เข้าสู่ระบบRaiden’s POV Eight centimeters. The words kept repeating in my head. Eight. Traci was eight centimeters dilated. Our babies were coming. Today. I stood beside her bed with her hand wrapped tightly around mine, staring at the woman I loved while my mind struggled to catch up with everything that had happened in the last few minutes. It felt impossible that we had gone from laughing together to this. A few minutes ago, I had been laughing harder than I had in weeks. A real laugh. The kind that had come from somewhere deep inside me without me having to force it. I had felt like myself again, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, there hadn’t been a constant weight pressing against my chest. Then Traci had another contraction. Then the silver glow had returned. Then the marks on her stomach appeared. And now Fredrick had just told us she was eight centimeters dilated. Our children were almost here. I looked at Traci. She was breathing through another contraction, her
Traci’s POV The second Raiden finished saying, “Alright. Enough sad shit,” another pain tore through my stomach. I grabbed the edge of the bed so hard my fingers cramped around the mattress, and the breath I had been about to take caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat. My other hand went immediately to my stomach as the pain tightened, deeper and stronger than anything I had felt since this whole thing started. “Okay,” I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried to ride through it. “That one was different.” The room changed instantly. Raiden’s smile disappeared, replaced by the same worried expression I had seen on his face earlier, but there was something different about him now. The panic was still there because I was hurting, but the darkness that had been sitting behind his eyes for weeks was gone. His curse marks were still faintly silver, and for once I could look at him without seeing that constant battle raging inside him. Zayden moved before either of us could
Maddox’s POV Boomer’s words hung in the air long after he’d spoken them. “We’ve lost five men.” Only a few moments ago the dining room had been filled with Serena’s laughter. Now it was so quiet I could hear the crackling fire burning in the massive stone fireplace several yards away. The warmth that had settled over the room vanished almost instantly, replaced by something colder. Much colder. I slowly pushed my chair back from the table, the legs scraping softly across the floor as I stood. Every instinct I’d spent years sharpening immediately took over. “Where?” Boomer didn’t hesitate. “The eastern patrols, my King.” My jaw tightened. “All five?” “Yes.” He nodded his head. “Wounds?” I raised my brow. He swallowed hard once before answering. “Clean kills.” That told me everything I needed to know. This hadn’t been some random attack. It had been planned. Calculated. Someone had watched my patrols. Someone knew exactly where to strike. Someone wanted me to know they coul
Maddox’s POV Hearing my wolf utter that single word had caught me completely off guard. Mate. Of all the things I thought I’d hear from him throughout my lifetime… That had never once crossed my mind. I’d never had a mate before. Hell, years ago I’d already accepted that I probably never would. I’d convinced myself a chosen mate would be good enough, and if I was being honest, I’d already had someone in mind. First… Darci. That idea disappeared the moment she’d found her true mate. Then my attention shifted elsewhere. Traci. A White Wolf. Even now, I couldn’t deny she’d been a prize unlike any other. I would’ve gladly claimed her if fate had given me the chance, but life had a cruel sense of humor. By the time I learned the truth about her bond with the Twin Kings, the decision had already been taken from me. Killing them wouldn’t have left Traci alive for me to claim. Their life bond guaranteed she’d die right alongside them, and suddenly every plan I’d spent months building becam
Ralph’s POV I already knew better than to underestimate Maddox. That bastard had survived far too many battles to fall for something simple, and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to let me or any of my men casually stroll onto his territory without paying for it in blood. If I wanted him, I’d have to be smarter than that. I’d have to be patient. Patience had never exactly been one of my better qualities. Still… For the past week, I’d forced myself to sit back and wait. Instead of sending men charging onto his land like a pack of idiots, I’d broken my soldiers into several smaller scouting teams and stationed them well outside his borders. They never crossed onto his territory. They didn’t need to. Every one of them knew exactly where to hide, how to stay downwind, and most importantly, how to keep their mouths shut. Maddox couldn’t kill what he couldn’t find. Every movement his men made had been documented. Every patrol. Every guard rotation. Every shift change. Hell… My
Traci’s POV I slowly shook my head, my fingers still wrapped around Raiden’s hand as I looked from Kael back to my mate. “You’re wrong,” I said quietly. Every pair of eyes turned toward me, waiting. I looked up at Raiden, offering him a small smile before my eyes drifted toward the faint silver glow that still lingered beneath the dark curse marks winding around his neck. “The first time they glowed silver…” I said thoughtfully, “…you were only standing beside me.” I slowly shook my head again. “You weren’t even touching me.” The smile on Kael’s face disappeared almost immediately. Only moments ago he’d looked completely certain he’d figured everything out. Now confusion settled across his face so quickly it almost made me feel sorry for him. His brows knitted together as he glanced from Raiden to me before looking back down at my stomach. “So…” He scratched the back of his neck. “… there goes my brilliant theory.” A soft chuckle escaped Helen. “It lasted longer than most of yours
Raiden’s POVThe steady scratching of my pen against paper filled the office while morning sunlight spilled through the towering windows behind me. Stacks of reports covered nearly every inch of my desk. Territory disputes. Border patrol updates. Financial summaries. Supply inventories. Apparently
Traci’s POVBy the time Calvin and I finished training the sky had barely started turning gray. Dawn stretched across the mountains in thin streaks while cold mist clung to the training field like it refused to let go of the night. Sweat dampened the back of my shirt, my muscles screamed from exhau
Ralph’s POV“So Travis, the elite warrior tournament is in two weeks. Tell me something useful for once. Did you get in contact with them?” I asked while leaning back in my chair, swirling bourbon through the crystal glass like I didn’t already know the answer.My beta stood across from the desk wi
Traci’s POV“Traci, you need to rest. You’re pushing too hard.” Corbin’s voice cut through the sharp morning air while I drove my fist into the padded target again. Sweat slid down my spine despite the cool breeze rolling through the clearing behind the old patrol cabins.“I’m fine,” I muttered, th







