MATED TO THE RUTHLESS ALPHA AND HIS BROTHER

DARIUS' POV I heard the screams last night; sharp, desperate sounds that sliced through the silence like a blade. There’d been some scraping too, and low growls. Kain must’ve caught another rogue. That’s how he handles things: brutal and no room for questions. He and I don’t see eye to eye on… well, anything. He rules with blood and dominance, and I.. well, let’s just say I believe in leaving a little room for mercy. This morning, the compound is quiet again, unnervingly so. The torches outside the holding chamber are still burning low, casting flickers of orange across the stone. I should ignore it, keep my head down like always. But something pulls at me. A scent. Faint, yet impossible to miss. It lingers in the air like an unfinished song, something wild and electric. Not just wolf, not just human but like something in between. My pulse stutters. Kain wouldn't have captured a half-blood. Would he? I follow the scent, deeper into the corridor, past the guards who nod a

Elara's POVThe only thing I could do was go back. Back to Darius… maybe even Kain. As much as I hated the idea, I needed help. Real help. Someone who knew the kind of darkness that might’ve taken Maya. I made up my mind, I’d retrace my steps. Go back to the woods, to where I escaped. Look for signs or left trails or anything that could tell me if they came after her too.There was no way in hell I was sitting still while my sister was out there; somewhere. I’d be out there too, hunting for answers, tearing through the trees if I had to. But I knew one thing for sure: I couldn’t do it alone. I remembered the old stories. Whispers in hushed voices. Silver, they said. Silver or holy water. They fend off wolves. Demons. Whatever the hell those creatures are.I grabbed a small bottle of holy water from the drawer where I kept my old church stuff. Just in case. And then, I reached for the silver cross necklace on the floor, the one I gave maya. The second my fingers closed around it, pain

Elara's POVI didn’t even think. The moment Darius staggered through the castle doors with Kain slung over his shoulder, bloodied and broken, I ran to them.Kain looked… destroyed. His skin was torn where silver had kissed it, deep gashes trailing down his chest, blood soaking into every inch of him. His head hung low, limp, and for the first time since I met him, he looked small. Mortal.“He needs water,” I said, my voice cracking. “Bandages. Fire—he’s freezing.”I didn’t realise Darius was still standing there, watching us. Watching me. But I felt it.His presence was heavy, dark and quiet in a way that made the back of my neck prickle. When I finally glanced up, his eyes were unreadable and distant, like something inside him had cracked open. He didn’t say a word. Just stood there while I worked, while I whispered Kain’s name, and tried to stop the bleeding. The air between us was thick with something unspoken.I could feel it building. And I hated it because I didn’t know what it

Setting: Training grounds, morning.POV: ElaraThe trail led nowhere. I searched every hallway, every scent, but it was like Mira’s journal page had just appeared, with no one to trace it back to. My frustration burned hotter with every step.By the time the moon dipped low and the stars began to fade into the first whispers of morning, I found myself back where it always ended—the training ground.The air was cool, the kind of still that only comes before dawn. The dummies stood silent and waiting, like they knew what I came for.I launched into the first hit, then the second, each strike sharper than the last. I kept going until my knuckles ached and my breathing turned ragged. Until the pounding in my chest had nothing to do with the punches and everything to do with fear.Fear that I was already too late.Thump. Thump. Thump.“You hit like a kitten.” I froze.His voice came from behind me— unmistakable. Darius.I turned, and there he was. Arms crossed, hair tousled like he hadn’t

Elara’s POVSetting: Pack Hall, evening. The fire in the hearth casts long shadows. The pack has gathered, tension thick in the air.Kain stood at the head of the room, arms folded. His voice cut through the silence his presence commanded like a blade.. The last light of dusk filtered through the high windows, painting him in half-shadow. “The Bloodfangs are mobilizing. This isn’t a raid. It’s a war bait,” he said, scanning the faces of warriors, scouts, and elders alike. “And we won’t bite without a strategy.”The pack murmured among themselves, a low current of nerves and aggression. Then his eyes found me. “Elara stays confined.”The room shifted. Whispers buzzed. I felt the weight of their stares; some sympathetic, most suspicious. “What?” I stepped forward. “You can’t just lock me away like some helpless....”“It’s not up for debate.” His voice was sharper now, cold steel in velvet. I stared at him, fury rising like a tide. “You don’t get to decide what I do.” He stepped down