Mag-log inCaden's POV
The war room is starting to clear out. Maps get rolled up, chairs pushed aside. Damian is by the window, facing away from me. I know I should leave, but I stay put.
"I want to lead a scouting mission."
Damian turns to me. "Where to?"
"East. Beyond the old logging road. If Viktor's army is on the move, there’ll be signs. Camps, supply lines, weak points."
He studies my face. "You’re asking me to trust you wi
Gracia's POVThe world stopped."Jorden killed them." The words came out hollow, distant, like they belonged to someone else. I cupped Ivy's face, my hands trembling. "Ivy, explain to me properly. They can't just… they won't die like this."Ivy shook her head, her sobs wracking her small frame. She couldn't speak. Her words came out in broken fragments between hiccups."Jorden… he stole a cake. From the Alpha's room. It was for his children."I stared at her. "A cake?""A birthday cake. For the Alpha's youngest. I saw him… I saw Jorden putting something under Leo and Cyr's things. When I asked what he was doing, he said it was nothing. He told me to mind my own business." Her voice cracked. "I should have known. I should have said something."My heart pounded against my ribs. "What happened next?"Ivy wiped her face with shaking hands. "A maid said she saw one of the slaves le
Gracia's POVThe basement was a tomb.It was long and narrow, carved from cold stone, with a single small window near the ceiling. Iron bars crossed it, letting in slivers of gray light and the shadows of feet passing by above. Those feet belonged to free wolves. Wolves who had never known what it was like to sleep on damp stone, to wear chains that bit into your wrists, to wake every morning knowing that today would be your last day.I learned the rhythm of this place quickly. Wake. Get beaten. Eat. Work. Be beaten. Sleep. Repeat.The days blurred together, each one indistinguishable from the last. The only markers were the wounds—fresh ones layered over old ones, pain that never fully faded. I stopped counting the days. I stopped counting the lashes. I stopped counting the reasons to keep breathing.Castor was a monster.He beat us because his coffee gets cold. He beat us because he imagined his brother was looking down
Gracia's POVI was born in the Sunscorched Territories, on the antipodean side of the world where the sun burned too hot and the earth was too dry. The pack was called The Obsidian Claw—a name that meant nothing to anyone outside its borders. To me, it meant everything. It meant the place where I learned to bleed.My mother was a maid. Her name was Anisa. She had soft hands and a broken smile. She scrubbed floors and washed linens and bore the weight of an Alpha's attention without ever asking for it. My father was the Alpha. He never acknowledged me. He never had to.I remembered her hands most of all. They were always raw, always bleeding, always moving. She would hold me in the corner of the servants' quarters, her body blocking the door, her voice barely a whisper."Don't make a sound, my little one. Don't make a sound. They'll take you away if they hear you."I was four years old. I didn't understand what she meant. I only
Damian's POVThe morning air is fresh, filled with the scent of dew and distant pines. I spot Gracia in the courtyard, sitting on a stone bench that faces the training grounds. His coffee sits in his hands, untouched and cooling down. His gaze is on the warriors below, but I can tell he’s not really seeing them.I take a seat next to him. "We need to stop giving Luna that herbal tea."He slowly turns to me, his brow furrowing. "Why?"I’ve rehearsed this lie, and it feels heavy as I say it. "The herbs and meds… they’re doing the opposite of their intended purpose. They’re causing her more pain and weakening her instead of helping. Just to clear It’s nobody’s fault, Gracia. Her condition is unique. What helps others just harms her."His expression crumbles. The hope I saw yesterday flickers and fades away. "I—I didn’t know. I thought…" He puts down his coffee and presse
Selena's POVThe morning light struggles to seep through the heavy curtains, casting a pale, watery glow in the room. I’m settled on the couch with Asher in my lap, his small fingers gripping my locket. He’s been trying to chew on it for what feels like ages, and I keep gently steering him away. Lydia is on Greta's lap, fascinated by the old woman's crinkled face, patting it with both hands.Damian is next to me, his arm draped casually over the back of the couch with his hand resting on my hip. He’s been strangely quiet this morning, just observing and listening.Greta sits on the edge of the bed, a small jar of herbs beside her. Her expression is serious.“I heard something last night,” she says quietly. “After you both fell asleep.”I shift Asher to my other arm and ask, “What do you mean?”Greta recounts what she heard: the half-open door, a whisper—a woman’s v
Greta's POVThe night is chilly. Moonlight streams through the curtains—thin and silver—collecting on the large bed where Lily sleeps. Her dark hair sprawls across the pillow, her lips parted, and her small hands curled into little fists. She looks so peaceful. So innocent. She has no idea about the darkness lurking just beyond the shadows.I’m standing by the window, arms crossed, staring into space.‘What’s happening to Sera?’I’ve seen sickness before. I’ve seen injuries that should have taken lives, curses that should have remained, poisons that should have eaten away at organs like acid. I’ve witnessed the worst the world has to throw at us. But this… this is something else entirely.A body that won’t heal. Not just from ordinary wounds—but not even from the most powerful healing gift I’ve ever seen. Selena’s gift is stronger than any I’ve
Selena's POVThe medical tent feels warm, filled with the scent of herbs and freshly laundered linen. Sunlight streams through the canvas, creating golden stripes across the floor. Lily darts between the tables, her small feet pattering against the ground, her laughter bounci
Caden's POVThe training grounds are a mess, muddy from weeks of boots and weapons. Warriors are sparring, swords glinting as they move, and their breath creates puffs in the chilly morning air. I stand in the middle, just my shirt on, sleeves rolled up, gripping a wooden swo
Selena's POVI drift off in his embrace.The room is dim, the lamp casting a low glow. Damian's hand rests on my bare breasts, his breathing steady. The house feels peaceful.But somewhere in that hazy space between dreams and wakefulness, I sense a shift.
Damian's POVThe scout shows up at noon.I’m in the war room, going over maps and making plans. Viktor is out there, healing and regrouping. I can feel it deep down.“Alpha.” The scout is panting, his face white as a sheet. “Viktor's forc







