LOGINDustan’s POVI was buried in books.Literally buried. Stacks of ancient texts in different languages surrounded me on all sides, some open, some closed, some balanced precariously on top of others. I'd lost track of how many I'd gone through—dozens, maybe more. My eyes burned. My head throbbed. My fingers were stained with dust.But I couldn't stop. I found out enough to understand that the triple crescent, the First, the Eternals, the Rage wolf…It was all connected. I could feel it in my bones…that tingling instinct that told me when I was on the right track."Roric," I said without looking up from the page I was reading. "The section on ancient bloodlines. Third shelf from the top, left side. There should be a red-bound volume. Bring it to me."I heard him climb the ladder. His footsteps punctuated by the occasional creak of old wood."You know," Roric called down, "most people would take a break after reading for six hours straight.""Most people aren't trying to solve a mystery
Elara's POVOne moment the one holding Richard down, was standing there with that smug, self-satisfied expression, and the next I had driven my shoulder into his chest with every ounce of weight and momentum I possessed.He flew backward. His grip on Richard was torn away as he crashed into the cottage wall. Old photographs rattled and fell. A shelf of herbs collapsed, scattering dried leaves everywhere like confetti.The guard's head connected with the wooden beam with a satisfying ‘thunk’, and he slid down to the floor, groaning.There was a moment of absolute stillness.Richard was free—well, free of one guard, at least. The other man still had him by the right arm, but his grip had loosened in shock. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open.The tall leader had frozen mid-step. His casual arrogance had been replaced by genuine surprise.And the other guards who had been standing outside—the reinforcements—had rushed to the doorway and were now staring at me like I'd grown a sec
Elara’s POVI lunged.My shoulder connected with the nearest guard's torso, and I drove him back a step—just one—before a hand like iron clamped around my wrist and wrenched my arm behind my back."Get off me!" I snarled, twisting against the grip. My wolf surged forward, "I said—"The cold kiss of silver clamped around my wrists.The metal bit into my skin, and I hissed through my teeth. My wolf recoiled, whimpering in the back of my mind as the cuffs sapped the strength from my limbs. My knees buckled. I caught myself before I fell, but barely. The fire in the hearth seemed to dim, the shadows in the cottage deepened. "Elara!" Richard's voice cracked. I looked up, and the sight of him made my chest constrict.Blood trickled from his nose, blooming spots. His glasses were gone, knocked aside and trampled, the lenses shattered."Stop it!" I screamed, thrashing against the guard holding me. "Stop it! You came for me! I'm right here! I'm the one you want!" My voice broke on the last wo
Elara's POVI took a breath, steadying myself. The warmth of the tea was seeping into my frozen fingers, but it did nothing to thaw the knot of ice that had taken up permanent residence in my chest. I opened my mouth to tell him about the wolf that had saved me —But before I could speak—BANG. BANG. The sound shattered the quiet inside the room like a rock through glass. I flinched, tea sloshing over the rim of my mug and burning my knuckles. I barely felt it.There was a knock at the door. Richard didn't move. He simply looked up at the door, and then he smiled. I didn't fail to notice that it was a slow, knowing smile that made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.He made no effort to rise. No effort to answer.BANG. BANG. BANG.The knocking came heavier this time. More insistent. A little violent. The old wooden frame rattled in its hinges, and dust motes shook loose from the rafters above us.I set my mug down carefully. My hands trembled as I stood up. "Shoul
Elara’s POVI left the palace without a sound.I wrapped a masking cloak around my shoulders , the hood pulled low to shadow my face. I knew the guards' rotations by heart by now. I took advantage of that knowledge. I needed answers. And I knew where I might find them.The streets of the outer city were quiet at this hour.My old neighborhood hadn't changed much—still the same cramped buildings, still the same smell of bread from the bakery on the corner, still the same uneven cobblestones that had tripped me as a child.I walked fast, my feet remembering the path like a reflex. I'd heard tales of the Eternal Wolves when I was young.Stories of wolves who never truly died, who passed their spirits through generations, who guarded the old magic that most people had forgotten.Most people dismissed it as a myth. But I'd always been curious.And my old teacher , Gamma Ferocious, had always indulged my curiosity.His orchids came into view—now overgrown with tangles of vines and wild flow
Dustan's POVRoric wheeled me away from the corridor where Elara had just hurried off. I kept my face blank, my eyes forward, my hands resting on the armrests of the chair. The mask was firmly in place.But inside, something twisted.I had seen her face when she looked at me. The way her smile had flickered for just a moment before she plastered it back on. The way her eyes had darted away, hurt flickering in their depths before she masked it. The way she'd hurried off like she couldn't get away from me fast enough.Good.That was good.It was better this way.I let out a deep sigh. Roric's hands paused on the handles of my chair. "You know," he said carefully, "you could have at least asked how she was."I didn't answer."You didn't even look at her properly—" He made a frustrated sound. " I don't understand.""She's fine," I said flatly. "Obviously. She was walking. Talking. Smiling.""That's not the point."I said nothing.Roric started pushing me again, but I could feel his frust
Dustan’s POVI woke up later than usual.Not because I was tired,just unwilling to start the day.Last night lingered in fragments—uninteresting, half annoying. Nothing worth dwelling upon.Or so I told myself.A soft knock followed by the creak of the door interrupted my thoughts.“Good morning, youn
Elara's POVI couldn't sleep much.Umm, honestly, not even for a second.I just lay there,staring at the ceiling,replaying everything. Over and over and over again like some cursed loop I couldn’t shut off.My entire life was playing backwards… then forward and then in a mess… By the time the sky st
Elara's POVI was expecting something grand.Or at least intimidating.Instead, when the heavy doors of the King’s castle opened and I was led inside, the place felt eerily empty.Not abandoned—but quiet in a way that made my skin prickle.No crowd was there waiting to mock me.No curious nobles whispe
Elara’s POVI didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until my chest started hurting.The hall had gone dead quiet—like the kind of silence that pressed against my ears. The kind that told me something was about to go very, very wrong.And it did.“Lord Vale,” the attendant called out.My stomach







