LOGINTHERONThe border wall was massive and endless, stretching miles without break and standing as guardian to the moon realm for centuries.One particular section housed the scouts regiment. Men who'd sworn to lay down their lives protecting the realm from invaders and rogues.“How is your head, my Lord?” Zarin asked.Eyes closed, Theron dragged a hand through his face and up into his hair.“Still there, but faint. Thanks to your medicine,” he said, sitting up.“The full moon is close. Your beast is probably sending a message.”Theron clicked his tongue. His mind shifted to Eryndra and immediately his beast slithering closer to the surface.His beast seriously need some healing.One that would wipe Eryndra from good.“Have you told the prince about your rejection scar?” Theron looked up when Zarin asked. “He seems so worried about you, thinking you’re not yourself because you couldn’t find her.”“Do me a favor and don’t speak of her,” Theron sighed. “I’m baffled how we lost four hundre
The first lash landed like a brutal stab, spreading a hot, searing sting through her skin. A coarse hiss tore from Eryndra, the pain yanking her straight back to her father’s whip in the pack house.That day Alpha Reavion had caught her sneaking out again. Ishara had rushed forward, throwing her body between them to take the next strike.“Father, you need to stop!”“Stop?” Reavion’s voice had been ice. “She is a disgrace to my name. The only reason she’s still breathing in this pack is the love I had for your mother. She’s a rogue’s daughter, and she’s already acting like one.”“She is my sister!” Ishara snapped. “You promised you would never call her that again.”“Then she should stop behaving like it. Last week she punched two palace soldiers on patrol. Do you know how much coin I spent to bury that scandal?”Eryndra pushed to her feet, chin high despite the sting across her shoulders. “They tried to molest a little girl.”Reavion’s hand shot out, fingers clamping around her throat
Gasps of horror rippled from the lips of the crowd. The boy’s mother surged forward, her knees slamming against the ground.“Have mercy, Your Highness! I promise I will watch over him. Please, for the love of the moon, spare him!”Kallias shifted a glare to his soldier.“What are you waiting for?”The mother cried harder, tears flooding her face. “Please, my great prince. Punish me instead. Kill me if you must!”Eryndra fidgeted, clearly not expecting Kallias’s judgment. She waited for him to retract his words, but he stood there awaiting the little boy's doom with a calm expression.As the soldiers grabbed the child, Eryndra fought within herself not to interfere. The prince had warned her a moment ago. She made things worse between them.But as the soldiers stretched the little boy’s arm, the words burst from her.“Stop!”The executioner’s axe froze in the air. Eyes flicked to her. The murmurs drowned. The air stilled.Taking a deep breath, Eryndra took the child from the soldier, t
ERYNDRA.Exploring the pack was one of Eryndra’s favorite activities. That was one of the reasons why she had mastered the art of sneaking out.Her sister, Ishara, always covered for her.She learned a lot from the realm. Learned their ways of art and what was needed.She even used her mother’s resources and savings to help solve her pack’s problems.Now that she was to be the Grand Queen, she would solve larger problems.As the carriage gravelled down the road, Eryndra grinned ear to ear when she saw a group of men playing her favorite game.“Do you like games, Your Highness?” Eryndra turned to ask the quiet male beside her.“I’m too occupied to like games, Lady Tarianne,” his reply was curt.“Do you sometimes explore the realm? Move among people? One that doesn’t involve a carriage?”Kallias gave her an unreadable look. His answer was firm.“No,” he said, studying her. “You seem like the kind who does, though.”“I am,” she admitted, a small smile forming. “I’ve always wanted to see
Theron sighed at the sight of numerous male servants lined up in the hall. He’d thought Zarin was exaggerating, but it turned out he was not. He stepped in, finding Kallias seated in a reddish-brown royal robe for his royal stroll, wine in hand and expression too calm enough to know the prince might have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today. And there was the witness from last night supervising the male servants, with three guards helping to coordinate. It was almost like one of those questioning sessions at a crime scene, only this crime had too many suspects. “We need to talk,” Theron said to Kallias. The prince stared long at him before rising from his seat. They stepped into a quiet room where they could only hear each other. Kallias folded his arms and rested against the desk behind him. “What are you doing?” Theron exhaled. “What does it look like I’m doing?” “That,” he pointed at the door. “Was very unexpected of you. I understand you’re trying to help
“Eryn.” Kayara’s face was streaked with tears. She wiped them off immediately, sniffed, and cleared her throat.Eryndra stepped close in worry and dismissed the maids outside.“Talk to me.”Kayara broke into tears and sat on the bed like her world had shattered.“Did you hear the rumors? Theron has a mate.” She choked on the last word, hot tears streaming down her face. For a moment, the world spun.“I heard, but… rumors can be wrong at times.”“No.” Kayara shook her head. “Not this one… How could the gods be so cruel to me? I… have spent almost half my life loving him. Praying, begging for the gods to bind us together. My heart bleeds for him, and now he… is mated to another.”“He is not!” Eryndra’s voice rose more than she intended.Well… she wasn’t wrong.Eryndra sat beside her, a hand on Kayara’s shoulder.“If he is truly mated to someone, then… why hasn’t he introduced her to the prince? Why let a rumor be his announcement?”“I don’t know, Eryn," Kayara sniffled. “I have a bad f







