Five

Astrid’s POV

He was tall! Taller than Anthony (which is saying something) broader through the shoulders moving with like a predator that said he'd killed before and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again and again.

He has the most black hair I have ever seen. His skin was tan and brown eyes that locked onto me with an intensity that made my knees weak.

My wolf stirred with interest, drawn to his scent and another wild thing that called to the predator in me. I noticed his gaze drop to my neck to Anthony’s mark. Something flickered in his expression and I swear it was disgust before his face went carefully blank.

He was unfairly handsome but there was something about the way he held himself, a kind of arrogance in the set of his shoulders, that reminded me too much of Anthony’s charm. Pretty packaging wrapped around calculated intent.

I didn’t trust beautiful men with power anymore.

Vincent stepped forward, placing himself slightly between us not fully blocking but enough to make a statement.

“Your Majesty,” he said evenly. “This is… unexpected.”

Alpha King?! My blood turned to ice immediately.

This was Davian Thornevale?

The Alpha King Anthony was hosting in three weeks. The most powerful Alpha in North America and one man who could destroy or elevate any pack with a single word.

Davian didn’t look at Vincent.

He didn’t even acknowledge him at first.

His attention stayed exactly where it had been from the moment he stepped into the clearing.

On me.

“I go where I’m needed,” he said at last, his voice. Not loud but it carried.

“And right now, I’m needed at the Riftclaw Pack.”

“Here…?” I echoed before I could stop myself.

His gaze sharpened slightly.

There it was.

Interest.

“Riftclaw territory,” he said. “Or close enough to matter.”

My pulse ticked up.

Careful.

“I didn’t realize this would fall under the King’s attention,” Oh my God, I don’t know how I found the courage to ask, but the words were already out.

“I’m investigating reports of illegal witch magic usage. Blood magic. Bonding manipulation. The kind of thing that carries a death sentence.”

My stomach tightened.

Did he mean the fake mark?

Or was there something else happening in Riftclaw that I didn’t know about?

Either way… this wasn’t good.

“I don’t— I don’t know what you mean.” The denial caught in my throat before it could fully form.

Davian’s lip curled.

“Don’t insult us both.” He took a step closer and my wolf practically purred. “I can smell the rot from here, little Luna. That mark on your neck isn’t just fake, it’s killing you.”

What?

My hand flew to my throat.

“Witch magic degrades.”

He took another step. He was close enough now that I could feel the heat radiating off hin and my body betrayed me by swaying forward. I am supposed to swear off men after what just happened to me.

“Especially illusion spells tied to living flesh. It’s eating you from the inside out. Give it another month, maybe two and it’ll start on your organs.”

NO! Is that possible?

I’d survived bleeding out in the snow hearing my own son spill how he hated me and then I’d been given a second chance. I wasn’t going to die slowly from Anthony’s poison mark.

“How...how do you know this?” My voice cracked.

“Because I’ve seen it before.” Davian’s expression was carved from stone.

“I’ll be conducting my inspection in three weeks as planned. The Winter Solstice celebration will provide excellent cover.”

Three weeks. My death day.

“And if you find evidence of illegal magic?” I asked, hating how my voice shook.

“Then Alpha Anthony Riftclaw will stand trial before the Council of Alphas.” Davian’s smile was cold. “And likely lose his head.”

Good. Let him lose everything. I thought about Anthony’s smile this morning. About Mira’s hand on his hand and the hickey around her neck and Calix asking innocent questions while his real parents plotted my death. I thought about the mark burning against my neck counting down my days. But something in Davian’s expression made me pause.

““You sound… very certain,” I said slowly, more careful now, watching him instead of meeting his gaze head-on, “You’re not investigating. You’re just gathering evidence for an execution.”

“Smart.” Davian’s approval felt like a drug I didn’t want to crave. “Your father was smart too. Shame what happened to him.”

The clearing went silent that even Vincent seemed to have hold his breath. What does the King know about my father?. My wolf snarled sensing something beneath those words.

“What do you mean?”

“Not my story.”

I wanted to rip his throat with my new powers but know it’d be futile against this beast of a wolf. I just recently got the Alpha powers while he was born with it. He turned to leave.

“Wait—” The word left my lips before I could stop it. He paused but didn’t turn around.

“The mark” I said touching my neck. “You said it’s killing me. How do I stop it?”

He gravely said. “Get it removed before it goes deeper. If the magic reaches your heart… Only a true mate’s mark can override it. The bond has to be real and it has to be strong enough to burn out the fake magic.”

My stomach dropped.

“But you just said—”

“I know what I said.” His shoulders were rigid. “You should find a solution Luna.”

Then he was gone, disappearing into the forest like he was never there. Vincent’s hand settled carefully on my shoulder.

“Astrid,” he said quietly, waiting until I looked at him. “I’ll contact you in a few days. About claiming Silvermist… and what comes next.”

His gaze softened slightly, but the weight of it didn’t lessen.

“I hope you’ll consider it.”

“I will,” I said, though the future ahead of me felt uncertain, shifting beneath my feet like unstable ground.

Everything had changed in the span of a single morning.

A name. A past. A choice I wasn’t ready for.

And a death sentence ticking quietly beneath my skin.

But this time…

This time, I wouldn’t go quietly.

I would survive.

No matter what it took.