ANMELDENKaelira’s POVSomething had changed.It wasn’t obvious at first.No loud confrontations. No direct accusations.Just looks.Too many of them.Lingering longer than they should.Whispers that stopped the moment I got close.I noticed it the second I stepped into the courtyard.A group of warriors near the training ring went quiet. Not completely but enough.One of them looked at me, then quickly looked away.Another didn’t.He just stared.Measuring.Like he was waiting for something.I slowed slightly, my eyes narrowing just a fraction.“Say it,” I muttered under my breath.None of them did.Of course they didn’t.Cowards.I kept walking.But I felt it.Every step.Every glance.Every shift in the air around me.Different.Not fear exactly.But close enough.And that annoyed me more than anything.By the time I reached the inner halls, the feeling hadn’t gone away.If anything..It had followed me.A servant nearly dropped the tray she was carrying when I passed.Another quickly steppe
Seraphine’s POV“They’re talking about her again.” The words slipped out sharper than I intended.Darius didn’t look up.“Let them talk.”I stared at him across the room, fingers tightening slightly around the glass in my hand. “You don’t sound concerned.”“That’s because I’m not.”The calmness in his tone irritated me more than the words themselves.“You should be,” I said, stepping closer. “She’s unstable.”That got his attention, barely. His eyes lifted to meet mine, unreadable.“You’ve said that before.”“And I was right.”He tilted his head slightly, studying me in that quiet, infuriating way he had.“Or,” he said, “you’re repeating it until it sounds true.”I let out a soft, disbelieving laugh. “You think I’m lying?”“I think you’re reacting.”“To what?” I challenged.“To her.”Silence.Brief.Tight.I set the glass down harder than necessary. “Everyone is reacting to her, Darius. Or have you suddenly stopped noticing what’s happening in your own territory?”“I notice,” he said
Lycan’s POVI felt it before I fully understood it. The force of it.Not imagined or misread.It was real.She had pushed me back. I stood where I had steadied myself, my gaze fixed on her, my breathing controlled but my mind wasn’t.That shouldn’t have happened.Not like that.Not from her.And yet…It did.“You adjusted.”The words I had said earlier echoed in my head, but now they carried more weight than I intended. Because that wasn’t just adjustment.That was the response.Precise.Targeted.My jaw tightened slightly. She stood across from me, shoulders squared, her stance no longer uncertain. The energy around her had settled, not gone, but contained in a way that hadn’t existed before.Not stable.But closer.And that…That changed everything.I stepped forward again, slower this time.Not cautious.Measured.She didn’t step back.Didn’t brace.She just watched me, her gaze sharp, waiting.Good.That told me enough.“You didn’t lose control that time,” I said.It wasn’t a ques
Kaelira’s POVThe energy didn’t settle. That was the first thing I noticed.Even after I stepped back, after the distance snapped between us, the feeling stayed. Not as sharp, not as violent… but there. Restless and watching.I forced my breathing to steady, but it didn’t fully obey.“What was that?” I asked again, quieter this time but no less demanding.He didn’t answer immediately.Of course he didn’t.His gaze was fixed on me, sharper than before, like he wasn’t just looking anymore, he was measuring. Calculating something he hadn’t accounted for.“I don’t know,” he said finally.A lie Or worse…A partial truth.My eyes narrowed slightly. “You hesitated.”“And you didn’t?” he shot back.That stopped me.Because I had.Just for a second.That moment when the power surged when it recognized him.I had felt it.Not confusion.Not fear.Recognition.I clenched my jaw. “That wasn’t normal.”“No,” he agreed, his tone quieter now. “It wasn’t.”Silence stretched.Heavy.Charged.The air b
Darius POV“Does it hurt today?”Seraphine’s voice was soft, carefully measured, like every word had been weighed before it left her lips.I didn’t look at her.“No.”A lie.Not because of the bond but because of her.She shifted slightly beside me, the faint rustle of fabric drawing my attention despite myself. I kept my gaze forward, fixed on nothing in particular, watching the servants move through the courtyard below.Controlled.Orderly.Predictable.Unlike the tension building under my skin.“You should rest more,” she said, stepping closer. “You’ve been distant.”I almost laughed.Distant.That was one way to describe it.“I have responsibilities,” I replied, my tone flat.“You always have,” she said gently. “But this is different.”Of course she noticed.That was the problem.Seraphine noticed everything but only what she wanted to use.I finally turned to look at her.Her expression was perfect.Concerned.Soft.Convincing.If I hadn’t read that report, if I hadn’t seen the d
Kaelira’s POVI didn’t answer him immediately.His question hung between us, sharp and deliberate.Do you even know what you are?I held his gaze, refusing to let even a flicker of uncertainty show on my face. My fingers curled slightly at my sides, nails pressing into my palm, not enough to hurt, just enough to ground me.I tilted my head just slightly. “If you’re expecting me to look confused, you’re wasting your time.”His expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes sharpened.Good.Let him look.Let him try to pull something from me.He stepped closer, slow and controlled, like he was testing how much space I would give him.I didn’t move.“I asked a question,” he said.“And I heard you.”Silence stretched.I could feel it again that same pull from earlier, the one that hadn’t gone away after the vision ended. It lingered beneath my skin, quiet but persistent, like something waiting.Watching.Reacting.To him.I ignored it.“I don’t have all the answers,” I said finally.
Lycan’s POVThe vision didn’t fade the way it usually did. It lingered.I stood still long after it should have ended, my breath measured, controlled but my pulse wasn’t. It thudded once, heavy, then again, sharper this time, like something inside me had shifted out of place.That had never happene
Darius POVThe moment I received the sealed note, my instincts warned me not to open it carelessly. The healer’s hand had pressed it into my palm with that quiet urgency reserved for truths too dangerous to voice aloud. No explanation, no preamble, just the seal. I recognized it. I had sanctioned t
Kaelira’s POVI shouldn’t have felt it. That was the first thought that refused to leave me.Even hours later, after the silence between us had stretched too long, after I had walked away before it turned into something I couldn’t control, I could still feel it.Not the memory.Not the fire or the
Lycan’s POVThe moment the word ours left my mouth, I knew it had shifted something that couldn’t be undone.Information was leveraged. Control. Distance.And I had just fractured all three.I watched her carefully as the silence settled between us again.Kaelira didn’t move immediately. She stood







