LOGINKaden's POVIsolde stared at me, her head tilting to the side in confusion. Her eyes narrowed, trying to read my expression, trying to figure out what game I was playing. She had that look on her face—the one that said she was used to being the one in control, the one manipulating others, and she didn't like being on the other side of it."What do you mean by that?" she asked slowly. "What do you mean I'll be executing it? You're the one with the plan. You're the one with the sources. What exactly am I supposed to do?"I picked up another feather pen from my desk, turning it between my fingers. The movement was casual. Deliberate. I wanted her to wait. To wonder. To hang on my next words. The silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, filled with unspoken questions."Thorne," I said finally. "I've been watching him. Studying him. Every man has a weakness, Isolde. And Thorne's is women."Her eyes widened slightly. A flicker of surprise crossed her face before she masked it. "Women?
Kaden's POVThe door clicked shut behind her.I stood there for a long moment, staring at the empty space where she had been. The silence was heavy. The air was thick with everything she had said. Her words still echoed in my mind, cutting deeper than I wanted to admit.Then I slumped back into my chair. The weight of it all pressed down on me. Her disappointment. The way she had looked at me like I was something pathetic. The way she had walked out without a second glance.Isolde laughed. It was a cold, mocking sound that shattered the silence."Well," she said, her voice dripping with amusement. "That went well. Really stellar performance there, Kaden. Truly impressive."I didn't answer. I couldn't. My mind was still on Ciara. On the way she had walked out. On the way she hadn't looked back. On the finality in her voice when she had said she would do it without me."You're pathetic, you know that?" Isolde walked toward my desk, her heels clicking against the floor with each delibera
Ciara's POVI took a breath. Then another. My hands were shaking. My heart was pounding. Isolde was so infuriating that I had almost lost control of myself. My wolf had primed from underneath my skin, ready to tear through. It was the first time in a long while I'd felt this way—this raw, uncontrollable rage.I forced myself to calm down. To breathe. To push the wolf back down. I focused on the feeling of my lungs expanding and contracting. On the steadiness of my heartbeat. On anything other than Isolde's smug face.I turned to Kaden. I ignored Isolde completely. She didn't matter. She was just noise. I focused squarely on him."What's your answer?" I asked. "Are you going to help me or not?"Kaden was silent for a long moment. He looked at me with an expression I couldn't read. His eyes moved over my face like he was searching for something. Then he nodded slowly."Yes," he said. "I'll help you."I felt something release in my chest. A sigh of relief that I hadn't realized I was hol
Kaden's POVShe was listing everything she needed from me. The audacity of it. Standing there in my study, in front of Isolde, telling me exactly what I needed to do."I need you to get close to Thorne," she said. "Not just proximity—I need you to earn his trust. I need you to make him believe you're on his side. You're the heir. You have access to things no one else does. He'll want to keep you close."I stared at her. She kept going."I need you to find out where he's keeping Marcus's sister. Marcus doesn't know where she is. Thorne has kept that information secret. But he'll talk to you. If he trusts you, he'll let something slip. A location. A name. Anything."I opened my mouth to speak. She wasn't finished."I need you to feed me information. Anything you learn. Any movement he makes. Any conversation you overhear. Anything that could help us find her and get her out."She paused. Her eyes met mine."And I need you to do it fast. Every day we wait, that girl is in more danger. Th
Kaden's POVThe words hung in the air between us.She needed my help. Ciara. The same woman who had looked at me with nothing but disgust and anger in that corridor. The same woman who had told me to my face that I was a fool, that I had ruined any chance I ever had with her. The same woman who had walked away from me without a second glance, leaving me standing there like a pathetic fool.And now she was here. In my study. Asking for my help.I stared at her, trying to process what I had just heard. My mind was spinning. This was the last thing I had expected. The last thing I had prepared for.Isolde laughed. It was a sharp, mocking sound that cut through the silence."Oh, this is rich," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "She comes here, insults you, calls you a fool in front of everyone, and now she wants your help? You're not actually going to listen to her, are you?"I turned to Isolde. My voice was flat. Cold."One more word and I will have guards drag you out of here.
Ciara's POVI pushed the door open and stepped inside.The sight that greeted me made me stop cold. Kaden was behind his desk, looking like he hadn't slept in days. His hair was disheveled. His shirt was wrinkled. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. He looked like a man who had been fighting a war against himself and losing.And Isolde was leaning over his desk, her hands flat on the surface, her face too close to his. She was wearing something low-cut. Her hair was loose. She looked like she had just walked out of a dream—or a nightmare, depending on who you asked.My stomach turned.For a moment, I couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything but stare at the two of them. Kaden, the man who had rejected me so cruelly. And Isolde, the woman who had been in Draven's bed. The woman who was doing everything she could to tear us apart.What the hell was going on here?Was this some kind of alliance? A partnership? Or something worse? The thought made my skin crawl. Isolde had been obses







