LOGINElara’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
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
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
Elara’s POVI raised the second glass in a toast. "I'll drink to that." Finn, or whatever his name was, laughed beside me, his fingers still resting on my thigh.He didn't have a glass. I didn't care.I downed mine anyway.The room tilted slightly. Or maybe that was me. I gripped the edge of the b







