LOGINTraci’s POVThe morning had started out quiet. Sarah, Helen, Samantha, and I were walking through the garden, enjoying the fresh air before the day really got going. The palace was busy with people coming and going as preparations continued, but out here, everything felt peaceful.I was listening to Sarah complain about something when the sound of an engine caught my attention. I turned toward the palace entrance. A dark SUV was pulling through the gates. I slowed my steps.“Is somebody arriving?” Helen asked.Sarah looked toward the vehicle. “Maybe.”The first SUV continued toward the palace, and another one came through the gates behind it. I frowned. Then a third followed.Samantha stopped walking. “Is that another one?”I nodded my head. Another SUV came through the gates. Then another. We all stood there watching as the vehicles made their way through the gates.“Already?” Sarah asked. “They’re showing up two days early?”I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess some people couldn’t wai
Zayden’s POV We’d been back home in the palace for six months now. It was hard to believe how quickly those months had passed. It seemed like only yesterday we had been carrying our newborn sons through the palace doors, terrified that spiders may return and bite one of them. Or the curse would return. Now there wasn’t a trace of it. Raiden’s marks never returned, and neither did Kieran’s or Theron’s. The boys had grown faster than any babies I had ever seen, but then again, they weren’t ordinary babies. They were White Wolf babies, and they were already showing just how different they were. At six months old, they were toddling around the palace. They still fell every once in a while, because their little legs hadn’t quite caught up with how quickly they wanted to move, but they were far more advanced than any six-month-old should have been. And we had learned that their abilities were developing just as quickly. Kieran had fire. Theron had ice. We had discovered their healing a
Zayden’s POV I was still staring down at Theron when he let out another tiny whimper. I rubbed my hand gently over his back. “What’s wrong, little man?” He squirmed against my chest, his little face turning toward his brother. I followed his gaze. Kieran was still in Raiden’s arms, staring at the fireplace like he had no idea he had just caused the flames to jump. Then Kieran made a tiny sound. The fire flickered. I looked at Raiden. Then back to the fireplace. The flames jumped a little higher. Traci covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Kieran’s eyes stayed fixed on the fireplace, and his little mouth curled into that same innocent smile. “Well,” I said slowly, “I think your brother wants to show off.” Theron let out another whimper. I looked down at him. “Are you jealous?” He stopped moving. Then he balled both of his little fists. I watched as he raised his hands slightly. A chill swept through the room. Before I could say anything, frost began spreading across the hearth.
Raiden’s POV A couple of days had passed since the night everything changed, and nothing had happened. My marks hadn’t returned. Neither had Kieran’s or Theron’s. We had watched the boys constantly, waiting for some sign that something was wrong, but they had given us nothing to worry about. They ate, they slept, they cried when they were hungry, and they seemed perfectly content with everything around them. I couldn’t actually believe it. After living with the curse for so long I was used to pain and my anger flaring. But now… I wasn’t waiting for the curse to strike again. I still found myself checking my arms sometimes, almost expecting to see those marks appear against my skin. But every time I looked, there was nothing there. Traci had spent much of the last two days going through the old journals. She had been determined to find out whether the curse could return or if what happened to me was permanent. Tonight, she was sitting across from me near the fireplace with on
Zayden’s POV I reached down and carefully lifted Kieran from his bassinet, settling him against my chest. He didn’t cry. He didn’t squirm. He simply looked up at me with those tiny eyes, watching me as I gently rubbed my hand over his back. There was something in his expression that I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t pain. If anything, there was almost a little smile on his face. I stared down at him, completely captivated by it. “Sweetheart,” I whispered, brushing my thumb gently across his cheek. “Baby boy… did you take that from your brother?” I almost laughed at myself. I knew he couldn’t answer me. He was barely hours old. But that little smile remained. And for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my son knew exactly what I was asking. I looked over toward the other bassinet. Theron was still sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of everything happening around him. His skin was clear now. The markings that had covered his tiny body after birth were gone. Kieran was t
Raiden’s POV I hadn’t slept. I hadn’t even tried. After everything that happened yesterday, there was no way I was going to close my eyes and pretend everything was fine. I spent most of the night watching Traci and our sons, waiting for something to change. But… Nothing did. The marks on the boys stayed exactly where they were. The dark markings covering Traci’s stomach had stopped spreading sometime during the night, but they hadn’t disappeared either. They were still there, dark against her skin, looking far too much like the markings covering our sons. I checked on all three of them more times than I could count. Every time I looked at the boys, their little chests were rising and falling normally. Their heartbeats were strong. They were sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that everyone around them was terrified about what those markings meant. Traci had managed to sleep for most of the night. She needed the rest after giving birth to two babies, and I wasn’t about to wake
Zayden’s POV“Sienna,” I muttered against her neck as she settled herself onto my lap with a satisfied little smirk.Soft music drifted through my chambers while firelight flickered across the walls, casting golden shadows over the room. The scent of vanilla and wine clung heavily to the air. Hones
Zayden’s POVPeople hear the words Alpha King and immediately imagine some noble male standing on a balcony giving inspirational speeches while dramatic wind blows through his hair.Absolute bullshit.Most days consisted of paperwork, meetings, threats disguised as diplomacy, and elders breathing d
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







