MasukThen 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
My chest constricted with gratitude, though a part of me wondered if I was trading one danger for another kind of trap. But for now, the twins were safe. That was enough.Nicholas’s POVMy chambers had become a prison.Since the night she left, my life had unraveled in ways I hadn’t foreseen. I told
Esther’s POVThe morning air carried the sharp bite of change.For weeks I had thought of nothing but escape. I traced the map of the packlands in my head every night, memorizing routes, rivers, and the shadowed trails that cut through the woods. I rehearsed excuses for slipping away, replayed every
“Stop.”Nicholas’s voice rolled through the hall, freezing every breath in the room.He strode forward, his dark presence cutting through the crowd like a blade. His eyes burned with authority as he fixed them on Amanda.“Who gave you the right,” he said, each word low and dangerous, “to punish anyo
Esther’s POVNicholas’s voice was like the crack of thunder rolling through the corridor, sharp and merciless.“What did you do to her?” His eyes cut into me as Amanda whimpered at his side, clutching her arm and looking at the very picture of a delicate, wounded maiden. “Why did Amanda fall?”I cou







