LOGINSeraphinaRowan’s weight kept me pinned to the cold floor of the passage.My wrists burned in his grip. Every time I twisted, the healing bruises along my ribs sent sharp pain through my side. Above us the Blood Moon’s violence continued. I heard the shouts of guards trying and failing to contain what could not be contained.“You should have stayed with me” Rowan said, breathing hard. “None of this would have happened.”I turned my face away and stared at the narrow strip of wall in front of me. I was calculating how hard I would have to bite his hand if he covered my mouth again when a soft footstep sounded behind him.Rowan started to turn.The heavy medical tray in Lira’s hands hit the side of his head in a single, brutal swing.Rowan staggered sideways, eyes wide with shock. Lira did not give him time to recover. She struck again, harder, and he crumpled against the wall before sliding to the floor in a loose, unconscious heap.For one stunned second I could only stare.Lira drop
SeraphinaThe days dragged by and I enjoyed it because I was really dreading the official wedding with Pearl.One evening, everywhere seemed unusually eerie. The first sign that disturbed me was the sky.I stood at the window of my room, watching the last of the daylight fade. A low pressure settled over the estate, and made my ears ring. In the high tower, a sound burst through the air. It was full of pain.Asheron?!I knew that sound. I had heard it once before, on the night the first Blood Moon nearly destroyed the courtyard. The Sinclair curse had returned, earlier than anyone expected.I had helped him before, I can help him again. I grabbed a light jacket and ran to himAs usual, the corridors were already in chaos. Guards shouted orders. Someone called for the silver chains and the underground vaults. I pushed past them, heart slamming against my ribs. The child kicked hard once, as if it felt the same wrongness in the air that I did.I had almost reached the central gallery w
AsheronThe next morning, Kevin stepped into the study with a sealed letter in one hand and a face that had gone carefully blank.“Rowan is back again” he said. “He brought his highest-ranking wolves. He is requesting a formal audience. And he asked for Seraphina by name.”I took the letter. Inside, the handwriting was clean, arrogant, and far too familiar.It read: “Sinclair, I made a mistake. I want her back. The child as well. I am prepared to negotiate territory, trade, and public apology. Refuse, and I will make this a matter for the high council. She was under my house first. I do not surrender what belongs to me”I read it twice. Then I set it on the desk and stared at the dark window while the first light of morning touched the training grounds.He had thrown her away in front of an entire hall. He had named her stepsister as Luna and offered Seraphina a place as side mistress like she was a spare wolf. He had watched her crawl across the floor while others laughed. And now, a
SeraphinaWhen the room was finally empty, Asheron turned back to me.“Can you walk?” he asked.“Yes.”He did not offer his arm. He simply stayed close as we left. The alarm bells had stopped. We did not speak until we reached my room. He followed me inside and closed the door. For a moment he only stared at me.“You should sit” he said.I sat on the edge of the bed. He remained standing, as if sitting beside me would cross a line he was still trying to protect.“Lira will be here soon,” he said. “She will check the child again. And your ribs.”“I know.”Silence settled between us. But at least, it was not empty. It was full of everything we had not said. I looked down at my hands. “You are protecting me according to the contract”His jaw tightened. “I did.”“In front of Pearl. In front of Kevin. You did not hesitate.”“I was not thinking about politics at that moment.” His voice was low.I nodded slowly. The honesty in his words made my chest ache. This was the part that felt most
SeraphinaThe third toll of the alarm bell vibrated through the floorboards and into my bones.Asheron’s arm tightened around me before he set me carefully on my feet. The gentleness vanished the moment my balance held. His face had gone cold. It was the expression he had on when the territory itself was under threat.“Stay behind me,” he ordered. “If I tell you to run, you run. No arguments allowed”I nodded. Someone intended to use the relic before the bloodline results could spread any further.Kevin met us in the corridor, already armed with two elite guards at his back. “West wing breach. Pearl’s personal attendants overpowered the first watch. She is not in her room.”Asheron’s reply was a single low growl. “Seal the outer gates. No one is allowed to leave the grounds. Secure the relic.”We moved fast. Every hallway felt longer than it should have. Servants pressed themselves against walls as we passed. The alarm continued its sound designed to wake every wolf on the estate and
Seraphina Asheron’s forehead stayed against mine for several long and deep breaths. The connection between us was now more insistent, as if the confirmation of Sovereign blood and Sinclair paternity had finally given it permission to root deeper. I felt the exact moment another seal cracked. A fragment slipped through showing Asheron’s hand had locked around my wrist, pulling me into shadow. His mouth in my ear, whispered: “If the relic senses us, it will not stop at warning. It will erase.” I gasped and pulled back. Asheron’s eyes snapped open, as if he had seen the same piece of stolen time. “What was that?” he demanded. “A warning, perhaps” I whispered. “From before. You knew the relic could take the memories. You tried to keep me away from it. It’s the same one we seized from Rowan and Quinn” Lira’s earlier words about the soul-swap relic echoed in my head. The same artifact Quinn had used to steal my body. The same one that had powered the suppression seals. I presse







