LOGINChapter 59: Home in the Ashes ANYA’S POV I woke up to the smell of damp earth and my head pounding like someone had cracked it open with a hammer. My body felt heavy, and my limbs felt sluggish, as if I’d run for miles without stopping. The last thing I remembered was sprinting through the woods outside Ironclaw, with my heart slamming against my ribs while I tried to reach the road that would take me to Crescent Moon. Then I heard footsteps, my body collided with someone. When I tried to scream, arms locked around my mouth and then there was darkness. I blinked against the dim light and pushed myself up on my elbows. Stone walls curved above me, rough and cool to the touch. A low fire burned in the corner casting a soft orange glow across the small chamber. Blankets lay tangled around my legs, and the air carried the faint scent of herbs and smoke. I wasn’t in Damien’s room. Panic rose sharp and fast. I swung my legs over the side of the cot and stood on shaky feet. Low murmurs
Chapter 58: The Warning DAMIEN’S POV “Is that a threat, or what?” I asked in a low and steady tone. How dare he threaten me like I was some pup he could talk to anyhow? He seemed to have forgotten that I am the Alpha nobody dared cross. Cassian chuckled as he leaned back and crossed his legs, he shook his head and when he looked up at me again he had a lazy half-smile playing on his lips. “I don’t make threats, Damien,” he muttered. “I make promises that I keep.” His audacity made my blood boil hotter than the curse already burning in my veins. I took one step forward and forced my voice steady. “Stay away from Anya. She belongs to me.” He tilted his head as the smile widened just enough to show his teeth. “We will just have to wait and find out.” The words landed like a slap as I felt Valek surge forward with his claws scraping inside my skull, begging to rip through Cassian’s flesh. My voice dropped to a dangerous tone. “The next time I see you near her, it will be war.”
Chapter 57: The Rogue’s ThroneCASSIAN’S POV I waited patiently like a predator eyeing a prey that is walking directly into a trap.Sitting on my heavy black throne which was carved from wolves bones and obsidian, I crossed my legs as I let my index finger drum a slow rhythm against the armrest. The side door creaked open as Kael stepped through, with his one good eye scanning the room carefully before he approached me and dropped to one knee. His scarred face turned upward respectfully. The empty socket where his left eye once sat gleamed dark in the firelight, and the jagged scar from brow to jaw gave him the look of something carved from a nightmare. “My Lord,” he said in a low and rough voice, “all is set for the next raid on Silverfang territory.” I tilted my head as I let the silence stretch between us. “Tell the men to put a pause on the raid for now. We’ve got greater things to do tomorrow, like getting my wife from her cage.” Kael’s brow lifted in surprise, but he kept h
Chapter 56: Fractured Control DAMIEN’S POV I stood under the scalding spray of the shower with water pounding my shoulders and steam filling the bathroom. The steam was as thick as fog while the curse burned slowly and steadily in my veins like a banked fire that refused to die. Every drop that hit my skin felt cold against the heat inside me and I braced both palms on the tile wall as I let the water down my back and tried to breathe through the ache that had settled deep in my chest since the bridge. Anya lay chained to my bed just beyond the door with her eyes widened with fear when I left her there. The memory of her trembling voice asking me ‘why’ kept replaying in my head, alongside Cassian’s parting words that echoed louder than anything else. You should have chosen life. The phrase twisted in my mind like a knife and I couldn’t shake the suspicion that Cassian knew things only the Hidden One should know. I shut off the water with a sharp twist of the knob as I stepped out
Chapter 55: Chained Awakening ANYA’S POV I came back to myself slowly with my head throbbing like someone had driven a spike through my skull. The sunlight filtered through heavy curtains in soft golden stripes across the bed. I tried to sit up and a sharp pain lanced through my temple so fierce. “Ahhhghh!!” I cried out loud and clutched my head with both hands while my body curled tight against the sudden agony. When the worst of it eased I opened my eyes again as I looked around with my heart already hammering hard against my ribs. I was in Damien’s room, in his bed. How the hell had I ended up here? The last clear memory I had was running through the woods with my cloak flapping behind me and the cold night air biting my cheeks as I tried to reach the road that would take me to neutral territory and hopefully to Rowan. Then I heard footsteps behind me, then a collision, strong arms and a hand over my mouth. And after that darkness.My breath hitched as I tried to piece it tog
Chapter 54: An Alpha’s ReckoningROWAN’S POV I stood by the window in my study with my arms crossed tight across my chest and watched the first gray light of dawn creep over the forest. Lior leaned against the doorframe and studied me with that careful look he always wore when he thought I was about to do something reckless. “What’s the plan, Alpha?” Lior broke the silence in a low and measured voice as he pushed away from the frame and walked closer. “The council’s pushing for retaliation against Cassian and Cassandra. Do we go after them or what?” I turned away from the window and met his eyes steady while the anger that had simmered all night flared fresh in my chest. “I don’t have any plans to chase Cassandra and Cassian right now.” He raised one brow high with surprise flickering across his face as he stepped closer and crossed his arms to mirror mine. “She’s with Cassian. They could cook up something dangerous and hit us when we’re not looking.” “I know,” I said quietly but







