LOGINCHAPTER 41: Whispers Of TreasonBoyce’s POV I stared at the face of my watch, waiting for the second hand to sweep past the twelve. My sentry shift outside the royal quarters felt like a slow form of torture today.My enhanced werewolf hearing picked up every sound coming from the bedroom behind me and my stomach twisted into tight knots with every noise.I leaned my shoulder against the stone wall and closed my eyes as another muffled moan echoed through the wooden door.Ilyana was in there.The wet slapping noises of skin hitting skin mixed with the animalistic growls of the Alpha King and my blood boiled as the sounds painted a vivid picture in my mind.She had looked right at me in the corridor earlier, acting like an innocent victim only to end up spreading her legs for the king again ten minutes later.The sound of approaching boots pulled my attention down the hall as Marcus stopped in front of me, resting his hand on his sword hilt.“Shift is over,” Marcus stated, tilting his
CHAPTER 40: Alone With The Alpha KingIlyana’s POV One second I was about to confront the Alpha King for declaring me his mate on live Tv, the next his mouth was on mine so hot and demanding with my brain just… short-circuiting as his hands gripped my waist, pulling me against that solid wall of muscle.I shoved at his chest hard. “Get off me!”He didn’t budge. The guy was built like a tank and twice as stubborn. I pushed again, twisting with my heart pounding while heat burned low in my stomach and my nipples tightened under the thin tank top. I hated that.. I hated how good it felt even while I was trying to fight him off.Then he felt it.. the way I went stiff and the way my hands stopped pushing and just pressed flat against him instead.Atlas pulled back like I’d burned him.He stared down at me with his chest rising fast with eyes dark. “Ilyana...”I didn’t let him finish. My palm cracked across his cheek so hard the sound echoed and we both froze.His head turned with the sla
CHAPTER 39: The Anchor and the StormIlyana’s POV A collective gasp washed through the courtyard, shattering the morning quiet before a chaotic explosion of noise followed. The reporters shoved against the iron barricades as they screamed questions and waved recording devices in the air while a blinding wave of camera flashes erupted from every angle.“Is the royal bloodline compromised?” a man in a grey suit shouted as he pointed his microphone toward the stage.“When did the Alpha King take a mate?” a woman yelled from the front row. “Is she a noble from the eastern territories?”The Queen immediately stepped up to the podium and raised both hands to cut off the escalating frenzy. “The press conference is concluded,” the Queen announced as she motioned for the perimeter guards to form a physical wall between the media and the wooden stage. “The Alpha King has further duties to attend to.”Atlas did not let go of me. He kept his large hand wrapped securely around my waist as he gu
CHAPTER 38: Live On AirIlyana’s POV I stood in the shadow of the stone archway, bouncing Jasmine gently on my hip while the lower courtyard erupted into a chaotic circus. Over fifty reporters from across the seven packs crowded against the iron barricades. They shouted over each other and shoved large camera lenses toward the wooden podium, acting like a pack of starved dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. I found the whole display exhausting.“Keep the center aisle clear,” Beta Corwin ordered from the front of the stage as he pushed a persistent photographer back behind the velvet rope. “Anyone who crosses the line gets thrown out of the gates.”“Are they always this loud?” I asked, looking over at the Queen standing beside me.“They smell blood in the water, Ilyana,” the Queen replied. She adjusted the cuffs of her dark coat and kept her posture perfectly rigid. “The rumors of my son’s illness have circulated for weeks. And they want to see him fall apart on live television.”“He
CHAPTER 37: Friends and SecretsIlyana’s POVI marched down the quiet hallway toward my quarters, my cheeks burning with annoyance and disbelief. The man was an absolute menace. I had literally just walked out of the infirmary, still recovering from a silver bullet wound and spent my energy producing three full bottles of milk for him only to be barked at like a stray dog. He did not even say thank you. He just snatched the crate, gulped the milk down like a wild beast and then had the nerve to glare at me as if I was the intruder. He was a creep and a thoroughly ungrateful one at that.I pushed open the door to my room, unbuttoned my collar and sank onto the edge of the mattress with a heavy sigh.A gentle knock rattled the doorframe a few minutes later, making me sit up straight. A young palace guard stepped into the threshold, resting his hand on his belt as he bowed his head politely.“Excuse me, Miss Ilyana,” the guard announced. “You have a visitor waiting in the lower courtya
CHAPTER 36: The Milk MonsterAtlas’s POV“Look at you,” the voice hissed from the dark corners of my mind, dripping with cold and venomous mockery. “The great Alpha King, cowering behind a locked door like a terrified child, begging a woman for a cup of milk.”I slammed my fists onto the desk, my claws extending and gouging deep trenches into the wood as I struggled to catch my breath. Sweat rolled down my neck and soaked through my shirt, my vision blurring as red spots danced across my eyes.“You are weak,” the voice taunted again, louder this time, echoing off the inside of my skull like a striking hammer. “You are a pathetic excuse for a leader. A real Alpha takes what he wants and tears his enemies to pieces but you sit here whimpering while your territory rots from the inside.”“Shut up,” I growled aloud, clutching the sides of my head and pacing the floorboards like a caged predator. “Just shut up.”“You need her,” the monster scoffed, its claws scraping against my subconscious







