LOGINThen 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
Esther’s POVI had once believed the hardest part of leaving Nicholas behind was the first time, fleeing with nothing but my unborn children.My legs had carried me through the woods, the city streets, and the cold nights, dragging me forward with hope tethered to sheer survival. I had thought I cou
The bond between us thrummed, sharp and relentless. For a moment, it felt like it might shatter me. His presence pressed down, suffocating, irresistible, and I tore my gaze away, clutching my satchel like a lifeline.“I don’t want your rescue,” I whispered, and turned from him, forcing my legs to mo
Esther’s POVThe job notice was little more than a scrap of paper, tacked crookedly to the tavern door, the ink already bleeding from rain.At least it was something. It was the only lifeline thrown into the chaos of my life.I pulled the hood of my jacket lower, hiding my face as I scanned the word
His eyes narrowed, piercing, cutting through the shadows that clung to me.“You think I’ll hurt them?” he snarled, and it was a question, a threat, and an accusation all at once. “You think I’d—after everything—after all that’s ours—” He stopped, the words strangled in his throat. Rage and longing w







