로그인Then I whispered, “She woke because of truth.”Nicholas’s POVTruth.The word cut deeper than any blade.Watching Esther’s wolf awaken, seeing that glow ripple through her, was like watching dawn break inside my own ribs. Norman howled in joy, circling like a storm.Mate. Whole again.I wanted to re
Esther’s POVThe moon hung low over the palace courtyard, pale and thin as if it too had been hollowed out by truth.I hadn’t slept in days. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Carl’s face in that hospital bed, the IV line glowing red with Nicholas’s blood, a thread connecting them that could never b
I couldn’t stay. Not then. Not with the room spinning around the truth.I turned on my heel and left.Outside, the evening had turned cold. The palace gardens stretched wide and silent, shadows long across the stone. I made it halfway to the fountain before the first surge of fury hit, hot and wild
Nicholas’s POVIt was supposed to be an ordinary morning.A quiet one, even the kind where the palace felt less like a fortress and more like a home. The smell of breakfast bread drifting through the halls, the faint laughter of children somewhere near the east courtyard.Then came the scream.High.
I turned the page without a word.Inside, the fragile hope I’d been nurturing began to splinter.Nicholas found me near noon.He stormed in, half out of his formal jacket, eyes dark and wild. “Who leaked this?”“You’re asking me?” I said.“I’m asking everyone.” His voice was a snarl. “They’re saying
Esther’s POVThe palace had never been this bright.Golden banners fluttered across the courtyard, musicians tuned lutes and violins, and trays of sugared fruit glimmered beneath the sunlight. All of it, the music, the laughter, the illusion, was for Sofia.My daughter. My little girl who had someho
I watched them, something warm and sharp twisting in my chest.Pups, Norman murmured. Ours.“Don’t start,” I muttered.You see it. The girl’s heart, the boy’s fire. Yours and hers, both.I didn’t reply, but the daisy in my hand trembled slightly.That evening, I found myself at Esther’s door again.
Nicholas’s POVMorning sunlight cut through the drapes in thin golden stripes. Dust motes hung suspended, drifting lazily in the hush.Esther was still asleep beside me.I hadn’t meant to stay the whole night. I’d meant to leave as soon as she stopped trembling. But every time I stood, Norman would
Rage coiled inside me. Whoever had spiked her drink was lucky to be alive.Dan entered quietly behind me, taking in the scene with one glance. “She all right?”“She will be,” I said tightly. “Get the physician. And find out who that bastard was.”“Yes, Alpha.”He left without another word.I sat bes
Esther’s POVThe tavern was loud enough to drown out thought. Exactly what I’d wanted.Laughter clanged like cracked glass, and somewhere behind me a piano was losing a fight with its own tuning. The air smelled of beer and wolf musk, the kind of cheap, smoky scent that clung to your hair for days.







