MasukLysera ‘You’re thinking too small, Lysera.”I stilled. Her voice had changed. It wasn’t soft anymore. It wasn’t pleading. It was… steady and clear.‘The pack already sees you as evil, she said. Henry thinks you’re nothing but a whore because you got pregnant for a man they nobody knows. Not even you.’My chest tightened because she wasn’t wrong.If you put me in front of the father of my child right now… I wouldn’t even know. All I remembered was his scent. Smoke and cedar.And the last time—in the throne room—Henry had smelled so much like it.My breath caught slightly. Maybe that was why I lost control. Why I went… feral. Why I pressed against him like that. Why I inhaled him like I was starving.That had to be it. It had to be.My wolf scoffed. I braced myself for her to argue—to say it wasn’t about the father of my child, that it was the mating bond, that I was just being stubborn.But she didn’t. She simply… moved on, continuing like nothing had been said.‘So use it.’Something
Lysera“I’m not eating that,” I said flatly as the servant placed the tray of food on the table in front of me.My stomach growled loudly, betraying me as the smell of the food filled the room. It reminded me just how long it had been since I last ate properly. The last time… Leander had gone out to hunt so we could eat together.My jaw tightened.That bastard.He said we would find a solution. He said I would be safe. But the moment the guards came, he stepped aside and let them take me.Or maybe he had already told them.Maybe he had sent word the moment he found me, making sure I couldn’t escape. He never said anything about it.A soft snicker came from one of the guards stationed inside the room.“You should eat,” he said. “Because once the maid takes it away, no one will listen when you start crying about being hungry.”I glared at him but said nothing. He was right. Damn him. I should eat.But even though my body was hungry, my stomach felt hollow. Empty in a way food couldn’t f
LyseraSilence. Her lips parted, then pressed shut. I leaned in, lowering my voice.“Say it again,” I whispered. “Tell him you didn’t want me dead.”“Stop it.” Henry stepped forward this time to defend her. “Why?” I shot back, not even looking at him. “You don’t want to hear the truth? Houses don’t just catch fire like that. She sent me there, made sure I starved, then tried to eliminate me.”His jaw tightened. “I said stop goading her. She would never set the pack house on fire. Must have been one of the pack members. After all, they all hate and want to be rid of you.”That made me laugh, the sound soft and bitter. Of course he would defend her. Isyra—the kind, gentle one who would never hurt a fly. Of course the pack would rally around her, help her get rid of me. She never dirtied her own hands.I stepped back slowly, my gaze moving between them as something inside me shifted.“You two suit each other,” I said. The words came out quiet, but they landed hard.Henry frowned slightl
LyseraThe doors burst open, and I turned sharply, my heart still racing, my lips still burning from the hard kiss.Isyra stood at the entrance. Her gaze moved slowly between us—taking in everything. Me. Him. The distance between us that felt charged. Her eyes narrowed slightly, sharp and calculating, missing nothing.I stilled, waiting for her to say something. But didn’t speak immediately. She observed us for a while then…“Sister, you’re here.”The smile that spread across her face was soft and warm. Like she hadn’t just walked into a room thick with tension and something far more dangerous beneath it.She walked forward gracefully, like she belonged there—like she owned the space—and slipped her arms around Henry’s.It looked casual and natural, like she’d done this countless times and it was now a second nature. It looked possessive.My stomach twisted as my wolf roared violently in her head, screaming at me to drag her away from our mate. Make sure she doesn’t touch what belonge
Lysera“Whether I like it or not? You must be joking if you think I’d allow you to climb my bed, sleep with me and then put your mark on me. In your dreams.”“It would be happening whether you like it or not.” Henry spat through clenched teeth.“We won’t be completing the mating ceremony. Well, I less you rape me because that’s the only way it will happen.” Henry rated back as if he’d been slapped. “I’m not a monster.”“Are you not?” I asked.“I’ve never forced myself on any woman. I’ve never raped your sister.”“Oh, so that behavior is reserved for me?” I took a step back, then gave him a shallow, mocking bow. “Thank you, Alpha, for your graciousness,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.When I lifted my head and met Henry’s gaze, his eyes were ice-cold. If looks could kill, I would already be six feet under. He stood there like he was holding himself back from wrapping his hand around my throat and squeezing the life out of me.Well… that made two of us. What wouldn’t I give to
LyseraEmbarrassment flooded me so fast it almost made me dizzy. For a brief, desperate second, I wished the ground would split open and swallow me whole.What was that? What had I just done?Did I really just press myself against Henry like some… some wolf in heat, inhaling him like I had no control over my own body?“Feel what?” I sneered, forcing the words out, sharp and defensive. I refused to look at him. I knew what I would see if I did.Disgust. Maybe even hatred. And I already hated myself enough for what I’d just done. I didn’t need to see it reflected on his face.“The mate bond,” Henry said. His voice was calm.It pulled my gaze up despite myself and looked at him. He didn’t look calm.His jaw was tight, his hands clenched into fists at his sides like he was holding himself back from something. From touching me? From pulling me closer? His eyes— they weren’t green anymore. They were gold. The color of his wolf’s.“It’s just the mate bond,” I said quickly, the words tumblin
LyseraI didn’t understand what had just happened.Even as the guards guided me away, even as my feet followed the familiar stone paths back toward confinement, my mind lagged behind, stuck on the moment Henry had stepped into my space like he’d forgotten how to breathe.Like I was the air.I repla
Author’s POVIsyra lay awake in the dark, staring at the carved canopy above Henry’s bed, listening to the slow, indifferent tick of time as it slipped past her.He wasn’t coming.She knew it now with a certainty that sat like a stone in her chest.This was the second night.The second night she ha
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







