로그인KeanuNight fell and the forest changed. Tempest said we can’t travel at night and will have to wait until daylight to leave.The canopy blocked most of the starlight, but what filtered through turned everything silver and shadow. The spring beside us caught the glow and held it, changing the water into a ribbon of liquid moonlight. The temperature dropped, the way it does in old forests where the trees hold the cold close to the ground, but I didn’t feel it. The heat beneath my skin was running hotter than it had all day.Tempest had built a small fire. Not with matches. She’d placed her palm against the kindling and it had caught, a flicker of heat that came from her hand like the most natural thing in the world. I’d watched her do it and said nothing. She’d told me to keep her secret and I would. I wondered what she was though.We sat on opposite sides of the fire, the prepared cure cooling in a sealed container between us. The noctis bloom paste had reduced properly. Dark, thick,
Keanu“Why do you need noctis bloom?”I didn’t have a reason to lie. And honestly, looking at her face, I wasn’t sure I could have managed one if I’d tried. Something about her made the usual deflections feel cheap.“My sister is sick. A virus she picked up in a place saturated with dark magic. It’s parasitic. Feeds on her powers. The healers said the noctis bloom can cure it, but it has to be prepared properly.”“Your sister.” She studied me. “You came into a forest full of feral creatures to find a plant for your sister.”“I’d walk into a volcano for my sister.”“That’s either very brav
KeanuThe forest was old.The trees here were massive, their trunks wider than cars, their canopies so dense that the sunlight filtering through looked like it had been chewed up and spit out in thin, golden threads. The undergrowth was thick with ferns and moss that covered everything in a carpet of green so vivid it almost looked fake. The air smelled like wet soil and flowers and something underneath it, something ancient that had no name but made the hairs on my arms stand up.I’d been walking for hours.Cain’s maps were good. He’d marked the likely growth zones for the noctis bloom in red ink, with notes about terrain, water sources, and the “feral supernatural creatures” that populated the deeper part of the forest. His handwriting was surprisingly neat for a man who could crush a skull with one hand. I appreciated the effort. What I didn’t appreciate was the footnote at the bottom of the final map page: Don’t do anything stupid. — CainHelpful.I scratched the back of my ear. T
LeahKeanu met his eyes. Something passed between them. Not spoken but understood. The agreement that had been building since the moment Keanu called Darien about the virus. One stays. One goes.“I’m going to stay with Leah,” Darien said. “You fly to the forest, find the noctis bloom, and bring it back.”Keanu nodded. No hesitation. He’d been waiting for this. He wouldn’t have left before Darien came home, wouldn’t have taken even a single step out of the kingdom without knowing that the man who would die for his sister was at her side. But now Darien was here. And the path was clear.“I’ll find it,” Keanu said. “Take care of her.”“With my life.”
LeahI heard him before I saw him.The sound of running on stone, fast, taking the stairs two at a time. The guards in the corridor snapping to attention. A door opening down the hall and someone calling “Your Majesty” before being cut off by footsteps that didn’t slow.Then our bedroom door swung open.Darien stood in the frame, windswept from being in a hurry, his jacket still on, his tie missing entirely, his silver eyes sweeping the room until they found me on the bed, where Keanu had confined me with strict orders not to move.He crossed the room in a few strides. His arms were around me before I could say a word, pulling me against his chest, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other wrapped around my waist so tight I could feel his heartbeat against my ribs. He buried his face in my hair and breathed in like he’d been holding his breath for days and this was the first air that counted.I held him back. Let myself sink into the warmth of him, the scent of him, the overwh
DarienCain was in the hallway, phone to his ear, coordinating the logistics. I could hear fragments of his conversation. Flight times. Talking points. Contingency plans. The machinery of leadership continuing to function even as the leader stepped away from the wheel. That was the thing about Cain. He might disagree with a decision, but the moment it was made, he executed it like it was his own. No hesitation. No passive resistance. Just full commitment to making the choice work, even when the choice was messy.I sat on the bed and drafted the letters to the Aldridge and Brennan pack alphas. Apologized for my absence. Explained that my mate was sick and required my immediate return. I wouldn’t lie. They deserved the truth. I assured them that my representatives carried my full authority and that the crown’s commitment to their protection w
LeahThe silence that followed my accusation stretched between us like a taut wire, vibrating with tension. I watched Darien’s face, searching for any signs of denial or deflection.Instead, he smiled.And then he chuckled, the sound low and warm, filling the space between us with something that fe
Leah“Who?” I watched as he blinked at me. Like he couldn’t believe I didn’t know who that was.“Asena is a powerful deity of rebirth. Most werewolves come from the Moon Goddess. You have heard about her, right?” Oh, that snarky ass. I nodded my head but could see the hidden smirk in his eyes. “But
LeahThe hot water had washed away the flour, the sauce, and most of the chaos from the kitchen disaster. I stood in front of the mirror in Darien’s bathroom, combing through my damp hair, trying not to think about how comfortable I’d become in this space. How natural it felt to use his shower, to
LeahI led Darien back into the disaster zone that was the kitchen, my heart pounding with a mixture of guilt and something else I refused to examine too closely.“Here, lean down,” I said, guiding him toward the sink.“Is this where you finish me off?” His tone was light, teasing despite the fact







