LOGINDorian POVI returned to my chambers feeling even worse than I had when I first left that morning. At least back then, I could put a name to what I was feeling. Anger. Rage. The desperate urge to kill.Now, I was returning completely overwhelmed by a storm of emotions so intense that I had gone numb.I dragged myself into my room like a walking corpse, the heavy silence pressing down on my shoulders with every step. Moving on pure autopilot, I crouched in front of the cupboard I had kept securely locked for years, desperate to find anything that could make me feel human again.My hands searched through the dark shelves until my fingers brushed against the woven bracelet Rhea had made for me on my birthday.A shaky breath escaped my lips.I stared at it for a long moment, my thumb slowly tracing the uneven threads she had carefully woven together before I gently placed it back where it belonged.As I withdrew my hand, my fingers grazed the edge of a small glossy photograph.My chest ti
Dorian POVMy hands shook violently as memories I had spent a lifetime trying to bury came rushing back all at once, burning through my chest like acid.“You respected her so much that on the very night we buried her, while her body was still fresh beneath the dirt,” my voice cracked with fury, “you were in your chambers fucking your mistress?”“That is different…”“I learned a lot from you that day,” I cut him off, blood finally trickling down the side of my forehead from the cut the silver tip had left behind.I took a slow step toward him, completely unfazed by the difference in our size, and looked him straight in the eyes.“You taught me so well how a husband should behave.”I took another step forward, my voice eerily calm.“So why are you angry with me? Why are you so furious that I chose to become exactly like you?” I asked, staring directly into his cold gray eyes as a humorless smile slowly spread across my face.“You should be proud of me. Proud that I became exactly like y
Dorian POVRagnar strode into the solarium, his heavy staff striking the marble floor with slow, rhythmic clicks before he finally came to a stop.His cold gray eyes swept across the entire room.The shattered glass scattered across the floor.The overturned table and spilled fruit.Then they settled on me, his beloved son, with one hand wrapped tightly around the throat of my pregnant wife as I pinned her against the wall.Within seconds, his expression darkened into something lethal.“Have you lost your mind?” he roared, his powerful Alpha voice filling every corner of the solarium. “Let her go.”The force behind his command struck me like a physical blow.Inside, I was fighting my own demons. Every instinct screamed at me to tighten my grip just a little more and end her life once and for all.But Ragnar’s voice carried decades of authority. The instinct to obey the Alpha who had ruled this pack my entire life wrapped itself around my muscles like chains.Reluctantly, my fingers lo
Dorian POVThe second those words left his mouth, something inside me went deathly still.Then my expression darkened into something almost inhuman.Of course.How had I not seen it sooner?Who else could be so petty, so vindictive, and so cruel that they would orchestrate something like this simply to hurt what belonged to me?“She made me do it,” the healer blurted out frantically, the words tumbling from his lips in a desperate rush as I slowly stepped back, straightening to my full height. “I told her it was against my duty as a healer! I told her the medicine was too volatile! But she threatened me. She threatened my family, Alpha! She also told me… she told me it was what you wanted. She said you wanted that woman gone. Alpha, I swear on my life, I would never willingly go against you!”I stood perfectly still, silently processing every word that had just left his mouth.Then I gave a slow, thoughtful nod.The moment I took another step back, the healer released a long, shaky si
Dorian POVLoud, agonizing groans filled the damp, stagnant air of the hidden cell.“Please! Mercy! Mercy!” the healer shrieked, his voice cracking into a ragged wail. He thrashed against the heavy iron chains anchoring him to the stone pillar, the black cloth blindfold covering his face already soaked through with sweat and grime. Blood dripped steadily from his shredded flesh, pooling around his bare feet. “How much do you want?! What do you want from me?! Why are you doing this?!”I didn’t answer. I simply tightened my grip around the handle of the silver whip.“Do you have any idea who I am?!” he screamed, his pride flaring through the terror in one last desperate attempt to intimidate me. “I am the pack healer! A crime against me is a crime against this entire pack! The Alpha will have your head for this! You hear me?! He will…”I brought the silver whip down again.The braided metal tore across his bare back with a sickening crack, cutting off his threat with a choked, breathles
Rhea POVAh.So that was it. He had never really liked me.He had simply been grieving a ghost, searching for fragments of a girl he’d lost in the shade of my eyes.And despite that… I had still shattered him.I had ripped into him with cruel words, tearing apart the one fragile piece of comfort he had been desperately clinging to.But did knowing the truth change anything?No.It didn’t heal my mother. It didn’t erase everything I had endured. And it certainly didn’t stop me from drowning.“I’m glad you told him that,” Sarah continued, gently pulling me from my thoughts. “He needed to hear it. He needed to learn how to let her go.”Hearing that, something inside my chest loosened ever so slightly, and before I could stop myself, my vision blurred as hot tears welled in my eyes. They spilled over silently, sliding down my cheeks one after another.Seeing this, Sarah’s eyes widened.“Rhea…” she whispered, her face filling with concern. “Are you okay?”The worry in her voice was unmista
Rhea POV I was getting discharged today.It felt strange, almost too fast, considering I had only been in the hospital for a day and a half. But the doctor said I was stable enough to go home, and the whip marks had almost completely faded.Since Mom was having routine checkups today, I had insist
Rhea POV “You need something that is light and easy to remove,” Kenzie said as she skimmed through my closet. It was morning now, and we were supposed to leave for the lake this afternoon. “Why do I need something light and easy to remove?” I asked with a furrowed brow, watching her smile as she p
Rhea POVSeeing the scars only made my heart race harder because all I could think about was last night. Maybe it was partly his fault. I mean, I wouldn’t have been beaten this bad if this idiot in front of me had just decided to leave me alone.“It’s nothing,” I huffed, trying to turn my head away
Dorian POVMy fists were clenched tightly in my pocket until I was back in my chamber and finally collapsed into the couch. What was I pissed about this time? I tried to regulate the storm swirling inside me, but my mind wouldn’t stop replaying what I had seen.Her. In his arms.The way she kissed







