LOGINThe blindfold is ripped away so suddenly that light stabs violently into my eyes.I flinch hard, blinking rapidly as tears instantly gather from the brightness after being trapped in darkness for so long.Then slowly, the world around me comes into focus and my breath catches.We’re outside. In the center field of Kei’s pack.The massive ceremonial grounds are decorated with black and silver banners fluttering in the cold evening wind while torches burn brightly around a raised platform in the middle.A priest already stands there waiting beside an ancient stone altar, clutching a ceremonial scroll with visibly shaking hands. But what catches my attention most isn’t the decorations.It’s the people.The entire pack is here.Warriors, elders, omegas, families, and children hiding behind their parents. And none of them look happy.Not one person cheers for Keal.Not one. Instead, confusion and tension hang thickly in the air like smoke. Nervous whispers spread through the crowd as peop
Sleep eventually finds me, but it isn’t peaceful. It’s cruel.Every dream twists itself into something horrifying.I’m standing in a throne room drenched in gold and blood while the entire pack kneels before me.But instead of calling me King—they call me Mother.My stomach swells beneath a heavy ceremonial gown, a child growing inside me while chains coil around my wrists and throat like living things, tightening every time I breathe.Then I hear Keal laughing, mocking and victorious. I feel him step behind me, his breath ghosting against my ear as he whispers:“Now you can never escape me.”—I wake inside the dream screaming, only for another nightmare to begin.A crying baby.Blood covering my hands.The throne fading farther and farther away every time I try to reach it.—“No…” I whimper weakly in my sleep, twisting beneath the blankets. “Please… no…”BANG!My bedroom door explodes inward so violently the sound rattles the walls. My eyes snap open instantly, panic surging throug
Hope?I scoff to myself as I stare at the small bottle in my hand for what feels like forever.The silver liquid glints faintly beneath the dungeon torchlight, swirling slowly every time my trembling fingers move.And all I can think is—keal’s mate gave me this. I shake my head bitterly.Mate.The word still feels wrong attached to her and my brother together.Unnatural. Forbidden. Then suddenly, everything clicks into place. The nervousness, the guilt and worst of all—the mark hidden beneath her collar that I almost missed.My eyes narrow as realization crashes fully into me. That’s why her neck was covered. She was hiding his mark.Hiding the bond.A cold laugh leaves me.What a fucking mess.Slowly, I lean my head back against the stone wall again, staring at the bottle with suspicion twisting violently inside my chest.How can I trust this?How?She’s bonded to Keal now.Not just emotionally but physically and spiritually.The mate bond goes deeper than loyalty.Deeper than reaso
The moment Keal disappears from sight, the dungeon feels colder, empty and dead.I stare at the iron bars long after he’s gone, my chest rising and falling unevenly as his final words echo inside my skull like a curse.Alpha King Keal.A hollow laugh almost escapes me.That title sounds dirty and twisted, attached to him. Yet the terrifying part is—he actually believes it.Slowly, my body gives out beneath me.I slump against the cold stone wall before sliding down to the floor, exhaustion crashing over me all at once.Every bruise aches and my ribs burn every time I breathe. Blood has dried against my knuckles and the corner of my mouth but none of it hurts as much as the helplessness.I can’t protect her.The realization tears through me brutally.Ravelle is out there alone while my brother spirals deeper into madness, and I’m trapped here like some useless animal waiting to die.Brother.No, Keal is no longer my brother.From this moment onwards, he's dead to me.I drag a shaking
The room feels unbearably quiet after Ravelle leaves.I sit motionless on the edge of the bed for what feels like forever, elbows braced on my knees, my bloody hands hanging uselessly between them as her final words replay in my skull over and over again.'You better pray to the Moon Goddess I’m not pregnant.'My eyes squeeze shut tightly, pain twisting through my chest so violently it almost feels physical.Fuck.Everything is ruined, and the worst part is she has every right to hate me.A rough breath leaves me as I drag both hands down my face, exhaustion and self-loathing eating through me piece by piece.“I’m sorry…” I whisper hoarsely into the empty room for what feels like the hundreth time.The apology feels pathetic now. Too late and worthless.Still… My jaw tightens slightly as I stare blankly at the floorboards.I can’t just sit here drowning in guilt.I have to fix this even if it costs me everything. And the first step—The key.My expression hardens slightly with determi
The moment I step out of Kei’s house, the cold air hits my skin, but it does nothing to cool the storm raging inside me.My legs ache with every step, weakness dragging through my body like chains, yet I force myself forward anyway, my jaw clenched tightly as I walk down the massive stone pathway leading away from the estate.The house is beautiful.Too beautiful.Tall pillars. Expensive marble. Huge windows reflecting the grey sky. A place worthy of an Alpha—exactly how I imagined Kei’s home would look, but I barely notice any of it.Because every time I blink, all I can remember is waking up in that bed.Naked.Broken.And the look on Kei’s face when he realized what happened.My chest tightens painfully at the memory, and I immediately shove it away with anger before it can become something softer.No.I refuse to pity him, not when he’s the one who trapped me in the first place.By the time I reach the narrow hidden path leading toward the old house, exhaustion is eating at me ali
KeiFire.My home is on fire.Flames tear through rooftops like starving beasts finally unleashed. Timber cracks. Sparks explode into the night sky. Smoke rolls thick and black, swallowing the stars above Ashen Vale.Ashen Vale.The name tastes bitter now.Every structure I rebuilt with my own hand
But unlike me—painfully aware of the politics, the danger, the chains still linking us—my wolf isn’t afraid. She is something carved from prophecy and pride and teeth.She feels insulted.He dares.Tamed? she snarls inside my head. Obedient?The word 'queen' she might forgive.The word tame?Never.
Kei’s eyes are pure murder, already calculating a thousand ways to end him, to make him beg, before my father roars—indirectly saving Darius from Kei’s ultimate wrath.“You fool!” My father’s voice shakes the hall. “You dare speak and act after your disgrace?” He points sharply at Elena’s crumpled
The water is scalding.I let it pound against my back like punishment, like it might burn the stench of blood from my skin the way she wanted it to.And her voice echoes in my head.You’re covered in blood. Take a shower.I grind my jaw.No one tells me what to do.No one ever has.I am Kai—Alpha o







