LOGINHey loves! Lady P❣️ here 💕 We're officially 9 chapters into our journey, and trust me—we're just getting started. Ymir has come so far already. From that dark hallway in Chapter 1 to standing in front of Ezekiel again in Chapter 9... she's not the same woman. And neither are we. "Then you'll have to take him from me." Ezekiel just challenged her. And Ymir? She's done being afraid. What do you think is going to happen next? Will Ezekiel let her take Ziki? Or is this about to turn into a fight? Drop your thoughts below—I read every single comment 💛 Please don't forget to vote! It helps more readers find Ymir's story and keeps this journey going.
The words hung in the air between us. They're going to attack tonight. I stared at Marilyn, my heart pounding, my mind already racing through everything we needed to do. The ritual. The pack. The defenses. We had hours. Maybe less. And I had to decide whether to trust her. She had lied to me before. She had betrayed me before. She had taken my son and tried to destroy my life. Every instinct screamed at me to turn away, to lock her up, to not give her another chance to hurt me. But the fear in her eyes was real. The urgency in her voice was real. And if she was telling the truth, we didn't have time to doubt. I looked at her for a long moment. Then I nodded. "Come with me." --- Elara was still in the great hall when we entered. She looked up from the maps spread across the table, her expression shifting from concentration to alarm when she saw Marilyn. "She's not supposed to be here," Elara said. "I know." I closed the doors behind us. "But she has information. Cordelia is
Ziki was building a tower out of blocks. He was sitting on the floor of his room, his small hands working carefully, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. The tower was already taller than he was, and he was reaching for the next block when it wobbled. I held my breath. It fell. He stared at the scattered blocks for a moment, his face crumpling, and then he looked up at me with those gray eyes—so much like his father's, so much warmer—and he said, "Mama, help me." I knelt beside him and helped him rebuild. One block at a time. One piece at a time. He was laughing by the time the tower reached his shoulders, a bright, bubbling sound that filled the room and pushed out everything else. The creature. The sacrifice. The fear. For a moment, there was only him. Only us. And then the tower fell again. Ziki didn't cry this time. He just looked at the scattered blocks, then at me, and said, "It's okay, Mama. We can build it again." I pulled him int
I didn't answer him. I just looked at Ezekiel—at the cold, guarded man who had just told me he didn't deserve forgiveness—and I turned and walked away. My footsteps echoed on the stone floor, each one steady, each one measured. I didn't run. I didn't cry. I didn't let him see the crack in my armor. But the crack was there. It was wide and jagged and bleeding. I made it to the corridor before my legs gave out. I pressed my back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the cold floor. My hands were shaking. My chest was heaving. I could feel the tears burning behind my eyes, hot and insistent, but I refused to let them fall. You can't forgive me. Because I don't deserve it. He was right. He didn't deserve it. But that wasn't the point. The point was whether I could do it anyway. I sat there for a long time. Minutes. Hours. Time stopped meaning anything. I just sat there, my back against the cold stone, my hands pressed against my chest, trying to remember how to breat
I didn't remember leaving the mill. I didn't remember walking back through the forest, or crossing the territory, or climbing the stairs to my room. I just remembered the words, echoing over and over in my mind, cold and sharp and impossible. The person you love most. The person you would do anything for. Your son. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the wall, the mark on my wrist pulsing with a steady, aching rhythm. Ziki was asleep in his room. Ziki was safe. Ziki was alive. But he wouldn't be. Not if I didn't find another way. I pressed my palm against my chest, feeling the frantic beat of my heart, and I tried to think. There had to be another way. There had to be a way to bind the creature without losing my son. There had to be a way to save everyone. But the more I thought, the less I believed it. The creature wanted a sacrifice. A life. A love. Something that would cost me everything. And the only thing that fit was Ziki. Unless I could find a way to forgive Ezekiel
I didn't give him the satisfaction of a response. I just looked at him—at the cold, calculating man who had married me for my blood, who had stayed with me for my power, who had never loved me—and I turned and walked away. My footsteps echoed on the stone floor of the elders' chamber, each one steady, each one measured. I didn't run. I didn't cry. I didn't let him see the crack in my armor. But the crack was there. It was wide and jagged and bleeding. I made it to the corridor before my legs gave out. I pressed my back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the cold floor, my hands trembling, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. The letter was still clutched in my fist, the paper crumpled, the words burned into my mind. He never loved me. He never cared. It was all a game. I had known. I had always known, somewhere deep down. But hearing him say it, hearing the words come out of his mouth, was something else entirely. It was like being stabbed, over and over, wit
He lies. The words echoed through my mind, cold and sharp, and I stood frozen in the garden, staring at Ezekiel as he tucked the box back into his pocket. He looked tired. Worn. His gray eyes were flat, his expression unreadable. He looked like a man who had finally told the truth. But the creature said he was lying. I didn't know what to believe. I didn't know who to trust. The creature wanted me. It wanted my son. It would say anything to turn me against the people who could help me. But it had no reason to lie about Ezekiel. Did it? I left the garden without another word, my mind racing, my heart pounding. Ezekiel didn't try to stop me. He just stood there, watching me go, his expression still unreadable. I didn't look back. --- I found Xavier in the training clearing. He was sitting on a fallen log, his injured side bandaged, his shirt discarded beside him. He wasn't training. He was just sitting there, staring at the trees, his expression distant. He looked up







