LOGINRaiden’s POVI stared at the old woman for a long moment before looking away.I didn’t understand her presence here. Not now. Not after everything.Of all days… she chose today to come into my room, to stand over my mate’s body like this was just another passing moment.My jaw tightened.“Is there anything you want to do?” I asked, my voice low, controlled but strained beneath it.I didn’t wait before adding, “Every witch we could find has tried. Every healer. Every remedy. Nothing worked.” My gaze shifted back to Aria, lying there so still it made my chest ache. “She’s gone.”The old woman only smiled.Not mockingly.Not pitying.Just… calm.“Why do you still keep her here, Alpha Raiden?” she asked gently.The question hit harder than it should have.I leaned forward slightly, resting my jaw against my intertwined fingers as I stared at Aria’s unmoving form.“It’s hard to let go,” I admitted quietly.Because it was.Because she didn’t look gone.She hadn’t changed. Not even slightly.
Raiden’s POVFour days.Four days since everything shattered.I stood on the balcony, the cold morning air brushing against my skin, yet I felt nothing. Below, the pack moved—quiet, subdued. No laughter. No strength in their voices. Just… survival.Behind me, my son slept in his cradle.Kael.Ava stood nearby, silent, watchful, as if afraid even her breath might disturb the fragile stillness in this room.And me?I stared at the sky like it held answers it refused to give.Four nights ago.It was supposed to be different.That night was meant to be ours.Peace after war. Victory after bloodshed. A moment to breathe. To hold Aria in my arms, to forget everything else and just… exist with her. With our son.I had allowed myself to believe it.Allowed myself to believe I was free.Free from the curse.What a fool.It started small.A flicker. A shift. That familiar darkness clawing its way up from inside me. I had fought it—gods, I had fought it but the curse… it doesn’t negotiate.It ta
Aria POVThe forest knew I was coming.Branches shifted before I touched them. Leaves whispered as I passed. The ground beneath my feet felt… aware. Like it recognized something in me I was only just beginning to understand myself.Or maybe it was the power.It still hummed under my skin, quiet now, but alive. Waiting.I didn’t need guides. I didn’t need scouts.I could feel her.Selene.Like a stain on the air.I moved faster.Not running — no.Gliding.Each step lighter than the last, until the distance between trees blurred into streaks of shadow and silver. The deeper I went, the colder the air became. The woods thinned gradually until the ground sloped upward.A mountain.Of course she’d be here.Dramatic.I climbed without slowing, boots barely making a sound against rock and loose gravel. The wind grew sharper as I reached the top, carrying something with it,Her scent.Bitter. Ancient. ugly.And then—I saw her.Selene stood at the edge of the mountain, her back to me, dark ro
Aria POVThe days after the war passed in a way I had almost forgotten life could feel.Quiet.Not the uneasy quiet that comes before bloodshed, but the kind that settles over a land when danger has finally passed and people can breathe again.For the first time in what felt like forever, the fortress no longer hummed with tension. Warriors still trained, patrols still moved along the borders, but the frantic edge that had once driven every movement was gone.Peace had returned.Real peace.And with it came something even more precious.Our son.A few days after everything settled—after the war, after the chaos, after the long and painful hours that had brought new life into the world—Lady Marisol arrived.Raiden’s witch.She came quietly, wrapped in her long midnight-blue cloak, eyes bright with that knowing look she carried everywhere. We didn’t have to go to her this time.She congratulated us both with warmth that felt surprisingly genuine for someone so mysterious. Then she asked
Aria POVThe silence after war is always strange.One moment, there is screaming, steel, blood, and chaos.The next—Victory.The enemies were retreating, dragging their wounded, abandoning their dead. Weapons lay scattered across the courtyard like discarded pride. The moon still hung high above us, but the air no longer felt suffocating.It felt ours again.A roar erupted behind me.Our pack.Shouts of triumph. Laughter. Howls splitting the night sky in celebration.We had won.I turned slowly.And there he was.Raiden stood in the middle of the courtyard, sword lowered now, chest rising steadily, blood streaked across his armor — some his, most not. His eyes found mine instantly.The tension in his shoulders eased.He sighed.And then he smiled.That was all it took.I ran.I didn’t care that warriors were watching. Didn’t care that the courtyard was still a mess of bodies and broken stone. I ran straight toward him and jumped.He caught me effortlessly.His arms wrapped
Lucian POVThe shift tore through me like lightning.Bone restructured. Muscle thickened. The world sharpened.When I landed fully into my lycan form, the battlefield no longer looked like chaos — it looked like prey.Kael was already transformed beside me, larger than most, his claws dripping with blood that wasn’t his. Liam let out a feral roar as his own lycan form snapped into place, towering and brutal.We didn’t wait.We charged.The first wave of vampires rushed us with unnatural speed, their red eyes glowing in the firelight. One lunged for my throat.I caught him midair.My claws sank into his chest and ripped downward. Blackened blood sprayed across the dirt as I tore him in half before his feet even touched the ground.No time to savor it.A werewolf slammed into my side. We rolled across the earth, teeth snapping, claws slashing. He was strong , Darius hadn’t gathered weaklings — but strength without discipline was nothing.I twisted, sank my claws into his shoulder joint,
Lyra POVIt’s been two months.Or no — the second month is almost over.And Darius still hasn’t made a move.Was all that talk about revenge just smoke? All those promises about tearing down the Lycan King’s throne — were they nothing but words meant to keep the warriors loyal and restless?I could
Aria POVSeeing Lyra standing in the heart of this castle felt unreal.For a second, I almost expected her to shift and bare her teeth like she used to — circling me with that cruel little smile while the others laughed. Instead, she stood upright before the throne, shoulders squared but eyes cauti
RAIDEN POVMonsters don’t become fathers. My chest tightens — not in pain. In awe. I turn slightly, looking down at her. Aria is still curled into me like she belongs there. One hand rests unconsciously over her stomach. Over our child. I place my hand there too. Carefully.Like I’m holding somethi
Darius POVI sat naked in the steaming water of my bath, heat curling around my skin like a lazy lover. The marble tub was large enough to drown in, carved from dark stone imported from the southern cliffs, its edges lined with crushed rose petals and oils worth more than most of the wolves in this







