Keiran’s POVMy arm, acting like it has its own mind, slowly snaked around her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to my side. My hand gently guided her head to rest on my shoulder. With her so close to me, I could feel her heavy, uneven breathing that felt almost like she was still holding back tears.“You don’t have to hold me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible in the quiet night.I kept my eyes on the sky and gave a small nod. “I know…”But I want to…I didn’t say it out loud. I couldn’t because I didn’t even know why.Despite everything—her lies, the danger she brought, the storm she dragged into my territory—there was something inside me that wanted to hold her. To protect her. She looked so damn tired, and it wasn’t just physical. It was the exhaustion that came from running too long, carrying too much. And I wanted to be beside her, even if I didn’t understand why.It couldn’t be feelings. That was impossible.Francine… my heart had belonged to her, even in death. She
Keiran’s POV“Adeline…” I called her name, hoping it would break through her stubborn silence. Hoping it would be enough to make her look at me and finally give me a real answer.She did look at me, but not the way I wanted. A bitter laugh escaped her lips as she leaned her back against the tree, her gaze lifting to the night sky, to the pale moon above us.“I tried, Keiran…” Her voice was soft, tired. “Every night, I could barely sleep. I kept thinking about running—far away from here, far from everything. But I never found the right moment. I buried myself in training just to push all the thoughts and fears away. But it was all useless in the end.”She pointed toward the direction of the palace, her expression twisted with bitterness. “They found me anyway. Honestly, I think they always knew. But I figured your pack’s reputation would be enough to keep them from doing anything reckless.”She laughed again, but there’s no joy in it, just a hollow, lifeless sound.“I was wrong. So dea
Keiran’s POVAs soon as the door closed behind Adeline… or Madeline… no—Maddie…I groaned and dragged a hand down my face, fingers raking through my hair in frustration. I was confusing myself just trying to decide what to call her. Madeline was her real name, the one tied to her identity as a princess. But Adeline… Adeline was the one who rolled her eyes at my threats. The girl who argued with me held her ground even when I snarled.But now, the lines were blurring. I didn’t know which version of her was real anymore—or maybe, both were.Anyway, when she disappeared from sight, I picked up my phone and typed furiously. The force of my fingers against the screen mirrored my mood. The message was simple but firm: “Lock down the pack. Meeting in my office. Now.”My fingers drummed anxiously against the desk as I tried to collect my thoughts, but frustration buzzed in my skull like a hive of wasps. She’s not safe here anymore. Not with what I know now. And like I’d feared from the start
Madeline’s POV Nervousness wasn’t even the right word anymore.What I was feeling surpassed anxiety—it was like standing in the centre of a battlefield, a thousand invisible blades hovering in the air, all pointed at me, ready to strike the moment I exhaled. I just fought eight Rogues in the woods without flinching, but now, sitting in Keiran’s office, wrapped in one of his oversized shirts and staring into his cold, unreadable eyes, I felt small. Terrified. Like, I didn’t belong.The shirt hung off my body like a dress; the scent of him—cedarwood, smoke, and something uniquely his—was the only thing that grounded me. I focused on that smell, breathing it in slowly, because it kept me from falling apart completely. My wounds had begun to close, but the dried blood still stuck to my skin, making me itch. Dirt from my bare feet was smudged on the floor. Everything about me screamed out of place.And Keiran? He hadn’t moved.He stood in front of me, arms folded tightly across his ches
