LOGINElara waited until she was sure Alpha Riven had left her room, before sge quietly sneaked back in. She really did not want to speak to him or anyone else about the damned mountain or whatever happened in it.Elara paced the stone-floored chamber repeatedly... trying amd failing to calm her heart... it was getting darker outside. The flickering lanterns along the walls cast shadows that danced across her skin as she moved. Her boots clicked with every step, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, more to hold herself together than out of comfort.Everything felt different... she felt different. She’d punished someone. With power that felt like it didn’t just rise from inside her, but crashed through her like a fucking tidal wave. And then… his touch. Fucking hell... she would never be able to stop thinking about his touch, would she?She could still feel the ghost of his touch and that was just crazy. This is Riven for goddess sake. The insufferable, disgustingly proud and cocky Ri
Riven found her where he expected her to be. Hiding.He knew Elara could talk smack all she wanted, but after what happened between them at the BloodCourt, he needed to make sure she was truly okay, and not just putting up a front.He opened the door to her chambers and found her staring outside the giant window. Elara stood with both hands on the carved stone railing, her back to him, her white hair moving wildly around her shoulders.The late afternoon sky burned gold behind her.She turned and looked at him for a few seconds before turning back towards the window, but that was enough for him to see that she was not ok..."Princess, we need to talk." He said, hoping he sounded as playful and carefree as he usually did.She did not turn again, even when he approached.That alone told him enough. Elara had a terrible poker face. She could not fully pretend...Usually, even when she angry, even when pretending to be indifferent, she reacted to him. He had studied her enought to kno
Elara stood alone by the wide stone window of the mountain house after they had returned home, her hands braced against the cold ledge as she stared out across the endless mountains.Her mind was still in the Blood Court.Still in that chamber of carved stone and lowered eyes.Still hearing the sharp crack beneath her feet as the marble floor splintered under the force of her rage.Still feeling the heat of power rushing through her veins.Still hearing Riven’s voice at her ear.The events at the Blood Court still clung to her skin like heat, the gasps, the fear in their eyes, the way the room had trembled because of her anger.And Riven... Riven was...well...confusing.The images from what she had just experienced under him... under the mountain...Yes... her mind and body were confused.The way he had stepped behind her without hesitation. The way his power had wrapped around hers, it was so new, and strange and it was very embarrassing and she would never admit it in front of Rive
Power crackled from Elara like wildfire, her hair was blazing bright, her eyes were glowing silver-blue. The marble beneath her feet began to crack and splinter in the shape of a web around her feet. The light coming from her coiled tighter around Liliana, lifting her slightly off the floor like a rag doll, choking on her own gasp.Riven stood now, and though his face remained unreadable, Elara felt his energy shift, ready, controlled, watching her closely.Elara wanted to stop, to reel in her power, but she could still hear Liliana’s words. She could still hear that dismissive tone...she could still see that smirk. The idea that she would always be a toy in someone else’s hands.No. Not anymore.Elara took another step forward, her breath ragged, her chest rising with every surge of magic coursing through her. The air in the throne room was alive now—sparking, humming, furious. The werewolves closest to her dropped their eyes or flinched.“I am not something to be broken,” she said,
The whole pack remained frozen, their breath held in reverence, or was it fear, as Elara’s glowing hair crackled in the gloom, throwing strange silver light across the obsidian floor. No one spoke. No one dared. Not after the display they had just witnessed.Riven’s thumb swept once across her thigh again. A subtle touch, grounding almost like he was reminding her he was still present, and with her. But then a voice cut through the silence like a jagged blade.“Well,” came a high, cold drawl. “She certainly knows how to make an entrance and pull a crowd”The entire room shifted. Heads turned slowly toward the voice, like vampires scenting blood.Just as Elara was trying to figure out the direction the voice was coming from, she heard it again. A soft drawl, smooth as venom. “It’s good to see the strange new Luna is not just a glowing decoration, but also a glowing whore.”The words didn’t echo as usual. They landed like dead weight in the throne room, pulling everyone’s attention to
Elara was pressed so closely against him that she could feel the deep rumble of his voice as he at last said to his court, “Rise.”As the last bowed head lifted, silence hovered everyone like they were all holding her breath.No one dared to speak...not yet. Not while Riven sat sprawled on his throne, dangerous and relaxed, his newly announced Luna perched like a jewel in his lap.Then came the creak of stiff robes and the soft click of boots on stone as Sebastian, the Steward stood erect from his deep bow and walked forward again, closer to the throne, but stopped at the stairs that led to it. Not daring to climb it. He loooked lean, his face carved into lines of patience and bitter disdain. His eyes were a pale, icy grey, like a storm that never truly passed. He stepped forward slowly, each stride controlled, as though reminding himself that he stood before a beast that could bite with little warning.“My King,” he began with a strained smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “It seems…







