Mag-log inKYRA I could feel the end coming long before the ceremony even began.The throne room was brighter than usual, every torch lit, every chandelier blazing so that not a single shadow remained. It made everything feel exposed. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to shrink away from the hundreds of eyes watching us.I stood in line with the other Lunas in training, my spine straight the way we had been taught, my chin lifted the way we were expected to.Inside, I was falling apart.My hands trembled so badly that Nicole had quietly taken one of them in hers. Her fingers squeezed mine tightly, grounding me, reminding me to breathe.But breathing didn’t help much.Because he was here.King Zyran sat on his throne at the far end of the hall, towering above everyone like the throne itself had been carved specifically for him. The crown rested against his dark hair, and the sharp lines of his face were set in that familiar cold expression I knew too well.I shouldn’t have looked.But I did any
KYRA The Selection had begun.Not the choosing yet, that would come later, but the rituals. The old traditions the Alphas had sworn to keep for centuries.And the first of those traditions was about to start.I stood among the other ladies, the weight of silk and embroidery heavy on my shoulders.We'd been dressed and dolled up. Even Nicole was not an exception. The gown they had given me was beautiful, I supposed, deep midnight blue, stitched with silver thread, but it felt like armor more than clothing. It was too heavy.Drums began to beat.Slow.Deliberate.Reverberating.The gates to the arena opened, and the Alphas began to file in.Each one wore ceremonial armor, polished breastplates, dark leather beneath, swords strapped to their backs. They looked less like nobles and more like warriors preparing for war.Because that was exactly what this ritual symbolized.Strength. Discipline. Control.Three things every Alpha ruler was meant to possess.The crowd lining the terraces er
KYRA The palace had transformed.Marble floors gleamed under hundreds of candles, their flames flickering in ornate sconces, casting the long, dramatic shadows of gilded statues along the walls. The corridors that had seemed so endless and oppressive earlier in the day now felt alive, humming with anticipation. Music floated through the air, soft at first, then swelling into a low, commanding rhythm that made every heartbeat in my chest echo.Tonight wasn’t just any night. It was the Selection. The event that defined the hierarchy of our world, the night when Alphas came to claim, and omegas waited to be seen, judged, chosen.The halls were crowded. Not with servants or attendants, but with pack members — the strongest, the proudest, the wealthiest. Their eyes scanned every face, measured every move. Their conversations hummed like a low storm, murmurs of speculation and gossip punctuated by the occasional sharp laugh or clink of silver goblets.And there I was, walking among them, s
KYRA The night settled over the palace like a heavy velvet curtain. The moonlight spilled through the high windows, casting pale silver ribbons across the floor, illuminating the quiet aftermath of chaos. My body was still trembling, adrenaline lacing through every nerve, but the soft presence beside me , massive, protective, unyielding, grounded me in a way I hadn’t felt in hours.Zyran hadn’t left. His wolf form was curled beside me, chest rising and falling in rhythmic power. The heat radiating off him kept the chill of the marble at bay. He hadn’t spoken, hadn’t shifted back, but his eyes, golden, piercing, dominant m, never left me once. The sense of claim, of unspoken ownership, pressed into me like a tangible thing, and I felt both terrified and comforted in the same heartbeat.Nicole was there too, sitting across from us on the polished floor. Her expression was tired, eyes heavy, but alive with the kind of relief that comes after a gamble that almost destroyed you.She caugh
KYRA My legs were trembling so badly I could barely hold myself upright. My chest burned, lungs gasping, heart hammering in a rhythm that felt like it would tear me apart from the inside. The guards had me cornered. Their hands reached for me, eyes greedy with duty, lust and curiosity, but all I could see was the inevitability of it.They had found me.I stumbled backward, nearly toppling over a decorative pedestal, and froze as their leader, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a jagged scar across his cheek, stepped closer. His hands were large, confident, certain. I could feel the pull of their training, the silent command in their eyes, she is yours now.I swallowed hard, shaking my head, trying to steady myself. My mind screamed for a plan, a way out, but my body betrayed me. Every breath was ragged. Every step unsteady. The fear that had driven me to run, to fight, to survive, it now made me vulnerable.Then, the air shifted.Something heavy, something alive, entered the corridor.
KYRA The air inside the suffocating room was thick and merciless, but desperation sharpened something inside me, adrenaline, rage, fear, whatever it was, it surged through my veins. My nails clawed at the corners of the steel-reinforced door, prying, scraping, tearing, until a sharp crack echoed.My body screamed in protest, ribs bruised from the earlier struggle, lungs raw from suffocation, limbs trembling, but the door gave way just enough. Just enough for me to squeeze through.I stumbled into the corridor beyond, gasping, taking in deep, shaky breaths, tasting freedom like fire in my lungs. The palace smelled different here, faintly of wax, old wood, and the lingering aroma of polished stone. But underneath it, something darker, hotter, primal, my own scent.I froze. Heart hammering.No. No, no, no.Every step I took leaked it into the air, fear, pain, and exhaustion. My body betrayed me with the most dangerous signature imaginable. I was leaving a trail.I moved as quietly as I







