LOGINTalia’s POVSolon brought Ryan to us that same evening.Ryan was a trusted guard that had served Silverfang since we were children. He was not a large man, but he made up for it with speed and strength."Who is this?" Nolan asked."This is Ryan. He is one of our senior guards. He can be trusted," Solon answered. "Tell him what you need.""Someone inside the palace has betrayed our father," I said and Ryan's eyes widened. I saw anger flash in his eyes before he composed himself. He did not say a word, waiting for me to continue. "We did not know who. We need you in my father's room, positioned where you will not be seen from the doorway. We need you to wait until you see the traitor.""What should I do when I catch the person?" Ryan asked."Restrain them," I replied. "Do not let them leave and do not let them destroy whatever they brought in. I need to know what it was.""Understood," he said.We positioned him that night, behind the curtain near the far wall. The room's layout worked
Nolan’s POVAfter swearing his loyalty and secrecy, Gideon left the room. The air was thick with frustration and anger. Talia’s brow was furrowed. Leslie was rubbing Solon’s back as Solon was taking deep breaths to calm down. We were all thinking the same thing and waiting for someone to say it first.“I think we can all agree that none of this is surprising,” I finally said. “I knew Michael would not take the embarrassment of exile lightly, but this is insanity.”“When you told us what happened, I figured it was Michael that saved Jason. No rogue would risk their neck for Jason,” Solon said. “It made sense to attack Bloodmoon, but what does he get out of poisoning our father?”“Because Bloodmoon wasn’t the main target. When things didn’t go to plan, he moved on to his main goal: Getting rid of the Alpha King,” I explained.“But why?” Talia asked.“If the Alpha King dies without a clear successor, the entire region becomes unstable. Every pack within range starts calculating on making
Nolan’s POVSeeing the black marks felt like someone had poured cold water on me. They brought back memories I had buried because it made me think of my father’s death. But this wasn’t the mad rogue disease. This was something else."Have you seen them before?" Talia asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.“Do you know what they are?” Solon demanded when I didn’t immediately respond."No," I replied. "But Gideon once told me about a man who died from something that sounded like this. Marks on the skin. Loss of wolf strength. He described it the same way."“Gideon? Who the hell is Gideon?” Solon questioned. Leslie smacked him on his back, causing him to flinch.“Calm down,” she hissed."He was my father's servant," I answered. "He has been at Silverfang for some years now."Rudolf’s expression shifted from confusion to awareness. "Oh, the rogue you asked me to release from the dungeon before you left Silverfang.”"Yes," I confirmed.Rudolf opened his mouth, but Solon was already moving.
Talia’s POVMy father looked past me at Solon, who was standing near the door with Leslie. He frowned slightly and said, “You told her.”“Yes, I did,” Solon replied without hesitating."I gave you explicit instructions not to.""I know,” Solon replied, “but I couldn’t keep this from Talia. She needed to know.”My father made a sound that was almost a laugh, but more bitter. It surprised me. He looked back at me and said, "You should have told me yourself the moment it started, not days later through Leslie accidentally letting it slip to Della.""You had enough to deal with," he answered.“And you still should’ve told me," I insisted. "There is no version of this where it was okay for you to keep that from me." I stopped. I was not going to spend the time we had arguing about what should or shouldn’t have happened. "I am not here only to be with you. I think you were poisoned. Nolan and I came back to find the antidote."Father was quiet for a moment. He looked at Nolan, who was stand
Talia’s POVNolan had been watching my face the entire time as I spoke to Solon. “It’s serious,” he said flatly. It wasn’t a question. He knew me enough to know."My father only has three months left," I said.Nolan cupped my face and said, “Talia, I’m so sorry.”"It is a progressive illness. Leslie has not found a cure yet,” I continued. "We’re going today," Nolan declared.“Right now? You’re with me?”“Yes. Right now. I will call the pack meeting, you will speak to them, and then we will leave. Can you do that?""Yes."Nolan kissed my forehead. His eyes flashed and I heard his order through the pack link. The pack gathered quickly in the courtyard. By the time I stepped out to face them the word had already spread that something was wrong. No one spoke. All eyes were on us."The Alpha King is ill," I announced and there were murmurs of alarm amongst the pack. "It is serious. I need to go to him, and I do not know how long I will be away."A warrior near the front spoke up. "My con
Talia’s POVDella was still in the doorway, catching her breath. She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Della looked around to see if anyone else was in the room.“No one else is in here but us,” I said. “What happened?”"Did we capture Jason?" Nolan asked.“Goddess, I wish that was what I wanted to tell you," Della said between gasps. Hearing that made a shiver run down my spine.“Della, you’re scaring me,” I said."I contacted Leslie to ask about how the research was going and whether she had made any progress,” Della began. "Leslie was telling me about it and then she mentioned that the Alpha King had been unwell. Then she stopped herself mid-sentence and asked me not to repeat it."“Unwell? Like sick? What do you mean unwell?” I asked. It was rare for our species to get sick. It didn’t make any sense."She didn’t tell me anything else. She told me to not tell you to keep you from worrying, but I thought you needed to know this,” Della replied.Nolan frowned. I co
Talia’s POVToday was one of the most boring days of my life. I should have been happy for the downtime, but I was restless. There was nothing for me to do, and I didn’t have the patience to read.Della suggested that we take a walk. Even though it was a beautiful day, I was still bored out of my m
Talia’s POVThe bedroom door shut behind us, and the sound cut off the noise from the party like a switch. I turned to Nolan immediately. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down into a kiss.He froze for half a second, and then he kissed me back. His hands came up to my shoulders like he was trying
Nolan’s POVI returned to the party after changing, looking for Talia right away. The hall was filled with music and laughter, and the crowd grew louder as the night continued. I glanced at faces as I entered, thinking about how I would bring her back to my side for the rest of the celebration.I d
Talia’s POVI woke up late the next morning. I stretched and rolled over, reaching for Nolan, but was met with his scent and cold sheets. He had already gone to work.‘Thinking of going another round?’ my wolf teased.I sat up and froze when I saw my reflection. Dark marks stood out against my skin







