LOGINZeth’s POVThe taste of sulfur and wet rain still coated my tongue like sour copper. I pushed through the oak doors of the sanctuary, my boots dragging slightly on the cold flagstones as I rolled my neck, feeling the dull ache where the shadow-tendrils had bitten into my throat down in Sector Four.The room was locked in a dead, suffocating quiet.Xander stood near the altar, his broad frame completely rigid, his hand clamped onto a piece of crushed parchment with enough force to turn his knuckles white. Ashton was pressed against his side, pale as bone, his blue mark faint and flickering like a candle in a draft. In the corner, High Priest Alaric was on his knees before a pile of grey ash, his fingers trembling as if he had just touched a corpse. Even the guards standing along the pillars looked like they had forgotten how to draw breath."Alright, what the hell is going on?" I asked, pulling my hood back, letting a dry, careless rasp carry across the quiet room. "I step out to chec
Xander’s POVMy broadsword cleared the scabbard with a sharp, screaming hiss of steel against oiled leather. The blade caught the dim amber glow of a single remaining altar candle, throwing a jagged silver arc through the freezing air. I didn't hesitate. I didn't shout. I drove my full weight forward, putting every ounce of my Moon Alpha authority into a downward cleave aimed straight at the thing’s thick, root-knotted neck.The blow landed with a deadening thud that vibrated up through my forearms, numbing my palms to the hilt.The bark creature didn't bleed. It didn't flinch. My steel bit half an inch into its wooden shoulder before stopping cold, trapped in dense, petrified oak that felt older than the mountains.Its faceless wooden head turned a slow, hundred and eighty degrees, locking its invisible gaze directly onto me. A thick wave of ancient dust rolled off its hide, tasting of deep earth and forgotten crypts."Xander, wait!" Ashton’s voice cut through the freezing air like
Ashton’s POVMy muscles ached with the lingering cost of pulling my wolf out of its cage and forcing it to stand against the dark. Even after a few hours of rest, I could still feel the power moving beneath my skin, restless and unfamiliar. The attack had awakened something inside me, and Alaric seemed determined to discover exactly what it could do before it decided to reveal itself on its own.By mid-morning, the inner sanctuary was quiet, save for the rhythmic, crackling hum of High Priest Alaric’s mana candles.I stood in the center of the ritual circle, my boots planted firmly on the cold flagstones. Alaric stood a few paces away, his old hands hovering over a small ceramic bowl filled with a dark liquid—a synthesized sample of the corrupted residue we had scraped off the courtyard stones after the shadow-wolves vanished."Again, Consort," Alaric instructed, his voice low and cautious. "Do not force the shape. Just draw the mark."I closed my eyes and breathed in deep. I focused
Ashton’s POVThe nightmare wouldn’t stop repeating. Zeth’s roars filled my head, the balcony shattered beneath the beast’s weight, and the floor trembled as though the entire palace were about to collapse. Then I saw Alaric carrying my boys to safety after the creature bowed to Akim and vanished into the night. I kept seeing their frightened faces, and every time I tried to reach them, the dream dragged me back to the beginning.I reached out in the dark, my arms flailing across the cold sheets to pull Akim and Noah closer to my chest…A violent jerk snapped my eyes open.A freezing, ice-cold pressure wrapped around my left ankle like a coil of iron, yanked me straight toward the foot of the bed with a brutal force."Xander!" I choked out, my fingers clawing at the mattress as the sheets tore beneath my weight.I whipped my head around. The balcony doors had been thrown wide open, a dry gust howling through the silk curtains, unnatural and scorching against the night air of Aurion. S
Zeth’s POVThe air in the room didn't just turn cold, it curdled.Before Kael’s body even settled against my boots, thick, pitch-black tentacles burst straight out of the floorboards. They moved like whips of liquid obsidian, wrapping around my wrists, my thighs, and my neck before I could even clear my blade from its sheath.The force of the impact slammed me flat against the damp stone, pinning me tight. I strained against the black bands, my muscles coiling, teeth grinding together as I tried to snap the shadow-binds by brute force alone. Nothing. The tendrils didn't give an inch. They squeezed harder, icy dark magic burning into my skin like lye, leeching the heat straight out of my veins.A dry, dangerous laugh scraped up my throat. "Is that all you've got?" I rasped, my vision going dark around the edges as the grip on my throat tightened.I didn't panic. Panic was for soft lords who spent their lives behind velvet curtains. I let my Sun-alpha aura flare—a white-hot, blinding er
Zeth POVThe parchment crumpled in my fist.The ink smeared under my thumb as I stood beside the bed, watching Ashton sleep. He looked peaceful for someone who had nearly been torn apart a few hours ago. I envied him a little. Sleep would have been useful, but whoever had left that note under his head had other plans for my night.I didn’t wake him. I didn’t call Xander back. The note wasn't just a threat; it was a bloody invitation. Skrawled beneath the ink was a tiny, jagged mark—the personal seal of Mara’s former vanguard commander, Kael. The same man who had abandoned my sister to die in the northern passes less than two moons ago and vanished into thin air. He was the only coward alive who knew that private cipher, and he had just used it to threaten my mate.If Kael had slipped into my chambers to drop that note, he was either suicidal or backed into a corner. Either way, I wasn't about to announce my departure to half the court. Whoever was pulling strings in the palace had ea







