LIAM’S POVThe door to my office clicked shut behind me.I didn't bother turning on the lights. The moonlight coming in from the tall window was enough.It had been a long, excruciating day — filled with fake smiles, the stupid wedding, and the suffocating presence of a girl I didn’t ask for.I poured myself a glass of scotch, slumped into the leather chair behind my desk, and leaned back with a sigh. I hadn’t even taken a full sip before the scent of lavender hit my nose.Jannie.Of course.She didn't knock. She never did.“Well,” her voice came. She sounded sultry and confident, as usual as she shut the door behind her, “I was wondering how long I’d have to wait before you sent for me.”I didn’t respond.Instead, I stood up, closed the distance between us, grabbed her waist, and crashed my lips against hers.It was automatic. Thoughtless. It was a fucking old familiar routine that never failed to drown out the noise in my head.Jannie responded instantly. Her fingers tangled in my h
NATALIE’S POVI couldn’t breathe.Liam’s hand was still wrapped tightly around my father’s throat, and all I could do was stand there, frozen, watching as the Alpha of the Black Blood Pack held my Alpha — the man who was supposed to be my father — like he was nothing more than a rag doll.No one moved. Not the guards. Not Violet. Not even Logan, who stood behind them all, watching with a smirk.I stood still, but inside, my heart raced so violently I thought it might break out of my chest.“Liam,” I whispered, barely able to form his name.His piercing black eyes snapped to me. I could see the fury in his eyes. The look was so disturbing enough to make me shiver a bit. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his anger.“Do you know what happens when someone tries to betray me?” Liam growled, tightening his grip on Alpha Angus.Angus gasped, his face turning red. “I’m sorry!”Liam turned his head slightly, still looking at me.“I’ll be taking a piece of this land as compensation,
NATALIE’S POVI sat alone in the cold dressing room.My hands trembled in my lap as I stared at the reflection in the mirror.The white wedding dress they forced on me felt too heavy on my body. It was tight around my chest, suffocating almost, and my throat burned from the scream I wasn’t allowed to let out.Today was the wedding day.The day I married a man I didn’t know.I had only heard terrible rumors about how vicious and ruthless he was. The thought of it made my heart beat even faster.In the far corner, I could hear them. Logan and Violet. They were laughing, flirting even. The sound of her giggle, the way his voice lowered when he called her “his,” stabbed deeper than any blade could.They weren’t even trying to hide it anymore. Not even on my wedding day.I turned my head just enough to catch a glimpse of them behind me in the mirror.Logan brushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and kissed her temple. Violet smirked like this was all one big joke. Like I was the
NATALIE’S POVI can’t remember a time I didn’t feel like a shadow in my own home.Maybe it was the day I realized my parents smiled more when Violet walked into a room than when I did.Or maybe it was when they started letting her make decisions about my life—like which clothes I could wear, what events I could attend, even what friends I could have.Even though I’m the Alpha’s daughter too, I never felt like I belonged.Everyone loved Violet.And me? I was the mistake they never wanted.The only light in my life—the only reason I could even smile at all—was Logan.Logan is my boyfriend.He’s the sweetest. He made me feel like I mattered. He’d hold my hand and whisper promises under the moonlight, promises that one day, we’d run away together and be free. He said he didn’t care that I didn’t have my wolf yet, that I wasn’t as graceful or powerful as Violet.He loved me.Or… at least, I thought he did.That’s what I told myself over and over again as I walked down the hallway to the ea
AUTHOR’S POV“Grandmother, please,” the young pup begged, tugging at the hem of her grandmother’s skirt. “Tell me the story again. The one about Luna Eliza—the Luna who changed everything.”The old woman smiled as she remembered. She sat down by the fire, lifting the small girl into her lap.Outside the cottage, stars blinked in the night sky like they were listening, too.“Ah,” the grandmother sighed. “The Luna who changed everything, hmm? Well then… let me take you back to a time when the world still doubted what a woman could do.”And just like that, Eliza was there again.Not as legend. Not as the Luna in someone else’s story. But as herself. A woman who once stood trembling in the shadows of men… and chose to walk forward anyway.*The first time Eliza saw her face in a hand-drawn portrait, she nearly dropped the scroll.It had arrived by a caravan bundled in with letters. One of the guards unrolled the scroll and grinned.“Looks like the entire east knows your name now, my lady.
THIRD PERSON’S POVRiding through the great stone gates on a white horse was none other than Princess Isabella of the Western Plains.But unlike the last time she’d come, today she rode with no army. Just a small, peaceful escort of five riders.She brought gifts for Alexander and Eliza.And standing tall at the castle gates, waiting patiently, was Eliza.She wore no crown, only a simple forest-green gown that hugged her figure and flowed with the wind. Her hair was braided down her back. She smiled as Isabella entered.When the princess dismounted, Eliza stepped forward.“Welcome back,” she said softly.Isabella smiled “This time, I come with peace.”Eliza chuckled. “Great. How is Edmund?.“He’s okay. He’s attending to business in the pack.”The two women hugged each other.“You have changed,” Isabella whispered. “You’ve inspired people.”Eliza pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. “We’ve both changed.”*The Royal War Room was filled with activity later that day.Maps lin