登入Dustan’s POVI pulled myself towards the desk once they were gone. The files Tavish had gathered were spread across the surface—documents, letters, records spanning decades. Elara's entire history was laid out before me. I wondered how much of it she knew herself. I reached for the first folder and opened it.The first thing I saw was a picture.Elara looked younger—maybe eighteen or nineteen. Her hair was longer, her face softer, her smile genuine in a way I'd never seen it.She was looking at someone outside the frame, her eyes bright with an emotion that made my chest tighten.And then I saw a guy. His came was scribbled above — Callum Ferrell. Her ex-boyfriend. The man she'd been betrothed to before. Her ex-mate.He was handsome, I'd give him that. Tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of easy confidence that came from being born into privilege.But it wasn't his face that made my hands clench on the edge of the desk.It was the way Elara was looking at him.Her eyes. The way t
Dustan's POVI wheeled towards my study. My mind was still churning with thoughts of Elara, of my uncle, of Cassian's sudden return. The pieces were moving too fast, too chaotically. I needed to get ahead of them, to find the pattern before it was too late."Tavish, what were you saying about Ela—"I looked up.And stopped.Lyria was standing in front of Tavish, her hands raised as if she'd been reaching for something. Tavish had her backed against the desk, his expression stern, his body positioned between her and the papers scattered across the surface.She was scrambling. I could see it in the way her eyes darted, the way her fingers twitched, the way she was trying to appear innocent while clearly being caught doing something wrong.As soon as she spotted me, her mouth dropped open. The mask slid into place so quickly it was almost impressive—one moment she was flustered and guilty, the next she was the picture of delicate femininity."Oh!" She pressed a hand to her chest, her e
Dustan's POVI wheeled out of Elara's room and closed the door behind me, my hands trembling slightly on the wheels.I'd almost kissed her.I'd been this close—my lips inches from hers, her breath warm on my face, her heart pounding so loud I could hear it. And I'd wanted to. Goddess help me, I'd wanted to close that distance and taste her, to feel her against me, to— that proximity was maddening… I shook my head violently, forcing the thoughts away.This wasn't the time. This wasn't the place. And she'd never forgive me if I took advantage of her vulnerability like that.“But she wasn't vulnerable,” a voice whispered in my mind. My wolf. Not the Rage wolf. He was speaking again. We were having a normal conversation. This was…new.This was fantastic. “She was angry. She was fighting. She was magnificent.”Yeah, no shit! She was majestic… the fire in her, her scent… I could see myself hardening under my pants… fuck… this felt good… but not good for the moment… I pushed the thought asi
Elara’s POVI was going to kill him.I was going to find a way to break these silver cuffs, find a way to get my wolf back, and then I was going to tear Dustan's throat out with my own teeth.The door slammed shut behind me, and I heard the lock click into place. The sound felt like a death knell. "No!" I threw myself at the door, my shoulder slamming into the wood. "You can't do this! You can't lock me in here! I'm not going to be trapped like some—some—"I kicked the door. Then again. Then again.Pain shot up my leg. I didn't care. I had been constantly fighting. I could feel my energy draining already. The only good thing was that I could persuade Richard to leave. "You hear me, Dustan? I'm not going to stay in here! I'll break this door down! I'll will—"I spun around, my eyes scanning the room for something—anything—I could use. The silver cuffs burned against my wrists, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage coursing through my veins.I grabbed a vase from the dresser
Dustan's POV“Where's your dimwitted Alpha Dustan? Bring him forth. Bring him here…”I burst through the main gates to find chaos.The courtyard was a mess…utter mess…guards shouting, servants scattering, and in the center of it all, a whirlwind of lavender silk and flying fists.Elara was magnificent. I was literally in awe of my wife. Her hair had come loose from its pins, cascading down her back in wild waves. Her dress was torn at the shoulder, revealing the pale skin beneath. Silver cuffs glinted on her wrists. Her wolf was growling to come out, furious at being suppressed…the silver cuffs glowing to keep her down. And she was destroying them… left and right. One of the King's men flew through the air and landed at my feet with a heavy thud. He groaned, clutching his stomach, and I looked up to see Elara's furious face, her chest heaving, her eyes blazing with a fire that made my breath catch.She was absolutely breathtaking.But she was also in a lot of trouble so currently I
Dustan’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
Dustan's POVThe howl tore through.Heads turned. Conversations died mid-sentence. A child dropped his wooden toy, and it hit the cobblestones with a clatter that sounded like thunder in the sudden silence.The door of the inn was closed.Someone had barred it from the inside—probably after the screa
Dustan’s POVI didn't think.That was the first mistake.The second was dropping the knife. The third was letting them see my face—see whatever expression had taken up residence there while Elara's voice echoed through my skull like a scream in an empty cathedral.But I was already moving.My hands
Elara’s POVHis palm pressed hard against my mouth, cutting off the sound before it could leave my throat."None of that," Finn or whoever the fuck he was, I couldn't bother to remember anymore,hissed against my ear.His body pressed me into the edge of the mattress, and I could feel every inch of
Dustan’s POVThe cellar smelled of old blood and newer fear! I preferred it that way.Marcus,the lesser Alpha of the Eastern Fells, though he wouldn't hold that title much longer—hung beautifully from chains in the center of the room. His feet barely touched the stone floor. His shirt was gone.Th







