MasukSilas was still talking, his voice pitching higher as he rushed through a sentence about lumber taxes.Corinne completely tuned him out. She dropped her expensive leather bag. It hit the hard stone floor with a loud slap. She did not even flinch.She took a step forward, moving blindly toward the dais.The two Lycan guards standing at the bottom of the steps immediately crossed their heavy iron spears, blocking her path."Halt," one of the guards barked.Corinne did not stop. She walked right into the crossed spears. The heavy iron blades pressed hard against the expensive fabric of her coat. She did not look down at the weapons. She just kept her eyes glued to my face.She took a deep, slow breath through her nose. She closed her eyes, pulling the cold air deep into her lungs.When she opened her eyes again, tears were already spilling over her eyelashes. They ran fast down her pale cheeks.Silas stopped talking mid-sentence.He did not look confused. He did not turn to ask his wife
We walked out of the study and headed down the long stone hallways of the Stronghold. The castle was already buzzing with noise. The Northern soldiers were laughing and talking loudly as they rushed to the courtyard to look at the ridiculous gold carriages.We reached the Great Hall. The heavy wooden doors were already wide open. The room was freezing cold. Twenty heavily armed Lycan guards stood in a perfect line against the stone walls. They held massive broadswords and stared straight ahead.Cillian walked up the three stone steps of the dais. He sat down heavily in his iron throne. He crossed his arms over his chest and stretched his long legs out. He looked incredibly bored.I walked up the steps and stood right beside his right shoulder. I kept my back straight and my hands folded in front of me. I tried to project strength.A few minutes later, the noise in the hallway got louder. Commander Vane walked through the double doors.Behind him walked a man and a woman.They looked l
[POV: Elian]I sat at the small wooden table in Cillian’s private study, holding a warm mug of tea in my hands. I took a slow sip. The tea tasted like mint and honey. My stomach was completely calm. For the first time in over a week, my muscles did not feel tight. The heavy, suffocating weight of the Eastern Kingdom drama was entirely gone. Kaelen was safe on his throne, and my mate was sitting right across from me.Cillian leaned back in his heavy wooden chair. He was not wearing his black iron armor. He just wore a simple dark shirt and trousers. His broad shoulders were relaxed. He held a piece of fresh bread in one hand and a map of the Northern borders in the other.I watched him read. The morning light coming through the narrow glass window highlighted the sharp line of his jaw. He looked peaceful. He did not look like the ruthless Warlord who had just executed a man in front of an entire royal council. He just looked like the man who pulled me out of the dark.I took another bi
An hour later, we were alone in our private bedroom.The fire in the hearth was burning hot, warming the cold stone walls. The room was perfectly quiet.Cillian stood near the center of the room. He reached for the heavy leather straps on his chest plate. His fingers were stiff and tired from holding the reins for days. He struggled to pull the thick metal buckles loose.I walked over to him. I pushed his hands away gently."Let me," I said.I reached up and unbuckled the leather strap on his left shoulder. I moved to the right side and pulled the heavy iron pin free. Cillian stood perfectly still and let me work. I pulled the massive chest plate off his body and set it carefully on the floor. It hit the stone with a loud, heavy clank.I unstrapped his arm guards, his iron greaves, and his heavy leather belt. I took the torn wolf pelt off his shoulders and folded it over a wooden chair. I stripped the Warlord down until he was just standing in his dark trousers and his thin linen shirt
[POV: Elian]My boots hit the stone stairs hard. I skipped steps, moving faster than I ever had in my life. I grabbed the iron railing to keep my balance and swung myself around the sharp corners of the stairwell. My lungs burned. My legs ached from lack of sleep, but I pushed the pain down and kept running.I burst out of the stairwell and sprinted down the long main hallway. A servant carrying a basket of folded clothes stepped out of a side room. I did not stop. I bumped hard into his shoulder. The basket fell, and the clothes spilled across the floor."Sorry," I gasped out, but I did not look back.I pushed past two Northern guards standing at an intersection. They stepped back quickly when they saw my face. They knew better than to get in my way right now.I reached the heavy double doors that led to the main courtyard. I threw my entire body weight against the thick wood. The doors banged open loudly, and I stumbled out into the cold evening air.The courtyard was complete chaos
[POV: Elian]The fire in the hearth had burned down to orange coals. I did not put more wood on the iron grate. I just kept walking back and forth across the stone floor of our bedroom. My boots made a quiet, steady sound against the rocks. It was the only sound in the entire room.It had been four days since Cillian rode South. Four days since he took his Lycan riders and marched toward the Eastern capital.A plate of cold meat and bread sat on the heavy wooden table near the door. A servant brought it up from the kitchens hours ago. I had not touched it. My stomach was completely tied in tight knots. If I tried to force food down, I would be sick.I stopped pacing and pressed my hands flat against the cold stone wall. I rested my forehead against the heavy rock and closed my eyes.Kaelen.I could not stop seeing his face. I did not see him as the King of the East sitting on a wooden throne. I saw the boy who took the beatings meant for me. I saw a man who loved no matter the odds.
I was not given food or water.A few hours after Cillian left me in the dark, the iron door shrieked open again. Two massive Beta guards dragged me out by the chains, my bare feet scraping against the freezing stone. The sudden influx of torchlight felt like daggers in my eyes. My head was pounding
The first thing I felt was cold. A heavy, damp chill seeped straight into my bones, sucking the life right out of me.Where was I? I tried to move, and a sharp, metallic clink echoed through the darkness. My breath caught. I pulled my arms toward my chest, stopping short as heavy iron chains bit
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







