LOGINThe glow stayed even after we pulled our hands apart. It beat like a rhythm, alive, buzzing beneath my skin while sinking into my bones.Moira took our hands, tied them tight with a clean cloth strip - her touch steady as she linked us through the hurt. The fabric ran smooth, stitching skin to skin without thread."Speak the words," she commanded.Ares's silver eyes locked onto mine. His voice was steady, resonant. "I bind my blood to yours. My strength to your weakness. My death to your life."My throat was tight, but I forced the words out. "I bind my blood to yours. My heart to your fury. My life to your death."Then it’s over,” Moira said while pulling off the fabric.Ares yanked me close, lips smashing against mine without warning. His kiss took control - rough, hungry - so I just gave in, letting everything else fade away. That connection between us? It locked into place, hard and unbreakable, like hot iron turning solid.When we broke apart, Kael was grinning like an idiot. "Fi
The wedding hadn’t been set weeks ahead. It came together fast - no delays, no drawn-out prep.They set it for early morning."You crazy?" I said, seeing Ares march through the room, already yelling commands to the guards by the door. Because there’s no way we’re pulling off a wedding in just half a dayHe turned back, his expression fierce. "We are not planning a spectacle. We are performing a binding. The Elders. The witnesses. The blood oath. That is all we need.""Ares - ""Do you want to wait?" He crossed back to me, gripping my shoulders. I paused for a moment and said no.The tower turned into a busy mess, yet everything somehow stayed on track.Kael showed up real quick, hair messy, eyes wide. "Alpha, it’s way past twelve."Fetch Elder Moira," Ares commanded. "And the other two Elders. Tell them the Luna has accepted. The binding will occur at first light."Kael’s eyes widened. His gaze snapped to mine, hoping I’d say the boss wasn’t flipping out.I nodded.A grin split his s
The heavy iron bolt of the tower door slid shut with a sound like a guillotine dropping. Thud.The noise vibrated through the floorboards, signaling the end of the performance. The Harvest Festival was over. The music had stopped. The dancing was done.And the silence that rushed in to fill the room was deafening.I stood in the center of the Alpha’s chamber, the emerald green silk of my dress feeling less like a gown and more like a lead weight dragging me down. My skin felt tight, stretched thin over a hollow ache in my chest.Ares didn't speak immediately. He moved through the room with a restless, prowling energy, checking the window latches, stoking the fire until the flames roared up the chimney, casting long, erratic shadows against the black stone walls.He was vibrating with tension. He was still hunting. Even here, behind three locks and stone walls, he was hunting the shadow that had slipped into our home and taken Wendy.“Ares,” I whispered. My voice sounded small,
The silk of my dress felt like a shroud.It was deep emerald green, the color of the forest at twilight, embroidered with silver threads that caught the firelight of the tower. It was beautiful. It was regal. And I hated it.I stood before the tall glass mirror, staring at a stranger. The woman reflected back wasn't Yara the freak, or Yara the survivor. She was the Luna of the Blood Moon Pack. Her face was pale, composed, a porcelain mask painted over a screaming void.My hands were shaking as I reached for the silver hair comb Wendy had laid out for me yesterday.Yesterday.The word tasted like ash. Yesterday, she had been alive. Yesterday, she had been fussing over hemlines and gossiping about the baker’s son. Today, she was a cold body in the crypts."Let me."Ares stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed for war disguised as celebration. His tunic was black velvet, but the leather breeches beneath were reinforced for combat. A sword hung at his hip, the hilt gleaming in
Ares had left an hour ago to inspect the festival grounds, pressing a kiss to my forehead and promising to return before the first horn blew.“I’ll send Wendy,” he had said, his voice a low rumble of contentment. “She’ll want to fuss over you.”But Wendy hadn’t come.I frowned, glancing at the heavy wooden clock on the mantel. The breakfast tray sat untouched and cold on the table. It wasn't like her. Wendy was punctual to a fault, usually bursting in with a smile and a chatterbox full of gossip before the sun had fully cleared the horizon.“Wendy?” I called out, my voice echoing slightly in the large, silent chamber.Nothing.The keep was chaotic today; the Festival of the Harvest meant extra work for everyone. She was probably stuck in the kitchens, arguing with the cook about the consistency of my morning porridge.I stood up, the movement stiff. My body still hummed with the afterglow of the night with Ares, singing a low, steady note of satisfaction in my blood. But the si
Wendy’s POVI didn't care about being quiet anymore. I sprinted down the hallway, my breath tearing at my lungs.I needed to find Kael. I needed to find the Alpha. I needed—I turned the corner toward the main stairwell and slammed into something solid."Whoa there, little mouse."I looked up, gasping.It wasn't a guard.It was Cecilia.She was standing in the middle of the hallway, blocking the path to the stairs. She was wearing the nightgown I had made for her, her hair loose around her shoulders.The bandage covered the left side of her face.But her right eye...It wasn't the wide, fearful eye of the girl I had been reading stories to.It was dead. Flat. Cold.And she was smiling."Where are you running to, Wendy?" she asked. Her voice was that low, husky thing I had heard in the room. The mask was gone."I... I..." I stepped back, my hands shaking. "I forgot... the thread. For your dress.Cecilia titled her head. It was a jerky, unnatural movement."The dress,"







