LOGIN~CASSIAN~Five days.Five days of cold stone, iron chains, and the relentless weight of the council's displeasure. Storming into Varkas territory and tearing through their palace like a storm had consequences. Major consequences that I did not think about or even cared about at the time. I simply wanted to find my wife and get her back home with me. Finding Aurora mattered more than their fragile rules or their precious alliance. Still, they had made their point. For five fucking days. I had spent the last five days in their dungeons, and today—my final day, they intended to finish the lesson with a public whipping before releasing me. They wanted everyone to have a free look so that no one would try going against their wishes again. They were using me as an example. The good, old example. It was something the council loved doing to stop others in the future from repeating the same mistakes. I didn't give a damn about the pain.All I cared about was her. Aurora. The door of the
~AURORA~Vincent led me into a grand room that felt far too large and cold. His parents were already waiting—his father seated in a high red chair, his mother standing beside him with perfect posture and assessing eyes. I kept my gaze lowered just like a proper servant should, hands clasped tightly in front of me to hide the way they trembled. The simple grey dress and apron they had given me felt like a costume that didn't quite fit, a daily reminder of how far I had fallen."Father. Mother," Vincent said, his voice carefully controlled. "This is my new personal maid. She will be attending to my needs from now on."I couldn't believe this was my life now. It was difficult waking up and not seeing Cassian. I missed him like crazy. It didn't help that I was carrying his baby. A part of him. I wished things were different. I wished I could have told him the truth. I wished there was a chance for us to be together without the council and the Varkas trying to tear us apart. Unfortunatel
~CASSIAN~I slammed the door to my chambers so hard it cracked.The moment my eyes landed on the silk robes draped across my bed, the jeweled combs on my dresser, the faint scent of Seraphina's perfume lingering in the air, something inside me snapped. This was my fucking room. Mine. And she had already begun claiming it like she belonged here. I did not give her permission to move her things in here.What the fuck was she thinking? I lost control.With a roar I swept everything off the nearest table. Glass shattered across the floor. I ripped the silk from the bed and tore it apart with my bare hands. A chair followed, smashed against the wall until the legs fractured. I overturned the dresser, sending bottles and jewelry scattering. Every object that carried even a trace of her presence became a target. I wanted nothing of Seraphina in this space. I refused to share a single breath of air with the woman who had help
~SERAPHINA~Something was wrong.I noticed it the moment I left my chambers. Guards were stationed at nearly every corridor intersection, their postures rigid, eyes sharp as they scanned every passing face. Servants moved faster than usual, speaking in hushed, urgent tones. Search parties were being organized in the courtyard below my window. The entire palace had shifted into a state of chaos, and it set my teeth on edge.I caught the arm of one of the maids I had given gold to before—the younger one with the greedy eyes who had been so eager to spread rumors about Aurora. I pulled her out of earshot of the nearest guards."What is happening?" I demanded in a low voice. "Why are there searches everywhere?"The maid glanced around nervously before leaning in. "Lady Aurora is missing, my lady. She's gone. Lord Cassian has. . .lost his mind over it. He's ordered every available man to search the territory. They're tearing the grou
~AURORA~The Northern Kingdom looked incredible in front of me. I stood at the edge of the long stone bridge that led to the castle gates, staring up at the towering structure with wide, disbelieving eyes. This was the first time I had ever been this close. From a distance it had always looked impressive, but up close it was magnificent.Vincent stepped up beside me, his expression unreadable. "Welcome home."Home? This was not home. Home had been the brief, fragile moments in Cassian's arms, his home was mine. This place was only temporary. I would not be staying here. "I'm only here to protect my unborn baby," I said quietly as the wind whipped my hair across my face. "I won't be staying long."Vincent sighed. "Just follow me inside."I hesitated for only a second before trailing after him across the bridge. The guards at the gate barely glanced our way as we passed, clearly used to Vincent coming
~CASSIAN~The ceremony ended the moment I refused to kiss her.I didn't care about the gasps that rippled through the crowd. I didn't care about the stunned silence that followed or the way the council watchers stiffened in their seats. I simply turned my face away when the officiant gave the traditional cue, leaving Seraphina standing there with her lips parted in expectation and pure, public humiliation written across her features. The entire performance had already been a mockery. I refused to complete it.The second we were alone in the small antechamber, Seraphina turned on me, eyes blazing."How could you embarrass me like that in front of everyone?" she demanded, voice rising. "I have never been so utterly humiliated in my life!"I met her glare without flinching. "I told them to leave that part out. It is not my fault they went against my wishes."She gasped, one hand flying to her chest as if I had struck her. "How could you ask for the kiss to be removed? We are married no
~Aurora~The cellar smelled of damp stone and fresh blood.I knelt on the cold floor, arms raw from the earlier whippings, tasting iron where my lip had split."The prophecy demands a Varkas daughter," Lady Elowen, my stepmother had hissed earlier this evening, shoving me forward in the great hall
~CASSIAN~I couldn't believe my eyes.It was her, the girl I had glimpsed earlier while entering the Kingdom. I couldn't get her out of my head. And now she stood before me as my bride?A dark amusement formed in my chest. Had she truly tried to run away to escape marrying me? This was the Varka
~AURORA~I'd tried to run away. Tried to escape before the Moon Reaper could force me back to his Kingdom where I would stay as his wife.But the guards had found me. They couldn't whip me as punishment, not today, not when I was being offered as the sacrificial bride. They needed my groom to beli
~CASSIAN~Marry a bloody she-wolf. Curse the grand council and their rules.How the hell was I supposed to bind myself to a woman from the family my people despised more than death itself? How could she even survive here, in the heart of our territory, when every soul would sooner tear out her thr







