ANMELDENI frowned, displeased by his cautious phrasing. "That's not what I mean.""I know.""No, you don't," I insisted, my voice dropping even further. "That wasn't an innocent smile. She knew I was watching her and wanted me to see it."Kael leaned against the wall, studying me carefully as if trying to piece together a puzzle. "Did she say anything?""No.""Did she threaten you?""No.""Did she do anything else?"I hesitated, forced to admit the truth. "Not today."Kael's eyes narrowed slightly as he pushed for specifics. "Then what makes you think she's trying to take your place?"I looked at him, deeply frustrated that I even had to explain something that felt so obvious to me. I opened my mouth to defend myself, then stopped as the silence stretched awkwardly between us. He wasn't really believing me. His questions weren't those of someone who shared my instincts, but rather the inquiries of someone searching for a solid, logical reason to take my suspicion seriously.Looking away, I sh
Elara's POVI couldn't stop thinking about Stella's smile. That smirk. The one she had given me when nobody else was paying attention. There was nothing innocent about it. I knew what I had seen, and I refused to convince myself otherwise.My instincts had been right from the beginning.Stella wasn't innocent.She was trying to take my place.Everything that had happened today suddenly looked different. Lucien's attention toward her had grown stronger. The others were beginning to look at her differently. Even the pack had started calling her Luna without hesitation. She had arrived as Lucien's second mate, and now, in a single day, she had become someone the entire pack admired. Someone who could easily replace me.And that was exactly what she wanted.She wasn't simply trying to become part of our family. She was trying to take my mates from me.Then another thought hit me.Lucien's bond with her. I'd questioned it before. Something about it had never felt right to me, and now I cou
Stella climbed down from Lucien’s horse, her boots sinking into the mud. She took one look around and went still.Wounded soldiers were everywhere. Some were being carried into the tents while others lay on stretchers, barely conscious. The smell of blood filled the air.“Stella, stay behind me,” Lucien said, catching her arm. “Don't look.”She pulled her arm free.“No. I came here to help.”Before anyone could stop her, she dropped beside Commander Vance.“What are you doing?” one of the medics snapped. “Get back! He's critical—”“Let her,” Kael said from behind her.Stella pushed her sleeves up and placed both hands over the commander's wound.For a moment, nothing happened.Then the Aetheris mark beneath her skin began to glow.A warm light spread from her palms and into the wound. The dark veins around the silver-poisoned flesh slowly faded. The silver began to work its way out, and the torn flesh started closing beneath her hands.Vance's breathing, which had been ragged and weak
The room went still.Whatever confusion had been hanging over them a moment ago disappeared. The border came first."Kael. Lucien. With me."Ryker was already heading for the doors, his Alpha aura spreading through the room."Get the vanguard ready. Bring every field supply we have. We're leaving now.""Take me with you," Stella said suddenly.She pushed herself up from the floor, her legs visibly shaking, her hands still stained with Kael's blood, but her tear-streaked face held an unexpected, fierce determination.Lucien immediately turned back, shaking his head as he caught her by the shoulders. "No, Stella. Absolutely not. Look at you—you just woke up, your body just suffered a massive shock, you're exhausted—""I can heal them!" Stella insisted, her voice rising in a desperate, breathless plea as she gripped Lucien's tunic. "You heard what the guard said! Your field medics are failing, but I can stop the bleeding! I just did it for Kael—you all saw it!""Stella, you don't even un
Elara's POVLucien leaned over the wooden frame of the couch to inspect her closely, his sharp jaw set in a hard, unreadable line. "Stella, look at me," He said, his voice laced with a sharp edge of protection. "Do you feel any pain in your chest? Any pressure behind your eyes?"Stella's breathing suddenly became uneven. Her eyes widened as she clutched her chest, and I barely had time to wonder what was happening before a deafening pulse of translucent silver energy erupted from her body.Fortunately, I was far enough away that I wasn't caught in the worst of it, though I was still in the room. The shockwave slammed into the walls, sending shards of glass flying as the tall windows shattered outward.Lucien was knocked off his feet, his grip torn from Stella's waist as the force sent him crashing onto the hardwood floor.Kael, caught completely off guard at the foot of the couch, raised his arm to shield his face just as a jagged shard of glass flew toward him. A deep, ugly tear ripp
Nobody spoke.We simply stared at it.Elspeth was the first to break the silence. “It’s real,” she whispered.Ryker looked at her. “What is?”She didn't look back at him. Her eyes remained completely locked on the glowing mark on Stella's arm. “The seal.”Lucien's voice hardened, raw with a mix of fear and defensive anger. “You said you've only read about it in the restricted vaults. What exactly have you found, Elspeth?”Elspeth finally took her eyes off the arm and looked up, meeting the collective gaze of the room. “I need you to understand that I am telling you only what I remember from the restricted archives. I have never encountered this myself before, nor did I ever expect to.”Ryker nodded once, his authority absolute. “Then tell us.”Elspeth took a slow, steadying breath. “There was a record of an ancient bloodline whose members carried a seal that could remain dormant for generations. The mark was not always visible at birth. According to the high healer who documented it c
LARAI opened my eyes to a white ceiling.The room was spacious and spotless, and the sharp scent of medicine lingering in the air told me immediately that I was in a clinic. I pushed myself upright, but the nauseating smell twisted my stomach violently.A soft hand rested against my back before I
My heart rate rose sharply, despite being in a near-unconscious state. I've always been afraid of the dark. A natural phenomenon that werewolves loved and eagerly anticipated. The endless shadows between the trees, the suffocating silence, the feeling that something unseen was always watching... it
Selene didn’t speak at first.She simply stood there, her expensive heels planted firmly in my line of vision, the faint scent of her rose perfume cutting through the damp, soapy air of the laundry room. I kept my head down, my raw fingers still moving mechanically over the last sheet, scrubbing ev
"I, Alpha Matteo of the Red Moon Pack," his voice rang loud and cold across the packed ceremonial grounds, "reject you, Lara Alvarez, as my mate and Luna."The words slammed into me like a silver blade to the chest. For a second, the world went silent. My heart stuttered, then dropped violently int







