LOGINSelena knelt beside him instantly, her hands gripping his shoulders firmly. "Breathe, Adrian. Slowly. Tell me exactly what you saw, every detail you can remember."Adrian's chest heaved, the vision still burning behind his eyes like something physically branded there. "Fire everywhere," he said, voice shaking. "Wooden buildings, collapsing. People running, screaming. And there was a woman, holding something close to her chest, running through the smoke.""What did she look like?" Selena asked urgently."I couldn't see her face clearly," Adrian said, frustration mixing with fear. "But she had dark hair, like mine. She kept saying a name, over and over, like she was trying to protect whoever she was carrying.""What name?" Selena pressed.Adrian closed his eyes, forcing himself back into the fading memory of the vision, chasing the sound before it disappeared completely. "Adrian," he whispered finally, eyes snapping open in shock. "She was saying my name."Selena's face went pale, her g
The howls faded into the distance without coming closer, and after a long, tense hour of waiting in silence, Selena finally allowed herself to relax."They moved on," she said, lowering the small blade she had kept ready in her hand. "Rogue wolves, most likely, drawn by the surge but too cautious to investigate directly. We were fortunate tonight."Adrian let out a shaky breath, his claws slowly retracting back into ordinary fingers as the adrenaline drained from his body. "Will that happen every time I use this power?" he asked. "Attracting danger, I mean.""Until you learn control, yes," Selena said. "Raw power calls to other predators, the same way blood calls to sharks in open water. This is exactly why training matters so much."She led him back inside the cabin, settling by the fire once again, though her expression remained thoughtful, calculating. "We begin properly tomorrow," she said. "Tonight, you should rest. Real rest, not the exhausted collapse you experienced last night
Back at the Blackmoor pack lands, the great hall had long since emptied, but Cassian remained standing exactly where Adrian had left him, staring at the doors Adrian had disappeared through hours ago."You did well tonight," a voice said beside him. Cassian turned to find Garrick, his father's oldest advisor, standing with satisfaction written across his weathered face. "The alliance with the eastern packs is secure now. They saw exactly what they needed to see.""What I needed them to see," Cassian repeated flatly, "was a lie."Garrick's expression flickered with brief impatience. "A necessary lie," he said. "That boy was nothing, Cassian. A kitchen worker with no pack standing, no strength worth mentioning. Claiming him as your mate would have weakened your position exactly when we need every ounce of strength for the alliance talks.""He is my fated mate," Cassian said, voice tight with barely controlled anger. "The bond does not care about pack standing, Garrick.""The bond does n
Morning light filtered through the cabin's small window, and Adrian woke to find Selena already sitting across from him, watching him with quiet, careful eyes."You slept for almost twelve hours," she said. "Your body needed the rest. Healing this kind of power takes real energy, even when the power itself has barely woken up."Adrian sat up slowly, testing his shoulder. The wound from last night's attack had already closed into a thin pink line, healing far faster than any normal injury should. He stared at it in disbelief."How is this possible?" he asked."Your blood," Selena said simply. "Now that the seal has cracked, your body is finally healing the way it always should have.""The seal," Adrian repeated. "You mentioned that last night too. What exactly was sealed, and why?"Selena rose and moved to the small fire, adding another log before settling back down across from him. Her expression grew distant, weighted with old memories she clearly did not enjoy revisiting."Long ago,
The attack came fast, without warning.A huge shape burst from the trees, teeth bared, eyes wild with hunger rather than reason. Adrian barely had time to throw himself sideways before sharp claws tore through the air where his chest had been a second earlier.He hit the ground hard, pain shooting up his arm, dirt filling his mouth. The wolf turned toward him again, snarling, saliva dripping from its jaws. This was not a normal wolf. Its fur was matted and wrong, its eyes too dark, too empty. Something about it felt broken, twisted by more than simple hunger."Please," Adrian gasped, scrambling backward. "I don't want to fight you."The wolf did not care. It lunged.Adrian rolled aside at the last moment, feeling teeth graze his shoulder, tearing fabric and skin alike. Pain flared white-hot through his body. He cried out, pressing a hand to the wound, blood already soaking through his fingers.I am going to die here,* he thought, panic rising fast. *Alone, in the dark, forgotten by ev
The great hall smelled of pine smoke and roasted meat, filled with the low hum of a hundred voices. Tonight was the Mating Ceremony, the one night each year when every unmated wolf in the territory gathered under one roof, waiting to feel that pull toward their fated partner.Adrian stood near the back wall, half-hidden in shadow, the way he always stood at these events. He was not tall or strong like the others. He worked in the kitchens, not the training grounds. Nobody expected much from him, and most nights, he preferred it that way.Then the doors at the far end of the hall opened, and everything in Adrian's chest went still.A tall man walked in, flanked by guards, his dark eyes sweeping the room like he owned every inch of it. Power rolled off him in waves, thick enough to taste. Adrian's wolf rose inside him at once, a sharp, aching pull toward this stranger that felt like nothing he had ever known.Mate.The word rang through his whole body, clear and certain. He gripped the
"That's..." Cassian's grip tightened."Dangerous. If I can feel your true intentions—""Then you'll know I mean what I say."Adrian met his eyes. "Isn't that what you wanted? Truth?"Cassian laughed—startled and genuine. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.""You keep saying that."
Accept?The glowing words hovered in front of Elian's eyes.YES / NOHis entire body went rigid.Around him, the Grand Hall had fallen silent.King Aldric sat frozen.The Archbishop looked moments away from declaring holy war.Several nobles stared at Cassian as though the Demon Lord had just deman
Cassian Nyx.The future Demon Lord & villain.The man Adrian had spent three years mourning & he had crossed worlds to save.Cassian looked younger than Adrian remembered.For a brief moment, the entire hall seemed to disappear.Only Cassian remained.Standing right in front of him.Cassian's crims
Adrian Reeves had exactly two seconds left to live.And he was spending both of them hating a web novel author.The truck's headlights filled his vision.Death was rushing toward him.Yet instead of thinking about his family, his future, or the countless regrets he should have had, Adrian could onl







