登入I leaned back, crossing my arms, and gave Marcus a thin smile. Then I leaned forward and stared at the bottom of one of the empty rice packs, I felt the weight of his gaze on me. Honestly I didn’t owe Marcus Chen any explanation about who I am and where I was coming from, but then I felt the urge to let him in, let him know about me also.
My mind hesitated, but the words found their way out anyway.
“I know you’d want to know about me right now and it is fine. I
Ari’s POV I walked slowly through the palace corridors, my fingers trailing along the cool stone walls the way I always did on this particular morning every year. Fifteen years. It didn't feel real, saying that number out loud, though I'd said it to myself every anniversary since I was old enough to understand what it meant.The morning light spilled through the tall windows, catching dust motes drifting lazily through the air, and I paused at the window overlooking the eastern gardens, where the statue stood.My parents, carved in stone, stood together overlooking the pack lands, hands joined between them the way they'd been joined in their final moments, or so the stories always told it. I'd heard the tale so many times growing up that I could recite it in my sleep, the war, the sacrifice, the vow that death hadn't truly ended them."Fifteen years," I murmured to the statue, the same greeting I gave it every year. "I still miss you both. Even though I barely remember your faces wit
Lila’s POV "Dante!" His name tore out of me in a scream that didn't sound like my own voice, and I was moving before I could think, sprinting across the churned battlefield with everything Eryndra could give me.I hit the Eclipse King at full speed, tearing his grip from Dante's throat with a strike that sent shockwaves through both our forms. He staggered, releasing Dante's limp body to the ground, and turned his full attention toward me instead, something almost delighted flickering across his shadowed features."There she is," he said, voice layered and wrong. "The one from my visions. I wondered when you'd finally show yourself properly."I didn't answer. I struck again, and again, everything Marcus had taught me pouring into every movement, but he met each blow easily, laughing as he caught my wrist and twisted, pain lancing up my arm."Impressive," he said, almost admiring. "But vain, little wolf. You cannot win this. I have watched centuries pass, I have consumed power your ki
Lila’s POV They gathered along the ridge overlooking our approach, more of them than I'd braced myself for, shadows shifting restlessly across a field already darkened by the setting sun. The Eclipse King stood at their center, his form flickering between shadow and something almost solid, and his voice carried easily across the distance between us."A celebration," he said, amusement dripping from every word. "How touching. You gathered your little alliance to hide behind each other instead of facing me alone. Cowards, all of you.""We came to end you," Dante said, his voice level and unbothered, none of the provocation landing the way I suspected the Eclipse King intended. "Whether you call that cowardice or strategy makes no difference to how this ends."Ready? Eryndra asked, already burning hot beneath my skin, eager for what was coming."Ready," I answered silently, feeling her strength surge through me in response."You should have stayed hidden," the Eclipse King called out, h
Dante’s POV My beta found me pacing near the eastern wing that morning, and the grin on his face told me he'd already guessed exactly how nervous I was trying not to show."The other Alphas have arrived," he said. "All of them. Kai and his forces from Silver Moon, the northern packs, everyone we reached out to. They're settling in now, preparing to discuss battle strategy once the ceremony concludes.""Good," I said, though my mind was barely on strategy at all."You seem distracted for a man about to secure his mate before an entire gathering of Alphas."I let out a breath, admitting more than I usually allowed myself to. "I've spent years believing the witch's curse would keep me from ever hearing my wolf, from ever having what other men take for granted. I made peace with that a long time ago, or told myself I had. And now, in the middle of a war I never asked for, I'm standing here about to mark a mate I didn't think existed for me.""That sounds like good luck to me," he said. "
Lila’s POV Dante stepped through the door first, and I was moving before my mind fully caught up, crossing the space between us in a rush, my hands gripping his shirt like I needed proof he was solid and real."Are they…""They're awake," he said quickly, before I could spiral further. "They're going to be fine, Lila."The relief that hit me nearly buckled my knees, and he steadied me with both hands, his thumbs brushing gently along my arms until I managed to draw a full breath again."I need to see them.""You will. Come."He guided me inside, and the physician met us just past the doorway, a folder of notes tucked under his arm, his expression calmer now than the urgency I'd seen carry him out of my room hours before."They're stable," he said. "Their symptoms match something we occasionally see in young supernaturals kept confined for extended periods, particularly ones with powers as volatile as theirs. Their bodies were reacting to suppressed energy, essentially building pressu
Lila’s POV I can't find anything, Eryndra said, frantic now, her voice tearing through my head as fast as my own thoughts. It's like something's blocking their airway from the inside, but there's nothing there, Lila, nothing physical holding it closed."That doesn't make sense," I sobbed, my hands still hovering over Ash, terrified to press down wrong, terrified to do nothing at all. "Marcus, please, do something, anything, I don't know what to do…""I'm trying," Marcus said, his voice tight with a control I could hear him forcing, his hands working over Ari with quick, practiced movements. "Their airways are open, this isn't choking, something else is happening. Lila, I need you to breathe, panicking isn't going to help either of them right now."I couldn't breathe. My whole body shook, tears streaming too fast to wipe away, my voice cracking as I leaned over Ash, pressing my hand to his small cheek."Stay with me," I begged him. "Ash, baby, please, look at me, stay awake, please st
Author’s POVThree minutes.It’s been three minutes of Lila pushing with everything left in her tired body. It’s been three minutes of Marcus coaching her through each breath, each contraction, each impossible moment. While Joan held baby Ari, whose white light pulsed in r
Lila’s POVJoan found the hidden release and the bookshelf swung open, revealing a dark passage. She pulled me in and I went although every instinct in me screamed for me to stay and fight beside Dante. “I’ll hold them,” Dante said, and I heard the strain in his voice as h
Lila’s POV “There’s one more person I need to see,” I said finally. “Dante. I need to say goodbye to him too.” Joan’s expression became unreadable. “The Alpha King. Are you sure that’s wise? He’s going to have questions, Li
Lila’s POV The drive back to Portland felt long and painfully slow. Marcus and I barely spoke, both of us lost in our own thoughts, each haunted by what we’d witnessed in Mira’s kitchen. Every time I closed my eyes, I s







