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VEYRA The silence sits between us like blood in water, staining the air. Maddox walks out again. Typical.Dagen simply continues watching me steadily, his arms are crossed, jaw locked. Vane shifts his weight near the wall, a single brow raised. Rael’s gaze is more difficult to read, but it’s focused, intense. Not cold. Just… unsettled. I don't like this. I know they think I knew, that I had done this before. I hadn't.“I never meant to do it,” I say at last. “Whatever that was—whatever came out of me—I didn’t know it was there. I didn’t even know I was capable of it.” I look at them. "I swear, I had no idea that would happen."“We know,” Rael says softly. “That’s why we haven’t ripped your throat out.” His words are cold, and my head drops. I get it, magic like mine isn't good. Vane lets out a dry breath, half a scoff. “Yet.”“Don’t joke,” Dagen snaps at him, then turns back to me. “You’re telling the truth?”“I am.” I have no reason to lie, I hate them, I would have used my magic
VEYRA POVI fell down, actually, exhaustion dragged me down. My knees press hard against the marble, blood smeared beneath them in long, drying streaks. My hands won’t stop shaking. Not from pain. The wounds on my arm and thigh are throbbing, yes—but that’s not it. It’s something deeper, something coiled in my chest like a second heartbeat that refuses to settle.I try to ease the feeling but it's impossible right now. Dagen asked what I did, like I know. I was so frustrated with them telling me to fight back, I snapped. The entire room is silent, but my ears still ring. I can still hear and feel the echo of my own scream, the moment it tore from my throat. It was something instinctive, but what I don't know. The wolf, the Omega who challenged me is currently lied in a mangled heap. Her body is twisted in ways that shouldn't be possible. Her fur is stained dark where bones collapsed and pierced through the fur. I did that, how did I do that?I didn’t touch her. I didn’t shift. And s
Dagen POVI smirk between them, and move back. "The floor is yours, fight for our amusement."The Omega shifts her weight, then casts a quick glance downward at the polished marble beneath her feet.“This floor is marble. It’s slippery. Fighting here doesn’t seem safe.” Is she for real? Safe? One of them is dying. How is that safe? Is she hoping we call time before the final hit? She's wrong. I don’t bother to hide my irritation. I tilt my head and let the edge of a smile creep into my voice.“You’re afraid of a little polish?” I ask. “Is that really the excuse you’re reaching for, after you stood in front of all of us and said you wanted to fight her? Neither of you are safe, one is dying regardless of the floor.”She opens her mouth like she wants to argue, but nothing comes out. She hadn’t expected me to say yes to her fighting Veyra right now. She expected resistance. Control. Maybe even protection.Instead, she got an audience and an invitation.I step back and gesture to the op
Dagen POVIn my defence, the Omega was about to kill Veyra, and we do have rules. Ones that explicitly state that no Omega is allowed to hurt another unless it's during a trial or ordered. It's our job. They should know that by now. I stand and shift back, and stand facing them. Not caring that I'm naked, or that my body is covered in the Omega's blood. "The rules clearly stated you do not fight among yourselves outside of trials and without your approval." I look between them. "Anyone doing that, regardless of who their target is, will die." There are whispers, like they think it's a lie, but it isn't. "The fact we claimed her makes no difference," Rael snaps. "The trial will go on, she will still take part, and she won't have any extra benefits." One of the Omegas looks at us. "So we can kill her during trials? You won't stop us?" Her glare is hard, and I fight back the growl. "You can do as you wish during the trials." Vane stands up and looks at them. "If you think you can k
LYRA POVI walk away from Maddox and smile.The night air is cool, but it does nothing to douse the warmth that flares through my chest. Satisfaction. Anticipation. Victory. It’s about time Veyra was destroyed, and this time, I’ll be the one to make sure it happens. I won't fail where they did; I will make sure she disappears from this trial and the rogues destroy her.Let them believe she's untouchable now. Let them think the ritual will bind her tighter to the Alphas, that she’ll rise from the ashes of her own ruin stronger than before.I know better.Because they don’t see what I do.Veyra doesn’t belong here. She never did. She was supposed to be exiled, forgotten, and hated. Actually, she should never have been born. That is what made me hate her. I was meant to marry her brother, the one she replaced. Firstborns are always boys until Veyra.No matter how many times she falls, someone always catches her. Dagen. Rael. Vane. Maddox. Even the fucking rogue tried to keep her alive.
