Mag-log inScarlet’s POVThe courtyard felt like it was about to explode.Six elven guards drew their curved blades in one smooth motion, the silver ringing out in the cold air. Behind me, forty of our wolves bared their fangs, low growls rumbling in their chests like thunder rolling over the mountains. The elders scrambled backward like frightened mice, diving behind the map table.Damien didn't just bare his teeth—his whole frame expanded. The leather laces across his chest groaned as his inner wolf pushed forward, black claws extending from his knuckles, digging straight into the hilt of his broadsword."You threaten my pack on my own stones?" Damien’s voice was an unnatural, guttural roar that shook the gravel beneath our boots. "I tore my way through a coven of witches this morning. You think six pretty boys in silver coats will stop me from ripping your carriage to kindling?"Maeve didn't step back. Her green eyes were ice-cold, fixed entirely on the blade in Damien’s hand."Try it, beast,
Scarlet’s POVThe courtyard went deathly quiet.The clinking of tools at the armory stopped. The healers froze with their bandages halfway wrapped. Every single set of eyes turned away from the maps and locked straight onto Joel.Joel stood frozen on the steps of the healing porch. His face had lost every scrap of color, his dark eyes wide and fixed on the kneeling scout like he had just heard a ghost speak his name."Theandor," Damien whispered, his voice low and dangerous.He didn't look at the scout. His head turned slowly toward Joel, his jaw tightened."They were wiped out," Joel said, his voice coming out rough and uneven as he walked down the steps toward our table. "Morgathis tore through the high citadels before she ever marched on this valley. I watched the silver halls burn with my own eyes. My father, my kin—none of them survived.""Apparently, someone did," Damien replied, his tone devoid of warmth. "And they followed your scent straight to my gates."The heavy iron doors
Scarlet’s POVJoel’s question stayed in the air long after his words stopped.Who are you going to choose?I didn't answer him. I couldn't. Looking into his dark, tired eyes, my heart pulled in two completely different directions.Part of me remembered Damien’s face covered in tears over Kaeler’s cot—the mate who had broken iron chains and dragged his bleeding body through miles of dirt just to see his pups. And another part of me remembered Joel’s steady hand holding mine on the birthing bed, whispering that I wouldn't die while the doctors soaked the sheets in blood."Sasha," I said, my voice shaking as I turned my back on Joel. "Wrap the children tightly in wool. We're moving them up to the stone quarters on the third level. The vault smells too much of death.""Yes, Luna," Sasha whispered, scrambling to pick up Kaelia.Joel let out a slow, quiet breath behind me. He didn't press the matter. He reached down with his uninjured arm, lifted Kaeler's wooden cot with surprising balance,
Scarlet’s POVThe vault was dead quiet except for Damien’s muffled sobs into Kaeler’s blanket.I stood right behind him, my hand hovering over his broad, shaking back. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck, pull him against my chest, and tell him the nightmare was over. But every time I moved, the silver mark on my collarbone pulsed hot, reminding me that the nightmare hadn't ended—it had just changed shape.Damien slowly lifted his head from the crib. He gently pulled his finger free from Kaeler’s tiny grip, tucking the wool blanket tight around the boy's chest before glancing over at Kaelor and Kaelia. His dark eyes were red-rimmed, wet with tears, but the wild, crazed look he had carried since walking through the courtyard gates was gone.He pushed himself up to his feet, groaning as his ribs protested. He wiped his face with the back of his dirty forearm, smearing soot into his beard, and turned around to face me."Scarlet," he said, his voice quiet, thick with emotion."Damien
Scarlet’s POV"Damien, no!" I screamed, lunging to pull him away.I thought his rage had won. I thought he had completely lost his mind and was ripping Joel's throat out while the man lay helpless on the straw.Before my fingers could even touch his shoulders, Damien's massive hand shot up, shoving me backward. I stumbled, hitting my hip against the wooden edge of the cradle, crying out as the blunt pain flared through my lower body."Stay back, Scarlet!" Damien growled through clenched teeth, his mouth still buried deep in the rotting meat of Joel's shoulder.Joel’s body violently seized. His back arched off the floorboards, a strangled, wet scream tearing out of his gray lips as Damien’s fangs dug deeper. His fists clenched into the bloody straw, veins bulging on his pale forehead until they looked ready to burst.Damien wasn't tearing. He was drinking.He sucked the black, foul-smelling witch poison straight out of the wound, his throat bobbing in hard, rhythmic gulps. The sickly p
Scarlet’s POVThe stone floor split right down the middle with a loud crash. I watched my blood sink deep into the ground. Dust flew everywhere, thick and black, stinging my eyes and making me cough. Sasha screamed from inside the nursery, holding the crying babies tight against her chest. I threw the witch hard against the wall. She slid down to the ground, holding her neck, gasping for air while her burned clothes smoked.I didn't care about her anymore. I turned and stared at the dark hole in the floor.A huge, bloody hand shot out of the rubble, grabbing the broken edge of the stone.The fingernails were gone, replaced by thick, black wolf claws covered in dried dirt and fresh blood. Then another hand reached up, pulling hard. The rock groaned under the weight.A man hauled himself up into the dim light of the vault.It was Damien. My blood must have done something I know nothing about. But right now, I feel so weak. He looked like he had just climbed out of a grave. His bare ch
Damien’s POVIt had been days since she left, and still, I’d heard nothing.Not another letter. Not even a reassurance that she was going to really come back—I’m left with just memories of her. My head spun as I wrestled with what to do next. That was when the guards’ voices boomed from the palace
Scarlet’s POV “Damien, what are you doing?” I gasped, fear laced in my voice. My breath hitched, as my chest rose and fell with sharp urgency. But… damn it. Why do I feel so wet beneath? What’s wrong with me? I’ve never been this close to a man. Never felt this exposed…this fragile. I placed
Damien’s POVI don’t know if it was instinct, but something deep inside me whispered that something was wrong.Even though she tried so hard to conceal it, everything was brought to light tonight. All through the night, as I took Scarlet again and again, she kept calling my name—and another.A nam
Scarlet’s POVI blinked, forcing myself back into the moment, steadying my breath as I looked up at Damien.He was still watching me, the soldiers standing rigidly behind him, guiding us forward.None of it was real.None of it had ever been real.I had only been standing there—watching Joel being







