Se connecterKaelira’s POV“Kaelira’s power is the real curse on this pack,” Seraphine said coldly. “And I will prove it.”The council chamber erupted immediately.“That’s enough!”“You’re out of control!”“What exactly are you accusing her of?”Voices collided across the room while several elders rose from their seats at once.But I didn’t move. Didn’t react.Seraphine watched me carefully from the center of the chamber like she wanted anger.Anything emotional enough to fracture the control I’d spent months rebuilding.She wouldn’t get it.The Lycan stood beside me silently.Steady.His presence grounded the room more than most people realized.Darius remained near the western council table holding the old records we’d uncovered beneath the archives. His expression had gone darker since Seraphine entered.Good.Let him finally see her clearly.Seraphine turned slowly toward the elders.“You’re all pretending her power is a blessing because it saved you during battle,” she continued. “But unstabl
Seraphine’s POV“They found something.”The moment Varek said the words, I already knew. Not guessed.Knew.Because the air around Ironfang had changed long before the messenger arrived. People looked at me differently now. Less uncertain. More careful.The way wolves looked at something dangerous before deciding whether to attack or run.I stood near the cracked mirror inside the abandoned chamber we’d taken over beyond the southern ridge while two women tightened the clasps of my dark council robes.One of them kept trembling.Annoying.I grabbed her wrist suddenly.Her breath caught.“If your hands shake again,” I said quietly, “I’ll remove them.”She swallowed hard. “Yes… my lady.”Varek leaned against the doorway watching the scene without reaction.“You’re frightening your own people now.”“They were never mine.”The girl stepped back immediately after finishing the final clasp.I hated being touched lately.Everything irritates me now.Voices.Breathing.Failure.Especially fai
Darius POVThe council chamber was louder than usual. Not openly chaotic.Worse and full of controlled tension. The kind that sat beneath every conversation and turned even silence into pressure.I stood near the western side of the chamber while the elders argued quietly among themselves about border reinforcements, outside alliances, and the second attack wave still gathering beyond Ironfang’s territory lines.But nobody truly controlled the room anymore.Not even me.And gods.I noticed it immediately when Kaelira walked in. The chamber shifted.Subtle.Instant.Conversations lowered instead of rising. Eyes turned toward her automatically. Not because she demanded attention. Because people expected something from her now.Trust.Direction.Stability.The realization settled heavily in my chest while she crossed the chamber beside the Lycan Commander.Together.Always together lately.Not touching.Not openly intimate.But the distance between them had disappeared completely.Even
Kaelira’s POV“I no longer can.”The words stayed between us long after he said them.The eastern corridor had mostly emptied now. Warriors moved farther down the ridge securing the remaining barricades while healers carried the wounded toward the inner halls.But here..in the narrow stretch beside the stone wall everything felt strangely still.I looked at him carefully.No mockery.No manipulation.Just the truth.Raw enough that it almost unsettled me more than battle did.“You’re telling me this now?” I asked quietly.“Yes.”“Why?”His jaw tightened slightly.“Because you deserved to know.”Simple answer.Honest answer.Gods.That was becoming dangerous with him.The bond stirred softly beneath my skin again.Not sharp anymore.Not unstable.I hadn’t realized how much I’d been fighting it until now.The resistance.The fear of what it meant.The constant instinct to hold distance even while standing beside him.But somewhere between the battlefield and the moment he felt my pain l
Lycan’s POV“Magnus,” she whispered. “He wasn’t alone.”The corridor behind us still echoed with the aftermath of battle.Wounded warriors moved through the lower halls while guards dragged bodies away from the shattered barricades. Somewhere above us, orders continued moving across Ironfang’s defenses.But I barely heard any of it.Because Kaelira looked shaken for the first time since the attack began.Not weak.Never weak.But disturbed enough that the sight settled heavily inside me.I tightened my grip slightly around her arm. “What did you see?”Her breathing remained uneven for another second before she finally looked at me properly.“The massacre.”My jaw hardened immediately. She swallowed once.“Magnus was there.”The words should not have surprised me anymore. Not after everything we’d uncovered and yet rage still moved through my chest fast enough to burn.“Who else?” I asked quietly.Her expression shifted.“Seraphine’s mother.”Gods.For a second the sounds around us di
Kaelira’s POVThe second wave came before sunrise. No warning horns. No hesitation.One moment Ironfang’s eastern ridge stood under tense silence..the next the forest exploded with movement.“Attackers incoming!”The shout tore across the barricades while warriors rushed toward the southern crossings.I was already moving before the second horn sounded.Boots slammed against stone as I descended the eastern ridge beside Laura and three patrol guards racing toward the lower defense line.“How many?” Laura asked sharply.A scout nearly collided into us while breathing hard. “More than before.”Not surprising.Seraphine had stopped testing us.Now she wanted damage. The lower barricade came into view seconds later.And gods the outsiders had changed their strategy.No scattered scouts.No probing formations.This was an organized force.Mercenaries mixed with rogue wolves poured through the ravine routes while archers covered them from the tree line beyond the cliffs.The Lycan appeared
Kaelira POVI woke up with the taste of smoke in my throat. My body jerked upright before I could stop it, breath coming in sharp, uneven pulls. The room was dark. Quiet. But my heart refused to slow, pounding like I was still trapped inside it…The fire. The screams and him.That boy. I dragged a
Darius POVI got there just in time to hear him say“Your bloodline was believed extinct… until you.”My steps slowed.Not because I wanted to.Because something in my chest… reacted.Sharp and wrong.Kaelira stood in front of him, unmoving.Facing a Lycan like she’d done it a hundred times before.
Kaelira’s POVThe morning air bit sharp against my cheeks as I moved through the corridors of the Ironfang estate. My steps were measured, careful, though the hollow ache in my chest weighed heavier than any exhaustion my body could feel. Seven years of being tethered, bound, contained and now, f
Lycan POVI should have killed her. The thought followed me long after I left the gates. Through the forest, silence and the sharp pull in my chest that refused to fade.I stopped abruptly, boots grinding against dirt as the wind cut through the trees. My jaw tightened, fingers curling into fists a







