NORA'S POV
I stared out the window of my chambers, watching Carlos train with his warriors in the courtyard below. His movements were precise, and powerful.
How could I reconcile these two versions of him? The gentle Carlos who I love so much, and the ons in my memory.
The past two weeks had been a nightmare of confusion. Ever since I'd touched the pendant in that hidden room, memories had been returning in disjointed flashes. Scenes of violence and loss that left me breathless with grief and rage. And always at the center of these visions was Carlos, giving orders that resulted in flames and death.
Yet something deep inside me resisted fully embracing these memories. Something whispered that there was more to the story, pieces I was still missing.
A lot had been going on lately. I had intentionally kept my distance from Carlos. I was constantly struggling not to hate
THIRD POVJustin's heart stopped completely. The woman lying next to him wasn't just anyone. It was Amelia. His mate. The woman he'd been desperately wanting for weeks."Amelia," he whispered, his voice cracking with shock and something that might have been hope.She was already moving, grabbing her clothes from the floor with shaky hands. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with what looked like panic."This was a mistake," she said quickly, not looking at him. "A huge mistake.""Wait." Justin sat up, reaching for her. "Amelia, please. We need to talk about this.""No." She pulled her shirt over her head roughly. "There's nothing to talk about.""Are you kidding me?" Justin stood up, not caring that he was naked. "We're mates, Amelia. We just spent the night together. You can't just run away again."She finally looked at him then, and the pain in her eyes hit him like a punch to the gut. "Watch me.""Amelia, stop running from this. From us." He stepped closer, his voice getting desperat
THIRD POVThe mate bond between Justin and Amelia had become an inescapable force, growing stronger with each passing day until it felt like a living thing demanding acknowledgment. Every shared glance, every accidental brush of fingers when passing training equipment, every moment they breathed the same air sent shockwaves through both of them that were impossible to ignore.The tension had reached a breaking point during the twins' morning training session. Amelia was demonstrating a defensive technique when she stumbled slightly, and Justin's reflexes kicked in without thought. He caught her around the waist, pulling her against his chest to steady her, and for a moment they froze in that position.The mate bond exploded between them like lightning, so intense that Amelia gasped audibly. Justin's hands burned where they touched her, and he could feel her heart racing against his chest. Her scent enveloped him - jasmine and steel, wildness and strength -
THIRD POVAs the days rolled by, the atmosphere around the palace grew increasingly charged with unspoken tension. Justin and Amelia's interactions had become a carefully choreographed dance of avoidance and inevitable collision, each encounter crackling with an electricity that seemed to affect everyone around them. The mate bond between them had grown stronger with each passing day, like a live wire that neither could touch without risking everything they thought they knew about themselves.Their chemistry was undeniable and visible to anyone with eyes to see. When Justin entered a room, Amelia's entire posture would shift, her breathing becoming more controlled, more deliberate. When she spoke, his attention would focus on her with laser-like intensity, as if the rest of the world had simply ceased to exist. They moved around each other like opposing magnets - simultaneously drawn together and repelled by the same invisible force.The morning training s
THIRD POVJustin looked around, still trying to process what had almost happened between him and Amelia, when he spotted little Zoey grinning at them from just a few feet away. His heart nearly stopped as he wondered exactly when his sharp-eyed niece had arrived and how much she had witnessed. The child had an uncanny ability to appear at the most inconvenient moments, and her mischievous smile suggested she'd seen more than enough."Were you about to kiss?" Zoey asked with the innocent directness that only children possessed, her head tilted to one side as she studied the two adults with curious eyes."No!" Amelia replied instantly, perhaps a bit too quickly and forcefully. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she took another step back from Justin, as if putting more distance between them could somehow erase what had almost happened. "We were just... training."Little Zoey nodded her head sagely, as if she understood perfectly, though the knowing gl
THIRD POVJustin and Amelia walked slowly toward the training ground, the silence between them heavy with unspoken tension. Each step felt deliberate, measured, as if they were both trying their best to appear unbothered by the other's presence. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the palace grounds, and the distant sounds of pack life - children playing, adults going about their duties seemed muted compared to the thundering of Justin's heart.Justin's hands were clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with the effort of restraining himself. Every instinct screamed at him to ask her directly if she felt the mate bond between them like electricity in the air. The pull was so strong it was almost physical, an invisible rope drawing him toward her with every breath. But fear held him back - the bone-deep terror of pushing her away before they'd even had a chance to begin.He had always wanted a mate, had spent countless nights wondering what it would fe
NORA'S POVLooking at my brother's conflicted expression, I felt my heart ache for him. I was happy for Justin - after all these years of watching him put everyone else's happiness before his own, he'd finally found his mate. But it was also complicated, painfully so. After all, Amelia was a Lycan and Justin was just a werewolf. The parallel to my own love story with Carlos wasn't lost on me. I knew firsthand how challenging it could be when mates came from different worlds, different species even.The memory of my own struggles with Carlos flooded back - the uncertainty, the fear that our differences might be too great to overcome, the worry that I wasn't enough for him. I wondered if my brother would face the same rejection I'd once feared, or worse. At least Carlos and I ended up together after all. What if Amelia didn't even feel the bond?I reached out and patted Justin's shoulder gently, trying to offer what comfort I could. "Have faith, Justin. Sometimes the best things in life