DamonAsher’s hand lingered on Elena’s shoulder, casual but firm. Irritation curled hot and sharp in my chest.I had no reason to care. No reason to feel this slow-burning irritation coil inside me.Yet, before I could think better of it, my feet were already moving.My long strides carried me acros
“I can’t train with the person I’m supposed to fight against,” I shot back, stepping backDamon didn’t react immediately, just tilted his head slightly, eyes scanning me like he was trying to decide how to serve me my own ass on a platter. His silence only made my frustration spike.“I can’t train w
LilaThe moment Damon stepped back onto the training grounds, my breath caught in my throat.He wasn’t wearing the royal black attire I had seen him in before. Instead, he was dressed in dark training gear—fitted black pants that hugged his powerful legs and a sleeveless top that left his arms and s
LilaThe moment I stepped into the training grounds, I felt it: eyes, whispers... that crawling, stinging sensation that spread across my skin like a rash I couldn’t scratch.“She must be sleeping with him. Why else would the king train her?”“Did you see the way he touched her yesterday? Shameless.
DamonShe was slower today.Not in technique; Elena moved with precision and surprising skill, but there was a slight lag between her reaction and recovery. A half-second delay in her counters. The tiniest hitch in her breath after each strike.No one else on the training grounds would notice, but I
LilaBy the time I made it back to my room, my clothes were soaked through, my muscles screamed with every step, and my patience had been wrung out like the shirt I’d just folded beneath the awning.The air in the palace halls was warm and dry, but I still felt chilled to the bone, like the rain had
“Coming,” I called, voice hoarse.When I opened the door, a palace attendant stood waiting, her posture stiff and efficient. “You’ve been reassigned to a new room. His Majesty’s orders.”My heart skipped. “Wait. What?”She blinked. “You’re to relocate immediately. I’ll escort you.”I stared at her l
LilaThe shirt shouldn’t have meant anything. Just a piece of soft black fabric folded into the corner of my drawer. Just a borrowed item, returned by mistake. That’s what I told myself when I found it again that morning, tucked beneath a clean blouse.But it still carried his scent. And now it was
Damon I hated these events.But tonight, I was expected to play the gracious host. So, I nodded. Smiled. Let my eyes move from one noble to the next.I greeted alpha pairs from the east and dignitaries from the coastal Pack lands, spoke in tones that made them feel important while Zane snarled quie
We stood in our assigned places like jewels on display—gowned, graceful, every hair pinned to perfection.I smoothed my skirt with one hand and forced myself to smile as the first of the Alphas entered the hall.There were so many. Too many to count without appearing distracted. Nobles from the sout
LilaBy the next morning, I wasn’t just recovering, I was reentering.Word had spread quickly through the palace that I would be returning to the selection. Not everyone said it out loud, but I saw it in the way people looked at me—like I was a ghost they hadn’t expected to see again.Some with resp
Moonlight spilled across the stone paths in silver sheets, turning hedges into shadows and marble into bone.I hadn’t planned on coming out here specifically, but something in me was restless, and I followed it down the hallways until the air turned cool and the world opened wide.Damon stood near t
LilaThe ache was dull today. Manageable.It nestled behind my ribs like something leftover from a bad dream—present, but fading. I sat propped against a stack of pillows, the sun filtering through the high infirmary windows in long gold slants.Outside, I could hear faint voices in the hall, the oc
LilaI woke to the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, too loud in the quiet room. For a moment, I didn’t know where I was.The ceiling above me blurred and shimmered, the beams twisting in and out of focus like they were underwater. My throat was dry. My skin too warm.I blinked slowly, once, twice,
Her voice was too even; in the way I’d seen soldiers get to make it through the worst of things.“My father couldn’t bear the scandal of pulling her out of this selection due to pregnancy. Or at least that’s what I assume. So I was his only option to not breaking the agreement. Send Lila, the bastar
DamonThe rogue sat chained to the iron chair, arms draped like he was lounging at a tavern instead of bleeding in a locked interrogation chamber.He was cocky. Smug. The kind of wolf who mistook survival for power. The guards flanked him on either side, but he barely seemed to notice. His lip was s
LilaI woke to the sound of my own breathing. Shallow. Steady. Alive.The air smelled like rosemary and smoke, the faint tang of antiseptic salve lingering just beneath it. My body was a patchwork of ache and numbness, like someone had stitched me back together with cold thread and firelight.I didn