LOGINRasmus recovered fast. He feinted left then went right. Winter's shadows moved to intercept but he was already past them. His clawed hand caught her shoulder and spun her around. Pain bloomed hot and immediate. Winter gasped and reacted without thinking. Shadows exploded outward from her body in all directions. Rasmus was thrown back. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up in a crouch. Blood dripped from his arm where the shadow explosion had caught him. They stared at each other across the courtyard. Both breathing hard. Both bleeding. "Not bad for a witch." Rasmus's grin was all teeth. "But you're still just playing with darkness. I'm a warrior." He shifted fully this time. The transformation was brutal. Bones breaking and reforming. Skin splitting to make room for fur. Within seconds, Rasmus stood on four legs, a massive grey wolf with yellow eyes fixed on Winter. The crowd's energy spiked. This was what they wanted. A real fight between wolf and witch. Winter felt her own
Rasmus didn't attack immediately. That surprised Winter. She'd expected violence the moment Ezekiel challenged the pack's authority. Instead, Rasmus circled them slowly, his eyes calculating."You say she fights at your side," Rasmus said. His voice carried to the watching crowd. "Prove it. Let's see what this witch can actually do."Ezekiel's growl vibrated through Winter's hand. "This isn't a performance.""No. It's a test." Rasmus stopped circling. "You claim she's powerful enough to stand beside the Alpha King. Show us. Or admit you're keeping her for softer reasons and we all know you've gone weak."The crowd's energy shifted again. Winter could feel their attention sharpening. They wanted to see blood. Wanted proof that she was worth the disruption her presence caused."Don't." Ezekiel's voice had gone quiet. The dangerous kind of quiet. "Don't push this.""I'm not pushing anything. I'm asking a reasonable question." Rasmus's smile didn't reach his eyes. "If she's truly your eq
The ravine opened into a small clearing. Jax was there with maybe a dozen wolves in human form. They looked ready for battle. Weapons drawn. Expressions hostile. Jax's face flooded with relief when he saw Ezekiel. "Thank fuck. We felt the wards break and thought--" He cut off when Winter emerged behind Ezekiel. "You found her." "She's coming back with us." Ezekiel's tone brooked no argument. One of the wolves stepped forward. Rasmus, Winter remembered from brief glimpses at the citadel. His expression was ugly. "The witch girl? You're bringing the witch girl back to the citadel?" "She's my mate." Ezekiel's voice had dropped into that dangerous register. "And she's half-wolf. Watch your tone." "Half-witch is still witch." Rasmus spat on the ground. "We don't allow magic in our territory. It's law." "Then the law changes." Ezekiel moved to stand slightly in front of Winter. "She stays. Anyone who objects can challenge me for the position." Rasmus's hands clenched but he didn't mo
Sophia watched the exchange with an expression Winter couldn't read. "He's different. The way he looks at you. Touches you. That's not the Alpha King everyone whispers about." "The curse suppressed most emotional expression." Ezekiel's thumb traced small circles against Winter's spine. "Now I can show what I feel instead of just acting on instinct." "And what you feel is love." Sophia's voice had lost some of its sharp edge. "For my daughter. The granddaughter of the witch who cursed you." "Yes." "That's either the most beautiful thing I've ever heard or the most tragic." Sophia pressed her palms against her eyes. "I can't decide which." Winter took another step toward her mother. "It can be both. Beautiful and tragic. That's what our whole situation is." Sophia lowered her hands. Her face looked older suddenly. Tired. "Your father would have loved this. The poetic irony of our daughter mating the cursed alpha. He always believed love could overcome anything." Her voice cracked.
Sophia's expression didn't soften. "Pretty words from someone who's had decades to perfect manipulation." "I was cursed with a stone heart for twenty-two years." Ezekiel's voice had gone rough again. "Manipulation requires emotional intelligence I didn't possess. All I had was instinct. And my instinct said protect her. Keep her safe. Make sure nothing touched her." "Because she's yours. Your possession." "Because she's mine and I'm hers." Ezekiel's golden eyes were steady on Sophia. "Mutual. Equal. Not ownership." Winter felt her throat tighten. Hearing Ezekiel defend their bond with actual words instead of grunts and silence made everything more real Sophia must have seen something in Winter's face because her expression crumbled slightly. "Baby. Please. You don't have to do this. You can stay here. Learn your magic. Be safe with people who understand what you've been through." "I don't want to be safe in a cave." Winter's voice wavered but stayed firm. "I want to be with Zeke
Sophia was standing exactly where Winter expected her to be. Arms crossed, magic already gathered in her palms making them glow faintly green. Her face was the kind of furious that came from hearing everything through stone walls and not being able to prevent it."You kissed him." Not a question. An accusation.Winter kept Ezekiel's hand in hers. "Yes.""After everything I told you. After explaining what his family did to ours. After warning you the mate bond is manipulation." Sophia's voice was shaking. "You kissed the son of your father's murderer.""I kissed my mate." Winter's grip tightened on Ezekiel's fingers. "The curse broke. His heart is real now. Everything changed.""Nothing changed." Sophia took a step forward. Vex growled low but she ignored him. "He's still a werewolf. Still the Alpha King. Still capable of destroying you the way his father destroyed our family."Ezekiel spoke before Winter could. "I'm not my father."Sophia's eyes snapped to him. "You can talk in comple
[Crescent Citadel, West Wing Garden, Late Autumn Afternoon, Three Days After the Storm]Winter had been walking the library garden for nearly an hour, her fingers trailing over the rough bark of the gnarled trees, her breath misting faintly in the cooling air. Gareth stood his usual post by the ir
He found himself moving, his feet carrying him through the darkened, storm lashed corridors of his own accord. He told himself he was just checking the citadel's defenses, ensuring the storm wasn't causing undue damage. It was a lie, and he knew it. He found her in a lower corridor of the West
She found him in the northern forge, just as Jax had described. It wasn’t a weapons smithy, but a smaller, private place. The air was hot and thick with the smell of metal and coal smoke. The forge fire burned low, casting the room in a hellish red orange light. He was standing by a quenching barr
“It’s just a cake, Snow,” Jax sighed. “It’s not going to bite.”As if summoned by the tension, the bond’s hum intensified slightly. Winter’s gaze flickered to the main door. The shadows in the small gap beneath it seemed to shift. He was out there. Listening.She stared at the cake, her stomach twi







