LOGINChapter Seventy EightTori POVThe cottage was quiet, the kind of quiet that pressed against the ears and made every small sound seem loud. The fire crackled in the hearth, sending shadows dancing across the wooden walls. Outside, the wind whispered through the trees, carrying the scent of snow and distant woodsmoke.Tori sat at the small table near the window, a cup of cold tea forgotten before her. She had been sitting there for hours, staring at nothing, her mind churning through the events of the past days.The festival. The ritual. Hecate tearing the pendant from the king's neck. The beast rising. Hecate commanding it to its knees. The declaration that she would take the throne.It felt like a dream. A nightmare. A story that had happened to someone else.But it was real. And Tori was caught in the middle of it.Nessa sat across from her, mending a torn shirt with quick, practiced stitches. Her grey eyes kept drifting to her sister's face, watching, waiting."You have been quiet
Chapter Twenty TwoThird POVBeta Emrich walked beside Hecate through the torchlit corridors, his boots echoing against the stone floor. The castle was settling into the quiet rhythm of evening, servants hurrying to finish their tasks before nightfall, guards shifting at their posts. The healer moved with an easy grace, her black velvet cloak whispering against the flags."I confess I expected the king to be more frightening," Hecate said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "The stories they tell about him, the monster who tears men apart with his bare hands. One expects horns and smoke."Emrich laughed, a low respectful sound. "His reputation precedes him, but King Maddox is not the beast the bards sing about. Not entirely, at least." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "He has learned to control the curse better over the years. It still haunts him, but he no longer loses himself as he once did."Hecate nodded thoughtfully, her dark eyes scanning the walls, the tapestries, the fa
# Chapter Twenty OneKora moved with the silence of a ghost, her bare feet making no sound on the cold stone floor. She pressed herself against the wall beside my bedroom door and peered through the crack, her amber eyes scanning the corridor beyond."The guards are at the end of the hall," she whispered. "They are talking to each other. They are not looking this way."I stood behind her, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure the entire mansion could hear it. I wore dark clothes, black jeans and a black sweater, clothes that would blend into the shadows. My hair was tucked under a cap, and I had left everything behind. No jewelry. No keepsakes. Nothing that could identify me."Now," Kora said.She slipped out the door, and I followed.The corridor was dimly lit, the sconces casting flickering shadows on the walls. The air smelled of old wood and candle wax, the familiar scent of the rogue mansion. I had walked these halls a hundred times, but never like this. Never as a fugitive.Kor
Chapter ThirteenViolet POVHis face was so close I could see the small scar above his eyebrow, the faint lines around his eyes that came from years of frowning. Christian was sniffing me. Actually sniffing me, like an animal trying to catch a scent. His breath was warm against my skin, and I felt goosebumps rise on my arms.It was strange. Dangerous. But I understood immediately what he was doing. He was checking for the pup. The pregnancy he suspected but could not confirm. My heart pounded, but I forced myself to stay still. I couldn't flinch. Could not give him any reason to be suspicious.My scent masking held. I had been practicing it since my wolf awakened, and it was getting easier. Christian's expression shifted as he pulled back slightly. Disappointment flickered across his face before he masked it. He had found nothing. No trace of a pup. No hint of pregnancy.I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and stepped back, putting distance between us. I crossed my arms and
Chapter Ninety SixElsie POVThe room was dark, the candles burned low, and the weight of the world pressed down on Elsie's shoulders like a physical thing. She sat on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes fixed on the floor. Zuri stood by the window, her back to the room, her silhouette outlined against the moonlight.They had been silent for a long time."A duel," Zuri said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "Even if I could fight, I would have no chance."Elsie looked up. Zuri had not turned around. Her shoulders were tense, her hands gripping the windowsill."Zuri...""I am an omega, Elsie. I have never trained with a sword. I have never shifted into a fighting form. The only battles I have ever fought were for scraps of food and a warm place to sleep." Zuri's voice cracked. "Malcom is an Alpha's son. He has been trained since childhood. He could kill me with one blow."Elsie rose from the bed and crossed the room, stopping behind Zuri. She wanted to
Chapter One Hundred TwoHecate POVThe castle was a whirlwind of activity, servants rushing through the corridors with armloads of silk and mountains of flowers. The great hall had been transformed overnight, the stone floors polished to a mirror shine, the banners replaced with fresh ones bearing the Emberclaw sigil intertwined with the midnight star of my adopted pack. Candles by the hundreds waited in their holders, ready to be lit at dawn.Tomorrow, I would marry Maddox.The thought should have filled me with joy. Part of me, the part that still remembered being Samantha, the girl who had believed in fairy tales and happy endings, was thrilled. But another part, the part that had been forged in betrayal and shaped by revenge, was wary. Tomorrow was not just a wedding. It was a performance. A declaration. A gambit in a game that was far from over.I stood in my chambers, staring at the gown that hung on the dress form in the corner. It was beautiful, I had to admit. Ysabella had ov
Maddox POVMaddox entered Odette's chambers like a storm.The door slammed against the wall, and the maid who had been arranging the queen's pillows flinched, nearly dropping the armful of linens in her arms. She curtsied quickly and fled, her footsteps echoing down the corridor until there was not
Hecate POVThe corridors of the castle were a blur as I ran, my robes dragging against the stone, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps that had nothing to do with exertion and everything to do with where I was going.I was going to his chambers.After everything. After what happened on the workta
Hecate POVThe hem of my black velvet robes whispered against the polished stone floor as I walked through the castle corridors that night. The sound was the only company I wanted. The only sound that did not remind me of what had happened in my studio earlier.I could not sleep.Of course I could
Maddox POVThree Years LaterThe snow fell heavily at dawn, and Maddox approached Emberclow Castle in his wolf form, leaving the forest behind and walking silently through the snow.He had spent the entire night hunting; that was what truly gave his days grace. The king nimbly climbed the castle's







