Se connecterKira’s POVMy thoughts drifted further while the council murmured. Back in LA, reporters were having a field day with the fake Summers family. Last I checked the news, they were in absolute ruins. Corporate lawsuits piling up, employees suing for abuse, even their own staff turning on them.The empire Frederick stole by killing my mother and me, was crumbling like wet cardboard right in front of him.He can’t fix their ruin.I remembered one clip that made me snort-laugh in the middle of breakfast. Frederick screaming at some reporter, red-faced and wild-eyed… “This is not our end! We will recover! Adrian Draven has our back!” The desperation in his voice was chef’s kiss hilarious.Especially because two days ago, Frederick had texted Adrian’s phone. The message had been needy and demanding. I’d been the one to read it, sitting on the throne while pretending to listen to tax reports.‘Mr Adrian, when are you stepping in like you promised? We held up our end. The media is killing u
Kira’s POVAnd then, there was Levi.He got off easier, in a way. Demoted to nothing, stripped of rank. I’d locked him in the same room as his unconscious fiancée, Princess Loretta. “You’re still her fiancé,” I told him coldly during our last conversation.“Take care of her. Feed her blood to keep her alive longer. Wipe her brow. Empty the damn bedpan if you have to. Maybe you’ll finally learn to be your own person.” The guilt eating him alive was visible, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.His baby mama and their son are under tight supervision, waiting for Adrian’s decision when he comes back.Then there was Liana. Just the thought of her made Leah sigh tiredly now. That one still gave me chills.I’d gone down to the cells myself, expecting screams or defiance. Instead I got pure disgust. Her twisted, obsessive love for Abby had driven her to madness. “I did it all for you, my princess,” she’d whispered, eyes shining like a true believer. “For us. I love you more than l
Kira’s POVAnd then, there’s my father.The thought hit me out of nowhere, sharp and unwelcome, as I sat on the throne pretending to listen to another debate about grain stores and blood tithes.Flashback:Hours after…on the same day I finally woke up after everything went to hell, they took me straight to him.I don’t even remember deciding to run. After Thomas told me everything I needed to know, the next second, I was bursting through heavy wooden doors, lungs burning, bare feet slapping against cold stone. And there he was.My father. Alive. Breathing. Looking at me like I was the only thing that still made sense in his broken world.He looked…better, compared to the first time I saw him. His beards were shaved, his hair trimmed and he looked like he finally took a bath after a long time.I crashed into his arms so hard it knocked the breath out of both of us. I held him like a little girl again, arms locked around his waist, face buried in his chest. For a few precious seconds,
Kira’s POVI woke up screaming.Not the graceful, cinematic kind of scream you see in movies where the heroine looks tragically beautiful even in panic. No. This was ugly. Raw. The kind that shredded my throat and left my lungs burning like I’d swallowed a chest full of embers.“ADRIAN—!”The sound tore out of me before I even knew I was awake. I shot upright so violently the world tilted, my head spinning like I’d been dropped from a height. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack them. For one terrifying heartbeat, the bond was gone. Completely gone. That stubborn, warm thread that had started connecting us after the marking ritual Victoria mentioned, had been sliced clean, leaving nothing but cold, echoing emptiness.Hands were on me instantly.“Your Majesty!”“Easy, hold her gently!”I thrashed like a drowning woman fighting the current, arms flailing, legs kicking at invisible monsters. “He’s gone!” I gasped, grabbing whoever was closest… Thomas, I re
Kira’s POVI was going to lose my mind.I paced the room so aggressively that even the carpet probably hated me at this point.Back and forth.Back and forth.My heart wouldn’t stop racing.Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.Who bites someone and then runs off?Victoria stood near the door like some very stressed-out bodyguard pretending not to panic while I spiraled into emotional destruction.“Your highness—”“Don’t ‘Your highness me right now,” I snapped, dragging both hands through my hair. “Something is wrong with Adrian.”I could feel it. That was the worst part.I could feel him for some weird reason.Not in a metaphorical “I miss him” way.No.I could literally feel him. I could feel this immense pain which is obviously not mine. I could feel grief and fear too.It slammed into my chest in violent waves so strong it made it hard to breathe.What the hell is going on? I stopped pacing abruptly and grabbed the edge of a nearby table before my knees betrayed me.
Adrian’s POV Kira’s eyes widened in pure disbelief, her chest still heaving from all the shouting and punching.“Are you serious right now?” she exploded, voice cracking with disbelief and fresh anger. “I’m standing here telling you my father was imprisoned unfairly for years, that everything he went through was because of lies and betrayal, and all you can think about is biting me?! Biting me?! Like some horny vampire from a bad romance novel? What the hell is wrong with you, Adrian?!”I couldn’t wait any longer. Time was slipping through my fingers like sand. Elise was already waiting, and every second counted. I needed to be sure Kira wouldn’t slip away from me while I was gone. The mark would bind her to me, make it harder for her to run, harder for anyone else to claim her. Selfish? Yes. But right now, I didn’t care. I stepped closer, my hand sliding up to gently but firmly hold the back of her neck. Her skin was warm, pulse racing under my palm. I leaned down, bringi
Kira’s POVThe so-called Dark Zone should be a piece of cake. She’s probably overreacting to scare me.I cleared my throat and crossed my arm. “Tell me more about this Dark Zone,” I said.Victoria crossed her arms, that smug little smile still plastered on her face, but her eyes had this gleam…like
Kira’s POVI stumbled out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, legs still shaky, cheeks burning like I’d run a marathon. My reflection in the mirror looked guilty as hell…flushed skin, messy hair, eyes too bright. I was utterly disgusted with myself.Not once. Twice.I’d come twice in there. The f
Adrian’s POVThe forest was still black with night when a low, vibrating growl ripped out of my chest and cut through the frost.“Liana?”I stepped out from the shadows of the pines, moonlight sliding over the steam rising from my skin. I had only shifted back seconds ago when Derek caught the scen
Liana’s POVThis wasn’t how it was supposed to go.At all.I kept replaying it in my head while I ran through the forest, branches whipping my face until I tasted blood.The exact second her knees buckled and she hit the floor like someone cut every string holding her up.Yesterday, when Abby’s eye







