เข้าสู่ระบบDante’s POVThe refusal is in faded ink, under a woman's name.Hale lays the copy on the council table. She's got the archive cert and the examiner's initial comparison, but she doesn't call it a spell."Alaric Venn's wife recorded what her husband was told. He was threatened into giving up his post. His temporary commander was not prepared to take on the responsibility."Brenner is sitting across from us with a lawyer at his shoulder. Holt is keeping a close eye on the doors.“Old gossip,” says Brenner. “Not at all relevant to our Alpha’s illness.”"Your petition simply copied the heading from this document," Julian says. "And you were trying to get Marcus to sign another one."Marcus is right behind me, not hiding at all.Brenner looks at his lawyer. That's the first thing that's really satisfied me this morning.---Mrs. Voss calls the council meeting to order. The riders have elected her to chair the emergency review after Lawson lost access to the records. Two county observers ar
Morgana’s POVRyker's confession is hanging between us.I locked it.The room is far too bright. Owen's lamp casts a clean circle across the bed, and I hate that such an ugly thing can be said under such ordinary light.“Then tell me what happened after,” I say.Ryker looks at Dante. "You don't have to stay.""I do," says Dante. "But I won't answer for you."Ryker is staring at his hands. "Delilah said you were asking about the money. About the night Father died. She thought you'd found the letters."“I had,” I whisper.He nods. "I told her to keep you in the room until I'd decided what to do. I turned the key myself."“And when I screamed?”His mouth moves, but nothing comes out.“Ryker.”“I walked away.”I want to know whether he slept afterward or whether he heard the lock rattle. I can't take either answer. Ryker is sitting with his shoulders hunched in.---I was pounding on the door until my hands were sore. Delilah's perfume seeped through the gap under the door. In that life,
Morgana’s POV"I remember giving you the poison."Ryker says it so quietly I almost didn't hear it.Owen stops by the bed. Dante's hand is still on Owen's son's shoulder, though his fingers have loosened.For a moment I'm back in that other room, looking at the bottle Ryker promised would change our lives. I remember believing him. That's the bit I hate most."Tell me what you remember," I say.Owen looks between us. "He's just woken up from a rather distressing dream. We should check him first.""Check him," I say. "I'm not going anywhere."Ryker closes his eyes as Owen takes his pulse. He looks absolutely sick. I don't move any closer.His bandage is coming loose again, and underneath it, the black mark has split into two. I don't know if the mark has changed because he's remembered it or simply because the pain has woken whatever was down there. Owen has no idea. Neither do I.The exam takes ten minutes. Owen checks Ryker's wrist and asks him where he is, what day it is, and whethe
Ryker’s POVThe black mark opens under my bandage.Not my skin. The mark itself.For a second I think I'm bleeding, but when Father pulls the cloth away, there's just a thin strip of pale skin cutting through the dark on my wrist.Owen pushes through the guards.“Don't touch it again,” he says."I wasn't planning to." My voice sounds odd. "Is it meant to hurt?"“Does it?”“Like someone’s pulled a wire out of my arm.”He takes my elbow, very careful not to brush the mark.Morgana follows us down toward the medical wing. I can hear her shoes right behind me, sharp and uneven.“Did you hear the wolf again?” she asks.“No.”That's not quite right. The words are gone, but I still have their ghost, like a shout in an empty hall.Don't have my son carry it either. I refused to carry it.Father's wolf called me his son.When I was a small boy, Father used to say that a wolf knew its pack by scent and by voice, and mine would answer him without the slightest hesitation. I can't tell tonight wh
Dante’s POVThe growl comes again, very faint; actually, I almost miss it.I heard him refuse.My fingers are tight on the rail. The training yard is dead below us. Rainwater drips off the roof and hits the steps in a slow, regular rhythm.“Dante?” Morgana says.I turn to her. I want to say it, I really do. But the words are stuck in my throat. For days I've been terrified to hope at all. To say it out loud would be to risk losing it."My wolf," I whisper. "I heard him."She goes still.Owen, halfway through opening his medical bag, looks up. "What did you hear?""He said he heard Marcus refuse."Marcus takes a step back as if I've just accused him of something.I close my eyes again.Are you there?Nothing.The silence comes back so sharply I nearly double over.Owen sits me down in the infirmary, checks my pulse, has a look at the mark on my wrist, and then asks me to describe the voice without in the least suggesting an answer."It sounded like him," I say. "Not a voice through a s
Dante’s POVMarcus is still in the doorway when Hale asks him to say it again."Holt had you sign that title?" she asks on the phone."Yes." He looks at me. "The evening before you made me Alpha, he said everyone knew your wolf was failing. He wanted me ready."I remember that evening. Owen had ordered me to rest; Morgana had absolutely refused to budge and stayed right with me; and Marcus had gone on an extra patrol without so much as a word."You told me Holt asked about guard numbers."“He did. I didn’t tell you the rest.”Morgana folds her arms. I can feel her disappointment right across the room.“Then start now,” she says.We go to the library as Julian needs a table for the old docs. Hale stays on the line, taking Marcus's statement down with his consent."Holt brought two papers," Marcus says. "One gave me command of the armed patrols. The other said I'd accept the sovereign burden should the Alpha be unable to serve.""What did he tell you that meant?" asks Hale."That the gu
Morgana's POVRyker watches me as I add the poison to the Alpha’s whiskey.“Add everything,” he instructs, his voice hard. Always hard. He just cannot pretend to be soft for too long. “I don’t trust that man to remain dead with the little quantity you put.”I do as instructed. I pour all the poison
Morgana's POVMy chest clenches so tightly that I can barely breathe. My stomach burns fiercely. I jolt awake, my breathing erratic as I sit up on the three-seater couch.But there is no blood spilling from my mouth and nose. I am neither in the grave nor in the afterlife.No. Far from it.I am in
Morganna's PovThe pit in my stomach deepens.What?!Babe?!She must have had a slip of the tongue.I expect Ryker to glare at her like he always does and tell her she is mistaken, but instead, he smiles. A smile he has never given me.“Yes!” he replies firmly. “We did it, my love.”My love?!I par
Morgana' Pov“I swear, once you get my father to drink this, I will change. The reason why I have been hard on you is because Father has been annoying me a lot lately. Once you get rid of him, I will become happier and be a different person for you. I will truly love you this time, Mor. We will sta







