登入My office is quiet when I reach it, the heavy door swinging shut with a soft click. I collapse into my chair. "Finally."My wolf’s voice rumbles in my head before I can even open the first document."You know she's right."I close my eyes. "Don't start.""We should go after our mate.""She'll probably throw me out on my ass.""Then we'll stand outside until she lets us in."I sigh, rubbing my temples. "Why couldn't the Moon Goddess give us an ordinary woman?"My wolf is silent for a moment, then he answers, his tone thoughtful. "If she had, how would we have defeated Father?"I don't have a response for that."You saw what she did.""I know.""She protected Mother.""I know.""She saved us.""I know""Then stop complaining."I glare at the wall, the knot in my chest tightening. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?""Very much."I rub my face, the stubble rough against my palms. "So you really have no problem being Queen?"We were born to be Queen."The words make me wince. "All I want
Kei PovI watch Ravelle’s back disappear into the celebrating crowd. The space she leaves behind feels colder than the mountain air, but my feet remain rooted to the ground. What am I supposed to do now?Seriously. Run after her? Beg her to stay? After everything I have done, what right do I have?She has her wolf now. Her power. Her freedom. She’s whole again. And I know the only reason she stayed in this festering pack as long as she did was because of me. Because I put a collar around her neck and called it a necklace, just like her father did. Maybe even worse, because she gave me her trust, and I broke it. I deceived her.The thought makes me lower my head, a bitter taste filling my mouth. I lied to myself, calling it protection. I told myself I was keeping her safe, but it was a cage. I was afraid of her, afraid of her taking my throne—which wasn't mine in the first place."Are you really going to sit there and watch her leave?"My mother’s voice comes from behind me. I don’t
Kei walks toward the raised platform at the center of the pack. His father is dragged before him by two warriors. The former Alpha tries to resist, but Kei doesn't even flinch. He looks out at the crowd."Watch," his voice carries, cold and clear. The pack becomes utterly still. "This man has ruled through fear for long enough." He points down at the pathetic figure at his feet. "He made us afraid to sleep. Afraid to speak. Afraid to question him. He turned strength into cruelty and leadership into terror."He lets the words hang in the air, heavy and true. "He killed. He betrayed. He tortured. He destroyed families." He looks down at his father, his gaze like ice. "And today, his reign ends."His father glares up at him, but Kei doesn't look away. "We will never live like this again." He draws his claws out, long and sharp. "This is what happens when someone betrays the pack they swore to protect."What happens next is not a clean death. It is a brutal, messy, and violent execution.
I face the forest. "Come out."Nothing happens. I wait, impatiently like a predator. "All of you," I call out, my voice carrying through the trees, laced with an authority that feels older than the mountains. "Every last one of you hiding in the shadows like cowards. Face me."Branches rustle. One figure steps out, then another, then another. Soon the darkness itself seems to move, coalescing into twisted, misshapen forms. Hundreds. Then more. Rogues emerge from behind trees, from between rocks, from the deeper forest, their glowing eyes a sea of feral hunger.Kei's face loses what little color it had left. His mother grips his arm, her knuckles bone-white. I stare at the army before me, utterly unimpressed."You served him," I state, my voice quiet, yet it carries to every one of them. Several lower their heads in shame. "We had no choice," one man dares to call out, his voice trembling. "Please," another begs, falling to his knees. "We only followed orders."I shake my head, a col
The severed tongue lies in the forest grass between us, a grotesque offering. For a moment, I simply stare at it. Then a slow, almost disbelieving smile pulls at my lips. I should feel disgust instead, a dangerous satisfaction curls through me. After everything this man has said tonight—every insult, every threat, every filthy attempt to remind me that I am a woman—silencing him feels almost poetic.He deserved worse.Much worse.The old bastard is on his knees, one hand clamped over his mouth. Blood seeps between his fingers, dripping onto the dirt. His eyes are enormous, swimming in a terror I've never seen in them before.Good. For once, he knows what fear feels like.A wet, furious gurgle crawls from his throat.I tilt my head, my smile widening. "What's that? All that noise, and now you have nothing to say?" I gesture toward the fleshy lump on the ground. "Go on. Pick it up. Talk. Let me hear you."His face twists with pure, impotent rage. I let out a short, sharp laugh. "You s
My father stares at me, his chest heaving. Then he laughs, a horrible, almost delighted sound that sends a chill down my spine. "You really haven't changed," he says, the mocking chuckle fading my smile. "You're forgetting something," a triumphant gleam in his eyes as he points behind me. "You came here without your warriors. You are here alone, Kei, without a backup plan."A cold dread fills me as he gestures toward the darkness. "Do you see them?"I turn, my heart pounding. Rogues emerge from the shadows, their forms twisted and misshapen, their eyes glowing with a feral, hungry light. One. Two. Five. Then more, a seemingly endless stream of them, their silent, menacing presence sucking the air from my lungs.My eyes immediately find my mother. She's still chained, still bleeding, her body a broken, bruised thing. And standing behind her is a rogue with his claws pressed against her chest, the sharp tips digging into the fabric of her dress, a silent, deadly threat. One wrong move,
I pull out the omega uniform from under my bed—plain brown cloth, shapeless, loose, ugly, and absolutely perfect for hiding the red dress beneath it. No one looks twice at omegas. Not in a palace that employs hundreds.I braid my hair up, tuck it beneath a dull omega scarf, then close my eyes to co
The Lunar Virtue Conclave is unbearable even before the gossip begins—or the class itself.The hall hums the way it always does: too many voices layered on top of one another, laughter sharpened with envy, silk skirts whispering across polished stone floors.I sit near the back, posture perfect, ex
Revulsion claws up my throat the moment I see him.Of all the men in this cursed kingdom, he is the one who walks like the world should kneel simply because he was born male. Always lingering too close, always wearing that smirk I’ve been tempted far too many times to wipe clean off his face. He ac
The throne room smells like power and old lies.Stone walls rise high and cold, carved with victories that were never won by women. The air hums with deep male voices—officials, elders, and war strategists—gathered for the morning assembly. My father sits on the obsidian throne at the far end, crow







