LOGINXander's POV“What?”The word left my mouth before I could think.Zeth was standing in my doorway with tears in his eyes and his hands shaking, and I couldn't make sense of what he had just said. I stood up so fast Akim made a small startled noise. I placed Akim gently on the bed, tucking the blanket around him even though my own hands were shaking now.Ashton stood up too, Noah climbing carefully off his lap. Ashton's blanket slipped again and he grabbed at it, but his eyes never left Zeth. His face had gone pale."What do you mean your sister is dead?" I asked, my voice coming out too low, too sharp. "Zeth, what are you talking about?"Zeth swallowed. He tried to stand straighter, to put that dry, sarcastic armor back on, but it wouldn't stay. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping."My high priest brought terrible news," he said. His voice was hoarse, like he had been crying the whole way from the camp and tried to stop right before he walked in. "Mara... the
Ashton's POVIt had been so long since I had been able to touch Xander like this, and now that I finally could, I didn't want to let him go. I was just grateful that I had my family.I was sitting on the floor, Xander's blanket finally pulled properly around my waist, my hair still damp against my face. My hands were shaking, but not from cold. From being human. From being able to feel again without fur in the way.Xander stayed beside me the whole time. He didn't let go even for a second. One arm was carefully arranging my hair, pushing the wet strands off my forehead. He kept looking at me. In his other arm, he was holding the baby.Hessa's little boy Noah had given him to Xander. Noah had climbed onto the low stool by the window with Akim in his arms and very seriously, like he was handing over a crown, placed Akim into Xander's lap. Akim went without a fuss, his golden eyes wide, his little fists grabbing at Xander's loose shirt.Then Xander looked at Akim. "He is beautiful like h
Zeth's POVAshton and Xander were both looking at me like I had just personally offended the Moon Goddess.Which, to be fair, I might have.Akim was still on my lap and Hessas son watched quietly.Ashton was on his knees on the floor, Xander's blanket barely doing its job around his waist. His white-blond hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. He had finally managed to be human again for more than a heartbeat and he was staring at me with those big, exhausted blue eyes. Xander was holding him. One arm around his back, the other hand glued to Ashton's cheek. He had laughed five seconds ago for the first time since Merrick died. And now his face had gone back to that tight, alpha-king look."What?" Ashton whispered, his voice hoarse and wrecked from not being used. "Zeth, what about my blood?"Right. His blood. I should have kept my mouth shut. That was my first mistake.I was looking at his back, just under his left shoulder blade, where the blue light wasn't behaving. The rest of th
Ashton's POVHe is not trapped by magic. He is trapped because he is protecting himself. Hessa's son's voice was still in the room even after he stopped speaking.His small hand was still on my head, between my blue eyes. Warm. Too warm for how cold I felt inside this fur.I stared at him. At those old eyes in a six-year-old face. He wasn't lying. I felt it like a knife sliding into exactly the right place. My wolf hadn't been taken. It hadn't been cursed away. It had hidden. Because I hid.I remembered all the years of hands on my shoulders in training that never led to anything. The whispers when I walked through the courtyard. Wolfless. Weak. Omega. I remembered the first time I looked in the mirror after a full moon and saw nothing change while everyone else bled and broke and came out with claws.I remembered the nights when uncle Corvan would hit me, tear my clothes off to have his way. He said I was useless and weak. Not Darian... That bastard used every opportunity he had to
Ashton's POVI was breathing hard.Not because I had run. I hadn't moved at all. But my chest was rising and falling like I had been dragged through that mountain again.Xander's arms were around me. Tight. One hand pressed against the back of my neck, buried in white fur that was still hot from the blue light. The other was holding my chest, keeping me upright against him."Ashton. Hey. Look at me."I tried. My blue eyes lifted to his. His face was so close I could see every line of worry between his brows.He was pale. His shirt had slipped off one shoulder when he caught me. His hair was messier now from holding me."You're burning up," he murmured, more to himself than to me. His palm pressed to the side of my neck. "Gods. You're actually burning."I made a small sound. Not words. I couldn't.Behind him, Zeth was on his knees. He had Akim in his arms. He must have picked him up the second I collapsed. Akim was awake now, his golden eyes wide, his little hands grabbing at Zeth's sh
Zeth’s POVAkim had been awake before sunrise.I knew because the little boy had spent the last hour grabbing at my shirt while I tried to feed him.“Slow down,” I muttered, pulling the bottle away when he nearly swallowed it whole. “You're not fighting a war now... My little prince.”His little hands waved at me. I sighed and gave the bottle back. “Of course. Forgive me, Your Highness.”Akim settled almost immediately. I leaned back against the chair and watched him drink. For the first time in days, nobody was screaming. Nobody was running through a corridor with a sword in their hand. Nobody was announcing another attack.It was almost strange. Almost peaceful.I looked down at Akim. “You're enjoying this, aren't you?”His golden eyes blinked up at me. I shook my head.“You have no idea how much trouble you've caused.”He made a small sound and continued drinking.“Exactly.”By the time he finished, he was already half asleep. I lifted him against my chest and carried him toward Xa







