LOGINFive's POVLucien wanted me in his study at noon.It wasn’t a summon this time, it was a request.The difference was small and enormous, and I had spent most of the walk there trying not to think about it.Something had shifted between us. The door was already open when I got there. He was at the table beside the window rather than his desk, which was the first sign that something had changed. A second chair had been placed across from his. A tray of tea sat between them, which I hadn't known he owned.There were two cups.I stared at them for a moment longer than necessary.Perhaps he drank tea every afternoon. Perhaps this was an ordinary arrangement for him, and I was making something out of nothing because I had grown accustomed to expecting the worst from every kindness.Still, the second cup had been placed directly in front of the chair meant for me.He gad prepared for my presence. "Sit," he spoke."That sounded almost polite,” I teased, hiding how it made me feel. "I'm w
Seven's POVI knew it was him before I turned around.Cedar and ink.I had stopped pretending it didn't mean anything somewhere around the time I noticed I was listening for his footsteps.I hated that I knew the difference between his approach and everyone else’s. Hated that I could pick him out of a crowded corridor without looking, that some foolish part of me still paid attention whenever he was near.I hated it most because he had never asked me to remember him.I had simply never learned how to stop."Seven."My name in his voice. It always did something to me, always made a part of my body stir in a way that infuriated me beyond words. I kept sweeping, refusing to look up at him. "Beta," I greeted, my voice cold."I need a favor."Of course. "I'm sure you do."A pause."You haven't looked at me," he observed."I'm sweeping," I pointed out. "It requires looking at the floor."I heard the breath he let out. Nearly a laugh. Nearly.I set the broom against the wall and turned.H
Lucien's POVThe servant had been wearing the colors of the northern pack.That was all anyone could tell me by midmorning.After another hour of holding Five and wondering what exactly she had done to me, I had finally gotten out of bed to investigate what had happened last night. Theron stood across my desk with the report in his hand, his posture completely still. Decades of having him beside me told me exactly what that stillness meant. The situation was worse than we had anticipated. "The northern pack sent no servants to the festival," he informed. "Their Alpha confirmed it personally. Their delegation came with warriors only.""So the colors were borrowed," I concluded, my voice even."Stitched on," Theron corrected. "We found the uniform in a laundry chute on the lower level. The thread was fresh."I turned the vial over in my fingers.Cato had recovered it from the glass I had set down. There was a sliver of residue left, a few drops at the bottom. The compound was not f
Five's POVI woke up sore in places I hadn't known could be sore.It arrived in pieces, the way waking up did lately. First the ache in my thighs, then the low tenderness in my hips, then the faint sting along my neck where something had pressed and not quite broken skin.Then the weight.A heavy, warm arm was wrapped around my waist, a hand splayed flat against my stomach, holding me against a chest that rose and fell in the slow rhythm of deep sleep.I went very still.He was still here.I lay there with my eyes closed and let that settle. Multiple times I had woken up to an empty bed and my body had apparently learned to expect the absence, because the presence of him caught me completely off guard.He hadn't left.He hadn't slipped out before dawn to be the King somewhere else. He was asleep behind me with his face tucked near my shoulder and his hand on me like he had decided at some point in the night that I was something to hold onto.A ridiculous smile spread across my face.
Lucien's POVShe put her hand flat against my chest.And that was all it took.Ash surged. The bond roared. The last thread of restraint I had been clinging to snapped clean through.I had her against the wall before either of us fully registered the motion. One hand braced beside her head, the other locked around her waist, hauling her up so her back hit the cool stone and her legs had nowhere to go except around me. Her gasp was soft, startled, then deeper when I pressed in, letting her feel exactly how far past reason I already was."Lucien—""I know." My voice was wrecked, completely wrecked for her. "I know."Her fingers curled into the fabric of my jacket. "The room. We should—""I can't." The words tore out of me on a groan, low and raw. "Five. I can't wait. Not another second."Ash was right there, just under the surface, pushing hard enough that my vision edged red. The compound had stripped every careful layer I used to keep him leashed. What remained was pure, focused
Lucien’s POVShe was moving toward me.With that confidence.That smile.‘Find her,’ Ash snarled again, louder.I set down my glass."Excuse me," I said to the lord.And moved.Not toward Lord Harlan's daughter. I moved away from her.Her scent was too strong, too repulsive. I only craved one.Ash was pulling — not the rut's blind urgency but something more deliberate, something that knew exactly what it wanted and was done being patient about it.The bond.It wasn’t amplified by the compound. It was clarified by it. Every managed layer stripped away, every careful distance I had maintained.Gone.What was left was simple.I needed to find her.The festival was still ongoing, leaving midway still had its repercussion. But staying here longer in this state had more repercussions. Especially when the one person I was craving was a human slave the goddess had mated to me, and had warned about in the prophecy. I stepped out of the hall. I found Theron at the hall's east entrance. H
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
549’s POV“What’re you doing?” I whispered. She didn’t respond, just kept the gun pointed at me with steady hand.Her eyes were fixed on me, cold and calculating. “Answer me!” I snapped, my throat feeling raw, my head starting to pound. “You can’t leave this place.” She finally responded, her vo
549’s POV The forest swallowed me whole. Branches tore into my skin, as I moved, roots caught my feet—making me stumble. But I didn’t slow down, I couldn’t. The voices behind me were multiplying, flashlight beams cutting through the trees. I ran until my legs stopped working properly. Unti







