still. It was the same scent he had always known. The same one that used to calm him, ground him, pull him back whenever his temper threatened to slip.Isyra.For years, that scent had been everything. His comfort.His home. His Choice.But now, it felt wrong and almost suffocating.It filled his lungs and sat there, heavy, doing nothing to soothe the restless thing clawing beneath his skin.Nothing to quiet the voice. Nothing to ease the hunger.His jaw tightened. Disgust flickered through him.Then it shifted. Because as he drew closer… the scent changed.Subtly. Not too much. It was still floral. Still soft. Still eerily similar.And yet, it wasn’t the same.There was something warmer beneath it. Something deeper. Something that didn’t sit on his skin but sank into him, curled around his chest, and tightened there.His breath slowed, then deepen
Author’s POVIsyra slept peacefully in his arms. Soft, warm and unaware of what was going on inside his head.Her body was curled into his like she belonged there, like she had always belonged there, her quiet breaths brushing against his chest in soft, steady rhythms. Every slow inhale brought her scent into him—floral, sweet, familiar and comforting.It should have been enough. It used to be enough. But now, it did nothing to quiet the restless itch crawling beneath his skin. Nothing to silence the voice in his head that did not sound like him and yet… was him.‘Go to her.’ The voice urged. ‘Claim her.’Henry’s jaw tightened. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, willing it away. It didn’t stop. Instead, it got louder and more aggressive.‘Go to her. Claim her.’He hated it. Hated the sound of it. Hated the way it slithered through his mind, persistent, relentless, impossible to ignore.This was madness. Everything about this—about her—about the bond—was madness. And he wanted no
Lysera“He is?” I grinned again. “If he truly were yours, you wouldn’t need to tell me. I’d already know.”“He’s mine!” she snapped, her voice sharp with barely contained aggression.My gaze dropped to her hands resting on her lap. They weren’t clenched.Oh.She wanted to hit me. But she wouldn’t. Not here. Not with guards in the room and servants passing through at any moment.I leaned back slightly, unbothered.“If he’s yours,” I continued smoothly, “then he wouldn’t be trying to touch me.”I let the words linger before adding, deliberately softer—“He wouldn’t be trying to make love to me.”I chose the words carefully. Let them sound intimate. Beautiful. Provoking.“He wouldn’t be so desperate to complete the mating ritual between us…” I arched slightly in my chair, tilting my head as my eyes drifted toward her neck in an exaggerated inspection. Then I clicked my tongue. “…when he hasn’t even marked you.”My gaze returned to her face.“You’ve been with him for years,” I added, my t
LyseraI slowly took another bite of my food. Letting the taste settle on my tongue, letting the silence stretch just enough to make her feel it.Let her wait. The room shifted around her presence anyway. It always did. Like everything instinctively bent to make space for her.Perfect Isyra.Beloved Isyra.I swallowed, then finally lifted my head and went still.For a second, I just… stared because this, this wasn’t what I expected.She looked beautiful. She always did.But this wasn’t the soft, delicate beauty she usually wore like a second skin. This wasn’t the gentle, glowing Isyra wrapped in pale colors and quiet smiles.No.She was dressed in black.Not just black—deep black that clung to her like a statement. The fabric was rich, heavy, falling around her frame in clean lines that made her look… sharper.Colder.Her makeup was heavier than usual too. Dark around her eyes, her lips a deeper shade than I had ever seen her wear. It made her look older. Harder. Like something had sh
LyseraThe moment I stepped into the kitchen, everything stopped.Movement, sound and breath. Everything.The maids froze where they stood, hands mid-task, eyes snapping toward me like I had just dragged death itself into the room.For a second, no one spoke. Then the murmuring began. Low, filled with shock and disbelief that I was in the kitchen. Again.“She’s here.”“How?”“Why would she be here? What does she want?”The head cook moved. She was a stout woman with thick arms and a stern face, flour dusted across her apron and hands. She stepped forward quickly, planting herself directly in my path like a wall.“You cannot be here,” she said firmly.I didn’t plan to stop walking but she didn’t move so I had to come to a stand still. We stood there for a brief second—me staring at her, her staring right back, unyielding.“Move.”The command didn’t come from me. It came from behind. The older guard stepped forward, his presence cutting through the tension like a blade.“The Alpha has g
Author’s POVHe was in the middle of nowhere.The grass reached his knees, pale and brittle, bending under a wind he could feel but not hear. It stretched endlessly in every direction—no trees, no hills, no water, no sky-markers to orient himself. Just grass. A flat, empty sprawl that swallowed dis
Lysera The air became charged as Henry’s anger flooded the room, raw and undeniable, until I could taste it on my tongue. Sweat broke out along my spine. My hands began to shake, the cutlery rattling faintly against the plate as his presence bore down on everyone In the great living room. No matt
LyseraArmed with the knowledge that my baby would be my shield, I pushed myself to my feet.My legs still felt weak, but my resolve didn’t waver.I reached for the dress folded on the chair—the one I had worn to the mating ceremony. It was the only proper clothing I had left. No one had bothered t
LyseraI lay on my back, staring at the pale blue ceiling, my eyes fixed on a single dark spot near the corner where a spider was patiently building its web.It moved with slow, deliberate care—stretching, anchoring, retreating, returning again—its tiny body a quiet rhythm against the stillness of







