MasukNadia's pov.
'Weddings should be a thing of joy but mine was of revenge.' I thought to myself as I adjusted my wedding gown for the hundredth time, my heart pounding heavily against my chest.
I can't believe I was getting married again, to the feared Lycan beast of all people? I guess he was better than a cheat and a murderer.
'Noah wouldn't at least push me off a cliff to hide his affairs, would he?' I pondered, feeling my palms growing sweaty.
'You have got this Nadia.' I tried to convince myself as I gathered up my gown and made my way towards the hall where everyone was waiting for the arrival of the bride.
I told mum and Gerald to go on ahead, that I wanted to have a moment to myself. It was both a shock and surprise that Noah demanded we get married in two's days time.
Mother and brother wanted to refuse but I stopped them.
I took a deep breath as I stepped through the towering double doors, my heels clicking softly against the marble floor as the grand hall stretched out before me like something from a dream.
It would have been my heaven if Lucien hadn't betrayed me, leading me to end up in this situation.
The hall was glamorous and everywhere smelled faintly of roses and chocolate. The guests present all looked sophisticated and this was even a bigger wedding event than I could have ever dreamed of having back at all.
'It was too bad.' I thought knowing this would have been a fairytale if this was the wedding I wanted and not some transactions between families.
Valerie's father, Mr. Sebastian came to take my hand in his, walking me down the aisle as I tried not to tremble when he threw smiles at the guests present for my nightmare.
He wasn't exactly a warm-hearted man, but he wasn't cold either and he loved his wife so much. He didn't react much to the accident but was relieved I was alive.
Though he threw me suspicious glances whenever I acted funny but that was it. I wonder if he suspected anything because he seemed so smart and observant.
I stared at my husband from afar, he was dressed to kill and as Mr. Sebastian placed my hand in his, I trembled, feeling my back burn with gazes, which I was sure was from them, my ex-family.
I tried not to tremble when I saw them but failed. I could feel my heart in my mouth and when I stared at Lucien's, memories of how he cut my tongue and pushed me off the cliff, continuously flashed through my mind.
I shut my eyes and opened it again to calm myself. Staring at Noah reminded me of the scent I perceived two days ago. The smell of my mate. Ofcourse it wasn't Noah but I had no time to find whom.
I just hope it was an imagination. The priest got right to work and was about to pronounce us man and wife when I heard a loud smash behind me and almost jumped out of my skin.
I turned around hurriedly to see a guy that looked almost exactly like Noah, pointing at me and claiming I was his mate. Our eyes met and my heart skipped a beat, my wolf purring in my head as saliva gathered in my mouth.
'He was truly the one.' I thought in disbelief wondering what sort of trick the moongoddess was trying to play now.
'This couldn't be happening.' I thought, my lips parting in awe as I watched Noah and his twin brother, Neal arguing all over me.
"I told you, she is my mate, brother." Neal yelled while the guests, present, all began murmuring.
"Shut the fuck up! Mate or not, she is my wife now." Noah refuted and my cheeks burned. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Lucien, Dad and Malia, watching what was going on with interest.
The side of Lucien's lips curled into a smirk and I felt anger brewing in me.
'Those bastards.' I cursed within as I gathered up my dress and walked over to them, ignoring the Lycan twins. They could kill one another, for all I care.
"M-miss." The new maid, mother and George assigned to watch over me, and to translate whatever I wanted to say to people.
"Hello." Jessica, the new maid greeted them and they all turned to look at me, at once. Lucien furrowed his brows at me while Malia leaned closer to him and held his arm.
I narrowed my eyes, wondering why Dad wasn't saying anything and was just staring at me.
'Was he now a puppet?' I pondered. I wouldn't be surprised if Malia had used dark magic on him. It would arouse suspicions if the father died the same time the daughter disappeared, so why not make him bend to their wills?
"Miss Valerie, to what do we owe this pleasure?" Malia questioned with a mock bow and I grinned.
I brought the little notepad I had with me and wrote something down with my pen before handling it over to Jessica to read out.
My ex-family stared at me in disbelief and I knew why. The news of my muteness wasn't yet out.
"I heard about miss Nadia's disappearance, hope you are all okay?" Jessica read out loud and I watched Malia froze, going pale while Lucien continued to look at me, like he could see through me.
I took my eyes behind his neck, feeling the hairs at the back of my head standing up.
"Thank you for your concern. We are okay but just worried." Malia forced out tears as she walked over to my father and placed a hand on his shoulder.
My father shook his head sideways sorrowfully, reaching to hug her while I stood there, feeling something was odd.
"But how come you are concerned? I heard you are the weirdo or did your fall off the cliff mess your brain?" Lucien mocked and I clenched my hands into fists while Malia let out a chuckle.
I wanted to speak.
'Fuck! I wish I could speak.' I thought as I felt my throat burn so I decided to ignore him and just turned around to leave, with Jessica trailing behind me.
Malia, Lucien, just you two wait, I shall ruin you both.