Keiran’s POVI was in the office with Tom, scanning the same frustrating pile of documents we’d been reading through for weeks now. My temples were throbbing with pain, and my patience was wearing thin with every page I read, and I ended up finding it useless.“This isn’t going anywhere!” I barked, slamming the papers down on the desk with a loud, echoing thud.Tom flinched but didn’t argue as he was as frustrated as I was.Like me, he looked exhausted and irritated. “I don’t know how he’s removing all his traces,” he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose before collapsing into the leather chair across from me. “It’s like chasing a damn ghost. No fingerprints, no slip-ups, no messages. He’s too clean. Almost like… someone big is backing him.”He didn’t have to finish the thought. I knew exactly what he was suggesting.We’d been tailing Jason ever since Adeline tipped us off. And while his behaviour had always raised questions, nothing we had so far was solid enough to justify exile
Madeline’s POVI stared at the dagger situated on the top of my dresser, feeling determination and anger fueling my veins.Glancing out my window, I watched as the sun set and the sky turned dark. Looking at the moon, I spoke, “Goddess, if you have any mercy left in me, help me. Let there be no more tragedy on my way.”With that, I decisively stood up and grabbed the dagger, clipping it in between my pants and back.Letting no fear weaken me, I stood in front of the forest and clenched my fist. “Are you ready, Andy?”“Ready as I’ll ever be…” My wolf replied, sharing her keen senses with me.Suddenly, I’m more aware of my surroundings.Walking in through the forest where I wasn’t aware of what kind of trap I’d walk into, I called out as I got nearer to the location. “Jason? Say what you want. I’m here!”Coming out of the shadows, his eyes glinted devilishly while a cruel grin spread across his lips. “Yeah… About that…”As soon as he finished, he slowly took a step back and in a matter
Madeline’s POV“Will you be waiting here for the entire day?” Keiran asked as he leaned his head back against the wall.Since the doctor came out to share the news with us, he had been sitting beside me, waiting. I could see that he was already tired, but for some reason, he stayed.Looking at his drooping eyelids, I gave him a small smile. “Go on. You can go first. I can wait here alone. Helena isn’t just my trainer in the academy. She’s also my one and only friend.”“I never said I was tired.” After saying that in a mildly cold tone, he crossed his arms over his shoulders and closed his eyes, sleeping right there.Knowing how stubborn he was, I only shook my head and mimicked him.However, it hadn’t been half an hour yet when we heard footsteps coming in. Being the first one to open my eyes, I saw Tom approaching.He mouthed, “Sleeping?”I nodded in reply and shrugged my shoulders.He breathed a couple of times as if he was building up courage before he sighed and slightly tapped Ke
Madeline’s POV“Under the floorboard… I… I found a… Lycan phone… A confidential phone….” My heart sank the moment the words left her lips. Even though I had known Jason was a spy for Mark, I stupidly assumed their communication methods were primitive—secret letters, hidden meetings deep in the forest. I never imagined they had something this direct, this dangerous.Stuttering, barely able to form the words, I asked, “Are you sure?”Helena gave a faint nod, her face pale and slick with cold sweat. “There’s a royal seal on it… I couldn’t be mistaken. I was… planning to bring it to Alpha…” She coughed again, blood staining her lips.“But then…” I started, my throat tightening as I pieced it together, “Someone caught you.” I swallowed hard. “Was it Jason?”She weakly shook her head. “No… But someone knew. Knew I found it... they tried to quiet things up. Attacked before I could leave…” Her voice was so faint I had to lean closer just to hear her.“Okay… okay… You’re gonna be fine.” My v
Madeline’s POVRight after Amanda and Felix left, I went straight to my room and stayed there. I didn’t want to risk bumping into Keiran—not when I knew he’d ask questions I didn’t have the answers for.As much as I hated to admit it, I was running out of time. Things had already gone on longer than they should have, and with Amanda and Felix showing up—something told me that wouldn’t be their last visit—I could feel the pressure closing in. Sooner or later, my identity would come out. I just didn’t expect “sooner” to feel so close.It’s been two days since then. Honestly, I thought avoiding Keiran would be hard… but surprisingly, it wasn’t. I hadn’t seen him at all. Not even at the academy.Even Tom wasn’t around.“Is something going on?” I asked Helena as we sat in the canteen having lunch. The peaceful atmosphere felt off, like something was coming but hadn’t landed yet.Helena bit into her bread and shrugged like it was just another day. “In this pack? Something’s always going on.