LOGINAdrain’s POVI didn’t interrupt her. Didn’t call her out or make her know that I suspect her.I just… watched.Silently.Carefully.Like a hunter waiting to see where the prey would run to.Because she would run.And right on cue… Margaret suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up.“Sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty. I… I need to excuse myself,” she said, placing a hand lightly against her stomach. “I’m not feeling well. My stomach is… upset. Maybe I ate something bad.”Her voice was controlled.But I saw it. The urgency beneath it.I held her gaze for a second.Two.Long enough to let her know I wasn’t buying it. Then I leaned back slightly and waved a hand.“Go.”No questions.No resistance.That seemed to surprise her. Just a little.But she nodded quickly and turned, walking out of the hall with measured steps that were just shy of too fast.The doors shut behind her and the second they did, I reached for Thomas through the mindlink.‘Thomas.’‘He’s aware, your highness,’ he repl
Adrain’s POVA low shuffle moved through the room as the weight of my last words settled.Chairs creaked. Robes brushed against stone. A few council members leaned toward each other, whispering under their breath, eyes flicking in my direction like I might snap again at any second.Good.Let them feel it.Let them remember exactly who was sitting at the head of this table.Adrian Draven.The truth was…they had no idea why I called this meeting.Not really.They knew it was important. Urgent. The kind of summons you don’t ignore unless you have a death wish.But they didn’t know the real reason.I let the silence stretch just long enough to pull them in, to tighten that invisible rope around every throat in the room. Then I cleared my throat. The sound cut clean through the murmurs.Instant silence.Every head turned back to me.“I received solid information,” I began, my voice measured, controlled, “from a trusted source.”I paused, letting that sink in.“The nightmare…” I continued
Adrain’s POVEvery eye tracked me as I rounded the head of the table, boots ringing against the stone with deliberate, measured steps. I stopped directly in front of Levi, close enough that he had to tilt his head slightly to meet my gaze. Close enough that he could feel the temperature drop around me.“For the good of the kingdom,” I repeated, voice low, almost conversational. “How noble. Tell me, cousin…did the vampire king look impressed when you crawled into his hall uninvited? Did he pat you on the head and call you a good little prince for undermining your own king?”A muscle jumped in Levi’s jaw. Good. I wanted it to hurt.“You speak of alliances and vulnerability,” I continued, circling him now like a wolf sizing up prey that still thought it had teeth. “Yet you forgot the one rule that keeps this kingdom from tearing itself apart…the crown is not a suggestion. My word is not optional. When I say the meeting will be between two kings, that is not an invitation for my cousin t
Adrian’s POVThe heavy doors swung shut behind me with a solid thud that echoed through the hall.Every head in the room turned my way at once. The council members rose to their feet in one smooth motion, chairs scraping lightly against the stone floor.“Your Majesty,” they greeted in unison, voices respectful but tight with curiosity. Bows followed…deep and formal, shoulders straight, eyes lowered the way protocol demanded.I gave a single nod and moved to the head of the long oak table. Only when I dropped into the massive carved chair did the rest of them sit back down, the rustle of robes and the creak of their chairs filling the brief silence.Not everyone.I lifted my hand, stopping Levi and Margaret before they could take their seats.“Dear aunt… cousin…” My voice came out flat, cold, the kind of tone that left no room for bullshit. “I must say…that I’m impressed. I heard you both were quite the handful while I was away.”The air in the room shifted instantly. A few elders exch
Kira’s POVI screamed in frustration, the sound echoing off the walls. How could he do this to me? Why? I wasn’t a prisoner. I am his wife…supposedly.‘He’s right, you know,’ Leah said calmly. ‘You need to stay in one place before you drag us into actual hell next time. Why do you like danger so much?’I glared at nothing. “I’m so disappointed in you, Leah. Taking his side like that.”‘You are completely reckless. I’ll be a moron to take your side,’ she fired back and the betrayal stung.Just then the door opened again.Victoria stepped inside, carrying a tray of refreshments…tea, little sandwiches, fresh fruit. She looked at me chained to the bed, then at the empty doorway, and raised an eyebrow.I exhaled in relief. “Finally. Victoria, you’ll definitely let me out, right?”She didn’t say anything, but she will let me out. I could threaten to make her life a living hell if she doesn’t.Victoria stepped fully into the room, the tray balanced carefully in her hands, and her eyes lande
Kira's POV Adrian rounded the corner like a storm about to break.His eyes locked on me immediately…gold-flecked, blazing with a mix of fury and something rawer that made my stomach twist. The air thickened with his alpha presence, heavy and crackling. Servants scattered out of his path without a word, heads down. Victoria’s arm around my shoulders tightened for a second before she wisely stepped back.He didn’t say anything.Not one word.In two long strides he was on me. Before I could even open my mouth, Adrian bent, hooked an arm behind my knees and another around my back, and lifted me clean off the ground. He tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing, my stomach pressing against the hard muscle there, my legs dangling uselessly down his chest.“Adrian!” I yelped, pounding my fists against his broad back. “Put me down! I can explain—”He didn’t listen. Didn’t even grunt. Just turned on his heel and started walking, his grip firm and unyielding on the back of my thighs
Kira’s POV Nightmare. The day I died. It never plays out the same. My brain kept remixing it, making it worse every time, like it’s punishing me for surviving…or for not seeing it coming. First version…the one that felt almost real. I’m standing on the roof of the Summers Group skyscraper,
Kira’s POVHe pulled me closer, guiding me toward the open helicopter door. “How are you feeling this morning, princess?” he asked, voice raised over the noise, all gentle concern.I ignored him. Full cold-shoulder mode activated.He didn’t push. Just helped me in, buckled my seatbelt for me like I
Kira's POV I couldn’t stop grinning as we stepped out into the lobby, Miranda’s frantic escape playing on repeat in my head. She hadn’t recognized me…not even a flicker…but I’d planted something. A seed of doubt. Good. Let it grow. Let it choke her.Victoria glanced at me sideways as we wandered t
Kira’s POVI pushed the bathroom door shut behind me, leaning against it for a second as the click echoed in the massive marble room. Everything hurts. Like, everything. My thighs burned with that deep, pulled-muscle ache from being wrapped around someone way too strong for way too long. My hips f







