LOGINAria For a terrifying second, the only sound in the clearing was my own ragged, choking sobs. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for Cassius’s heavy hand to wrap around my throat. I waited for the bone-crushing grip of a grieving Alpha taking vengeance for his unborn child. Instead, the suffocating, murderous weight in the air suddenly fractured. The rustle of fabric sounded above me as Cassius dropped to one knee in the freezing dirt. Rough, calloused fingers slipped under my chin, forcing my head up. I gasped, my eyes flying open. The violent, predatory gold in his gaze was already receding, giving way to a dark, stunned intensity as he took in my hyperventilating chest, my tear-streaked face, and my bare, dirt-stained feet. "Look at me," Cassius commanded, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that vibrated right through my skin. "Stop crying and look at me, Aria." "Please," I whimpered, my lip trembling so hard I could barely form the word. "Ronan said—he said you were coming to
Aria The blood on the marble floor looked entirely too dark to be real. I stood completely frozen against the wall, my chest violently heaving as the echo of Cassius’s roar faded down the hallway. He had carried Selena away, leaving me alone with the shattered teacup and the horrifying reality of what had just happened. She poisoned my tea. The words rang in my ears like a death sentence. The penalty for harming an Alpha's heir was public execution. The council wouldn't even give me a trial. They would drag me into the courtyard and take my head before the sun went down. A cold sweat broke out across my neck. I couldn't breathe. My lungs felt completely useless as I stumbled backward, slipping slightly on the slick marble before I caught my balance. I had to get out. I turned and sprinted down the servants' stairwell, taking the stone steps two at a time. My vision blurred with tears of sheer panic. I burst into the lower corridors, desperate to reach the back exit. "Running a
Cassius I stared at the regional trade reports on my desk for an hour, but I hadn't read a single word. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was her. Aria. It had been two weeks since I walked out of her bedroom. Two weeks of forcing myself to walk past her in the hallways without looking, of burying my beast under layers of cold, Alpha duty. She had looked me dead in the eye and told me it meant nothing. A fluke. Just a reaction to the adrenaline. But my wolf was tearing my mind apart, howling constantly for the dormant human who scrubbed my floors. The sex wasn't just a physical release. It was a complete, violent unraveling of my soul. I had never experienced anything like it. The way her skin felt against mine, the desperate sounds she made in the dark—it was branded into my bones. My beast didn't just want her; it recognized her. And that terrified me. I loved my wife. I had spent five years bending over backward to protect Selena, to keep her fragile health stabl
Two weeks passed in complete and total silence. It was the kind of quiet that slowly drove a person out of their mind. Since the night Cassius walked out of my room, leaving me shattered on the floor, he had completely ignored my existence. We didn't cross paths in the hallways. He didn't come to the training yard. If I was assigned to clean a room he was currently in, he walked out before I even crossed the threshold. He was treating me exactly like what I had told him I was: a business transaction. Nothing more. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard his voice echoing in the dark. An itch that needed scratching. The words still burned a hole straight through my chest, but I forced myself to swallow the pain. It was for the best. Finn was safe, my mother was safe, and I was just doing my job. But the isolation was suffocating me. The castle felt like a massive stone prison, and I just needed a break. I needed to see my family, to make sure my mother was actually getting her treatme
Aria I froze, my hand hovering over the handrail of the back stairwell. Selena didn’t look angry. That was what made it worse. She looked perfectly calm, her hands folded neatly in front of her white dress as she walked slowly down the empty hallway toward me. "Luna," I said, dropping my gaze to the floor out of sheer habit. "I have to admit, I was curious," Selena said, stopping just a few feet away. The smell of her expensive floral perfume filled the narrow corridor. "You practically dragged that poor guard away. What on earth were you two whispering about in the pantry?" My heart hammered against my ribs. "Nothing. Finn was just... showing me a shortcut to the kitchens." "A shortcut," Selena repeated slowly. She let out a soft, dismissive little laugh. "Right. Well, I suppose it’s none of my business where the help sneaks off to." She took another step closer. Her voice dropped, losing the polite tone entirely. It was cold, sharp, and meant exactly for me. "For your own g
Aria I woke up buried in the heavy blankets, completely tangled in Cassius’s limbs. The room was quiet, lit only by the pale morning light coming through the window. Cassius was already awake. He was lying on his side, his heavy arm draped over my waist, pulling my back flush against his chest. I could feel the steady, reassuring thump of his heartbeat against my shoulder. A rush of warmth flooded my chest. I remembered the heat of last night, the desperate way he held me, and a huge, genuine smile spread across my face. I shifted slightly, tilting my head back to look at him. Before I could say a word, three sharp knocks echoed at the bedroom door. "Alpha?" Beta Drew’s voice came through the thick wood, muffled but urgent. "The morning financial meeting started ten minutes ago. The elders are waiting." Cassius let out a low, frustrated groan. His arm tightened around me for a second, burying his face in my hair to take a deep breath. "I'm coming," Cassius called back, his voi







