LOGINKeon's POV:
What the fuck is Derrick up to? I'm in my bed chambers on the highest floor of this palace, and after all the hassle of the last few days you would think I would finally take time off to rest and relax. So did I. But instead, I'm pacing my room floor wondering why the bond with Winter feels sharper than ice and relentless like a tsunami. I just can't get any sort of sleep whatsoever. I avoided dinner because the fact that Derrick is back and now can claim Winter annoys me. No. It's worse. It's infuriating. So I'm jealous my brother is back because now he has a claim to a mate that is supposedly his but is actually mine…Big whoop. Would I be acting abnormally if I demanded she slept in my quarters? I walk toward the halls leading towards the stairs, before turning back halfway. No. I've talked about this. I have walked towards the stairs over 5 times trying to control myself. What if— No. She could be in danger though…. Maybe I should just go check on her… My legs trod back towards the stairs… No. If she were in any actual danger the bond wouldn't feel like this. This time it feels like…something I can't and don't think I want to explain. It feels like happiness? No…that's not quite right…. euphoria? Yeah I think that's closer to it. The storm in my chest…it tastes like some sort of betrayal I can't swallow. Euphoria? It's one thing for Winter to be happy with Derrick, as bitter as it is to say or think about. But this feeling…it's more like… Pleasure? Yes. That's it. This feeling in my chest… It's like a wave of intense happiness. And Derrick is the one behind that feeling. I grit my teeth so hard my jaw hurts. What could he possibly be doing to make her this happy? And why does it feel like some sort of huge betrayal? Unless… No. There's no way. But… Derrick and Winter, the latest “mates” are alone, at nearly midnight, and Winter is euphoric about it. But euphoric about what exactly? Their conversation? His presence? What? My mind immediately assumes the worst. He's fucking her. My wolf growls in my chest. I struggle to calm him. It couldn't be…Winter wouldn't… The memory of her beautiful smile flashes by, but she's smiling at him in the garden. Not me. Him. Dammit. It's fine. It's fine. I'm fine. I lay down on the lush bed, trying to close my eyes. I tear my eyes open half a second later. It's not fine. Not at all. I've tried to be considerate, to be the “good guy” and do what's best for everyone. I've tried, but I draw the fucking line at Derrick having what's not his like that. No one but me should get to touch her. No one. I'm done with this. I'm done being selfless. A brilliant idea pops up, and I smile at my dark reflection in the mirror, my dark eyes lighting up the room in a way that would spread chills on anyone. I knew it. I was fucking right. As I soon as I entered his quarters, the sound of someone deep in the throes of pleasure rang out. They didn't care if they screamed the walls down, and it grated against my nerves like chalk on a blackboard. It's Winter. Winter is moaning like she's having the time of her fucking life, and with the fucker Derrick. The sound rings out all around me till it's all I can hear, and it makes me want to shift on the spot. She's mine. Fucking mine. Her moans should be mine only, come from me only, and only I deserve to make her feel the way she is now. “Yes Derrick! Please let me come! Fuck Derrick!! Make me come! Please!” My wolf growls so loudly they would notice if they weren't occupied. Derrick. Fucking occupied with my. fucking. mate. Even though I'm barely a foot away from the door I don't rip of the door by its hinges like I want to. No. I'm smarter than that. Better. "Fuckkkkkk! Derrick don't stop! I'm going to—Shit I'm going to—” I am not fucking better. I knock the door down like my mind depends on it.Winter’s POVSleep refuses to come.I turn onto my side for what feels like the hundredth time, dragging the sheets with me as if that will somehow make a difference. The room is too quiet. Too still. Every sound feels amplified—the faint rustle of fabric, the slow ticking of time, the soft rhythm of my own breathing.And underneath all of it—Him.The feeling sits low in my chest, subtle but persistent, like something quietly pulling at me from the inside. It has been there for hours now, ever since he walked out of this room with Derrick. I tried to ignore it at first. Told myself it was just my mind replaying everything that happened.But this isn’t just memory.It’s something else.Something deeper.I press my eyes shut, exhaling slowly as I try to push it away, but it only seems to grow stronger in the silence. A restless energy settles under my skin, making it impossible to stay still.This is ridiculous.I sit up abruptly, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The cool flo
