LOGIN“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
Then she stepped forward herself. “Fine,” she said, her voice deceptively calm. “If you’re all too incompetent to follow orders…”Her hand clamped around my arm. Hard.I gasped as pain shot up my side, my knees buckling slightly as she yanked me forward. “I’ll do it myself.”“Lyra, don’t—!” Mira sta
Aria’s POV“What?”The word tore out of me before I could stop it, sharp and breathless as it scraped against my throat. For a moment, I just stared at Lyra, convinced I had misheard her, that my mind was still clouded from the pain, from the blood loss, from everything that had happened, but she on
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







