LOGINBecca did not move, she stood where she was, her feet planted into the thick rug, her arms folded tightly across her chest as if holding herself together by force alone. The air in Brian’s chamber felt heavy, tainted. She could still smell the perfume clinging to the sheets, sweet and suffocating.Brian watched her with lazy interest from the bed as the bathroom door behind her opened quietly but Becca did not turn.She heard the soft footsteps of the woman as she stepped out, the rustle of clothing being adjusted, the faint hitch in her breathing that suggested embarrassment more than anything else.“Go,” Brian said calmly.The woman didn’t speak. She moved quickly toward the door, her eyes lowered, her face flushed with discomfort. As she passed Becca, their shoulders almost brushed and Becca glanced at her only for a second.The woman slipped out of the room without a word. The door shut behind her with a quiet click then silence followed.Brian let out a slow breath like he had
Becca stood stiffly in the hallway. The door to Brian’s chamber remained firmly shut, but the sounds from inside moved through the thick wood with cruel clarity.Becca’s wolf ears could clearly make out the sounds of slow then fast movements, as well as soft, breathy moans that made her stomach twist in disgust.She had completely underestimated Brian.She folded her arms tightly across her chest as if physically shielding herself from it.“This is disgusting,” she muttered.Ariel stood beside her, pale and uncomfortable, her hands clasped together in front of her like she didn’t know where to put them.“I didn’t expect this” Ariel said.Becca let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “You didn’t expect what? That he would try to use this to humiliate me?”Ariel hesitated then she said something that made Becca turn toward her.“I know the girl,” Ariel whispered.Becca blinked. “What?”Ariel nodded, eyes fixed on the floor. “She’s from a very popular part of the pack town. Everyone knows h
Becca walked quickly, not because she was afraid but because if she slowed down, she would start thinking and if that happened, she would start remembering Seraphina’s face in the garden.That cold, perfectly composed face twisted by fury mixed with her harsh words."You are nothing here."Becca’s jaw tightened as she turned the corner of the stone hallway, Ariel hurrying behind her to keep up.“I swear, if she says one more word to me like that, I won’t be responsible for what I do” Becca muttered under her breath.Ariel glanced nervously around the corridor. “Please don’t say things like that out loud.”Becca scoffed. “Why? Are the walls going to report me?”“In this place? Yes” Ariel said quietly. Becca stopped walking for a brief second and looked at her.Ariel’s face was pale, truly pale. Not the usual nervousness she carried, but something deeper like real fear.Becca resumed walking. “You said Brian summoned me. Let’s just get this over with.”Ariel swallowed. “Luna Becca…
Mira had not slept. Her body had lain on the thin mattress in the servants’ quarters, her eyes closed, her breathing slow enough to fool anyone watching but her mind had stayed awake thinking about that scent that had seemed familiar.She could still feel it in her nose and no matter how hard she tried, she could not place it.She had turned from one side to the other until the straw-stuffed mattress crackled beneath her. The other maids had long since fallen asleep, their soft snores rising and falling in uneven rhythm, but Mira had remained trapped inside her thoughts.Her eyes had opened to the faint gray of dawn long before the bell rang to signal morning duties. She did not feel rested, rather she felt wired or alert in the worst way possible.The morning light spilling into the servants’ quarters did nothing to ease the tension in her chest. Dust floated lazily in the air, visible in the pale beams that slipped through the high windows.She rose when the bell rang, moving with
Seraphina stood on the stone path like a queen looking at trespassers on sacred ground. Sunlight filtered through the leaves above, catching on the gold embroidery of her gown and giving her an almost radiant presence, but there was nothing warm in her eyes. The breeze stirred the hedges gently, but the air between them felt still.Hadrian had paused mid-step when she called out to him, his body caught between leaving and being commanded to stay. His posture remained straight, his shoulders squared with quiet dignity. Even stripped of his title, there was something about him that still commanded respect.Becca stood slightly beside him, her chin lifted, her spine straight despite everything pressing down on her. Ariel lingered behind her nervously, ĥer fingers twisting together as she sensed the storm brewing.Seraphina’s gaze swept over the three of them slowly.“You have remarkable boldness, for someone who has already lost everything” she said calmly.Hadrian did not bow.“I hav
The garden had grown quieter after Hadrian arrived, as if even the birds understood that what passed between them should not be interrupted.Becca’s throat tightened instantly as her mind fully registered the weight of Hadrian’s question.Her fingers curled into the fabric of her dress as she looked down at her lap.“I last saw him at the resistance hideout before everything fell apart” she said quietly. Hadrian leaned slightly closer, his face filled with concern.“Tell me everything you remember.”Becca swallowed hard.“We were talking about me coming to a rendezvous point after he was done with his meeting. He hadn’t wanted me to come with because of the risk but i did anyway” she admitted.A faint, knowing smile touched Hadrian’s lips. “That sounds familiar.”She nodded. “He constantly said how I might be in danger if i left the safe house and followed him to the resistance but I told him it didn't care if it was too dangerous. Mira and Max agreed with me and he hated that.”“E