Keon’s POVThe door closes behind Derrick with a soft click, and for a brief moment the hallway is silent.I turn without looking back.If I stay there another second, if I allow myself even a single glance at the door behind us, I might do something reckless. Something the Alpha in me will regret.So I walk.My steps are steady and controlled as I move down the corridor, the dim lights along the palace walls casting long shadows across the stone floor. Derrick falls into step beside me a moment later, the door to Winter’s room now firmly shut behind us.Neither of us speaks at first.The silence stretches between us like a wire pulled too tight.I focus on the path ahead of me, on the cool air of the hallway and the faint scent of night drifting in through the open windows farther down the corridor. Anything that keeps my mind away from the image that keeps trying to push its way forward.Winter on that bed.Her flushed skin.Her damp hair clinging to her neck.Derrick in the room wi
Winter’s POV:The door closes with a quiet click, and the sound settles into the room like the final note of a song. For a few seconds I remain exactly where I am, my chest rising and falling as I sit at the edge of the bed with the sheets pulled loosely around me. My heart is still racing so fast that it makes my chest rise and fall more quickly than normal. I try to slow my breathing, but the energy from everything that just happened still runs through me like heat.Fuck. What the fuck just happened?The room feels different now.A moment ago the air felt thick, warm, and crowded with tension. Derrick was under me, his tongue inside me eating me out with painful patience and accuracy. Now he is gone, and the silence that follows feels almost unnatural.My eyes drift back to the door.Keon’s face flashes in my mind again before I can stop myself. The image is clear, sharper than I want it to be. The way he stood in the hallway, shoulders straight, expression calm in the way he always
My hand rains down on the door like a man on a mission. I knock so loudly the noise stops, meaning so have they. Thank fuck. I will never, ever, allow Derrick to have her orgasms. My hand rises and strikes the door hard. I do it again, louder, and I can feel the vibrations through my knuckles, through my teeth, through my entire body. I'm pretty sure the hinges on the door are moving as well. “Derrick,” I call, my voice carrying authority, calm but edged with steel. “You need to come outside. Now.” Before all this, my plan was just to check on Winter, preferably without Derrick's presence. But now I have a better plan. It just so happened that during dinner, while the others ate and dined away, a message from the vampires about their situation. They've been having rogue and power hierarchy issues. Some new generation vampires are tired of the old system and want a change and are stirring up trouble, killing middle men or other men associated with their rulers. That's not g
Keon's POV: What the fuck is Derrick up to? I'm in my bed chambers on the highest floor of this palace, and after all the hassle of the last few days you would think I would finally take time off to rest and relax. So did I. But instead, I'm pacing my room floor wondering why the bond with Winter feels sharper than ice and relentless like a tsunami. I just can't get any sort of sleep whatsoever. I avoided dinner because the fact that Derrick is back and now can claim Winter annoys me. No. It's worse. It's infuriating. So I'm jealous my brother is back because now he has a claim to a mate that is supposedly his but is actually mine…Big whoop. Would I be acting abnormally if I demanded she slept in my quarters? I walk toward the halls leading towards the stairs, before turning back halfway. No. I've talked about this. I have walked towards the stairs over 5 times trying to control myself. What if— No. She could be in danger though…. Maybe I should ju
Winter POV The knock was so loud it made my whole body jolt. For a second I thought I imagined it. My heart was already racing, my breathing uneven, and the room felt too warm, like the air itself was pressing against my skin. But then it came again—another hard knock against the door that made the wood rattle in its frame. I froze. Derrick froze too. My pulse started pounding harder the moment I realized who it probably was. My skin felt damp and overheated, and I pushed a strand of hair away from my face, suddenly aware of how messy I must look. My palms were slightly sweaty, my chest rising and falling faster than I could control. Outside the door, there was silence for only a second. Then Keon knocked again. Louder. The sound echoed through the room like he was trying to break the door down. Derrick’s eyes flashed bright red. The change was so sudden it startled me. One second he had been looking at me, his expression intense and unreadable, and the next his j







