ANMELDEN“I said I don’t know,” I repeated, sharper this time.Alina closed the folder halfway. “Then you don’t understand what you’re standing in the middle of.”I exhaled through my nose. “I never said I did.”“You’re acting like you do,” she corrected calmly. “That’s worse.”My jaw tightened. “Why are you
Aria’s POVThe knock came before the sun did and it wasn’t a gentle knock either. It was sharp, deliberate, the kind that didn’t ask permission so much as announce consequences. I forced my eyes open, disoriented, my body still heavy with sleep that hadn’t properly settled into me. For a moment I ju
Damon’s POVThe war room felt colder than it should have, even with the hearth burning low against the stone wall. The long table was already surrounded when I stepped in, maps were spread open, patrol logs stacked unevenly, and the scent of tension thick enough that my wolf paced beneath my skin be
A murmur spread through the crowd again, quieter now, more cautious.Lyra’s gaze flicked briefly toward them before returning to Damon, her expression smoothing out with visible effort. “Be careful,” she said softly. “You’re letting your emotions cloud your judgment.”“My judgment is the only reason
Aria’s POVSilence didn’t just fall, it shattered the moment Damon’s words settled over the courtyard, the air turned heavy, thick with disbelief and tension that pressed against my chest until it felt hard to breathe. Every single pair of eyes locked onto me, not with curiosity anymore, but with s
Aria’s POVLyra’s gaze didn’t leave my face nor did Kade’s.And Damon… I didn’t need to look at him to feel the bond between us humming under my skin, stronger now, steadier in a way that made it impossible to ignore. The suppressants were gone, the barriers stripped away, and everything I had worke
I let out a shaky breath, my hands curling into the thin blanket draped over me.That wasn’t it, that couldn’t be it.Damon didn’t do things halfway. He didn’t hover. He didn’t stay. He commanded, he left, he handled things.But staying by my side? That felt… personal.A groan slipped past my lips a
Mira turned to Kade, her lips pressing into a thin line. “If you’re not going to help her, then stop pretending you care.”Kade scoffed, but there was something off about it, something forced. “I said I’d help,” he muttered. “Just not like that.”I let out a slow breath, then made my decision. “Fine
Damon’s POV“What do you mean no?”The words came out low and controlled, but there was nothing calm about the way my wolf slammed against my ribs, clawing for release. I stared at Kade, my eyes narrowing as I waited for him to correct himself, to take it back, to do the one thing that should have c
Thorne nodded immediately. “It’ll be done.”Silence fell again, heavier this time.“You should be out there,” he added carefully. “We need to assess the damage, figure out how this happened.”“I know.”But I didn’t move because every time I looked at Aria, every time I saw how still she was, how fra







