Se connecterTorvinGetting back, I was already peeved and vibrating with range. âThereâs no way Iâm going to believe that idea of Kael being Seraphinaâs mateâ This has been the thought going on in my head as I paced my bedroom. I really have to do something about this. I had so many ideas running through my head, but couldnât get the perfect one that would work out well without me being a suspect.âKael, Always KaelâHe was the first to build his own pack from scratch, to prove himself to the council despite the curse that was stalked to his blood. And now he has a mate, and not just any mate but her. The omega who defied pain, the one who had slipped through my fingers when I first heard wispers of her escape from silvermane.âI had wanted to see her then, to know why the moon Goddess had spared an omega such resilience. Now she mated to Kael, bound in name and bondâ.The thought of all these made my heart beat faster than ever.
The routine is setâuntil it isnât. On the fifth day, Seraphina wakes to the sound of voices in the corridor, loud and unguarded. She flinches, expecting the guards, but when the door opens it is neither them nor Kael.Itâs Torvin.He sweeps into the room like he owns the air. His coat is velvet, midnight blue, embroidered with silver. His eyes flick over the space, then settle on her, and the smile he offers is not kind. âSo this is how they keep you,â he says, voice soft as honey. âLike a mongrel on a leash.âSeraphina pushes herself up, uncertain whether to kneel or stand. She goes for kneeling. Kael has not yet appeared, but she knows he will. He always does.Torvin drops into a crouch beside her. He brings with him the scent of rain and something sharperâexpensive cologne, or maybe just the metallic tang of anticipation. In his hands is a basket. He sets it before her and peels back the cloth, revealing a stack of warm flatbread and a wedge of cheese.âEat,â he says, like itâs a g
Days blur together until Seraphina loses count. Her world is narrowed to the hard geometry of the Alphaâs quarters: bed, rug, desk, door. Her hours are simpleâclean, serve, stay invisible. Kael leaves early, returns late, sometimes not at all. In the space between, she memorizes the shifting patterns of light on the walls, the cold rush of air that snakes through the cracked window, the subtle changes in Kaelâs gait when he returns each night.Heâs never drunk, never disorderly. But each evening, his exhaustion is a little deeper, his stare a little more splintered. She hears him in the dead hours, pacing the floors above, muttering to someone only he can see. By day, he speaks to her only in commands. "Change the sheets," he says, or "Bring tea." She does as sheâs told, tongue bitten bloody to keep from replying.Sometimes, when heâs gone, she imagines running. But the guards are always in the hall, and the only window is barred. She tries to push hope aside and focus on surviving th
Kael gave a command and they draged her up the stairs like something half-dead and unmentionable, two guards with wolf crests on their uniforms and expressions carved from brick. The corridor is silent except for the rasp of her bare feet against cold stone, and the way her wrists knock together when the guards swing her by the elbows, too practiced to care if her feet keep up. She doesn't protest. If there's any fight left in her, it's buried beneath the pain of her healing bruises and the heavier ache of dread.The door they bring her to is massive, banded in black iron and stamped with a moon emblem. One of the guards raps twice. The other unlocks the manacles, not gently. She rubs her raw wrists on instinct, wincing, then smooths the long, oversized shirt thatâs her only covering. It smells of Kaelâthe same dark, electric scent as the rest of the tower, but richer. Closer.The guard sneers at her. "You're expected to behave. The Alpha doesn't like mess." He gestures her inside.Th
The words struck her like a slap, but she didnât flinch. Instead she felt the bond between them draw tight, an almost visible cord humming beneath the skin. Kaelâs eyes met hers, and for a brief, shattering instant she saw raw pain there, grief so bright it almost burned her. He looked away. âWeâre done here,â he said, voice cracking on the last word. The priestess swept past, dismissing them with a flick of her sleeve. As Seraphina turned to follow, Kaelâs hand remained clamped on her arm, hot even through the fabric of her borrowed shirt. The sensation wasnât pain, wasnât even discomfortâit was a strange, numbing calm, as if his grip alone could hold her together when her own strength threatened to shatter. He didnât let go until they were in the hall, out of earshot of the priestesses. Then, abruptly, he released her, as if burned. Seraphina caught her breath, her wrist tingling where his skin had touched hers. She dared a glance at him, and saw his face twisted in a snarl of fr
Seraphina dug her nails into her palms, ignoring the hot pulse of pain. âThe Alpha called for me. Heâd beenâ he said he was feeling unwell. He asked for a tea I make, something for sleep. I brought it, like I always did.â Her voice almost broke. âHe was kind to me.âKael stared at her a long time, as if searching for the lie in the cracks of her words. âKind,â he repeated, flat and skeptical. âAnd yet you slit his throat.âShe jerked her chin up. âI didnât. There was someone else. I saw a figure, a hoodedâ I know it sounds like a bad story, but itâs the truth.âLysanderâs gaze was not unkind, but he was relentless. âDid you recognize the scent? Anything at all?âSeraphina shook her head. âNo. The smell was masked, like sulfur and frost. Iâm not making this up.âKael made a dismissive noise. âLetâs say youâre telling the truth. Letâs say someone wanted my brother dead, and wanted you blamed. Who benefits?âLysander answered before she could. âOnly one answer. The Heracles line. Theyâve







