INICIAR SESIÓNI straightened up. My heart was pounding. I looked around the room and for a single, disorienting moment, I had no idea where I was. The black stone walls, the red sky beyond the window, the dead air of this place—none of it felt right. None of it felt like mine. I felt like a man who had woken up m
Andrei’s POVThe collar of my shirt was pissing me off.I had fastened it twice already and it still insisted on sitting crooked, pulling too tight on the left side. I undid it a third time and redid it, slower, watching my hands in the mirror rather than my own face. My reflection had been botherin
Natalia’s POVHe didn’t hesitate.The moment I swung the rod toward him, his hand shot out and closed around my wrist like a vise. My arm wrenched sideways, and I felt the bones grind together under his grip, and the rod fell. It clattered somewhere on the stone floor, rolling away into the darkness
Andrei’s POVThe room was warm. The bed was soft and plush, the pillows made of feathers and velvet. Everything smelled familiar, the kind of scent that you recognize from a past life but can never put a finger on its source.Home.The woman was laying next to me, just as she always did. Amber hair
But I would do it, because the alternative was my children going through whatever came next, and that was not something I was willing to consider.I wasn’t certain yet. That was the only reason I was still trying so hard now. Because there was still a small part of me that thought that there must be
Natalia’s POVThey came for me after what felt like a full day. I say felt like because it really could have been any amount of time, or none at all. But someone did bring me some slop to eat at some point, so that had to have meant that at least a full cycle had passed.I was on my feet before the
“They don’t like me,” Andrei pointed out.I had noticed the same thing, of course. My father and brother—it was going to take a very long time to get used to that—clearly had qualms with Andrei. It likely had something to do with the fact that he hadn’t marked me yet, I figured. Perhaps they were tr
NataliaThe next morning, I didn’t expect Karl to show up at training. After the way he reacted when I suggested the idea, I assumed that he wasn’t even remotely interested.That was why, as I tangled on the ground with David, I was so surprised by Karl’s sudden entrance that I lost focus and let Da
NataliaI stared up at the man who claimed to be my brother, my mind reeling. The resemblance was undeniable—the same eyes, the same bone structure, even the same stubborn set to his jaw that Damon always made fun of me for.“Who are you?” I blurted out.“David.” He took a step closer. “My name is D
NataliaAndrei and I had dinner privately that night. Since we were all together again, and Max was well enough to sit at the table with us, my father and brother didn’t protest when I told them we wanted to be alone.We shared a small but delicious meal in my private chambers, watching as Jane cont







