The infirmary, moments ago filled with the quiet rustle of linens and the faint laughter of maids, now froze into suffocating silence.Becca’s breath hitched as she stared at the figure in the doorway. Ava. The woman who had been suspended. The woman who, by Eugene’s orders, had no place in the Blackwood mansion.Yet here she stood.Her hair gleamed under the weak rays of the sun slipping past the windowpanes. Her lips curled in a smile too sharp to be kind and too mocking to be polite. She leaned lazily against the doorframe, as though she owned the room, as though the rules that bound everyone else had never once touched her.Becca’s chest tightened with fury. Mira rose swiftly from the bed, her wide eyes locking on the intruder.“Becca…” Mira whispered, her tone trembling. “She—she shouldn’t be here.”Becca’s body moved before her mind could catch up. She crossed the floor in long, deliberate strides, Mira at her side, the air around her growing taut with the weight of her anger.
The infirmary smelled faintly of herbs and soap, a mix of lavender and antiseptic oils that Becca had grown accustomed to these past few weeks. Sunlight filtered in through the narrow glass windows, soft golden beams falling over the row of neatly lined beds. The room was far quieter than the courtyard or the training grounds.Mira’s laughter broke the silence as she wrestled with a stubborn sheet, trying to stretch it evenly over a mattress. Her hair was tied back in a loose braid, wisps framing her flushed face from all her effort.“By the goddess, who tucks sheets this tightly?” Mira puffed, standing upright with her fists on her hips.“Apparently you don’t,” Becca teased lightly, a small smirk tugging at her lips. She was standing by the farthest bed, directing two maids who carefully folded the old linens into a basket. “If you don’t pull hard enough, the patients will twist them into a mess by the first night.”“I’m pulling,” Mira retorted, exaggerating her strength as she pu
The morning sun spilled across the Blackwood Pack’s courtyard like a golden crown, bathing everything in a light that felt almost regal.Seraphina walked forward with her head held high, her gait deliberate, every step dripping with pride. Behind her trailed two young maids who carried the edges of her velvet cloak so it wouldn’t drag against the ground. Their faces were drawn with weariness, but not a single complaint slipped from their lips. They knew better.Seraphina, after all, was no ordinary she-wolf now. She was the Luna carrying the heir to the Blackwood Pack.Her hand brushed across her belly with practiced elegance, her smile sharp.“Straighten your shoulders,” Seraphina hissed suddenly, snapping her gaze at one of the girls. The girl flinched, nearly stumbling. “Do not walk behind me as though you are being dragged to slaughter. You are in the service of your Luna Queen.”“Y-Yes, my lady,” Meera stammered, adjusting quickly, her cheeks flushing red.“Not ‘my lady.’” Sera
The first sensation Alpha Eugene felt as he drifted back into consciousness was a deep heaviness pressing on his chest, as if something was weighing him down. His head throbbed faintly, a dull reminder of battle. The world returned to him slowly—first in scattered fragments, then in heavy waves that forced his eyes open.Why am I here?His mind scrambled for an answer. And then, his memory came flooding back.The fight that had ended with Eugene knocking Desmond to the ground before the pain became unbearable. He remembered the way his legs had faltered, how his lungs had struggled for air, and then everything dissolved into darkness.He froze, his hand moving instinctively to his side.His fingers brushed over smooth, healed skin where there should have been agony and torn flesh. It had to be Becca. She must have dragged him here. She must have healed him.He exhaled slowly, trying to piece it all together.But a soft sound drew his attention.Turning his head, Eugene finally noti
The Council members sat in a crescent formation behind the long, dark oak table, their silver medallions catching the flicker of the lanterns. Seraphina sat in the center of the room, her hands folded neatly on her lap.The examination had been meticulous with the use of cold metal instruments, bitter-tasting tonics, questions asked in the clinical tone of healers who cared more about truth than comfort. When the healer finally nodded, a younger attendant escorted her out.“Wait outside,” Councillor Hadrian said, his voice firm. “We will review the findings and call you when we are ready.”The words echoed in her mind as she stepped into the hallway.The air beyond the chamber was cooler, with stone walls lined in heavy tapestries depicting the history of the Alpha Kings—a lineage of wolves who had seized their thrones through dominance and cunning. Each face on those woven murals seemed to stare at her, judging.Seraphina kept her spine straight, her chin lifted. Her gown swished
The smell of crushed herbs and boiling water hung in the air like a heavy fog, curling around Alpha Desmond’s senses and dragging him reluctantly toward consciousness. The first thing he became aware of was the muted flicker of torchlight through his eyelids. The second was the sickly-sweet scent of medicinal salves clinging stubbornly to his skin. And then—touch. Soft, delicate fingers pressing a damp cloth to his forehead.His eyes snapped open.White-painted beams arched above him, the ceiling of the Royal Infirmary, lit in warm tones that clashed with the chill in his chest. He blinked twice, trying to gather his thoughts, but what met his gaze made his lips curl in disgust.Two of Becca’s maids hovered at his bedside, their wrists adorned with the signature gold bracelets that marked them as her personal attendants. One was adjusting the blanket over his chest; the other leaned in to wipe at a smear of dried blood on his arm.Desmond’s pulse spiked.“Get. Your. Hands. Off me.