MasukCiara’s POV“I want information.”I looked at Inara from where I sat beside her bed and sighed because I already knew whatever came next would not be normal.She had been talking almost nonstop since returning from the infirmary, apparently recovered enough to forget that she had reopened her wound and nearly started a second fight between Asher and Lance over who should carry her. The healers had changed her bandage, warned her to rest and left with the tired expressions of people who had realized their patient had no interest in cooperation. Now she lay against the pillows with her eyes bright, her energy completely restored and her mind clearly somewhere dangerous.“What information?” I asked, even though I knew better.“Everything.”I pulled the blanket higher over her body. “That is not an answer.”“It is a complete answer.” She held up one finger. “First, I need to know whether Lance is single.”I closed my eyes briefly.“Second,” she continued, lifting another finger, “I need
Ciara’s POV“What?” I stared at Ella, certain I had heard wrongly. “Inara did what?”I immediately pushed my chair back and tried to stand, but Dax’s hand closed around my wrist before I got far. He looked at Ella with the same bored, faintly annoyed expression he wore whenever someone brought him a problem he considered too small to deserve his attention.“Why did you disturb her meal over something this minor?” he asked.I turned to him slowly. “Minor?”Dax ignored me. “If Inara attacked someone, then someone annoyed her.”Ella bowed her head, though I could see she was trying not to look confused by the fact that the Alpha King had already chosen Inara’s side without hearing the full story. “My apologies, Alpha. I only thought Lady Ciara should know because Lady Inara is still recovering, and the situation has attracted a crowd.”Asher, who had somehow invited himself to dinner and eaten almost half the pastries meant for me, leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “I always knew
Inara’s POVWalking through Shadowfen was easily one of the best decisions I had made since waking up in this realm.The pack grounds stretched far beyond the main house, a strange mixture of ancient stone paths, towering black trees, training fields, guarded buildings and open spaces where wolves moved around like they owned the earth beneath their feet. Technically, they probably did. I passed groups of warriors, servants, patrol guards and younger wolves carrying weapons or supplies, and my eyes naturally followed more than a few of the men because I was injured, not blind.Goddess, werewolf men were unfair.They were all tall, broad, irritatingly fit and built like somebody had taken ordinary human men, corrected the disappointing parts and added supernatural arrogance for decoration. Some had long hair, some wore theirs cut short, some had scars, others had the kind of smooth, dangerous faces that probably made sensible women forget their mothers’ advice. They were good-looking,
Ciara’s pov.The room became still and Asher’s smile faded.Dax held his gaze, and though his voice stayed controlled, I could hear the effort beneath it. “You saw things I refused to see. You warned me more than once, and I dismissed you. I told myself you were acting out of hatred, instability and old resentment. I used your trauma as a reason not to trust your judgment.”Asher’s face changed in a way I had never seen before but it only lasted for half a second before he covered it.Dax continued, quieter now. “I protected Jasper when I should have listened. I criticized you when you were trying to protect the pack. For that, I apologize.”Silence sat heavily around the table.Ayla looked away and Valerio’s expression darkened with something like old sorrow.Asher stared at Dax, and for once, he seemed genuinely shocked. His fingers loosened around mine, and I felt the small shift in him, the way his body went unnaturally still. Then, as if stillness was too dangerous for him, he s
Ciara’s POVThe meeting was awkward.There was really no gentler way to describe it. The room was wide, elegant and far too quiet, with tall windows showing the last bruised colors of sunset beyond Shadowfen’s dark hills, but somehow the silence inside felt heavier than the one outside. Ayla was already seated when Dax and I arrived, dressed in pale gray like she had been carved from winter stone, her posture straight, expression unreadable and her eyes sharp enough to make me remember very clearly that this was the same woman who had once looked at me like killing me was a reasonable solution to an inconvenience. Valerio was there too, sitting on the other side with that grave calm of his, but after what happened in the hallway, even looking at him made something uncomfortable move under my skin.Dax sat beside me, but his attention was not truly on the meeting table but on Valerio.He did not glare openly, not exactly, but there was a hard watchfulness in him that made the air fee
Ciara’s POVDax stepped out of the bathroom looking dangerously hot, and I immediately snapped my eyes away like the sight of him might actually burn me but I was still peeking Water still clung to his skin in glistening trails, his dark hair damp and messy from the shower, falling across his forehead in that careless way that somehow made him look even more lethal. The towel was slung low on his hips, barely hanging on, and every hard line of his chest, abs, and those powerful shoulders was on full display. It was ridiculous how one man could possess so many attractive features that seemed to magnetize anyone within a ten-mile radius.I didn’t blame Inara’s reaction from a few hours ago one bit. When she’d shown up at the door earlier and nearly had a meltdown over his tight shorts, I’d understood completely. Given her shameless, chaotic nature, that kind of reaction was practically guaranteed. I’d laughed so hard after she left that Dax had to pat my back to keep me from choking







