I apologize for the missed update last night. Just as I was clicking "publish" my power went out and did not come back on until after midnight. I will update on Sunday this week to make up for the missed day. Thank you for reading!
KieranThe palace gardens are annoyingly perfect—every shrub precisely trimmed, every flower arranged in meticulous patterns, like nature couldn't be trusted to look good without human interference. I find a secluded bench beneath a weeping willow, as far from the manicured beds as possible, and drop onto it with a heavy sigh.It's been two hours since I quietly slipped out of my chambers, unable to stay there any longer. The thin walls did little to muffle the sounds from Lyra's room, each soft gasp and whispered endearment like a knife twisting in my chest. I knew this was coming—hell, I practically pushed her toward the prince—but knowing something will hurt doesn't actually make it hurt less when it happens.I lean back, staring up through willow branches at the darkening sky. At least the stars look the same here as they do back home. Small comfort, but I'll take what I can get."Thought I might find you out here sulking."I don't need to look to recognize Mira's voice. She's bee
KieranMira and I sit in silence for a while, watching stars appear one by one in the darkening sky. The distant sounds of palace life—guards changing shifts, servants carrying out evening duties—remind me how far we are from the simplicity of our forest home."I slept with someone else," I admit suddenly. "After Lyra left with Alexander that first time. One of the refugees from the northern settlement."Mira raises an eyebrow but doesn't interrupt."I thought it would help," I continue. "Thought maybe if I could just be with someone else, these feelings would fade or change or..." I shake my head. "It didn't work. Just made me feel worse, actually.""Because you were using them to try to forget Lyra," Mira points out. "That never works.""I know that now." I run a hand through my hair in frustration. "Gods, I'm a mess.""Yes, you are," she agrees with characteristic bluntness. "But that doesn't mean you can't figure your shit out."A sudden flush of anger rises in me. "Easy for you t
Lyra Sunlight streams through the curtains, painting warm patterns across the tangled sheets. I wake slowly, momentarily disoriented by unfamiliar surroundings before memories of the night flood back. The weight of Alexander's arm draped across my waist anchors me to both the present moment and the significance of what passed between us.I study his sleeping face, softer in repose than his usual royal mask allows. Dark lashes rest against cheeks still bearing faint marks where power surges manifested during our separation. The bond between us pulses with contented warmth, stronger and more stable than it's been since the temporary healing at the Cave of Whispers."You're staring," he murmurs without opening his eyes, a smile curving his lips."Just making sure you're real," I reply, surprised by the vulnerability in my own voice.His eyes open then, violet depths focusing on me with an intensity that makes my breath catch. "Very real," he assures me, pulling me closer. "And not going
Lyra The royal sanctuary glows with morning light filtering through its glass walls, illuminating Queen Sage as she tends to rare plants with her own hands rather than delegating the task to servants. She looks up as I enter, a knowing smile touching her lips."Lyra," she greets warmly. "You look well this morning."Something in her tone tells me she's perfectly aware of why I might look "well," and I feel heat rise to my cheeks again. "Thank you for inviting me, Your Majesty.""Sage, please," she corrects, setting aside her gardening tools. "At least when we're alone. We're family now, after all."The casual acknowledgment of my place in her son's life—in the royal family—leaves me momentarily speechless. I've been so focused on the complications of court politics that I hadn't fully considered the simpler truth: I've gained not just a mate but a family connection.I kneel beside the spiral pattern of silver-blue blooms she’s tending, assessing their condition with a healer's eye. "
Lyra "I'm glad," I tell Kieran, meaning it despite the complex emotions churning beneath. "That you have someone to talk to."He looks surprised, then grateful for my response. "It helps," he admits. "Figuring out my place here, now that everything's..." he gestures vaguely, "different."The word encompasses so much—our relationship, our community's situation, our very identities shifting in this new context. I reach across the table to touch his hand briefly."Some things aren't different," I tell him. "You're still important to me, Kieran. That hasn't changed."His eyes meet mine, conflict evident in their green depths. "Just important in a different way now."I can't deny the truth of this observation. Before I can respond, a palace page appears in the doorway, bowing slightly when he spots me."Healer Lyra, Prince Alexander requests your presence in the royal study. He says it's regarding tonight's ritual."Kieran withdraws his hand from beneath mine, the moment broken. "You shou
Alexander"They found her, but she's not exactly rolling out the welcome mat."Dominic drops a report on my desk, interrupting my third attempt to write a diplomatic response to the Northern territories. I've been staring at the same paragraph for twenty minutes, my mind constantly drifting back to last night with Lyra."Vega's niece?" I ask, pushing aside the draft to read the new report."Karina," he confirms, dropping into the chair across from me. "Lives in a tiny settlement called Blackstone Ridge at the edge of the Northern territories. Our messengers found her, but she told them—and I'm quoting directly here—'to go fuck themselves and the royal horses they rode in on.'"I can't help but laugh. "Sounds like she inherited her aunt's charming personality, if not her politics.""She's a healer," Dominic continues, "which makes her refusal more complicated. She's not just rejecting royal authority; she's rejecting what she sees as interference in healer business."I lean back in my
