ANMELDENThe heavy iron bells across the distant border continued to chimed frantically, their deep, metallic vibrations rattling the glass panes of the grand hall. Inside the Frostclaw packhouse, the once-glorious timber arches looked dim and neglected, draped in dark shadows.Kael sat alone at the long oak table, a half-empty crystal decanter of dark amber whiskey gripped in his hand. His clothes were rumpled, his hair unkempt, and the once-commanding Alpha aura that defined his posture had slouched into a hollow, defeated hunch. He stared fixedly across the empty table at the carved wooden chair where Elara had sat quietly for three long years.How had everything fallen apart in less than a week?The pack’s southern granaries had rotted to sludge. The river had turned bitter and unpotable. Half the border sentries were bedridden with sudden, unexplained fevers. The entire Frostclaw territory was bleeding strength, and no matter how much alcohol he shoved down his throat, the icy, agonizing
Drink my blood, my Queen, Damon commanded, his deep voice echoing like thunder off the stone walls. Let us burn their poison out of you forever.I did not flinch. The intoxicating aroma of his blood mixed with raw cedar and heavy rain hit my senses, awakening a fierce, primal hunger that surged from the absolute bottom of my soul. Lyra thrashed wildly against my ribs, demanding the royal nourishment offered by our true mate.I stepped forward, capturing his thick wrist with both of my hands. I brought his open vein straight to my mouth and parted my lips.The instant my tongue lapped against the warm, glittering crimson liquid, a sharp jolt of pure lightning shot down my throat. The taste was dark, rich, and terrifyingly potent. I wrapped my mouth over the clean slice in his skin and drank deeply, swallowing the thick, warm current as it flooded my senses with his unyielding Alpha aura.A violent, scorching heat erupted deep in the pit of my stomach. The moment Damon's living blood hi
So Kael’s whole family was in on my mother’s murder, I whispered, my voice trembling with a terrifying, calm rage that shook the very air of the chamber.Damon did not try to soften the truth with empty words. He reached down, wrapped his fingers around mine, and pulled me up off the bed. His broad, muscular chest was still bare, his silver eyes fixed on mine with lethal intensity as the golden magic in my eyes flared brighter, reflecting off the dark obsidian walls of the room.We need to confirm every drop of what they put into your body, Damon said, his voice a low, raspy growl. My master apothecary, Master Corvin, is waiting in the subterranean laboratory below the keep. Bring the wooden lockbox you brought across the border.I did not hesitate. I pulled on a dark leather tunic and pants, grabbed the small carved wooden chest I had carried out of the Frostclaw packhouse, and followed Damon down the winding stone stairs of the royal fortress. The chest contained the only personal i
The pale gold rays of dawn crested over the horizon, bleeding through the tall arched windows of the balcony chamber. The soft light caught the dust motes floating in the quiet room, illuminating the tangled silk sheets and the sheer expanse of Damon’s broad, muscular back as he slept beside me. His large hand still rested heavily over my waist, his warm breath rhythmic against my shoulder.My mind was a chaotic tempest. Lyra’s sinister warning echoed repeatedly in the dark chambers of my thoughts, completely stripping away the lingering warmth of our physical bond.He kept the secret. Ask him about the night of the slaughter.I shifted beneath the heavy velvet blanket, my newly awakened royal senses taking in every subtle movement around me. I could hear the faint, steady pulse of Damon’s heart beneath his ribs, hear the distant clang of iron down in the courtyard, and see the intricate weave of the fabric on the canopy above with terrifying clarity. The dormant power in my blood was
His dark promise lingered in the cool air of the secluded courtyard, vibrating directly into my bone marrow. Before I could catch my breath, Damon slipped one broad arm behind my shoulders and the other beneath my knees, surging upward from the damp dirt in a single, effortless motion. I gasped as my world tilted, my arms instinctively flying around his thick, muscular neck.The rain had softened to a light mist, glistening on his bare, scarred shoulders as he carried me through the shadowed courtyard. His boots clicked firmly against the stone as he pushed through a private arched doorway, mounting a winding spiral staircase that led to his high balcony chamber. Every step he took brought us higher into the night, the raw thermal heat between our bodies mounting until the air felt heavy and charged with lightning.He kicked open the carved oak doors of his chamber, carrying me straight toward the massive carved four-poster bed. Soft moonlight poured through the tall arched windows ov
Damon stood over the bloodied form of Marcus in the courtyard for only a heartbeat longer before his massive black wolf dissolved back into his human form. Rain washed the splash of crimson from his bare shoulders as he turned his back on the screaming messenger. Without a single word to the trembling guards, he grabbed my wrist with warm, steady fingers and led me away from the iron gates, up the winding stone stairs, and straight into his private, high-walled training courtyard beneath the midnight sky.The heavy oak doors of the inner ring slammed shut behind us, cutting off the noise of the fortress. Lantern fire flickered against smooth stone walls, casting long shadows across the packed dirt floor.Damon pulled off his rain-soaked leather tunic, tossing it onto a wooden bench. His broad chest rose and fell in slow, deliberate breaths, the firelight catching every ripped line of his abdomen and the dangerous silver scars crisscrossing his back.He walked over to a weapon rack and







