Something in the way he said it sent a chill down my spine – not entirely unpleasant. But dangerous. Like a hand offering a knife instead of help.He said it with a grin, but his dark eyes betrayed him.I didn’t want to like it. And I wasn’t sure I trusted it. But Asher was the only one besides Emma
LilaI stopped looking at Damon three days ago. I couldn’t afford the distraction, and Damon Sinclair was definitely distracting.If I was going to survive the next trial, I needed to become someone else. Someone smarter, who knew what fork to use, how to speak in riddles that sounded like respect,
LilaThe summons came mid-morning, delivered by hand in sleek parchment sealed with black wax. The message was brief:Report to the western courtyard. His Majesty will address a challenge to the throne.The phrasing was deliberate. A challenge to the throne, not a complaint or request. It was a warn
LilaI’d been pacing in my rooms for nearly an hour, every step drilling further into my headache.My thoughts looped like a bad song you couldn’t get out of your head: Damon’s claws. Alpha Rodrik on his knees. My father’s voice in the back of my mind demanding more and more from me.“Three days. Or
“I know,” I snapped. Then softened. “I know.”“But you’re going to anyway, aren’t you?”I nodded “I have to.”She didn’t argue. Just nodded, slow and reluctant. “What are you going to say?” she asked.“I don’t know yet.”We spent the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence. And by nightfall,
Damon“You may go.”I was done listening to Elena confirm everything that I finally convinced myself might not be true. But I should’ve expected it. I should’ve known better than to let myself feel anything for a candidate.Elena nodded and left my study the same way she entered. Resigned. Like she
I exhaled slowly. “I’m not angry, I’m disappointed.”Ronan nodded once. “That’s worse.”We stood there in silence for a moment, the breeze pushing through the leaves below, rustling against the stone.“She’s clever,” he said. “But she doesn’t know how to use it without burning something down.”I gla
LilaEmma was still fiddling with my hair when the announcement came through the main hall: Lord Jackson himself had selected a group of high-ranking noble daughters for “formal introductions and private conversation with His Majesty.” It was phrased as a tradition, but it sounded a lot like handpic
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