Sage “Sage! Sage! Where is that wolfless little urchin?” I hear Daphne, the Beta’s daughter and so-called future Luna, at least that’s how she regards herself, calling out to me as I rush inside the packhouse. “I’m here!” I answer, a little too breathlessly. “You’re late!” She chides, the promise of swift and severe punishment lurking in her eyes. Daphne grabs my wrists, twisting them painfully as she drags me closer. “You lazy little gutterpup! How dare you take advantage of your Alpha’s kindness!” I feel the sting on my cheek before I even register her hand flying out to slap me. My eyes prick with tears that I refuse to let fall. I rub at the tender flesh while ignoring the snickers from the other omegas who’ve gathered to enjoy the show. They wouldn’t find it so funny if it was happening to them. But of course it never will. Not when they have a poor wolfless outcast like me to abuse instead. “You will climb up that ladder and polish the crystal chandelier until it shine
Sage My anxiety grows with every step I take as I rush home. I have an important guest, well important to me anyway, and he’s injured. He was still unconscious when I left him this morning and I’ve worried about him all day. I hope he’s okay.I don’t know his name or where he’s from. All I really know is that he needs me. I was working in the fields yesterday when he stumbled into our pack, covered head to toe in blood from several nasty looking wounds. It was a gruesome sight and I was terrified, but before the shriek could tear from my lungs, he collapsed at my feet. I’m ashamed to admit I hesitated to help him, concerned he might be a rogue. Harboring a rogue is punishable by death in my pack and I wasn’t sure I should risk it. But on closer inspection, he was wearing expensive clothes and even the blood smearing his face couldn’t hide his handsome features. He smelled amazing too, like fresh, crisp winter air, not putrid like a rogue. Everything in me screamed to help him. If I
Alexander"They found her, but she's not exactly rolling out the welcome mat."Dominic drops a report on my desk, interrupting my third attempt to write a diplomatic response to the Northern territories. I've been staring at the same paragraph for twenty minutes, my mind constantly drifting back to last night with Lyra."Vega's niece?" I ask, pushing aside the draft to read the new report."Karina," he confirms, dropping into the chair across from me. "Lives in a tiny settlement called Blackstone Ridge at the edge of the Northern territories. Our messengers found her, but she told them—and I'm quoting directly here—'to go fuck themselves and the royal horses they rode in on.'"I can't help but laugh. "Sounds like she inherited her aunt's charming personality, if not her politics.""She's a healer," Dominic continues, "which makes her refusal more complicated. She's not just rejecting royal authority; she's rejecting what she sees as interference in healer business."I lean back in my
Lyra "I'm glad," I tell Kieran, meaning it despite the complex emotions churning beneath. "That you have someone to talk to."He looks surprised, then grateful for my response. "It helps," he admits. "Figuring out my place here, now that everything's..." he gestures vaguely, "different."The word encompasses so much—our relationship, our community's situation, our very identities shifting in this new context. I reach across the table to touch his hand briefly."Some things aren't different," I tell him. "You're still important to me, Kieran. That hasn't changed."His eyes meet mine, conflict evident in their green depths. "Just important in a different way now."I can't deny the truth of this observation. Before I can respond, a palace page appears in the doorway, bowing slightly when he spots me."Healer Lyra, Prince Alexander requests your presence in the royal study. He says it's regarding tonight's ritual."Kieran withdraws his hand from beneath mine, the moment broken. "You shou
Lyra The royal sanctuary glows with morning light filtering through its glass walls, illuminating Queen Sage as she tends to rare plants with her own hands rather than delegating the task to servants. She looks up as I enter, a knowing smile touching her lips."Lyra," she greets warmly. "You look well this morning."Something in her tone tells me she's perfectly aware of why I might look "well," and I feel heat rise to my cheeks again. "Thank you for inviting me, Your Majesty.""Sage, please," she corrects, setting aside her gardening tools. "At least when we're alone. We're family now, after all."The casual acknowledgment of my place in her son's life—in the royal family—leaves me momentarily speechless. I've been so focused on the complications of court politics that I hadn't fully considered the simpler truth: I've gained not just a mate but a family connection.I kneel beside the spiral pattern of silver-blue blooms she’s tending, assessing their condition with a healer's eye. "
