LOGINIt's been 5 days since Lucien started training me, 5 days of constant torture. 5 days of almost dying, 5 days of being thrown around like a rage doll. Every morning started the same way: the sun hitting my face, the ache in my muscles, and Lucien standing over me with that calm, demanding look in his eyes. My body was covered in bruises that turned from purple to a sickly yellow, a map of every time I had failed to block his strikes. I felt like I was breaking apart, piece by piece, and he wa
Lucien’s POV I was heading over to a diner to go through last-minute detailing. I needed a contingency plan in case the Council proved difficult and tried to bypass my plan. I was willing to go to war with my own kind if it meant saving my mate from the cold grasps of death. The "old fossils" thought they could dictate the fate of my Luna, but they were mistaken. For that, I needed an army. An army filled with my most trusted allies. I was going to make sure I was prepared. Prepared for war. The road was dark, the trees blurring past as I drove, my grip tight on the steering wheel. The silence of the car felt heavy, weight by the decisions I was making. I pulled up to a diner out of state, a small, unremarkable place where I was waiting for someone. I killed the engine and sat in silence for a while. In the quiet, my mind drifted off to my mate, Seraphina. I wo
I stared at the bloody figure in front of me. Although she looked dissolved, I couldn’t forget her eyes. Those filled with resentment now held nothing but plea and anguish. I felt terrible. If this figure was the entity, was this an illusion created by her? Was this a way for me to lower my guard so she could take over my body? I wouldn't put it past her; she was a manipulative woman. I turned to leave; I didn't want to see the sight of her ‘execution.’ Then I heard her plea for help. It echoed in my head. A swish sound followed by a thud. The sound of something hitting the pavement was deafening in the quiet crowd. I couldn’t help but turn my head. The sight that greeted me was pure horror. Her head was sliced off clean. Her body lay there motionless, as if it hadn't contained life a few seconds ago. Her eyes stared back at me. They showed everything: fear, anguish, hurt, and betrayal. I heard cheering around me, but under
Seraphina’s POV Lucien had left me alone in this desolate estate. I actually thought I was going to get a break. I was already practically twirling at the thought of being home alone for the next couple of days. I planned to read a book or something quiet; I even wanted to try out some dessert I saw on social media that had gone viral. But sadly, I keep forgetting Lucien isn’t a nice man. He literally instructed Madame Vivienne to train me in his absence. I really thought she would go easy on me. I thought she would be more understanding, woman to woman, and let me slack off. But fuck, she wasn’t a girl’s girl. She was much more evil than Lucien. There were no breaks. Nothing at all. “No stopping,” she said, standing there so poised, like a lady of high status. I kept on running. I felt like I was about to pass away from how hard she was pushing me. The gravel crunched under my feet, and my lungs bur
Lucien’s POV I appeared at the Council headquarters as the message said; I purposefully stayed a day later. Well, I am the king, not them. I wanted them to sit in that cold, high-ceilinged room and wait. I wanted them to remember that their authority only exists because I allow it to. Walking through the marble halls, the sound of my boots was loud and rhythmic. This place always smelled of old people, a place where men who had outlived their usefulness sat and tried to dictate the lives of the young. I didn't knock before letting myself in. This was tedious to me. I shoved the heavy oak doors open, and they hit the stone walls with a loud thud that made a few of the elders jump. I should be back home training Seraphina, even if beating her was the only way for us to bond, then it was better than nothing. I prefer that over whatever it was. Leaving her to train under Madame Vivienne was a good idea, but I still enjoyed it myself. I
Hannah’s POV Dressed in heels and a bold suit, Hannah exuded the air of someone dressed, ready to kill. And that she came to do. She caught her reflection in the glass doors of the Council estate and smoothed down her jacket. She looked powerful. She looked like the queen she was always meant to be. This was her ground, and she was going to take back everything that Seraphina had stolen. The Council residence was a massive, cold building that exuded power. As she walked through the halls, the clicking of her heels was the only sound. She reached the heavy double doors of the chamber and took a breath. She needed to look calm. She needed to look like she was worried about the future of their kind, not just her own revenge. "Hannah, thank you for coming," one of the Council members said as she entered. He was an older man, his face full of wrinkles and his eyes sharp. "Of course," Hannah said, taking h
It's been 5 days since Lucien started training me, 5 days of constant torture. 5 days of almost dying, 5 days of being thrown around like a rage doll. Every morning started the same way: the sun hitting my face, the ache in my muscles, and Lucien standing over me with that calm, demanding look in his eyes. My body was covered in bruises that turned from purple to a sickly yellow, a map of every time I had failed to block his strikes. I felt like I was breaking apart, piece by piece, and he was the one doing the breaking. I stood in the garden, my breath coming in unstable gasps. My shirt was damp with sweat, clinging to my back, and my hair was a tangled mess. I looked at Lucien, who looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat. He was standing a few feet away, watching me with a neutral expression that made me want to punch him so badly. "That was good. You have improved a bit," Lucien said, meaning nothing happened at all. I couldn't touch hi
I stared at the phone number scrawled on the back of the receipt, my thumb tracing the sharp, elegant ink.I didn't call it. I couldn't. What would I even say? "Hello, mysterious handsome stranger, my father is holding my life hostage, can you save me?"I tossed the paper onto the nightstand and gr
The walk home felt less like a commute and more like a march to the gallows.My mind kept drifting back to the man in the bakery—the dark suit, the cerulean blue eyes, the way the word ‘Petite’ had rolled off his tongue like a caress and a threat all at once. For a few terrifying minutes, I had fel
The bakery was my sanctuary.It was the only place where the air didn't smell like fear and expensive wine. Here, it smelled of yeast, vanilla, and melting sugar. Here, I wasn't the disappointment of the Vale family; I was just the girl who made the best croissants in the city.I wiped down the cou
I didn't stop running until I was inside my room.I slammed the door shut and twisted the lock. Click.It wasn't enough. It was never enough.I grabbed the heavy oak chair from my desk and jammed it under the doorknob, wedging the legs against the floorboards. My hands shook so violently I almos







