MasukMaddy.The leader was not someone we could joke with or defy. The leader is our benefactor, to be precise—a force of nature whose command was absolute and whose shadow stretched over every choice we made.Leonard had once been saved by the leader when he was close to his death doors, dragged back from the brink when nobody else cared if he lived or died. Because of that debt, we swore allegiance to serve with all our life without questioning. Everything we had built, every lie we had told, and now all that we do, we do for the greater cause.I regained my senses, shaking off the sudden chill that had paralyzed me, and stared back at Leonard.“We need to act fast…” I said almost immediately, my chest heaving as I swallowed hard, trying to force down the bile rising in my throat. "...there is no time to delay any longer, it's time for the awakening,” I added, my hands trembling slightly against the soft fabric of the bedsheets.Honestly, this was going to be so hard for me, but what exa
Maddy.I watched as Caleb walked away, his shoulders slouched and his fingers foolishly clutching those absurd flowers like a lifeline, looking so utterly pathetic.A sharp, incredulous laughter bubbled up in my chest. Who the hell did he think he was to call me pathetic, when he and his brothers were actually the pathetic ones? They were disgraced Alphas who had no power, crawling in the dust for a female who didn't even want them.I smirked instantly, a sudden, brilliant spark of genius popping straight into my head.Why bother wasting my breath annoying them when I could use them to my advantage? Why play petty hallway games when I could push that bitch Melissa right back into their hands? If I served her to the triplets on a silver platter, she would be out of the picture for good. And with Melissa completely removed from the equation, I could finally bring Louis back under my control.I have always been one to get whatever I want, and getting Louis won't be an exception. He wa
Caleb. Leaving Cain and Cypril in our quarters, I stepped out into the crisp morning air, my mind racing with a singular, desperate mission.Cypril was right. Leaving like defeated dogs wasn't going to fix anything. If we wanted a single sliver of a chance at earning Melissa’s forgiveness, we had to show up. We had to prove that we were genuinely, deeply sorry for the terror we had inflicted on her.I marched straight down the stone steps toward the estate garden, my heart hammering against my ribs. I knew a pathetic bunch of flowers couldn't undo months of fear or erase the scars we left on her soul. I wasn't stupid. But I had to start somewhere. I needed to do something with my own hands—something soft, something gentle, something that showed her I was willing to strip away every ounce of my toxic Alpha pride just to get back on her good side.The garden was quiet, bathed in the soft, golden hues of early morning. I stepped onto the cobblestone path, bending down near a thick bush
Cypril.I sat lazily on the edge of my bed, staring blindly at the cold stone floor of Cain’s quarters.My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, but my mind was stuck in a loop, replaying every single detail of what I had witnessed in Louis’s study last night.I remembered the scene vividly. Louis, standing tall with his hands resting possessively on that female’s shoulders—Maddy—and the way she stood her ground, bold, unbothered, and completely comfortable in his space despite his roaring Alpha aura. They looked like two people wrapped up in their own private, chaotic world.When Louis had turned his sharp, untrusting glare onto me and demanded to know why the hell I was lurking outside his door, I hadn't pushed the issue. I had kept my mouth shut, swallowed my bruised pride, and lied straight to his face, telling him I was just walking past on my way back to my room.Before stepping into that study, my mind had been completely made up. I had been ready to crawl to Louis, hand
Ann.I woke up to a room bathed in bright, unforgiving morning light.The bed beside me was empty. Melissa had obviously slipped out quietly while I was still asleep, likely heading back to the medical wing to check on Bella. I sat up slowly, my head throbbing with a dull ache from hours of crying, my throat feeling dry as sandpaper.I looked down at my wrinkled dress, then at the spot on the rug near my wardrobe where Davian had pinned me down. The humiliation, the heartbreak, and the lingering taste of his forbidden kiss flared up in my chest all over again.But I didn't cry. The tears were gone, drained out of me completely during the night. In their place was a cold, iron-clad resolve.I stood up, stripped off the wrinkled clothes, washed my face with ice-cold water, and pulled on a fresh tunic. I smoothed down my hair, steeled my heart, and walked straight out of my bedroom.I wasn't going to sit in my room acting like a fragile victim waiting for him to barge in again. I wasn't
MELISSA. The soft morning light filtered through the thin curtains of Ann’s room, casting a warm, golden glow across the floor.I blinked my eyes open slowly, my muscles feeling stiff from sleeping hunched over in the heavy armchair beside the bed. My glance immediately shifted to Ann. She was curled up on her side, buried deep under the blankets, breathing in slow, heavy rhythms. The chaotic storm of heartbreak and tears from earlier had finally given way to a deep, peaceful sleep.I didn't want to disturb her. After everything she’d endured with Davian down the hall, she needed every second of rest she could get.Carefully, I slipped my feet to the floor, holding my breath as I stood up so the chair wouldn't squeak. I tiptoed across the rug, gently adjusting the blanket around Ann's shoulders before making my way to the door. I turned the brass latch with utmost care, slipped out into the quiet corridor, and closed the door behind me without making a sound.The heavy stone hallway







