LOGINBellaI felt the shift before I even saw it.The shift in the air. The tension thick enough to choke on. The silence that wasn’t really silence—but the kind that waited, watched, judged.From where I stood, hidden just beyond the crowd, I could see him.Theorone.Standing there like a king carved from stone, yet not unmoving enough to hide it. Not steady enough to fool me.He was hesitating.And the people had noticed.Their voices carried—sharp, accusing, relentless. Each word thrown at him like a stone, each question daring him to break.I didn’t need to hear everything to understand what was happening.His brother had escaped.And Theorone… wasn’t doing anything about it.For a moment, I stayed where I was, my fingers curling slightly at my sides as I watched the scene unfold. I knew what this meant. I knew what they would do if this continued.Kings were not allowed to hesitate.Not here. Not before a crowd like this.They would turn on him.Slowly at first… then all at once.My g
TheoroneUsing the escape that had been created by the fog all over the place, I turned towards the direction where Kade had been standing before.The fog had offered him freedom—had wrapped around him like a conspirator, like a silent ally—and he had taken it. Slipped through it. Vanished into it.Gone.When it was over, I hesitated.Not for a second. Not for a moment. But long enough for it to matter. Long enough for them to see it.For a while, I didn’t know what to do. Whether to send my warriors after him… or to stand there and pretend—to sulk, to stall, to buy time under the weight of a crown that suddenly felt too heavy for my head.Trying to steal the throne—thinking of it, attempting it—meant a death sentence.That was the law.And I was the law.I was supposed to execute my own brother with my own hands, to prove that my authority was absolute. To show them—no, to remind them—that there was no bond stronger than the throne. Not blood. Not love. Not history.That was what had
TheoroneI stood there for a moment longer than I should have, my breath slow, heavy, uneven—like the calm before something catastrophic. It dragged through my chest, each inhale deliberate, each exhale controlled, yet failing to steady the storm beneath. My fingers tightened around nothing, curling into empty air, because Bella was no longer in my arms… yet I could still feel the ghost of her weight there.It lingered.The imprint of her presence clung to me like something alive, like a mark I could not see but could not ignore. The strange pull she had over me still coiled tight in my chest, wrapping around my ribs, pressing inward—like a curse I did not understand, one that had chosen me without permission.But this… this was not about her.This was about him.My brother.The last piece of something human I had once held onto… the last fragment of a past that had not been drenched in blood, betrayal, and silence.And he was standing there—Drenched in blood that was not his.Wearin
Theorone I arrived at my path with Bella in my hand, carrying her as she was still unconscious. We had been in the bushes for a few days now, and I had long since lost count of how long I had been there. She seemed to have lost all her strength, and so had I after the recent attack. Also cautious, I realized how much I had been drained; the fight I once had left me weak, barely able to move, yet my shop—she was beside me—gorgeous, delicate, and seeming like someone who should have been killed, but she was still breathing.I did not know how many days had passed since your hair, but all I knew was that I needed to get back to my pack. I was late. I wasn’t supposed to be missing this long, and even if I was, my men should have already started looking for me, yet I had seen none of them. This made me agitated, and I stood, ready to leave. Kade couldn’t become the lycan king—it was impossible. The people wouldn’t allow it. If he became that, he would become a tyrant, and everyone knew
Jaxon's POV The air in the room was still thick with my anger when my Beta cleared his throat again, more urgently this time.“My Alpha… there’s something else.”I didn’t turn immediately. My jaw was still tight, my chest still rising and falling as I tried to contain the storm raging inside me. “What now?” I asked, my voice low, already edged with irritation.“There are rogues at the borders,” he said. “They’ve started invading the eastern territory. The patrol guards are holding them off, but—”“I don’t care.”The words came out cold. Immediate. Final.Silence followed.I finally turned, my gaze locking onto him, sharp and unforgiving. “Did they find her?”My Beta blinked, caught off guard. “My Alpha, the rogues—”“Did. They. Find. Her?” I repeated, slower this time, each word laced with something far more dangerous than anger.“No,” he admitted after a brief pause.Something dark twisted deeper inside me.“Then why are you here?” I snapped, my voice rising. “Why are you talking to
JaxonI was in my chambers, yet it felt like a cage—tight, suffocating, closing in on me with every passing second. The silence should have been peaceful, but instead, it clawed at my nerves, feeding the storm already brewing inside me. My jaw was clenched so hard it ached, my fists tight at my sides as I tried—failed—to rein in the irritation simmering beneath my skin.The door creaked open, and Peony walked in like she had every right to be there.I didn’t even try to hide my irritation. My gaze snapped to her, sharp and cold. “What are you doing here?” My voice came out low, laced with impatience. I wasn’t in the mood for her presence, not tonight—not when my mind was already consumed by something far worse.Before she could answer, the door opened again.My Beta stepped in, his expression tense, like he already knew this wouldn’t go well. That alone was enough to set my nerves further on edge.“What is it?” I snapped, my patience already hanging by a thread.He hesitated—just for
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
Chapter 11Bella's POV The whip landed on my back for the fourth time, slicing through the thin fabric that barely covered my skin, but I still endured it, swallowing down the pain even as my body trembled from the impact. My back was already growing too weak, the earlier lashes still burning, sti
Bella's POV I stood outside Theoreon’s chambers as I awaited Kade’s presence.My legs still hurt. Not in a painful way, but from the pleasure I hadn’t thought I would get. Funny how I was still standing when I was supposed to be resting. While with Jaxon, he had never been this way with me. Never,
Bella’s POV“Why do we need to keep walking?” I asked impatiently as Kade kept leading me on and on, deeper and deeper into the forest I couldn’t even recognize.The trees here were taller, older. Their branches twisted like claws above us, swallowing the moonlight. Even the air felt different — th







