LOGINSeraThat wasn't true, I thought immediately. I remembered the brutal training sessions in the dirt. I remembered Yvara breaking my nose and telling me to force the blood to clot. You just have to force it. It hurts, but you have the power. "Fenris got the healer to set my arm," Mina continued. "And right after that, he carried me to my room. I fought him the entire way. I hit him again and again, even with the bad arm. But the one thing Fenris didn't do was let me go. He held me tight against his chest until we got to my bed."She looked down at her hands. "In my entire life, I never would have thought Fenris would be the one doing that. Dimitri was the social one. It could have been him. But it was the Butcher. The one who looked exactly like the Luna.""He was barely ever around," she explained softly. "He was always away on border raids. So I barely knew him. I only feared him. But that day, he seemed entirely different.""He bathed me that night," Mina said, her voice trembling.
SeraShe went completely still. Staring blankly at the wall, it looked exactly like Mina had just traveled back in time.I didn't move. I didn't reach out to touch her. I just sat there and stared, not knowing exactly how to react to the sudden, heavy shift in the room. Slow, silent tears started to well in Mina's eyes, catching the morning light. My heart physically ached watching her. My breathing quickened."Mina," I called softly, shifting closer to her on the mattress.Mina exhaled a shaky breath and shook her head, snapping out of the trance."I was six years old when she died," Mina said. Her shoulders began to shake visibly. "Growing up, my mother had absolutely hated how the Northerners sounded. She hated their barbaric ways. She hated their harsh, guttural accents. So she did everything in her power to preserve mine. She taught me every single day. She only spoke to me in the Southern tongue."I nodded slowly. That was why. When I had first arrived in the North, I immediatel
SeraI let out a long, shaky exhale. The relief was a physical weight dropping off my chest.Mina stared at me, a slight, lingering giggle still hiding in her voice. "Did you suddenly hate me just then? Just because of the tiny possibility that I could be fucking your mate?"I looked at her. Was that what that feeling was? Hate?The immediate thought of Kane rushed into my mind. I remembered how he had proudly paraded Elara around the Blackwater pack house, fully knowing he was mated to me. He didn't think it was a big deal to bring another woman into our space. He didn't care for a single second about how I felt watching him touch her.For one terrifying minute, when Mina casually mentioned fucking Fenris, I didn't even see her as his sister anymore. It just felt like another woman threatening to take my mate away. Just like Elara did.Elara had threatened my place. She had taken my man. She locked it all down by getting pregnant with his heir, and that was the end of it. I remembere
Sera"Get your heavy leg off my windpipe," I rasped, slapping blindly at the solid weight crushing my throat.Mina let out a low, miserable groan. She shifted, her bare leg dragging roughly across my neck before dropping heavily onto the mattress between us. The sunlight stabbing through the high windows felt like a physical weapon aimed directly at my retinas. My mouth tasted like old copper and fermented regret.I pushed myself up on my elbows, the room spinning slightly. I looked down at Mina. She was sprawled on her back, completely naked, one arm thrown over her eyes to block the light."My brain is bleeding," Mina mumbled."That's what happens when you smoke an old woman's pipe weed and chase it with four kegs of dark ale," I said, rubbing the tight muscles at the back of my neck.I looked around the room. The fire had burned down to white ash. My clothes from last night were folded neatly on a chair. I looked down at my own body, currently stripped bare under the heavy furs. Th
Sera“Mina!”I blinked through the steam. Mina had wandered away from the wall and was currently trying to walk right out the bathroom door. Fenris lunged forward and caught her by the shoulders just in time.When he turned her around to face the pool, I could see that Mina's eyes were completely closed. She had actually dozed off while standing up. When Fenris shook her, she opened her eyes, looking incredibly confused. She stared blankly at Fenris, her wide eyes fighting a losing battle to stay open.I burst out laughing. I slapped the surface of the water, giggling at the ridiculous sight of her sleeping on her feet.Fenris didn't laugh. He shook his head, looking incredibly annoyed, and started to scold her."You are completely exhausted," he told her, his voice stern. "I warned you to stop going down to the kitchens to help them prep. You shouldn't be down there, Mina. It's not your job. The kitchen staff is more than capable of doing their work without your presence."Mina swaye
Sera"Get up. Both of you."I took a deep breath, planted my feet on the floor, and tried to stand up. I moved entirely too fast. The room violently spun. My center of gravity vanished, and my knees simply buckled. I pitched forward, falling directly toward the hard wooden floor.I didn't hit the ground.Fenris caught me easily. His large hands clamped firmly around my waist, stopping my fall instantly. He pulled me flush against his chest, supporting my entire body weight. The contact sent a massive wave of goosebumps rushing over my skin. Every single nerve ending in my body suddenly felt hyper-sensitive."I got you," he murmured, his voice rumbling directly against my ear.I froze.That short, simple sentence opened something deep inside me. It broke a lock I didn't even know was there. In a split second, every single moment I had been used flashed before my eyes. Every time Aldric had manipulated me. Every time Kane had gaslighted me, feeding me pretty lies just to keep me complia
FenrisThe leather bag was old. It was cracked in several places, leaking thin streams of sand onto the stone floor every time I hit it. The heavy chains groaned, a high-pitched metallic scrape that echoed in the small, windowless space. This was the belly of the mountain, a place the torches barel
SeraThe room went silent. The fire in the hearth popped, throwing a spray of orange sparks against the stone."Are you angry at her?" Mina asked.I laughed again. It was that same bitter, ugly sound. "I don't know what I am. I’m angry. I’m hurt. I’m confused. Part of me wants to scream at her the
SeraI didn't feel the laces tightening across my ribs, even though Mina was pulling them hard enough to make me wince. My body was on autopilot—arms lifting when she nudged them, chin tilting when she needed to reach a fastener. My mind was stuck in the dirt of the training yard, picturing a seven
SeraBy training day three, my body had reached a state of constant, dull vibration. Every muscle felt like a guitar string pulled too tight. But the movements were finally starting to make sense. When Yvara stepped in, I didn't just flinch and wait for the impact. I braced. I planted my heels and







