Masuk[Kaelen’s POV]The stairs felt longer than they actually were. I held the heavy iron chain tight in my hand. At the other end of that chain was King Garrick. He was stumbling, crying, and begging with every single step we took up the dark spiral staircase. I did not care. I pulled harder, letting the cold metal bite deep into his wrists. He deserved every bit of pain he was feeling right now.For years, I had dreamed about this exact moment. I spent my entire life as an outcast. I was the forgotten heir, the rogue Alpha thrown out into the wild because my blood was a threat to this coward. I remembered the day my family was killed, and what my mother did first thing when she knew something was wrong was to hide me. I watched my parents die; I was such a coward to fight for them. I was just a boy. I spent cold nights sleeping in the dirt. I fought for every meal I ever ate. I survived out of pure stubbornness and a burning need for revenge. I wanted to see Garrick fall. I wanted to dra
[Cillian’s POV]I stood three paces away from the roaring fireplace.My broadsword rested heavily in my right hand, the steel tip angled downward against the dusty stone floor. My chest heaved with the violent, suffocating force of my own restraint. I had already ripped my bare hand away from her throat. I had put physical distance between us the absolute second I realized what was happening, but the feral beast tearing at my ribs still screamed at me to close the gap and rip her head entirely off her shoulders. Selene leaned heavily against the stone mantle. She pulled greedy, ragged breaths into her lungs.She reached up with shaking fingers and gently probed the dark, angry bruises rapidly forming on her pale neck. She winced, massaging her throat, before looking up at me with bloodshot eyes. As she caught her breath, the terrifying desperation that had gripped her just moments ago faded completely. A sick, triumphant smirk twisted her lips."You nearly crushed my windpipe, Warlor
[Elian’s POV]I lay perfectly still on the massive feather mattress.I took a slow, deep breath. I let the cool Northern air fill my lungs completely. The agonizing, crushing weight on my chest was gone. The fatal magic that had kept me suffocating for days had finally lifted, leaving me exhausted but breathing normally. The deep, dull ache remained buried in my ribs, but the immediate threat of death had passed.For the first time in weeks, I felt a moment of true peace."You are staring a hole right through that wooden ceiling, child," a warm, familiar voice said.I turned my head against the soft pillows. Martha sat in a wooden chair pulled directly up to the edge of my bed. The old kitchen cook held a steaming clay mug of chicken broth in her wrinkled hands. She looked completely exhausted. Deep, dark circles hung under her eyes, and her gray hair was messy, but a gentle, relieved smile touched her lips.I tried to return the smile. The muscles in my face felt incredibly weak."I
[Kaelen’s POV]My broadsword hovered exactly two inches from Garrick’s chest.I kept my grip tight around the heavy iron pommel. I watched the Eastern monarch completely unravel in front of me. The polished, arrogant ruler who commanded legions had completely vanished. A sweating, terrified coward stood in his place. Garrick’s chest heaved with frantic, shallow breaths. His eyes darted wildly around the sweltering stone walls of the hidden bedchamber, desperately searching for a hole to crawl into.Garrick looked back at me. Confusion and panic completely warped his face."What are you doing?" Garrick choked out. His voice cracked, spiking into a pathetic, high-pitched whine. "I gave you a direct order. I stationed you in that exact corner. I kept you down here for one reason—to guard her! Why are you disobeying me? Get back to your post immediately and kill anyone who comes through that door!"I stared down at him. A deep, sickening wave of absolute disgust rolled through my stomach.
[King Garrick’s POV]My lungs completely stopped working.The Warlord towered over me. He stood as a wall of blood-soaked iron and feral rage. I stared at the heavy iron pommel of his broadsword. My hands shook violently. I pressed my palms flat against the mahogany map table to hide the tremor. I ruled the East. I commanded legions. I lived my entire life believing I was untouchable, sitting safely behind thick white walls. Standing in the shadow of this monster, I felt like absolute prey.I swallowed hard, forcing moisture down my dry throat."Make your choice, King Garrick," Cillian repeated. His voice vibrated through the floorboards directly into my boots. "Right now."I needed a shield. My mind raced frantically, clawing blindly through my panic for a way to survive. I lifted my chin. I forced my spine straight, wrapping myself in a desperate layer of royal indignation. I looked directly into the Warlord's glowing golden eyes and lied through my teeth."You are acting on false i
[King Cillian’s POV]I sat on my warhorse, staring at the towering white-stone walls of the Eastern Capital.The mate bond connecting my soul to Elian screamed. It pulled tight across my chest, burning like a hot iron pressed directly against my ribs. I felt his heartbeat slowing down miles away in the North. I felt his life slipping through my fingers. Every second we sat outside these gates was a second Elian lost. My inner beast clawed violently at the inside of my skull, demanding blood, demanding entry, demanding the absolute destruction of anything standing between the woman killing my Luna and us.I raised my scarred hand high above my head. I dropped it forward.The Northern siege engines fired instantly.Massive iron-tipped ballista bolts and jagged boulders tore through the air. They slammed into the Eastern Capital’s pristine walls with deafening, catastrophic force. The heavy stone barricades splintered. TI drew my broadsword and gave the command to charge.Tens of thousa
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
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







