ANMELDENMaya’s POVThe crunch of Boran’s skull against the earth beneath Lawrence’s boot was drowned out by the war cry that exploded from the eastern sector of the camp.The old traitor’s confession never finished echoing. With one sharp, crushing stomp, Lawrence shattered his windpipe and left him lifeless in the ash. The Supreme Alpha turned toward me—and in his eyes there was nothing human left. Only the cold, killing emptiness of a predator whose most sacred ground had been violated.“KAEL! SECURE THIS PAVILION—AND KILL ANY NOBLE WHO SO MUCH AS MOVES!” he roared, yanking his sword free from the dirt and vanishing into the mist like a ghost.I did not stay behind to wait.I pressed the twins tight against my chest, wrapping them deep within the folds of my travel-lined arctic wolf cloak, and stepped down from the dais—fast, steady, and unyielding. Valia drew her short sword instantly, falling into place at my right flank alongside six remaining loyal guards of the Luna Real.“Your Majesty
Lawrence’s POVDawn mist drifted in ragged clouds through the slits of the main war pavilion. The air reeked of damp pine, old leather, and the suffocating, held breath of fifty Clan Lords—so thick it was hard to breathe.In the center, the fire pit carved into basalt barely chased away the cold seeping up from the coast. I wore no armor, no gala cloak—only combat trousers, my chest bare, every scar earned on the border laid bare for all to see. The Imperial Sword stood driven into the earth three paces before me, cold and untouched.To my right, upon a raised dais draped in arctic wolf furs, Maya presided. There was no hint of weakness in her bearing. Her emerald velvet gown fell in regal folds over her curves, and the gold‑and‑silver crown rested heavy upon her dark hair. In her lap, the twins sat perfectly still, watching the sea of sullen faces with a quiet gravity no one‑year‑old should possess.Before us, the Council of Alfas stood in a tight semicircle.At the front stood Boran
Maya’s POVThe only sound competing with the woman’s ragged breathing was the soft crackle of burning wood in the brazier. The sharp, iron‑scented stench of fresh blood and soaked leather hung thick in the air—shattering in an instant the fragile peace Lawrence and I had fought so hard to hold.Behind me, the little Alpha boy kept growling from his cradle, his gaze locked unblinkingly upon the stranger. His small hand curled tight around his sister’s gown. Far from crying, she let out a low, thrumming hum in her throat—answering her brother’s defensive instinct with a warning of her own.Lawrence did not lower his dagger. Its sharp tip hovered inches from the woman’s throat.“Speak fast,” he commanded, his voice cold as glacial ice, promising instant death at the slightest false move. “Who sent you? And how did you slip past the hilltop sentries?”The woman coughed, spitting a dark clot onto the wool rug. With immense effort, she lifted her face toward the flickering brazier light. Sh
Lawrence’s POVThe metal falcon dissolved into a flash of golden dust—but the silence it left behind in the Imperial Pavilion cut far deeper.My Betrothed.That accursed phrase kept echoing inside my skull, stoking a blind, burning fire in my chest. My wolf clawed to break free—demanding blood, territory, and absolute possession. There was no room left for reason; the primal instinct of the pack had seized hold of every thought in my head.I strode across the tent in heavy strides and stopped at the entrance. Kael and Valia stood guard just outside, hands resting upon their sword-belts, their faces tight and grim—they had heard every word the projection spoke.“Kael,” I said, my voice low and sharp enough to slice through the air. “Reinforce all coastal patrols. Double sentries along the three hills. And do not let a single fishing boat or merchant vessel within ten miles of this shore. Anyone crossing the perimeter without the Imperial Seal… dies in the water.”“Understood, my Lord,”
Maya’s POVThe earth-splitting roar shook the imperial cliffs to their foundations. Tectonic rift, fueled by black fire and the inverted gravity of the Solar Sacrifice Core, devoured the beach at terrifying speed—opening a bottomless chasm that threatened to tear the very ground from beneath my children and me.Down on the shore, Lawrence did not hesitate. Torso streaked with burns and golden blood, my King launched himself in a gravity-defying leap that landed him atop the cliff beside us. The impact shook the rock beneath our feet.“Maya—take the children!” he roared, one steel-muscled arm cinching tight around my waist, his breath hot and ragged against my skin. “I will get you off this cliff before it crumbles!”“We do not run, Lawrence!” I answered in the Commanding Voice of the Luna Real—a tone of divine authority that cut straight through the earth’s fury. “This is our land! No foreign machine shall ever break the soil of my bloodline!”I planted my bare feet firm upon the ston
Lawrence’s POVThat word—betrothed—echoed inside my skull like a cannon blast, shattering every last shred of rational restraint. My beast took absolute command of every muscle fiber, every tendon, every drop of berserker blood in my veins.No one laid claim to the she‑wolf of my nest. No one spoke of the mother of my pups as if she belonged to another… and lived to tell the tale.The black sand beneath my boots calcified instantly as my silver tide exploded in a blast of pure, destructive power. The ground sank six feet into a perfect circle under the sheer weight of my aura. My black‑steel claws lengthened to a full four inches, hissing as they sliced the air, while my ten‑foot frame coiled into the killing stance of a primal apex predator.The Dusk Sun General let out a short, haughty laugh and drew his second sun‑obsidian blade. The liquid gold of his armor hummed with a deafening thermal vibration.“A wild border mongrel standing guard over the Empire’s greatest treasure,” the de