I was about to walk out of the hall when I noticed Neal running towards me, Noah right at his tail. I was too stunned to move and the next thing I felt was a hand on my waist and a soft flesh against my lips
Nadia’s POVThe knowledge of the prophecy and the Trial sat inside me like a live coal. It was all we talked about for days. Arguing in circles.“It’s too dangerous,” Noah would say, his face like granite. “We have no guide. No one living has done it. We could be walking into our own destruction.”“Staying as we are is also destruction,” Neal would fire back. “Just slower! Maya is going to keep picking at us until she finds a way in. This fusion… it’s the only door she can’t unlock.”I was trapped in the middle. The part of me that was still a scared girl, a reborn ghost, wanted to hide. The part that was my mother’s daughter, a Dawnfire, wanted to fight. But to fight meant risking the two hearts I loved most.I went to the one place I could think: the restored Hidden Spring. Elias was tending the flowers, the silver water glowing peacefully. I just sat by the edge, trailing my fingers in the warm light, trying to find an answer in its depths.“You look heavy, daughter,” Elias said so
Nadia’s POVThe mental wards worked. The nightmares stopped. The cold whispers faded. But the quiet felt worse. Maya was a scientist. She had poked us, noted our reactions, and withdrawn to her lab. What was she building?“We cannot just wait for her next move,” I said to Elias the next morning. We were in the quiet library, sunlight streaming on dusty books. “We need to understand what she sees when she looks at us. She called me a crucible. What does that mean?”Elias ran a hand over an old, leather-bound book. “Our histories are full of forgotten things. The Dawnfire line was old when the Whitemores were young. There are prophecies even I only know as whispers.”“We need more than whispers,” I said. “We need words.”So we began the dig. Elias pulled crumbling scrolls from sealed Dawnfire chests. I sent a request to Noah to open the deepest Whitemore vaults, the ones that held things older than their pack.For two days, we lived in dust and faded ink. My eyes burned. We found nothin
Nadia’s POVThe new Triarchy marks hummed on our skin, a constant, warm reminder of our unity. For three days, there was peace. We fell into our roles. Noah met with captains, his commands clear and fair. Neal charmed a visiting trade envoy, securing a better deal for our grain. I walked the gardens with Moonshade elders, listening to their stories, weaving our histories together.We were winning. Then, Maya began her tests.It started with Neal.He woke up screaming.I shot upright in bed. Noah was already on his feet, a knife in his hand. Neal was sitting, drenched in cold sweat, his eyes wide and wild, staring at nothing.“Neal! What is it?” I reached for him, but he flinched away from my touch.“Don’t,” he gasped, his voice raw. He scrambled out of bed, pacing the room, running his hands through his hair.“A dream?” Noah asked, his voice low, alert.“It wasn’t a dream,” Neal whispered. “It was real. I could smell it. Feel it.” He stopped, finally looking at me, his green eyes fill
Nadia's POVThe rose was burned in a sacred fire by Elias, its sickening song silenced. But the ghost of its message lingered in the air, a constant whisper that Maya was watching, learning.And we were falling apart.The Council observers arrived two days later, the silver-flame witch, named Lyra (which made my heart ache), and the bear-like shifter Elder, Grendel. They came to "observe the stability of the new power structure." It was a test.Our first day as hosts was a disaster.It started in the morning meeting with our Betas and the Moonshade elders who had agreed to come. A Moonshade elder, a grim man named Borin, spoke."The eastern border patrols are thin. Whitemore wolves do not know our land. We need our own people, led by our own captains."Noah nodded, all cool logic. "Agreed. But the captains will be approved by Whitemore command to ensure unified strategy. We'll integrate the patrols in phases."Neal, who had been up all night reviewing trade routes, scoffed. "Phases? W
Nadia's POVThe journey back to Whitemore Keep was silent. The weight of the prisoners, the weight of Henry’s wrapped body in the second wagon, the weight of what we had done,.it pressed down on all of us.Gaius and Eleanor rode in the wagon with Henry. I saw Gaius holding his mother, his face turned to stone. Eleanor just stared at her husband’s shroud, her tears dry now, as if she had none left.Beside me on horseback, Noah was a statue, his eyes fixed on the horizon, planning. Neal fidgeted, his energy coiled tight, looking back at the prisoners with a hard glint in his eye.No one spoke.When we finally rode through the gates, the keep was not celebrating. The pack gathered, but their faces were solemn. They saw the prisoners, they saw the shrouded body. They understood the cost.The first three days were for Henry.We held the funeral in the small garden he had liked, near the roses. It was simple. Eleanor asked for no grand words. Gaius stood straight and spoke only a few senten
Nadia’s POVThe pain was a living thing inside me. It was not in my body. It was in my soul. Maya’s hooks dug deep, pulling at the warm, bright core that was my mother’s spirit blended with my own. I could feel it stretching, tearing.I was on my knees on the cold stone floor. My vision blurred. Lucien’s laughing face and Malia’s smug smile swam above me.“Look at her,” Lucien sneered. “The mighty reborn one. Just a puppet with its strings cut.”“Hold on, little vessel,” Maya’s voice chanted from the shadows, smooth and relentless. “Almost… got it…” A piece of it, a memory of my mother’s laugh, a feeling of her protection, was ripped free. It floated like a sad, golden wisp towards Maya’s bloody symbol.I was screaming, but no sound came out. The agony stole my voice, my breath, my hope.This is how I die, I thought. Not with a knife, but empty. Hollowed out.Then, a new sound cut through the hall. Not a battle cry. A raw, human shout of pure rage and horror.“NO! STOP THIS!”Henry S







