LOGINAnna's POV"She won't survive. But that's the point."Konstantin’s whisper was still echoing in my ears when his shadow disappeared into the dark hallway. I didn't care what that old fossil said. I had three days to learn how to kill a monster, and I wasn't going to spend them crying."He's trying to get into your head, Anna," Ronald said, his hands still holding my waist tightly while his silver wolf hummed with anxiety inside our link."It worked," I replied, pulling away gently to look at both him and Ryker. "He knows I don't have control over the gatekeeper spark. If I go into that arena throwing wild lightning, he will butcher me in ten seconds.""Then we train until your hands bleed," Ryker growled, wiping grey dust off his broad chest as his golden eyes burned with absolute determination. "We have seventy-two hours. We start now in the sub-basement gym."Ten minutes later, we were standing on the heavy rubber mats in the lowest level of the palace. The iron walls here were rein
Ronald's POVThe heavy confession hung in the freezing air of the archive room, and the sudden silence that followed was so loud I could hear my own blood pumping frantically inside my ears. I lay on the stone floor, my muscles locked up tight beneath my leather jacket as Konstantin’s ancient sovereign pressure continued to pin my shoulders flat against the cracked masonry. Beside me, Ryker was groaning, his large fists clawing at the rubble as he tried to force his golden aura to break the paralyzing spell holding his limbs back from a fight."You killed him for power," I choked out, my teeth grinding together as I managed to lift my chin, my silver wolf eyes locked onto the ancient monster's pale, runic back. "You and Magnus wanted a world you could control, so you butchered the only man who could stop you, and you call my mate's family the monsters."Konstantin didn't turn his head to look at me, his empty charcoal black eyes remaining fixed completely on Anna's glowing, platinum f
Anna's POVThe words hit me like a physical punch to the stomach, the platinum rivers beneath my skin flashing into a brilliant, blinding white heat that made the dusty floorboards crack loudly between us. I stood completely frozen in the center of the ring, my breath catching in my throat as I stared into Konstantin’s empty, charcoal black eyes, my inner wolves letting out a synchronized, deafening roar of absolute fury that vibrated the stone pillars behind Ronald and Ryker."You are lying," I choked out, my voice dropping into that deep, layered resonance that made the shattered glass on the floor rattle against the wood. "Magnus killed him to clear the path for Phase 3, he killed him because my father was the supreme gatekeeper protecting the vault, he did it alone to steal the crown.""Magnus could not have touched your father alone, little girl," Konstantin rumbled, his massive chest expanding as his silver runes glowed brighter, a dark, chilling smile stretching across his trip
Anna's POVThe crimson chains of light wrapping around Ryker's heavy boots suddenly shattered into thin dust particles, the ancient room vibrating violently as a deep, terrifying tremor rolled through the stone floorboards beneath our feet. The triad bond inside my chest didn't break, but the sudden expansion of a separate, ancient power frequency from the deep passageways below the palace made the platinum lines under my skin flare with a sharp, agonizing heat."The crown didn't stay with your father, Ryker," Alpha Vance whispered, his face turning completely gray as he dropped to both knees, his silver blade sliding across the stones. "Garret lost the true spark three years before his flesh died, a greater shadow claimed the primary lock from the deep sanctuary, he is coming up from the roots right now.""Who is down there?" Ronald demanded, his hands dropping to his sides, his silver wolf aura flaring defensively as he stepped directly between my shivering body and the shifting arc
Ryker's POV"Which makes you the rightful heir to rule all packs, not just Silverfang."Ronald's declaration still hung in the dusty archive room, the words vibrating through the fresh triad bond like a struck tuning fork, and I watched Anna's face completely change as the true weight of her bloodline settled into her bones. Her platinum veins flared beneath her pale skin, a beautiful, terrifying glow that made my inner wolf want to drop to its knees right there on the stone floor."The heir," I muttered, my large hands gripping the edges of the map table so hard the old wood groaned under my weight. "The entire werewolf world has been waiting for a central anchor for two decades, and she is standing right in front of us.""We don't have time for a royal presentation, Ryker," Anna said, her voice dropping into that deep, layered resonance that made my chest throb with a fierce, protective heat. "Magnus is burning the Council chambers, and Derrick is using my stolen light to tear the v
Anna's POVRonald’s words fell like heavy iron blocks into the dusty air of the archive room, and the sudden silence that followed was so loud I could hear the tiny flame of the candle eating through its wax. I sat up completely on the leather cot, my fingers twisting into the rough sheet, my heart hammering against my ribs with a fierce, burning heat that had nothing to do with the triad bond."My father," I whispered, my voice shaking as I stared at the crimson ink on the ancient page Ronald was holding with trembling fingers. "Magnus told everyone he died in a border skirmish, he told my mother he was a nobody who abandoned us before the purge even started.""He lied to the entire continent, Anna," Ronald said, his face completely pale as he stepped over to the side of my cot, holding the silver-bound text open so I could see the circular sun crest stamped into the parchment. "Look at the records, Magnus didn't just assassinate him for the Silverfang territory, he did it because yo
Anna's POVThe roar shook dust from the ceiling and Magnus's wolves stopped running.They turned back."I thought they were leaving," Ronald said, raising his fists."Magnus is dead, someone else is giving orders now," I said, scanning the chamber.The portal was still open and more wolves were pou
Anna's POVWe stood surrounded by a hundred armed wolves with nowhere to run, my legs were shaking from exhaustion and the suppressants were making it hard to think straight."It's over," Marcus said, walking toward us slowly. "You fought well but you can't win, surrender now and I'll let the Twins
Ronald's POVThe festival grounds were packed with wolves from every pack in the region, hundreds of them eating and drinking and celebrating under strings of lights. Music played from speakers while pack members danced and laughed, it looked peaceful but I could feel the tension underneath."Too m
Anna's POVI sat on the hospital bed while the healer examined my shoulder again, the wound that should have taken weeks to heal was almost completely gone. Just a pink scar remained where the silver bullet had torn through my flesh."This is remarkable," the healer said, shaking his head. "I've ne







