Se connecterCiara’s POVThe next morning, I woke up alone and for some reason, that hurt more than everything else that had happened yesterday.The second my eyes opened and I saw the empty space beside me, a heavy wave of sadness crashed straight into my chest so suddenly it almost stole my breath. The sheets beside me were cold, untouched, and Dax’s scent was already fading from the bed, and somehow that made the silence inside the room feel even bigger.He still wasn’t back after taking Asher away yesterday and Ayla tried to claw my face off while screaming that I was destroying their family.After everything, I sat in this room practically shaking apart wondering what the hell was wrong with everyone here.Why wasn’t he back?That question kept repeating in my head over and over until it started hurting because this wasn’t like Dax at all. If anything, Dax was overprotective to an almost ridiculous level. Even when he was angry or exhausted or drowning in responsibilities, he still checked on
Dax’s POVThe sound of the heart monitor was slowly driving me insane.Beep.Beep.Beep.It was steady, cold, mechanical and too fucking calm for a room carrying this much pain.I sat beside Asher’s hospital bed staring at his motionless body while something inside me shook so violently it physically hurt to breathe. His face looked pale beneath the dim hospital lights, dark hair scattered across the pillow while machines monitored the unstable Current still fluctuating beneath his skin.And all I could think was not again and please not my brother again.My hands clenched slowly against my knees because seeing Asher like this always dragged me backward through memories I spent years trying to bury alive.Yeah, Asher was a pain in the ass now.A violent unstable disaster with no self-control and too much power trapped inside a broken mind. He endangered people, terrified half the kingdom and laughed through chaos like madness itself lived beneath his skin.But he wasn’t always like t
Ciara’s pov Pure instinct made me jerk backward on the bed cause the woman looked completely insane now.It wasn't emotionally unstable and insane like Asher.No.This felt worse because it was controlled insanity and the intelligent kind.Like she could dissect me alive while calmly explaining my organs to an audience and the terrifying part, I genuinely believed she would.But before she reached me, Dax grabbed her brutally by the hair and the crack of Alpha dominance exploded through the room instantly.She screamed furiously while Dax hauled her backward effortlessly.“Enough!”His voice shook the entire room.The woman fought violently in his grip, bloodshot eyes still locked directly on me.“I’ll kill her!” she screamed hysterically. “I swear on the moon goddess, I’ll fucking kill her before she destroys this family too!”My blood ran cold.Destroy this family?What the hell was she talking about?!Dax looked furious now, like really mad furious With one arm still holding unco
Ciara’s POVThe second I saw Dax standing there alive, breathing and real, every single thing inside me broke at once.Relief hit first and then emotion and then something so overwhelming my body moved before my brain could even catch up.“Dax!”I practically launched myself off the bed and straight at him, and despite the blood covering him from head to toe and the violent Alpha Current still leaking from his body hard enough to make the entire room feel heavy, he caught me instantly.Strong arms wrapped around me so tightly it almost hurt and I buried my face into his chest immediately, breathing him in like a woman dragged out of drowning water.He smells of blood, smoke, ash, dark pine and underneath all of it… him.He smells safe and smells like home.Dax let out a rough sound against my hair, something between a growl and a shaky breath, while his arms tightened around me even more.“Little moon…” he muttered hoarsely. “Fuck… you shouldn’t be touching me right now. I’m filthy.”
Ciara’s POV I was so shocked by him I couldn’t even think straight. My hand was still pressed against the hard, throbbing heat of him, and the way he rocked against my palm made my whole body tense with panic. I tried to yank my hand away again but Asher held it there, his grip firm and unyielding, his hips moving in slow, deliberate circles like he was daring me to do something about it. “Asher...” He grinned, his breathing roughening as he slowly rocked his hips once against my palm and a low groan escaped him. “Fuck,” he muttered darkly, eyes half-lidded now. “Do you feel what your scent does to me?” My pulse jumped violently. This was bad. Very bad. Because the insane wolf actually looked seconds away from dragging me back against the wall and forgetting every tiny bit of restraint we’d painfully built over the last ten minutes. I opened my mouth to insult him again, already preparing another round of psychological warfare when suddenly a sharp energy surge ex
Ciara’s POVMy heart was beating so hard it physically hurt.Asher had me trapped completely, one hand locked around my throat while the other gripped my waist hard enough to keep me pinned against the door. His body pressed into mine with dangerous heat and the look in his eyes made one thing horrifyingly clear.This man was barely holding himself together.Panic screamed at me to fight harder, scream louder, cry, beg, do something, but somewhere beneath the fear, another part of my brain forced itself to stay calm because instinctively… I knew fear was exactly what Asher fed on.This man was a psychopath. Not the cartoon kind or the screaming monster kind. He was the quiet, smiling kind who got high off control. I could see it in the way his eyes lit up every time I trembled or gasped. He didn’t just want my body, he wanted the reaction, tears and begging and the way my fear made him feel powerful. If I kept feeding him that, he’d drag it out forever, make it slower, meaner, unti







