LOGINI stood entirely frozen in the middle of the chaotic, blood-soaked battlefield. The wild cheers of my people faded away, becoming a distant, muffled hum. I could no longer feel the residual, burning ache of Cameron’s dark poison. All I could see, burned into my retinas with devastating clarity, was that name at the bottom of the spy's report. Kaelen Thorne. The cruel letters were sharp and elegant. They
I looked at the photograph. The edges were yellowed and brittle. The two small faces in it were bright, alive — almost painful to look at. My hands shook. The black wolf pendant rattled in my palm. The metallic sound echoed in the cave’s silence.For a moment, everything faded. The damp smell of limestone. The sharp scent of Cameron’s poison. The distant sounds of my people. It all blurred into grey.Then the memories hit.The Royal GardenI was five. A tiny princess in a silk dress that snagged on rosebushes. The gardens of Lycan Castle stretched on forever — green hedges, golden fountains, a paradise.“Catch me, Sera! You’re too slow!”A little boy’s voice rang out. Silver-bell clear. He had raven-black hair and eyes like the midnight sea. He sprinted down the gravel path, laughing. He wasn’t the servant’s son or a future warrior. He was just Kaelen. My Kaelen.We reached the orchards when I heard it — a deep growl from the shadows.
I stood entirely frozen in the middle of the chaotic, blood-soaked battlefield. The wild cheers of my people faded away, becoming a distant, muffled hum. I could no longer feel the residual, burning ache of Cameron’s dark poison. All I could see, burned into my retinas with devastating clarity, was that name at the bottom of the spy's report. Kaelen Thorne. The cruel letters were sharp and elegant. They were written in deep black ink, standing out against the faded yellow paper. A phantom seemed to reach from my parents' grave, its cold fingers tightening around my throat. The shocking news took my breath away. It felt impossible and terrifying. The man who bled for me, the one who stood by my side against a fierce army, was also the architect of my deepest trauma.I turned away from the carnage and began the long walk ba
The agony was absolute. I lay curled on the cold, unforgiving stone floor of the nursery cave, completely helpless. The concentrated wolf-bane poison Cameron smashed on my chest didn’t just burn. It seeped into my bloodstream, setting my veins ablaze like liquid fire. My vision swam with dark, dizzying spots. The bright, golden hum of my Lycan power—my shield and crown—had vanished. In its place was a heavy, frightening emptiness. My limbs felt like lead. I could barely move my fingers, let alone defend my people.Cameron did not hesitate to exploit my vulnerability. A sickening thud echoed in the cavern as his steel-tipped boot hit my ribs. I gasped, tasting the metallic tang of my own blood. He kicked me again, and again, the sickening impacts driving the breath from my lungs.
The morning light shone harshly on the limestone cliffs of Silver Wolf Valley. I stood at the threshold of the nursery caves, my heart a frantic drumbeat of war and worry. But the sight that met my eyes froze the blood in my veins.Cameron Vance stood at the vanguard of the Silver Fang army.He was no longer the whimpering, broken creature I had left crawling in the mud of the forest. The sad Omega I had stripped of rank and dignity was gone. In his place was something much more sinister. He wore heavy, obsidian armor, and his golden hair was cut short. But it was his eyes that sent chills down my spine. They didn't glow with the natural gold of a wolf or even the crimson of an Alpha. They glowed with a sickly, fake silver light. It was a nasty, alchemical magic given to h
The cave air was heavy with ozone and burnt sage. Still, I only noticed the metallic taste of silver and the searing heat from Kaelen’s body. I had carried him back myself, ignoring the protests of my warriors. The fearsome Alpha of the Black Wolves felt as heavy as lead in my arms. His head rested on my shoulder, and his breathing was jagged and wet. Each rasp made my own lungs ache. I laid him on the soft furs of the bed. My hands shook so much that I struggled to unfasten his blood-soaked shirt. His skin turned a sickly, translucent grey. Black veins of silver poison spread like spider webs from his shoulder to his heart."Kaelen, stay with me," I whispered, my voice cracking. "That’s a royal command, you arrogant wolf. Do you hear me?"Mara, the
The wind howled through Silver Wolf Valley's limestone cliffs. It carried the sharp scent of northern snow and a hint of ancient malice. I stood on the edge of the watchtower, the wooden railing biting into my palms. Beside me, Kaelen Thorne was a pillar of dark, suffocating tension. The air between us was a wall of jagged ice, frozen by the revelation of his family’s blood-soaked history.Kaelen turned to me, his obsidian eyes fractured with an emotion I couldn't afford to name. "Sera, please. The night the castle fell, I was just a—""No." I didn't look at him. My gaze was fixed on the silver tide of wolves emerging from the treeline below. "We will talk about your family's betrayal later. We will talk about every lie you’ve told me when the ground isn't shaking beneath