Maddox POVLyra steps closer, her voice quiet. “It’ll make her stronger. Not weaker. That’s the truth you’re not admitting to yourself. Each of them who mates with her under the Silvermoon, shares their strength, makes her more powerful. Four Alphas? Yeah, she's going to be unstoppable.You let her get this far, and now you’re watching her root herself into all four of you.”“She’s not rooted,” I snap. Although there's truth there. Silvermoon for mates who are claimed is a time when they become stronger. It will make Veyra unstoppable. “She will be. After tomorrow night. Her wolf will choose one of you, maybe all of you. And once that happens, she’ll be untouchable.”I stiffen. Seeing my reaction, she smiles, something cruel and thoughtful. God, I hate how right she is.“You’ve tried waiting for her to die. But every time she’s supposed to, someone saves her. You can’t rely on failure anymore. If you want her gone… you need to act.”My jaw tenses. Does she forget who she's talking to?
Maddox POVLyra steps closer, as if my turning my back to her meant nothing at all.Her voice is calm when she speaks.“You all failed.”I go still.She says it without venom. No smug smile. No sharp edge in her voice. Just a statement, soft and direct, like she’s pointing out the weather.“You failed to make sure she died in the first trial.”I turn fully this time, slow and deliberate. My glare is enough to silence most people. But Lyra was never most people. She just lifts her chin a little, like she’s waiting for me to catch up. I was wrong, she's also a fool, and that foolishness she has... It's about to lead her to her death. Will Dagen even care if I kill his sister?“You didn’t even try to hide it,” she says. “Storming out like that. Letting them all see how much it got to you.”My jaw tightens and my wolf surges. The bond itches in the base of my skull like a brand I can’t scrub clean. She’s poking at it, at me, and for a second, I almost admire how casually she does it.But
MADDOX POVI didn’t stay to watch the clean-up. The moment they stood up to defend Veyra I felt like turning and chewing their heads off. That got worse though the moment Dagen shifted and ripped through that Omega's throat in the middle of dinning hall. Yeah, at that point I wanted to kill him because he's a fool. Instead, I stood up, turned and walked out. I didn’t care about the gasps or the blood or the silence that followed. Let them stare. Let them try to justify it in their heads. They were too blind to see it for what it was.It was weaknessNot from the girl who died.From him... No, fuck that, from them all. Not that they will admit it, because that would be weakness. But shifting and saving an Omega, Veyra for one, the worst Omega, they won't see that as a weakness. No, because their wolves are obsessed. Maybe they are themselves and not their wolves as well?They let her get under their skin. They let her be marked, protected, carried, fucked in a way that makes her spec
VEYRA POV I continue eating even though my stomach feels tighter with every bite. The news of the Silvermoon event lingeres in my mind like a dark cloud. It's just something I need to deal with, it's not the trials, it's a ritual. I've barely finished chewing when the weight of the room shifts. I expect it to be the Alpha's moving. There the scrape of chairs, and the clatter of dropped cutlery that fill the air and the tension in the air continues to thicken. Ignoring it, because I don't want the drama I continue eating, until I hear my name whispered low, sharp and full of venom. “She has all of them.”My head raises cautiously, and I see it instantly. The stares, cold and bitter form every sing of the long hall. All the Omegas are watching me with narrowed eyes, their gazes flicking to my neck. No! I didn't think about the marks. I totally forgot about the fresh wounds of teeth and bonds. Not from just one of the Alphas but all four of them. I wasn't thinking, I just had to eat,