LOGIN301 EpilogueErinaFive years flew by like an afterthought. Five busy years of ruling a kingdom of wolves while raising our children and managing a fragile peace between packs. It hadn't been easy. I never expected it to be. My life has always been one of challenges. But lately…I’ve been avoiding the mirror after I noticed a few strands of silver in my golden braid and a few lines around my eyes that weren’t there before.“Erina, come to bed. What are you doing way over there?” Magnus’ deep voice pulled me out of my disturbing thoughts.I laid the brush down on the vanity, facing my reflection. “In a minute, my king.”The bed protested under him. The carpet swallowed his footsteps, and then his warm hands landed softly on my shoulders. His lips brushed my neck, sending the old familiar shivers down my spine. After all these years, his touch still left me tingling and aching for him.“I miss you, my queen. We’ve both been so busy lately.” He caressed the nightgown’s straps down my shou
ErinaHe was alive! That was the important part. But the difference was plain. Something had changed.There was heaviness, a sharp tang in the air of charred bone and ozone as if lightning had struck the place.No explanation. He just stood there with the crying infant, the piercing wails echoing against the cold, stone walls, an unreadable emotion in his stormy, clouded eyes.“She needs a mother, Erina,” he said, offering the baby to me. She couldn’t have been more than a few hours old. Still covered in slick placenta, the umbilical cord dangling limp and wet between her upturned, shivering legs. Her helpless, thin-voiced cries tugged at my heart, the tiny face screwed up in a red, wrinkled mask, little fists raised in soft defiance.“Magnus…” I had a thousand questions, but the baby needed care. A mother.I took her from his hands, and she stopped crying, snuggling into the crook of my arm, her mouth searching desperately for my breast with a soft, hungry whimpering.“Oh!” I didn’t e
MagnusGisela! How could she do this to me? No matter how hard I yelled, they didn’t hear me. My ghostly hands passed right through them. I didn’t want this. No.I wanted to grow old with the woman I loved, see my pups grow up strong.Helpless. Betrayed. Furious.My beast was still in there in my husk of a body. Alive, but stuck. What the hell was she thinking? I shuddered to think what would have happened had Erina drunk that wine. Oh, she wasn’t getting away with this.I loved Gisela, but this was unforgivable. I didn’t want to die, but I sure as hell didn’t want this. To be the Immortal Lycan, the beast without conscience or compassion.Erina gave me my soul back, and now I was about to lose it again.I watched as Gisela prepared my body, cursing her for doing this to me. But she couldn’t hear or if she did, it didn’t matter. For the kingdom.Screw the fucking kingdom! I never wanted it in the first place.I made the mistake of falling for the wrong woman, and I paid with my life. G
Erina“She’s the one!” the girl shouted, her voice shrill against the ballroom’s acoustic echo, grabbing the astonished girl by the arm with a bruising, frantic grip. “You gave the boy the poisoned wine! I saw you.”Shock and horror flitted across the girl’s ashen face. Her mouth fell open, dry and trembling, but no sound escaped. The other servants recoiled, leaving the girl standing alone under the revolving crystal sphere, which cast dizzying, splintered light across her skin.Guards rushed forward, their heavy boots thudding against the marble as they gripped her arms firmly.The room erupted with enraged, guttural shouts, clamoring for her head on a spike. The elders had their hands full trying to calm the guests, their movements frantic and strained.My bodyguards formed a protective barrier between myself and the rest. Tension made tempers flare, and keeping a room full of alphas at bay—their heavy, musk-laden aggression thick enough to choke on—was no simple task.Despite havi
Sabelle“Quickly, girl! Time is running out. It won’t be long before Erina finds out what I’ve done.” Gisela ignored all my protests. From within her apron pocket, she produced a small glass container. “Ash from a wolf’s pelt,” she explained as if I had asked. With it, she drew a circle around the table where Magnus lay. “Seal the doors. We can’t have them barging in on us.”“Ordering me around in my own space,” I mumbled but did it anyway, sealing the doors with a powerful spell. Not because I needed her approval.I watched her form runes in the ash, intricate forms most of which I’ve never seen before. “What were you thinking?! Did you do this to cast suspicion on me?” I wouldn’t put it past her. “You never wanted me here. And you would do anything to get rid of me, wouldn’t you?” The words tasted bitter in my mouth. She never wanted me. I was her mistake, the product of her foolish love.Didn’t I do the same? No, my situation was different. I wanted a child, a magical child I could
ErinaFrom the nursery I hurried to our bedroom to change out of my wedding dress. It was too cumbersome to walk around in all the heavy silk and jewels. I removed my crown and jewelry as well and dressed in plain black slacks and a blouse. Exchanged the high heels for comfortable shoes.My bodyguards followed me down the empty hallway and out of the castle where Hein waited for me in the dark. The moon hid behind thick clouds, and the fireworks were long gone. The celebrations had died down to an oppressive silence. Even the nightbirds were silent.“You found him?” The wolf pricked her ears, growling low in anticipation. She was out for blood.Hein bowed curtly. “We’ve rounded up the caterers, my queen. I have them detained in the dungeons.”“Then let’s not waste more time.” I fell into step with him, our footsteps echoing through the stillness of the courtyard. We walked past the pavilion where Magnus and I had stood just a few hours earlier, pledging forever to one another. The blo







