LOGINAsheronI lasted six hours before the restless energy under my skin became unbearable.The study felt too small. Every time I closed my eyes the fragment returned. The memory was vivid enough to make my cock harden and my fangs ache. Vivid enough that my wolf snarled in constant, low-grade fury at the distance I was forcing.I crushed the image ruthlessly.It was still only an incomplete fragment. And even if every second of it proved real, Seraphina remained what she had always been on paper: an unranked Omega who had arrived on my land as another Alpha’s discarded leftovers. She was weak, fragile and politically worthless. The kind of mate who would have been laughed out of every high council chamber in the empire.She was not suitable for me in any wayShe could not be.I poured another measure of whiskey and the smell only reminded me of the way her pulse had jumped when I stood too close. A knock sounded on the door and interrupted my thoughts. Kevin entered with the expression
SeraphinaNevertheless, Asheron was still as unpredictable as alwaysHe rose in one sharp motion, putting deliberate space between us. Whatever he had felt when the memory hit him, he was already burying it.“That was a fragment,” he said, “Nothing more. Rituals like this could be unreliable. They pull from desire and fear as much as truth.”I stared at him, still trembling, the phantom sensation of his body against mine lingering under my skin. “You felt it too. I know you did. You came running the moment it broke open.”“I felt a surge through the residual mark.” He turned away, dragging a hand through his hair. “That does not make it fact. Memory seals this old do not shatter cleanly. What you saw could be distorted. Until we run every possible verification, we still treat it as incomplete.”Lira looked between us, clearly torn. “Alpha, the physiological response was extreme. Her scent shifted permanently. The pregnancy markers are aligning with your bloodline signatures more stron
SeraphinaFour days passed in a blur I sat where Asheron placed me at every meal. I answered only when spoken to. I felt his eyes on me constantly yet he never allowed himself to remain alone with me for long. Pearl watched us both waiting for the first sign of weakness. On the evening of the half-moon, Kevin escorted me to the private medical wing. Lira was already waiting. The room had been cleared of everything except a low couch, a small table of carefully measured containers, and a single bowl filled with some liquid that smelled of Asheron’s blood “Am I consuming something mixed with his blood?” I asked “He approved the final dosage this afternoon,” Lira said quietly as she locked the door. “He will not be present. He said if the memories you’re desperately seeking return too violently, his control might slip.”Asheron has done that for my sake…really?” I sat on the edge of the couch with my heart pounding. “What exactly will happen?”“The residual Blood Moon energy will a
SeraphinaI walked in with my expression carefully blank. Asheron stood at the head of the long table, already seated in the high-backed chair that marked his authority. Pearl sat to his right. Two council representatives occupied the seats across from them.His gaze found me the moment I crossed the threshold. He simply gestured to the empty chair at his left.“Sit.” Of course it was one commanding word. Exactly as Kevin had warned.I took the seat. The moment I did, his scent wrapped around me…it was stronger here, as if he had made no effort to restrain it. My wolf stirred restlessly. Pearl let out a smile that was clearly fake. “How thoughtful of you to join us this hour, Seraphina. I almost expected you to remain in your rooms. You must be exhausted after everything.”I kept my eyes on the table. “Alpha Asheron requested my presence.”The older council Alpha cleared his throat. “We appreciate the transparency, Alpha Sinclair. There have been…concerning reports. An unranked Omeg
SeraphinaThe door closed behind Asheron rather too quickly. I even flinched from the shock of the force used.He had really said that I plagued him…Like I was a sickness he needed to cure. Then he had walked out before I could ask what those words actually meant when he was still planning to stand in front of the entire empire and claim Pearl in three weeks.I sank onto the edge of the bed and pressed both palms over my stomach. The baby gave a faint, fluttering kick as if answering the spike of fear. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe through it.Asheron had touched me like he could not help himself. He had ordered me to come to him first if anything changed. He had looked at me with something raw and starving in his eyes. And still he spoke of solving the problem of me, of keeping me silent and visible while he prepared to marry another woman.I hated how much the contradiction hurt.Lira slipped inside before I could realize anyone was at the door, carrying a small tray with te
Asheron Later that night, sleep was a far fetched dream for me..I sat in my study long after the estate had gone quiet. Every time I closed my eyes I saw her. The way Seraphina had looked at me when I set her down. The quiet hurt she tried to hide. The steady pulse under my thumb when I held her wrist too long.I should not have touched her. I should not have carried her in front of Pearl. I should not have ordered her to come to me first if anything happenedYet the commands had left my mouth before reason could stop them.My wolf paced restlessly in me. Her scent still clung to the air. It should have disgusted me. Instead it settled under my skin like a brand I could not scrub off.I dragged a hand down my face and forced myself to stand. She was sleeping under the watch of two of my best guards. I had given the order myself. No one entered her rooms without my knowledge. No one touched her. No one even looked at her too long.Sometimes, I wanted her sleeping right next to me, an