Lyra Sunlight streams through the curtains, painting warm patterns across the tangled sheets. I wake slowly, momentarily disoriented by unfamiliar surroundings before memories of the night flood back. The weight of Alexander's arm draped across my waist anchors me to both the present moment and the significance of what passed between us.I study his sleeping face, softer in repose than his usual royal mask allows. Dark lashes rest against cheeks still bearing faint marks where power surges manifested during our separation. The bond between us pulses with contented warmth, stronger and more stable than it's been since the temporary healing at the Cave of Whispers."You're staring," he murmurs without opening his eyes, a smile curving his lips."Just making sure you're real," I reply, surprised by the vulnerability in my own voice.His eyes open then, violet depths focusing on me with an intensity that makes my breath catch. "Very real," he assures me, pulling me closer. "And not going
KieranMira and I sit in silence for a while, watching stars appear one by one in the darkening sky. The distant sounds of palace life—guards changing shifts, servants carrying out evening duties—remind me how far we are from the simplicity of our forest home."I slept with someone else," I admit suddenly. "After Lyra left with Alexander that first time. One of the refugees from the northern settlement."Mira raises an eyebrow but doesn't interrupt."I thought it would help," I continue. "Thought maybe if I could just be with someone else, these feelings would fade or change or..." I shake my head. "It didn't work. Just made me feel worse, actually.""Because you were using them to try to forget Lyra," Mira points out. "That never works.""I know that now." I run a hand through my hair in frustration. "Gods, I'm a mess.""Yes, you are," she agrees with characteristic bluntness. "But that doesn't mean you can't figure your shit out."A sudden flush of anger rises in me. "Easy for you t
KieranThe palace gardens are annoyingly perfect—every shrub precisely trimmed, every flower arranged in meticulous patterns, like nature couldn't be trusted to look good without human interference. I find a secluded bench beneath a weeping willow, as far from the manicured beds as possible, and drop onto it with a heavy sigh.It's been two hours since I quietly slipped out of my chambers, unable to stay there any longer. The thin walls did little to muffle the sounds from Lyra's room, each soft gasp and whispered endearment like a knife twisting in my chest. I knew this was coming—hell, I practically pushed her toward the prince—but knowing something will hurt doesn't actually make it hurt less when it happens.I lean back, staring up through willow branches at the darkening sky. At least the stars look the same here as they do back home. Small comfort, but I'll take what I can get."Thought I might find you out here sulking."I don't need to look to recognize Mira's voice. She's bee
Alexander I’ve spent the entire day in bed with Lyra in my arms and I’ve never been more at peace. As twilight deepens outside the windows, we lie tangled together in comfortable silence. My fingers trace idle patterns on her bare shoulder while her head rests on my chest, directly over my heart. The bond between us hums with contented warmth, stronger and more stable than it's been since the temporary healing at the Cave of Whispers."The power surges have stopped," I observe quietly, realizing I haven't experienced a single manifestation since we came together.She props herself up on one elbow to look at me, her hair falling in a curtain around her face. "The intimate connection strengthened the bond's stability," she explains, unable to completely suppress her healer's analytical tendencies even now. "It's not permanent healing, but it's significantly reinforced the temporary measures."I can't help but laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Only you would provide a tec
Lyra The morning light is a soft intrusion, warm on my eyelids and tangled limbs. I wake in the circle of his arms, the night before replaying in vivid, lingering bursts. My body is a symphony of aches and satisfaction, reminders of just how thoroughly bonded we have become.I shift slightly, feeling the press of his skin against mine, and my breath catches at the heady intimacy of it. He murmurs something in his sleep and pulls me closer, as if even unconscious he can't bear for there to be any distance between us. The memory of our first night together blooms in my mind, a kaleidoscope of sensation and emotion.I remember the way he groaned my name as I collapsed against him, spent and breathless, the echo of our shared release reverberating through the bond."Does it hurt?" he asked.It had, but not in the way he meant. The stretch of him inside me was so overwhelming, so intense, but exquisitely good, and the moment I adjusted, it was as if my body couldn't get enough."More," I
Alexander I close the distance between us in one stride, my mouth finding hers with newfound urgency. Her response is immediate and enthusiastic, her body arching into mine as her arms wind around my neck. I tug gently at her loosened tunic, breaking the kiss only long enough to ask, "May I?"She nods, and I slip the garment from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. My breath catches at the sight of her—strong and lithe from years of healing work, skin pale gold in the afternoon light, the curve of her waist flaring into hips still covered by her leggings. The binding around her chest is utilitarian rather than decorative, but somehow all the more appealing for its practicality."You're beautiful," I tell her, because it's true and because the flush that spreads across her cheeks at the compliment is worth any momentary awkwardness."You're still wearing too many clothes," she points out, fingers already working at the fastenings of my shirt.I laugh, the sound rusty with dis