LOGINAdrian’s POVI stood there stunned, confusion slamming into me like a freight train. The girl…Emma…hovered just outside the palace gates, unable to cross, her body jerking back as if an invisible force had shoved her. What the hell was this? Everything had been fine on the plane, but now…this?I turned to Victoria, keeping my voice steady even though my mind was racing. “Victoria, accompany the princess to our chamber. Make sure she’s comfortable and for the love of everything beautiful, don’t let her leave till I get back.”Victoria nodded quickly with an apologetic expression, taking Kira’s arm. I leaned down, brushed my lips against Kira’s cheek in a slow, deliberate kiss, and whispered teasingly against her ear, “Shower and rest up, little wolf. I’m going to need you to stay up all night for me.”Her entire face flushed bright red…cheeks, ears, even the tip of her nose. She scoffed, trying to look unaffected, but I caught the way her breath hitched. “Whatever,” she muttered, th
Kira’s POV‘No, Kira. We stick to the plan,’ I muttered under my breath, like saying it out loud would weld my resolve into something unbreakable.Leah scoffed…loud, dramatic, and completely unbothered. ‘You’re being delusional, Kira. The plan is to get pregnant. As soon as possible.’As soon as possible?The audacity.‘Pregnant?’ I scoffed right back. ‘In your dreams, Leah. You think I need a man? I’m an independent, hardworking—’She cut me off with a yawn. An actual yawn.Then, like this wasn’t a life-altering debate… ‘I’m going to sleep.’And just like that…silence.I blinked. ‘Leah?’Nothing.Wow. Incredible. She really just logged out mid-argument like a tired customer service agent.I huffed, crossing my arms. Unbelievable.Honestly, if it ever came down to it, Leah would pick Adrian over me. No hesitation. No shame.I’ll be like… “We have goals, ambition, and dignity.”Leah will be like… “Yes…but have you considered Adrian’s face?”Traitor.I swear, I’m sharing my body with a
Kira's POV The silence in the private cabin pressed in like a living thing, thick and heavy. Adrian stayed on his knees in front of me, my healed hand still cradled in his like it was the most precious thing in his entire kingdom. His thumbs stroked slow circles over my knuckles, and every pass sent little sparks racing up my arm. I hated how good it felt. I hated even more that I didn’t pull away.“I’m staying right by your side,” he said, voice low and rough, like gravel under boots. “I’m not going anywhere, Kira. Not even if you don’t want me to.”I scoffed, yanking my hand back even though part of me screamed at the loss of his warmth. “Oh, please. You’re a king. You can take as many wives as you want. Don’t you already have a mistress and a child somewhere? Caroline, right?” The name tasted bitter on my tongue. “All I want is simple. Since we’re legally married, you’ll give me half of everything you own. Then you leave me alone in some beautiful mansion far away from your pa
Kira’s POVI stared at Adrian, chest heaving, tears still hot on my cheeks. His hands were gentle around my wrists, but I yanked free anyway. The rage was still there…burning low now, but not gone.“I won’t forgive you,” I said quietly. “Not yet. Maybe not ever.”His face crumpled again…real pain this time, the kind that made my own chest ache even though I didn’t want it to. I turned away before I could soften.And that’s when my eyes landed on her.“Please, let me go,” she cried.The girl…bound, gagged again, eyes wide and terrified…strapped to the seat like she was about to be executed.My finger shot out before I could stop myself.“It’s you!”Everyone froze.Adrian’s head snapped toward me. James stiffened. Victoria sucked in a breath like we were in a movie. Even the girl flinched hard against the restraints, shaking her head frantically, muffled whimpers leaking around the fresh tape.“It’s not me,” she whimpered, shaking her head.I stepped forward, pointing. “Wasn’t she the
Kira’s POVA frantic whisper yanked me out of sleep like someone had grabbed my soul and shaken it.“Come find me… come find me…”The voice was right in my ear, low, urgent, endless. I jolted upright, gasping, heart slamming against my ribs. The cabin was dark except for the faint blue glow from the overhead lights. Adrian’s scent still clung to the sheets? smoke, cedar, him, but he wasn’t there.I pressed my palms to my ears like that would stop the echo.In the dream he’d been running through fog, tall, shadowed, always just out of reach. No face. Just that whisper. Come find me. Over and over. I chased him until my lungs burned, until the ground turned to black water and swallowed my ankles, and still he kept running, calling, pulling me deeper.I’d woken up once, briefly, long enough to feel Adrian’s arms around me, his lips brushing my temple, his voice murmuring “You’re safe.” I’d believed it and drifted back under.And then the second dream hit.The man from the forest.From
Adrian’s POVThe Oden…Emma, or whatever shell she was wearing now…leaned forward again, the silver cuffs biting into her wrists without her seeming to notice. That eerie smile stayed plastered on her face like it had been carved there. Her eyes weren’t blinking anymore. Not once. Just wide, unblinking pools of black that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.But I didn't let go. My hand stayed on her neck. I needed a way out of this that would not involve my mate bleeding for it.“Are you willing to take that path?” she repeated, voice dripping with mock sweetness. “Or are you going to keep pretending you have the luxury of morals?”I felt the growl rumble low in my chest before I could stop it. “Just say it. Stop beating around the bush like a coward.”She tilted her head, studying me like I was a particularly interesting insect pinned to a board. Then she laughed again…soft this time, almost intimate, the sound crawling under my skin.“This is even better,” she murmured,
Adrian’s POVMorning light leaked through the narrow slit high in the dungeon wall, thin and gray, like it was afraid to touch me. Another third night survived. Barely.I slumped against the cold stone, chains heavy on my wrists and ankles, the metal links coated in that thick silver-wolfsbane past
Kira’s POVI was in no way ready for the scene in front of us.The gates creaked open like they were announcing the season finale of the trashiest reality show ever, and there it was pure chaos on full display.Caroline…Adrian’s mistress was for some reason flat on her back in the middle of the cou
Adrian’s POVI woke up again with a start, heart jackhammering in my chest like it wanted to escape.This time was different. She wasn’t grinding on my thigh like I had foolishly anticipated again…greedy for some more. Hell, she wasn’t even beside me.Pure panic slammed into me. I bolted upright, c
Adrian’s POVI wasn’t expecting to be spanked as an answer.She spanked my ass sharp, like urging a horse to keep riding forward. “I don’t want this. I just need it,” she breathed, hands on my back pulling me deeper.I lost it at that point. This felt right.I thrust in hard, burying myself fully.







