登入"It is the leftover magic from the hot springs, Marcus," Elena said quickly. She did not let her voice tremble. She kept her heart rate perfectly steady. She used her new Luna strength to fake a calm she did not feel. "My wolf is just resting after the purge." Marcus stared at her for a long moment. His inner wolf let out a questioning rumble. The fated bond told him she was hiding something. But before he could press her further, a loud knocking shattered the silence of the room. "Sire!" Beta Thomas’s voice shouted through the heavy wood. "The eastern gates. We have a massive problem. The Blood Moon pack has arrived." Marcus rose to his feet. The warm, possessive mate vanished. The cold warlord returned. He did not say another word to Elena. He turned and strode out of the room, his heavy boots echoing down the corridor. ------------------------------ Two hours later, Elena stood beside Marcus at the head of the grand negotiation table in the castle’s Great Hall. The room was
Elena woke up to total silence. She was lying in the grand four-poster bed of the Alpha’s master suite. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn tight, blocking out the morning sun. The air smelled of clean linen, cedarwood, and the deep, musk scent of Marcus. She sat up slowly. The pain in her wrists was gone. She looked down at her bare side. The wound from Devon's dart was completely healed, leaving only a faint, silvery scar. Her crescent mark was gone from sight, fully absorbed into her skin. She felt different. The air felt heavier. The world felt smaller. Suddenly, Elena flinched, covering her ears. The silence vanished. The world was suddenly deafeningly loud. She could hear the rustle of the pine leaves on the mountains three miles away. She could hear the heavy iron boots of the vanguard guards marching across the stone courtyard below. Then, the chaotic noises crystallized into a singular, rhythmic sound. She began to hear heartbeats. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. She hea
The air in the lowest cavern of the mountain was so thick with steam it was hard to breathe. It smelled of sulfur, ancient minerals, and wet stone. Deep underground, a natural pool of bubbling volcanic water glowed with a faint, dark heat. This was the sacred hot springs of Silver Ridge, a place where only the blood of kings was allowed to flow. Marcus carried Elena down the steep stone steps. He was entirely naked. His massive, scarred body had been washed clean of the enemy’s blood, but his mind was still on fire. Elena was slipping away. Her skin felt like ice, yet she was burning from the inside. A frantic growl vibrated constantly in her throat. Her fingernails had extended into sharp, feral claws. She blindly scratched at Marcus’s chest, leaving long, bloody lines in his flesh. She did not recognize him anymore. The bond-rot potion had turned her mind into a prison of static and poison. Her inner wolf was desperately trying to tear its way out of her body. "I’ve got you, litt
Elena didn't scream. The pain was too massive for sound. The moment the silver dart embedded in her side, the foul green aura exploded through her veins. It felt like liquid fire mixed with crushed glass. She fell to her knees. Her hands clutched at the stone. "Elena!" Marcus shifted back into human form before he even hit the ground. He slid across the blood-slicked stones, catching her body before her face could hit the floor. His massive hands trembled violently as he pulled her into his lap. He was an Alpha King, a legendary warlord, but in this moment, he was just a man watching his world end. Elena’s head snapped back. A violent tremor racked her body. She choked, her lips parting as she coughed up a thick fluid. It was a bright, shimmering silver blood that sizzled against the dark stone courtyard. "No, no, no," Marcus chanted. His voice was a frantic, broken prayer. He grabbed the tail of the silver dart and pulled it out. Elena screamed then—a high, agonized sound that
The western bastion of the castle was burning. High King Raymond’s elite warriors moved through the thick smoke like silver ghosts. Marcus ran through the chaos. He carried Elena tightly against his chest. His bare feet left red prints on the stone floor. Around them, the elite pack guards fought desperately against the silver-clad invaders. "Marcus, let me down," Elena whispered. Her voice was a fragile thread. The silver-gold light on her shoulder had faded to a dim pulse. Her fractured wrists throbbed with a dull pain. But her mind was suddenly razor-sharp. The ancient blood inside her was waking up. She knew Marcus’s protective instincts would get them both killed if he stayed weighed down by her. Marcus didn't stop. He kicked open the heavy iron doors leading to the inner courtyard. "Never," he growled. His eyes scanned the smoke. "The inner keep is compromised. I am taking you to the hidden bunkers beneath the ridge." "No," Elena said. She placed her bruised palms agai
The venomous word hung in the air, slick with the metallic stench of the scout’s silver-alloy blade. Elena lay on the glass-strewn rug, her fingers digging into the fabric to steady herself. The silver-gold luminescence bursting from her crescent mark pulsed like an exposed heart, illuminating the jagged shards around her. Her blood ran white-hot, heavy with the ancient lineage of the First Werewolf Queen, yet her limbs felt entirely disconnected from her mind. "Don't touch me," Elena rasped. Her voice was raw, but it lacked the commanding resonance she had tapped into in the throne room. The sheer volume of the dormant gene unlocking inside her was suffocating her wolf, trapping her in a prison of her own biological evolution. The lead scout laughed, a high, mocking sound that rattled through the broken window frame. "Look at her. The great prize of the Continental Council, shivering on the floor like a common house pet. Pick her up." The two charcoal-furred wolves lunged







