MasukNicole Barnes paced back and forth in the north wing, her footsteps sharp and uneven against the floor. Frustration burned in her chest and spilled into her voice."Biologically related? How is it possible? Uncle doesn't have any relatives! Not even a sibling."Madam Valarie combed her hair with slow, deliberate strokes as she relaxed into the chair. She had heard this complaint before and found it tiresome."Why are you making the morning too much depressing? Removing a girl like her is just a matter of time!" She clicked her tongue and tied her hair with a hair clip, her expression calm and faintly contemptuous.Nicole stomped her foot hard enough to echo. The unfairness of it all pressed on her until she could no longer keep quiet."You said once he marries you, I will be the Heiress. Now everyone treats her like she owns this empire. Do you think it's fair to me?"Years of careful expectation sat behind those words. She had grown up believing the position would one day belong to h
Serenity,I was injected with the suppressant the moment the female healer stepped into my room. Because Martin was biologically related to me, my scent had no effect on him. Kae was different. Even though I had tried to mask the truth by suppressing my scent, he still realized it affected him the way a mate’s scent should.Yet I felt no agitation or fragility in our mate-bond. Instead, something deeper stirred inside me. Lily and Nadyra both began acknowledging the bond despite my efforts to hold them back, almost as if Kae had already accepted it before we ever faced him.He remained outside the entire time, through the healer’s careful bandaging of my hand, through the female servant helping me change clothes, and through Martin’s return with breakfast.After the suppressant took hold, my body felt lighter than I expected. It must have been a strong dose, meant to keep Nadyra from losing control. Her scent was already filling the building.Three hours of sleep later, I gradually re
The morning in Blackthorne Castle carried none of the quiet strength it usually held. A heavy stillness hung in the corridors, thick enough that even the household pets paced restlessly or pressed themselves into shadowed corners, ears twitching at every distant footfall. Something unspoken had settled over the stone walls, and everyone who lived within them could feel it.In the private lounge of his wing, the Lycan King sat deep in his recliner, eyes fixed on the pale stretch of sky beyond the tall windows. His expression was complicated, lined with thoughts he had carried through the night. Levante had returned home only hours earlier. He had offered no explanation for his absence, no account of where he had gone or what he had endured. He had simply announced that he agreed to the marriage.The King was not ignorant of the old sins. He knew what his grandfather and his own father had done to the Silver Lycans generations ago. That buried history was the reason the mainland had n
Serenity,The night passed in quiet anticipation that never fully settled. Sleep came only in fragments. Each time I closed my eyes, Levante’s face appeared with stubborn clarity, and I forced myself awake again, scrolling through my phone simply to keep the hours moving.When I woke, something felt wrong. My body was heavy, every joint and muscle aching under a pressure that sat deep in the bone. Heat moved beneath my skin in slow, relentless waves, nothing like the fevered cycles I had known with Lily. Sweat cooled against the rising temperature until the two sensations tangled into one continuous discomfort.I pushed the blanket aside and sat up carefully. “Nadyra,” I whispered as I eased off the bed. “Are you—?”“Yes.” Her voice came low and tight.“How many days does a Lycan’s heat last?” I asked, reaching for the phone. I knew almost nothing about Lycan biology.I headed for the bathroom out of habit, searching as I walked.
Serenity,I knew something was wrong with his attitude from the start of the day. Levante would never have been careless enough to reveal the most personal details of my past, especially my hometown address and the rest.What settled it for me was the moment I touched his wrist. It was not merely cold. It was icy, as if he had been kept in a fridge for a long time before stepping outside. No living person could feel like that.His knowledge of everything connected to Levante made me certain that whatever stood in front of me was either not human or something only magic could explain.Kae stared at me with wide eyes, then turned his head sharply aside to avoid mine. He said that confessing his identity would harm us both.I was in no mood to be gentle. My recent self refused to stay quiet and wait patiently for Levante.“Do you have to do this?” Kae asked, sounding defeated. “Can’t you let it go for a while?”I held out my arm and let the rain fall across my palm. The cool drops traced
Serenity, I stared at the hand that had no scar. Kae held it out with the same quiet patience Levante once had, his eyes on me with that familiar tenderness, yet something was wrong. A faint crease appeared between his brows when I did not take it at once. There was no scar on his wrist. I looked up and forced myself to study his face. My eyes burned at once. Tears gathered from the strain, and I blinked hard against them. "Don't look at me," he said, voice low. A small muscle twitched near the corner of his mouth. "It will keep burning your eyes." My heart sank. I had let myself hope too much. My fingers curled into my palms. "Tell me the truth. Who are you? Are you Levante?" He smiled at the question, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He gave no answer. "Won't you check?" He lifted his wrist again, the movement careful, almost tentative. "Who are you?" I asked softly, a lump rising in my throat. My voice cracked on the last word. "Please. Answer me once." Tears blurred my
Serenity,The impact was soul-crushing, as though someone had grabbed something precious from inside my chest and ripped it out with bare hands. The bond snapped loud enough to deafen us. Pain exploded through every vein, every nerve, every breath. It felt like my soul had been torn apart and throw
Serenity,By the time I took the subway and arrived home, my throat had swollen like a balloon. The grip around my neck had been too tight for my body to have a normal reaction anyway.My knees were still shaking from the impact, traumatizing me beyond fixing. I hurriedly grabbed my purse, searched
Levante,Two hundred years ago, when the Lycans ruled the world of Werewolves, forcing the entire earth to kneel and beg for their mercy, my grandfather, the late Lycan King, captured countless women and she-wolves to build his own harem.On a full moon night, while the Kingdom of Werewolves remain
Serenity, I had been bullied since I could remember the beginning of my life. I used to cry in my Dad's arms, asking why I had to be so heavy, so slow and so ugly. Why nobody ever acknowledged me as their friend, why I was always the one left out, always the one whispered about. But Dad used to







