LOGINKira’s POVThe second the heavy door clicked shut behind Adrian, my heart started racing like it wanted to jump out of my chest. I couldn’t just sit there when I could be helping outside. No way. I jumped off the bed, legs shaky but determined, and rushed to freshen up in the bathroom. Splashed cold water on my face, tied my hair back quickly and messy, then dug through the closet for something comfortable…black leggings, a soft long-sleeve top that wouldn’t snag, and sneakers I could actually run in if things went sideways. Flexibility was key for this fight. I wasn’t about to be stuck in some fancy dress while the palace was under attack.This is actually my first official war. I haven’t seen werewolves at war. Do they use drones? Bombs? Guns? Or just the old fashioned way?I needed to see.I wasn’t waiting around for Victoria like some helpless princess. I had my wolf, didn’t I? We could handle ourselves. ‘Right, Leah?’ I said confidently, reaching for her in my head.Leah jus
Adrain’s POVThe insistent knock on the door of our room yanked me right out of sleep like a hook in my gut. I groaned, low and pissed, and wrapped myself tighter around Kira. My arms locked around her waist, my leg slung over hers, like if I squeezed hard enough I could just crawl inside her skin and stay there forever. She was warm and soft and smelled like home, and for one stupid second I thought about ignoring the whole damn world.But then my head started pounding. Out of nowhere. Like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my skull and decided to keep swinging. My whole body hurt…every muscle, every bone…like I’d been chopped into pieces, stitched back together wrong, and chopped all over again. The nightmare didn’t help. Wild dogs ripping into me, teeth everywhere, blood in my mouth. And Kira… God, Kira being dragged away in chains, sold off like some prize to the highest bidder. I could still see her eyes, wide and terrified, calling my name while I couldn’t move.I exhal
Adrain’s POVThe heavy door clicked shut behind us with a soft finality that made the silence in the chamber feel even thicker. Elise stood exactly where I’d left her hours ago…still upright, eyes closed, head bowed slightly like she’d just dozed off while standing. Her arms hung loose at her sides, palms facing forward, and her breathing was so shallow I had to stare hard to see her chest move at all. She looked peaceful. Too peaceful. Like a statue someone had forgotten to wake up.Thomas stepped further in first, boots quiet on the stone. I followed, pulling the door fully closed so no one outside could hear whatever the hell this was. The room had a strange misty haze hanging in the air, soft and swirling, like someone had lit a bundle of incense and let it burn slow. The smell was faint…herbs, smoke, something earthy that made the back of my throat tighten.“What the hell…” Thomas muttered under his breath, eyes wide as he took it all in.I didn’t waste time. “Go. Wake her.”
Adrain’s POVChairs scraped immediately without hesitation as feet’s began shuffling. The elders couldn’t get out fast enough, but the guards were already moving toward the priestess. They hauled her up by the arms, her bad leg dragging worse than before. She twisted in their grip, eyes wild, voice rising one last time as they dragged her toward the doors.“You must listen to me, king Adrian Draven!” she shouted over her shoulder. “Or everything you have worked so hard to protect will be left bare! Your enemies will laugh at your corpse! Stay away from the princess…for now, at least…until I can find a way to help you! Please, Your Majesty—”Her voice cut off as the heavy doors slammed shut behind the last person. The echo bounced around the empty hall like a death knell.I slumped into my chair, the carved oak creaking under my weight. A frustrated sigh ripped out of me before I could stop it. My head fell back against the high backrest, eyes closing for just a second. The mark on
Adrain’s POVI know I might die soon if Elise doesn’t fix whatever the hell was eating me from the inside. The curse.I’d felt it for weeks…the weakness creeping in, the way my wolf sometimes felt…distant. But how the fuck did this brand-new priestess know? And what did she mean I was already a corpse?My mind flicked to Elise. The real reason I’d brought her back here, aside from the fact that she belongs in the realm, was so she could cure me. That was the plan. The only plan that mattered. Just thinking about her waiting in our chambers made something in my chest loosen a little. This priestess is probably spewing nonsense. I cleared my throat, pushed the doubt down.My voice came out cold as winter steel, the kind that promised pain if she screwed with me. “Explain what you mean,” I said, staring her down, “or you’ll meet your end right here in this hall. No riddles. No voodoo nonsense. Just talk in plain English.”The priestess closed her eyes for a long second, then opened
Adrian’s POVMargaret walked in.Not rushed. Not flustered.No sign of the “upset stomach” she had claimed earlier.Instead, she strutted in like a satisfied woman. Calm and composed.And that small smile…playing on her lips like she knew something the rest of us didn’t.My gaze sharpened immediately. What the hell is she on about?Because whatever it was— She looked… pleased. Excited.Like everything was finally falling into place for her.And I didn’t like that.Not one bit.I watched her as she took her seat again, acting like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t just run out of this room looking like she’d seen death itself, and come back looking like she’d just won something.My curiosity spiked higher than ever.But I forced my attention back to the matter at hand.The priestess had reached the center of the room.She bowed gracefully.“Your Majesty,” she said, her voice calm, smooth, almost soothing. “I’ve heard so much about you, and I am honored to stand before you.”I studi
Adrian’s POVThe dining-hall doors boomed shut behind the last guard and the iron bar slid into place with a final, deafening clang.Locked. From the outside. No one was leaving until I said so.Thomas had Levi face-down on the marble, one heavy boot planted squarely between his shoulder blades, Le
Kira’s POVThe massive doors swung open and the guards didn’t even have time to announce us.I stepped through first, chin high, shoulders back, feeling Adrian’s heat right behind me like a shadow that could swallow the whole room if I let it.Then my eyes landed on them.Every single one of them.
Adrian’s POVSex would’ve worked faster.Sex would’ve worked better.Whiskey dulls the blade. Sex sheaths it.There’s a reason every tyrant in my bloodline kept alcohol within arm’s reach around their personal spaces in the palace. My grandfather had a full room with different collections from acro
Adrian’s POVI was already moving.I crossed the room in two strides, snatched the phone before it stopped bouncing, and crushed it to my ear.“Speak,” I snarled, voice barely human. “I’m listening.”The voice on the other end was calm. Cold, furious, shaking with rage, yet still dipped in the resp







