LOGINBella's POV “What do you want?" I snapped at Peony the second Theorone left the room, as if giving us the permission to catch up as a family.I've never told him about my family and I do not think he is aware of what they did to me. It was understandable that he had left me behind with them, in the presence of vipers. Of traitors who had been quick to abandon their own because it best suited them."That's such a bad question to ask your family, Bella. Even if you don't like us, this family raised you. Shouldn't you be grateful for that at least?” Peony's soft voice came immediately after mine.It always sounded that way whenever she was in the presence of others. Whenever she was before our parents or Jaxon.Like the sinless saint. The daughter who could never do wrong and somehow, they all seemed to believe this illusion of hers."I have no time to waste. What do you all want to say to me?” I snapped once more.My father who stood by the side seemed to have some dignity in recalling
Bella's POV “Of course I must visit, but since you're here now, isn't it the same thing? I've been busy all these while planning the good fortune of the North. As Luna of moonstone pack, you should understand that, shouldn't you?” I managed to whisper, staring at Peony, my eyes not even leaving her for a second.“Of course, yes,” she hurriedly said, almost too quickly, as though desperate to avoid the topic before it lingered any longer.Of course she would.I knew she wouldn't be able to manage the pack nor be able to think of managerial ways to even handle all I did for the pack. She would only try to escape it. She was that sort of person.The type who loved titles and attention, but not the responsibilities that came with them.“ This way, you should follow,” a guard said as he whisked his hand towards a direction.Theorone held my hand and began to follow immediately. The others were meant to follow us, but the way Theorone moved ahead made it obvious he didn't care whether they
Bella's POV Ronan and his entourage climbed down from their carriage as they began to approach where I was standing.Beside me was Theorone, who stood with that strict face of his, one that no one could read no matter how hard they tried. Even I, who could sense a strange closeness with him, couldn’t decipher what he was feeling. I always wondered how others would be able to do so.Compared to how I felt, he seemed almost cheerful. As if he had invited the Moonstone pack for another reason… another reason he couldn’t tell, or wouldn’t explain.“Theorone!” Jason shouted as he climbed down and began walking toward where we stood, waiting to welcome them into the pack.He paused for a moment. Stared at Theorone with a look of disdain, his gaze dragging from his head to his toe in open insult.“Theorone. Or are you perhaps expecting me to call you King Theorone?” A hysterical laughter tore from his lips next—mocking, sharp, disrespectful, echoing louder than it should have in the cold ai
Bella’s POVThe air was adrift with tension. A huge tension that I couldn't explain—where it came from, nor why it clung so tightly to my chest like an unseen hand refusing to let go. It felt heavy, suffocating even, as though something inevitable was creeping closer with every passing second, something I was not ready to face no matter how much I told myself otherwise."Mistress, are you alright?" The servant girl beside me asked, her voice careful, almost hesitant, as if she too could sense the shift in the air.I forced a nod.It was not as if I could tell her that I wasn't fine. Not as if I even understood what fine meant in a moment like this, when my thoughts were tangled and my chest felt too tight for breath.Nor as if I didn't know how to go about answering her questions. Words would fail me anyway, because how could I possibly explain something I didn’t understand myself?I just couldn't explain the feelings I had, nor how to steer myself out of the worries that were burdeni
Chapter 106Theoreon’s POVI watched Bella’s breathing even out into the deep rhythm of exhausted sleep before I finally rose from the edge of her bed. The candlelight flickered across her face, softening the lines of tension that had been etched there for far too long. Her wounds were cleaned and bandaged, but the real damage ran much deeper — the kind that no herbs could heal. I lingered for one last moment, my chest tight with emotions I rarely allowed myself to examine, then turned and slipped quietly out of her chambers through the same hidden passage we had used earlier.The palace corridors were still dark and silent, the hour well past midnight. I moved with purpose, intending to return to my own quarters and prepare mentally for tomorrow’s duel. But the moment I stepped into the main hallway, a familiar figure detached itself from the shadows near the wall.My Beta, Thor.He stood tall and rigid, his arms crossed over his broad chest. The look on his face was one I knew too w
Chapter 105Bella's POVThe journey back to the palace was silent and heavy. Theoreon had shifted back into his human form after pinning me down, his powerful arms scooping me up against his bare chest without asking for permission. He carried me the entire way, moving with careful, discreet steps through the darkest paths of the forest. Snow continued to fall softly, muffling our movements as he avoided the main trails and any possible patrols. I didn’t fight him. My body was too exhausted, my emotions too raw after the failed escape and the weight of the guard’s death still crushing my heart.He had handled the dead guard before we left the outer grounds. I didn’t see how — he had simply disappeared for a few minutes near the side gate, returning with a grim expression and blood cleaned from his hands. No alarm had been raised. No one knew yet that one of their own lay dead because of me. The secrecy only made the guilt sink deeper into my bones.When we finally reached my chambers
Chapter 17Theoreon’s POVI walked back into my chambers, heavy with thoughts I could no longer ignore. Doubts lingered in my mind, clawing at the edges of my control.I had wanted to execute Bella. When I first realized, through the mate bond, that she had tried to run from me, I had rushed to the
BellaThe weakness spread through my limbs like poison.My paws dug into the dirt as I forced myself to stay standing, but the strength that had filled my body moments ago was slipping away faster with every breath. My chest heaved as I struggled to draw in air, the sharp scent of blood and earth b
BellaThe cold night air tore through my lungs as I dragged Theoreon across the clearing, every step sending sharp jolts of pain through my arms and shoulders. His weight pulled against me like an anchor, his body leaving a faint trail in the dirt behind us as I forced myself toward the thick bushe
TheoreonCuriosity lingered in my chest like a quiet storm.For a moment I simply stood there, staring at Bella as though I could read through the layers of mystery that seemed to surround her. She had just forced Kade to collapse without touching him, without even rising from the chair she was tie







