LOGINTruth hit like a tidal wave.I nearly fell.I didn’t have to die.I’d just blush at tomato juice in the future.A memory surfaced.At age five, a silver-haired boy came with the royal envoy,he in the rose garden, reached for me.“Call me Cae.”I thought he was some noble’s son.Never guessed he was the Blood Prince.The monster who eats hearts. Broke bones.My brother snorted.“He was buttering up his future brother-in-law.Started courting you at five.”My brother never told me royal secrets.One wrong word—and our house burned.Caesar stepped toward Lucian.Looked down. Crimson eyes like pits.“Wolf Lord,” he said. With his voice cold as ice.“I despise you.You almost stole my one true blood bond.”Caesar paused,and colder.“The loyal deserve respect.The heartless? Just pity.But men like you—who ignore treasure until it’s gone, then beg for scraps?You sicken me.”“But…” A cruel smile on Caesar’s face.“Thank you.”For rejecting her.If you hadn’t pushed her away—I might’ve missed
Seraphina’s face turned ghost-white.Her voice cracked like ice.“Lucian! You dare defy Pack Law?The Elders will strip your title!Cast you out!”My brother spat on the snow.“You? Lucian?” he sneered.“Worth my sister?Dream on.”I froze.In my past life, he’d bonded with me out of duty,hated me to the bone.Now? He’d risk exile for me.No Alpha had ever broken a bond by choice.Even if it were possible… none dared.Silence from the carriage.Long. Heavy.Then a voice cut through the curtain—low, smooth, and utterly calm.There was amusement in it, sharp as a blade, and not an ounce of mercy.“Interesting.”A pause. A soft chuckle.“But… have you asked Elise what she wants?”Hope flared in Lucian’s eyes.He grabbed my wrist, voice urgent.“Elise! Tell His Highness—I’ll petition the Elders today!Void my claim with Seraphina!That night was under a lust curse!No blood bond was sealed!”He dropped to one knee.When he looked up, his expression was raw, desperate.“I swear on my name a
My brother snapped his fingers.Two wolf guards dragged forward an old woman. Tattered cloak. Sunken eyes.Her nails are black as rot.A necklace of dried viper bones hung from her throat.The old woman jabbed a bony finger at Seraphina.“It was her!” the old woman screeched. “At the border market! Three silver coins for a black widow spider!The spider had a red spot on its tail.Not deadly. But it makes you convulse, and mute for three days. Outsiders use it to punish enemies.”Lucian’s pupils shrank to needles.He remembered. The spider he crushed under his boot, has a red spot on its tail.Elise grew up in war camps, she caught scorpions in barehanded.Seraphina screamed at mice, she would faint if one crossed her path.Had she staged it all? His blood ran cold.Before Lucian could speak, my brother barked another order.Two bloodied men hit the snow—the castle steward and the stable boy, with ribs caved in. Blood dripping from split lips, but still breathing.“Speak!” My brother
Arrows flew from my brother’s bow, their tips glazed with frost.Two wolf guards collapsed instantly—throats pierced, dead before their bodies hit the snow.My brother Vincent stepped over them, robes black, eyes colder than winter.Magic hissed on his skin like live wire.Behind him rolled a carriage of gilded ebony, the Blood Prince’s crest—an imperial eagle clutching a bloodstone crown.An arrow sliced past Seraphina’s ear and sheared off a lock of her hair.She screamed and threw herself into Lucian’s arms, trembling like prey caught in moonlight.“Vincent!” Lucian snarled. Fangs bared. Scent burning with rage. “How dare you killed my wolves. On my land.”My brother raised one hand, and a rune flared to life across his palm.Ice surged forward and slammed into Lucian’s face. Bone cracked, and blood sprayed crimson against the white snow.“You call me brother?”My brother’s voice was winter itself. “I froze my hands casting wards for you in the North.You and that Omega planned to
“No,” I said, voice steady as ice.“I’ve been pledged to an alliance marriage.Leaving is the only smart thing to do.”Lucian’s eyes narrowed. “An alliance? Your brother never said a word.”“Of course he didn’t,” I said flatly. “It’s not necessary, since you never trust us.”He scoffed. “Fine. Since the spider barely scratched her, I’ll let it go.But bury that pathetic hope of yours. I’ll still call you ‘sister’,if you behave.”His voice dropped, colder than winter stone:“Hurt Seraphina again, and I’ll break you myself.”I met his gaze, clear and steady.“I'm not lying. And I don't love you anymore. If I ever made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry.”For a heartbeat, he looked stunned,“Then prove it. Don't lie to my face again.”As I walked past the stables, I saw them.My horse—the one Lucian gave me, the one we raised together—now carrying Seraphina like a queen.And he held the reins for her like she was fragile. Like I never mattered.He spotted me. Took a step forward.I turned sh
I told my brother everything.The truth ? I wanted to marry the Blood Prince. Not just to escape Lucian,but to save my family.Since our parents died, House Valerius had been rotting from the inside.If I became his bride—even in name, the Empire would protect my brother's rank. Our name wouldn’t vanish into dust.My brother had always shielded me like his last breath—If he knew I planned to trade my life for his rise—for the Valerius name under the Empire,he’d lock me in the ancestral vault before letting me go.But when I braced for a fight, he laughed.“Drank the blood of six wives? Ugly? Twisted? That madman…”Then his eyes softened.“Elise, you did well. But don't think I care about some fancy title.Lucian? That mongrel doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you.My sister could have any lord in the Empire—dukes, generals, even princes.But him? I’d rather see you widowed than bonded to him.”I blinked. “You… know something about the Blood Prince?”I didn’t understand my