LOGIN"Good morning," Cillian said.His voice came out incredibly rough. The words sounded like he swallowed dry dirt. He kept his volume very low. He did not want to startle me.I turned around and looked directly into his tired golden eyes."Good morning," I replied.My voice was completely flat. I did not smile. I did not soften my expression. The anger from yesterday still sat heavy in my chest. The wide gap on the mattress still sat between us. I was not ready to pretend everything was fine. I refused to let him off the hook easily.I pulled my shoulders back. I stood up completely straight in the center of the room."I am going down to the East Wing," I told him calmly. "I need to see the guest quarters. I need to find out if Silas and Corinne decided to stay in the North. They might have packed their bags and run away during the night."Cillian nodded slowly. He did not tell me what to do. He did not try to take charge of the situation. He just listened to my words. He kept his large
I walked back into the bedroom. Cillian was already changed into dark cotton pants. He did not wear a shirt. His chest and arms were covered in old battle scars. He stood by the edge of the bed waiting for me.I walked to the left side of the massive bed. I pulled the heavy furs back and climbed onto the mattress. I lay down on my back and pulled the blankets up to my chin.Cillian walked to the far right side of the bed. He climbed in very carefully. The thick mattress dipped heavily under his massive weight. He lay down on his back. He stayed on the very absolute edge of the mattress.A wide gap of empty space remained between us in the center of the bed.I reached over and turned off the small lamp on the nightstand. The room went very dark. The only light came from the orange glow of the dying fire in the hearth.The silence in the room felt incredibly heavy.I lay perfectly still under the heavy furs. The thick blankets trapped some of my body heat, but it was not enough. I felt
I pushed the heavy oak door open and stepped inside the bedroom.The massive Warlord was pacing frantically in front of the roaring fireplace. His heavy boots slammed against the wooden floorboards in a rapid, chaotic rhythm. He looked completely consumed by anxiety. He walked back and forth across the thick rug. His large hands opened and closed into tight fists. He stared at the floor.I reached behind my back and pushed the heavy wooden door. It clicked shut. The metal lock fell into place with a loud sound.Cillian froze in his tracks immediately.He snapped his head up and looked at me. His broad shoulders were completely rigid. His golden eyes were wide and filled with pure terror. He stood completely still. He waited for me to speak. He looked like a man waiting to hear his final sentence. He fully expected me to say I was leaving the North forever.I walked further into the room. I stopped a few feet away from the edge of the thick rug. I looked directly at his face. I saw the
[POV: Elian]"Where are they?" I asked.I stood two feet away from Cillian's chest. I tilted my head back and looked directly into his tired golden eyes.Cillian braced himself. His broad shoulders went stiff under his dark shirt. He expected me to scream. He expected me to tell him I was leaving the fortress forever.He blinked slowly. "They are in the East Wing," Cillian answered honestly. His voice was rough and exhausted. "I placed them in the main guest quarters. I posted guards outside the door for their safety. I kept them inside the fortress. I made sure they had food and a warm fire."I nodded once. I turned around and walked straight back toward the heavy wooden door.Cillian took a fast step forward. His heavy boots hit the floor with a loud thud. Panic flooded his scent immediately. I turned my head and looked at him. I held my hand up."Stay here," I said gently. My voice was very firm. "Do not follow me. I am going to see them right now. I need to do this completely al
[POV: Elian]I shoved the heavy iron doors open and stepped out onto the high stone battlements.The Northern wind hit my face like a physical strike. The cold sliced right through my thick winter cloak. The freezing temperature bit into my cheeks and numbed my nose instantly.I walked to the edge of the stone wall and looked down. The massive main courtyard was completely empty. The heavy snow blanketed the cobblestones. The golden carriages from the South were gone. Silas and Corinne were nowhere in sight.I stared at the empty courtyard for a moment. A part of my brain knew I should wonder where they went. I should wonder if Cillian ordered his guards to lock them in guest quarters or if they just gave up and rode back through the gates.I did not care.I honestly felt absolutely nothing about their absence. I could not bring myself to worry about the strangers from the South. My mind was completely consumed by the heavy scent of ash in my bedroom and the realization that my Warlor
I pushed myself up from the wooden floor. My legs felt weak, but I forced myself to walk over to the heavy oak wardrobe in the corner of the room. I pulled the doors open.I grabbed a thick leather travel bag from the bottom shelf. I dragged it over to the bed and threw it onto the mattress. I unzipped it with a loud, aggressive pull.I walked back to the wardrobe and started grabbing clothes.I did not care what I was grabbing. I pulled down thick wool shirts, heavy dark trousers, and thick cotton socks. I carried the pile of clothes over to the bed and started folding them.I folded a dark shirt. I pressed my hands hard against the fabric, smoothing out the wrinkles with violent, sharp movements. I shoved the shirt into the bottom of the leather bag.I grabbed a pair of trousers. I folded them tightly and shoved them in next to the shirt.The physical action helped. It gave my hands something to do. It gave me a tiny piece of control in a situation that felt completely out of my gra
The solid rock cracked under his fist, sending a shower of dust to the floor. The force of it snapped something back into place inside my head. Raw, pure fear cut through the fever haze. I pulled my hand back, pressing it tightly against my chest. What am I doing? I thought, panic cutting throug
"Alpha."The word hung in the hot, heavy air of the room, heavy and completely damning. I couldn't believe I had said it. My brain screamed in horror, but my body didn't care. My inner Omega, starved and beaten down into the dark for nineteen years, clawed its way to the surface, demanding I give i
I didn't know if I was dying, but the world burned down around me.The castle became a dizzy, spinning blur of grey stone and flickering torchlight. I was held tight against a chest so broad and hard it felt like being pressed against a boulder. The heat coming off Cillian's body felt like pure hea
I couldn't look up, but I felt it. The whole feeling of the training yard disappeared. The air emptied out, replaced by a heavy, scary force that made every single Alpha in the yard fall to their knees without meaning to.Every Alpha except Torin. He was too busy wanting to hurt someone."Lick my b






