LOGINFive’s POV His mouth claimed mine before I could form another protest, and the corridor tilted. The kiss was not careful, it was not the measured thing he usually offered when he was still deciding whether he wanted to ruin me slowly or all at once. This was hunger, pure and unfiltered, three days of absence poured into the press of his lips and the way his tongue slid against mine like he had every right to taste me. My tray was somehow gone—set aside or dropped, I didn’t care—and both of my hands found the front of his formal jacket, clinging as if the wall at my back might not be enough to keep me upright. The music from the hall throbbed through the stone. I could hear voices, laughter. The shuffle of dancers. All of it so close that a single raised voice would bring someone running. “Lucien—” I managed against his mouth, the warning thin and useless. “I know,” he breathed, and then his hand was under the skirt of my dress. Cool air kissed the bare skin of my
Five's POV Lucien grabbed my arm, pulling me into the side corridor off the main hall. The music faded behind us, the festival continuing on the other side of the wall without us. He turned the moment we were alone. I looked at my tray, avoiding his gaze. "That was an accident," I lied. Silence. "The angle of the tray was—" "Five." I looked up. His expression was hard, the fury still evident. “I’m so fucking tired of you putting yourself on death row,” he hissed. "It was an accident," I insisted, the conviction lacking in my voice. I swallowed, my heart thrumming in my chest. "Was it?” he whispered. "Yes it was,” I snapped. “Why are you so upset? Did you want to dance with her so bad?!” My chest heaved up and down as I glared at him. Fuck. I didn’t know why I was reacting this way. I shouldn’t care what he did or who he danced with. I shouldn’t. But I did. Because he was mine. He looked at me, his expression shifting from fury to something else. Somethi
Five's POV The festival had two phases. The first phase was where the King and his Queen blessed unions but since there was no Queen, and no betrothed, this year's festival was going to be different. My jaw clenched. This year, there was going to be a parade for the King to pick a new betrothed. It was the part the Kingdom anticipated the most. And the part my stupid self hated the fucking most. He was going to pick a queen. A woman he would get to claim publicly, and call the mother of his children. While I remain his slave and breeder. I blinked rapidly. It began an hour into the festival. I knew it was starting before the announcement because the quality of the room changed. There was a shift in the music, a particular ripple through the assembled wolves. I could sense the attention shift from the food and drinks to the main event. I moved to the edge of the room. Kept my tray. Kept my face neutral. The eligible women entered from the east entrance in a pr
Five's POV Three whole days had gone by. And not once had I encountered Lucien. He hadn't summoned me, and I hadn't bothered going to him either. Not when the humiliation of what I had said still burned. 'Your face is annoying. You're too — attractive. It's inconvenient.' I pressed my eyes shut briefly. Then opened them and kept scrubbing. The water in the basin was cooling but I didn't mind. The cold was clarifying. I needed clarifying. Tonight was the Festival of Fertility. Tonight the citadel would be full of wolves from every territory, lords and their families, the eligible women Seven had warned me about, the blessing ceremony at the head of a hall I had spent three days helping to prepare. Tonight the facility officials would be present. That was the relevant fact. That was what I needed to be thinking about. Not empty chairs. Not three days of not being summoned and not summoning myself. I stepped out of the basin and dried off carefully. Then I stood in front
Five's POV There was a buzz in the citadel. I watched probably the fifteenth girl walk past with that spring in her step and a low whisper about the fertility festival. I pressed my lips together. Of course. How could I have forgotten one of the most important festivals in the werewolf kingdom? The Festival of Fertility. I picked up the bucket and kept moving. The citadel had been transforming since dawn — not in the dramatic way of a place being rearranged, but in the more unsettling way of a place revealing what it had always been underneath its usual presentation. Flowers I hadn't seen before appeared in the corridors, deep red and gold, their scent heavy enough to make the air feel thicker. The stone floors that were usually bare had been covered in sections with woven material I didn't recognize, the patterns on them old enough that they predated whatever aesthetic the post-war citadel had decided was appropriate. Pre-war patterns. I looked at them longer than I shoul
Author's NoteHi, lovely readers! 💕Some of you noticed that a few chapters were repeated. I'm so sorry for the mix-up, and thank you for your patience. It's all been fixed now.To make sure you don't miss anything, please go back and continue reading from Chapter 170. Thank you so much for sticking with me and this story. Enjoy! 🥰With love,Cherish***Five’s POV I woke up and immediately regretted it.The light through the curtains was doing something aggressive and personal. I pressed my face into the pillow and held very still, hoping that if I didn't move the inside of my skull would stop feeling like it was slightly too large for the outside of my skull.It did not stop.The fully memory from last night hit me. I groaned, my cheeks heating up. I turned over carefully.He was gone.The chair was empty, the room quiet, the morning already well underway from the quality of the light.I didn’t know the feeling that settled in my chest.I couldn’t recognize if it was disappoi
549’s POVI curled up in my bed, my head heavy, my throat sore from crying. The higher ups would punish me for not looking after myself. But I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when everything was crumbling around me, not when my fate had been sealed. I hated it, hated the breeding facility, th
549’s POV"You’ll never return to us." Twelve’s words echoed in my head. The dread tinged with melancholy made it sound more like a sentencing than a prediction. I stood on the far end of the line, my gaze on the floor, my shoulders squared, chest pushed out—just the way we were taught. My body
549’s POV “What did they say?” Twelve asked as she twisted the cap of her water bottle. I shrugged, trying to act casual. “I passed.” She froze, then her eyes snapped to mine. I looked away, unable to bear the pity that swirled in those grey orbs. “Oh five forty nine,” she sighed, droppin
549’s POV The buzz of my alarm clock brought me back to life. It was 6:45am on the third moon day. Which meant— My room door burst open, and a familiar head of brown hair walked in. My reaction was instant, almost instinctive. I wrapped my arms around my body, trying—but failing to cover my br







