LOGINZahra's POVI push myself faster, my legs pounding, my breathing deepening, as the roar of my blood fills my ears. Iām still not fast enough. My lungs burn too quickly, my muscles ache too soon, and the version of me who used to move like this without thinking feels painfully far away.The Task Force warriors they donāt think I know about are keeping up far too easily. I scoff to myself. I still canāt believe they think I donāt know theyāre there. What sort of warrior would I be if I didnāt notice men trailing me wherever I go?Or maybe itās just after⦠everything.No. Not everything.After I was kidnapped and tortured for months.Dr Garland keeps telling me off for minimising the gravity of what happened. Apparently, that isnāt healthy. Owning my experiences is necessary for healing, or some bullshit like that.Zanthe gives a sleepy, irritated grunt in the back of my mind, but she doesnāt wake properly.I push harder, even though my thighs are starting to tremble and each breath scra
Aiden's POVWatching Kirsten rub herself all over her mates brother makes me feel a little nauseated and I frown. What the fuck does she think sheās doing?Through our bond, I feel Jasmineās sharp burst of disgust mirror my own.That is not normal.A properly mated wolf usually avoids unnecessary physical contact with wolves of the opposite sex entirely unless they are actively betraying their bond, but to deliberately press herself against her mateās brother, directly in front of Felix?It is so wildly inappropriate I do not even know where to begin.Felix is frowning now.āItās a pleasure to meet you, Kirsten. Iāve heard so much about you,ā Tobias says as she steps back into Felixās hold.āFunny, all Iāve heard about you is that you were away,ā she chirps with a smile. āMummy, Daddy, come and meet Felixās big brother. This is Prince Tobias. Prince Tobias, these are my parents, Michelle and Justin Breverton.āDad clears his throat beside us. āI think you mean Crown Prince Tobias.āKi
Aiden's POVJames, Dad and the others head out before us. If this is going to be believable, it needs to look as natural as possible. The guards are explainable, but all of us arriving en-masse is not.'Everything okay, darling? Your emotions are all over the place,' Jasmine asks through our link.'Iāll explain later. Where are you now?''Weāre down in the orangery having a drink. All us girls are. We were expecting you lot about ten minutes ago.''Weāre on our way. Some last-minute Council business came up, but weāre coming now.''Good, because the terrible threesome are out in force, and Iām going to need you to stop me screaming in this womanās face, or just ripping it off entirely.'I snort at her violent words.Goddess, I love this woman.'No face-ripping tonight, my love. See you in seconds.'Jasper, Marcus and I fall into formation around Tobias, with Lincoln at his side. Henry, Dustin and the other two guards flank us, but they hang back slightly so it looks like his normal pr
Lincoln's POVAt that last word, my eyebrows shoot upwards and I glance sharply at Tobias.But heās not paying Alice any attention.Are they old lovers?Why the fuck did she just call him baby?Lex snaps through my mind, 'Focus. Thatās not important right now.'Fuck.Heās right.āWe need to tell our fathers,ā Marcus says grimly, and I see his eyes glaze slightly as he mind-links.A few moments later, thereās a knock at the door.The King walks in with his unit, several warriors Iāve seen before, and Henry close behind them.Aiden recounts Aliceās story, and the room falls silent afterwards.āYou are one hundred percent sure you saw her pay an Omega and put something on the food?ā Nicholas asks, his face grim.Alice nods immediately.āAlice, I am only going to ask this again because this is extremely serious,ā Nicholas says carefully. āDid you, or did you not, witness Kirsten attempt to assassinate the Crown Prince with your own eyes?āThe room seems to tighten around us.Alice swallow
Lincoln's POVI find a pair of navy dress trousers, a white shirt, and a slightly lighter blue blazer. Theyāre nice. The quality is exquisite, and everything fits surprisingly well.I wonder if these are Tobiasās old clothes.I pull on my brown Oxfords and head back into the living room.Tobias isnāt out yet, though he moves slower these days.āSo,ā I ask the others as Marcus tops up my glass, āhow much do I need to dread this thing?āāA lot,ā Marcus replies. āShe and her family are a fuckingā¦āHeās cut off by a loud bang as the front door is flung open and a shout echoes through the apartment.I drop my glass and spin immediately, instinct taking over as I fall into a defensive position beside Marcus and the others. Together we form a wall in front of the bedroom corridor. In front of Tobiasās location.Then confusion hits me when I realise itās Alice, Aidenās sister.Her auburn curls bounce wildly as she nearly sprints into the room, her deep green satin dress hitched up to her knee
Lincoln's POVI come back to awareness slowly, bit by bit, to the sound of voices and badly suppressed laughter.āShould we wake them?āāHa, not yet. Let me get a photo first.āāNo, man, theyāll kill you.āāNot if they donāt know about it.āI recognise those voices, but they are not Sam and the guys. They are...My eyes snap open, and I sit up quickly.I blink, disorientated, as Aiden, Jasper and Marcus stare back at me with varying expressions of sheepish amusement on their faces. I am half lying on one section of Tobiasās L-shaped sofa in his apartment, having apparently made myself comfortable when I fell asleep. Tobias is sprawled out on the other section, on his back, one leg up on the sofa and the other resting on the floor, but his head is right beside where mine must have been.And fuck, their words come back to me.āHand over that photo,ā I growl at Marcus.He only smirks. āAh, come on, Linc. You two looked adorable.āI snarl. That is the fucking problem.Marcus dances farthe
Aiden's POVI pace up and down the tiny hospital room theyāve shoved Tobias into, counting tiles just to keep from losing my mind.The good news is they canāt find any trace of poison and heās finally stopped seizing. The bad news is heās still unconscious, and just because they canāt find anything
Tobias's POVI wake with a slight jolt as my hospital bed bumps against something solid. The frame hits the door and the whole thing shudders.āBe careful,ā someone snarls in a harsh whisper above my head.I blink, trying to orient myself. The lighting is dim, the room unfamiliar, but the smell of a
Zach's POVFuck, this has to be the most boring lecture so far. Conflict resolution. Of course. And the old werewolf teaching it has the most mind-numbing, droning voice Iāve ever heard. Combine that with the stifling heat in the lecture hall and Iām done. I can barely keep my eyes open, let alone p
Zahra's POVMy feet sink into the moss. The air presses close around me, thick with an acrid stench that burns the back of my throat. Iām back here again.The thin wind threads through the snarling brambles and coils around my ankles, tugging at my hair, shoving the stink of rot, smoke, and blood i







