تسجيل الدخولPOVHe was still down on his knees in front of me, my hands caught in his, his pulse hammering through the bond like something desperate to break out of a cage it had built for itself. I didn't pull away right away, even though I probably should have. I let myself look at him properly, really look, at the fear ringing gold around the silver of his eyes, at the way his jaw kept working like he had a dozen more things he wanted to say and couldn't find the order to say them in.I leaned forward slowly, until my breath brushed against the sharp line of his jaw."What's the matter, Kaelen?" I asked, soft, mocking, drawing the words out the way I know irritates him most. "Is the mighty Alpha King actually afraid that a little party is going to hurt me? I thought your royal enforcers could handle anything you put in front of them."His grip on my fingers tightened until his knuckles went pale. His throat moved when he swallowed, and for a second he didn't look like a king at all. He looked
Kaelen's POVIdris was talking about land tax adjustments at the conference table, and I genuinely could not tell you a single word of what he'd said in the last five minutes, because I wasn't listening to any of it.I couldn't focus, and I mean that literally. Every few seconds the bond behind my ear delivered another pulse of her straight into my chest, laughter, warmth, a kind of ease she hasn't shown me once since she came back to this capital, and all of it was going to some overgrown mutt sitting on her floor instead of to me.She hasn't laughed like that with me a single time. Not once. But a stray dog shreds my favorite chair and suddenly she's down on the ground giggling like the world isn't full of knives waiting for her at every turn.My wolf was sulking so hard in the back of my mind that I could genuinely feel the room getting colder around me. I closed my eyes against another wave of her happiness rolling through the bond, my ribs aching with something so stupid I refuse
Elara's POVNobody warns you, when they explain how a mate bond works, that it doesn't switch off just because you've walked out of the room. I could still feel him, that frantic hammering pulse behind my left ear, as Rhea and I made our way down the eastern hallway together. His wolf was still pacing somewhere on his side of the bond, snarling and pawing at the inside of his own chest like something I'd locked in a cage and abandoned there on purpose.Not that I cared or anything."Your skin's completely flushed right now," Rhea said, glancing sideways at my collarbone with a smirk she wasn't bothering to hide from me. "Is the Alpha King finally starting to chip away at that ice you're always wearing? You look like you just crawled out of a fever dream, honestly.""Don't be ridiculous," I said, not slowing my pace at all."I'm only saying what I'm seeing.""He's not chipping away at anything, Rhea. He's losing his mind because he can't stand the fact that he doesn't own me the way he
Kaelen's POVI was standing on the terrace off my study with a pair of field glasses in my hand, telling myself this was a routine perimeter check, the kind I do every morning to make sure nothing rogue has slipped past the guard line overnight.That was the story I was telling myself, anyway, right up until I lowered the lenses toward the outer courtyard and found her standing there with Cassian, and the story fell apart in my hands.It's embarrassing, if I'm honest with myself, how quickly my eyes go looking for her before they look for anything else. Every window in this palace, every terrace, every gap between two buildings where a person might be standing — I scan those spaces for her the way a soldier scans for an ambush, like she's a threat my body refuses to stop tracking.Maybe that's exactly what she is to me now. A threat I can't look away from no matter how many times she makes it clear she doesn't want my eyes on her at all.She hates me. She's said it plainly enough, wit
Elara’s POVI leaned my back against the cold stone of the hallway wall, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked at Kaelen’s intense, worried face with complete indifference. He was still hovering too close, his frame blocking out the torchlight, his breathing heavy and ragged as his royal Alpha aura practically vibrated against my skin."You're suffocating the hallway, Kaelen," I said, my voice completely flat and conversational, lacking even a micro-ounce of warmth.He even blinked slightly, his eyes flashing with a desperate, golden ring of panic as he stared down at me. "Elara, please. Just tell me what's happening. The Blood-Fangs are murderers. If they are inside the perimeter, you are in direct danger. Let me deploy the elite guard to surround the sector. Let me protect you."I let out a short, quiet laugh, a dark and thoroughly satisfied smirk cutting across my lips as I tilted my head to look up at him."Protect me?" I repeated, my voice dropping into an eeriely calm, conv
Kaelen’s POVThe silver fork in my hand felt heavy enough to snap as I sat through the most miserable council lunch of my entire reign.Vesper was sitting to my left, her severe face hidden beneath a fresh lace veil that smelled faintly of old linen and burnt incense. She wasn't eating her roasted pheasant; instead, she kept sliding a fresh parchment scroll across the polished table, her fingers tapping a relentless rhythm against the wood."The public morale among our secondary territories is dropping, Kaelen," Vesper purred, her voice dripping with smooth, patronizing warmth as she looked around the row of high-ranking advisors. "Given the recent... instability within the Voss subsidiary line, we must ensure the inner circle remains unified. This new legislation will strictly limit the political and property rights of unmated females within the palace court. It will restrict their access to council vaults and prevent independent security deployments. It’s for the stability of the mo
POV: ElaraThe grand courtyard of the Voss pack estate was completely transformed for the evening. Red banners bearing our pack symbol hung from the stone arches, and torches lined the long driveway, casting a flickering, dramatic orange glow over the gathering crowds.Because we were hosting the n
POV: ElaraBefore Rhea could even pour the steaming tea, the bedroom door flew open with an aggressive bang."Oh, Elara! You’re finally awake!"Lyra burst into the room like a sudden gust of wind, a bright, dazzling smile plastered across her face. She looked radiant, her golden hair cascading down
POV: ElaraA sudden, violent gasp tore through my throat.My chest forcefully expanded, drawing in a massive, burning lungful of air that tasted shockingly sweet, entirely clear of mold and the suffocating stench of copper and rot.I bolted upright, my heart hammering against my ribs as I threw my
POV: ElaraThe rattle of heavy iron chains against the damp stone floor was the only sound left to mark the passing of time.I coughed, a violent, hacking spasm that tore through my chest and left the metallic taste of blood pooling in the back of my throat. My cheek remained pressed flat against t







