LOGINAlina’s POV “Alpha, you need to rest.” “I will rest when he wakes up.” The physician sighed for the third time. Alina didn't care. Frederick lay motionless on the bed, his chest rising and falling beneath the white bandages wrapped around his torso. His injured arm rested beside him, and a fresh dressing covered the wound near his ribs. The physician had removed the silver fragments from his arm and treated the poison that had entered his bloodstream. He had assured Alina that Frederick was out of immediate danger. But he still hadn't awakened. And every minute that passed made her more afraid. “You should sleep, Luna,” the physician advised. “You've been sitting here for hours.” “Then I'll sit here for a few more.” He studied her face before gathering his medical supplies. “Call me immediately if his breathing changes or his fever rises.” Alina nodded. When the door closed, silence settled over the room. She looked at Frederick. This was the same man who had once told
Frederick’s POV “You should have stayed away, Alpha.” Peter's words followed Frederick out of the courtyard. Frederick didn't answer. He had seen enough tonight to know that confronting the servant without backup would be reckless. Clara's secret meeting had confirmed his suspicions, but he still lacked the evidence needed to connect her directly to Alina's poisoning. He needed Damon. And he needed to get back to the mansion before Peter realized how much he had witnessed. Frederick turned toward the eastern gate. His wolf remained restless. Danger. “I know,” Frederick muttered. He had barely crossed the outer courtyard when a sharp whistle cut through the night. He stopped. Something moved in the trees. Then a blade sliced through the air toward his neck. Frederick ducked. The knife struck the stone wall behind him. Three men emerged from the darkness. They wore black clothing and covered their faces. Silver weapons glinted beneath the moonlight. Frederick's expres
Frederick's POV Blackwood Mansion had finally grown quiet. Most of the servants had retired to their quarters, and the guards patrolled the corridors in pairs. Since the poisoning, Frederick had doubled security without announcing the reason. He wanted the culprit to believe the investigation was still focused on Miriam. The maid had been cleared, but Frederick had kept that information from everyone except Damon and the physician. If the person who framed her was watching the investigation, they would eventually make another mistake. Frederick intended to be ready. He sat behind his desk, reviewing the household security records, when a soft knock interrupted him. “Come in.” A young servant entered carrying a stack of folded linens. “Your room service, Alpha.” Frederick barely glanced up. “Leave them there.” The servant placed the linens on a chair, bowed, and turned toward the door. Something made Frederick look up. He recognized the man. Not by name, but by the dark
Alina’s POV“Please, Luna! You have to believe me!”The desperate cry echoed through the interrogation room.Alina stood beside Frederick, staring at the young woman kneeling before the guards.Miriam had served as her personal maid since the day she arrived at Blackwood Mansion. She was quiet, hardworking, and rarely involved in the household's endless gossip.Now her hands were shackled.Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her usually neat uniform was stained with dust.“I didn't poison your tea,” Miriam pleaded. “I swear on the Moon Goddess. I would never hurt you!”Alina felt something twist painfully inside her chest.She had spent the last hour trying to convince herself that the evidence had to be a mistake.Seeing Miriam like this only strengthened that belief.“Let her stand,” Alina ordered.The guard looked toward Frederick.The Alpha's expression remained unreadable.“Do as the Luna says.”The guard helped Miriam to her feet.Alina stepped closer.“Miriam, I need you to
Frederick’s POV“Seal every entrance.”Frederick's command echoed through Blackwood Mansion.“Lock the gates, block the servant passages, and station guards at every exit. Nobody leaves this property until I say otherwise.”The guards bowed and hurried away.Within minutes, the mansion descended into chaos.Servants abandoned their duties as guards searched corridors and questioned household staff. Doors slammed. Footsteps thundered across the marble floors.Whispers spread faster than the guards could contain them.Someone had poisoned the Luna.And the Alpha was furious.Frederick stood in the main hall, watching the servants gather beneath the staircase.Some looked terrified.Others exchanged nervous glances.One young maid began crying when a guard approached her.“I didn't do anything!” she protested. “I swear on the Moon Goddess!”“Then you have nothing to fear,” the guard replied.Frederick's jaw tightened.He hated this.He hated that someone had turned his home into a place
Alina’s POVAlina had barely slept.Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the balcony.Frederick’s hand against her cheek.His voice telling her he wouldn’t force her into anything.And the way she had almost kissed him.Twice.It was becoming a problem.A dangerous one.Because the more Frederick showed her the man he could be, the harder it became to remember the man who had hurt her.Alina stood before the mirror in her bedroom, fastening the last button of her cream blouse.“No,” she muttered at her reflection. “One dance doesn't change anything.”Neither did an almost-kiss.Neither did a few kind words.She had to remember that.A knock sounded at the door.“Come in.”A young maid entered carrying a silver tray.“Good morning, Luna. The Alpha asked that your tea be brought up before breakfast.”Alina turned.“Frederick?”“Yes, Luna.”Something unfamiliar warmed her chest.She immediately pushed the feeling away.“He didn't have to do that.”The maid lowered her eyes. “Wo
The Luna trial wasn’t just a tradition—it was a sacred rite, proof that the Moon Goddess herself had chosen me as Luna. And it was one thing no one, not even Frederick’s grandmother, could say no to.Grandmother Eleanor entered the hall like a stone dropped into still water—silent but impossible to
The dining hall was still silent when the doors slowly closed behind Clara. No one moved. The air felt thick, like a storm waiting to break.Frederick remained standing beside his chair, shoulders tense, jaw tight. For a moment, it looked like he might follow her. But he didn’t. Instead, he sat dow
The morning came too soon. The tall windows of the Alpha mansion let in a lot of light, which cast long, harsh shadows on the polished floors. I hardly slept. Frederick's voice echoed down the empty hallway every time I closed my eyes. "I'll fix this... I promise." Make this better. That means me
Alina POVThere was a loud click when the heavy wooden door to the bridal suite closed, the faint scent of lilies lingering in the still air. That sound was somehow louder than the entire wedding—the final punctuation to a ceremony neither of us wanted. For a moment, silence stretched between us. F







