Aries’s point of view “Truth walks behind illusion, the crown is shadowed but not lost. Blood remembers.” I can feel it—every muscle in my body coiled, every instinct sharpened like a blade drawn from fire. The moment is here. The moment I’ve been waiting for. My mate is standing just steps away from me. Beautiful. Obedient. Ready. Eva. She bows her head when she sees me, her lips trembling like she’s overcome by fate. I like that. I like the way she looks at me—with reverence, with fear, with need. Soon, she’ll bear my mark. Soon, everyone will know who she belongs to. The crowd murmurs. Theo’s voice drones on in ceremonial tones. I don’t care. My attention is on the soft curve of Eva’s neck. That perfect place where my mark will live—forever. And then she arrives. Britney.. My lip curls the moment I see her. She’s always interrupting. Always clawing her way into places she doesn’t belong. What does she want now? Another pathetic attempt to stop the inevitable? She steps fo
Eva’s point of view “When the mirror lies and the eyes deceive, seek the mark that the memory leaves.” My boots hit the stone path of the castle just as the sun begins to bleed into the sky. I had to run all night just to get here in time. My lungs burn, my legs ache, and my mind spins with everything I’ve just seen—everything I now know. But I don’t have time to breathe. I don’t have time to rest. They’re going to mark her. They’re going to mark Britney. The courtyard is full. Wolves, witches, elders… all waiting. Theo stands near the fountain in ceremonial clothes, holding Britney’s hand like he’s already made his choice. No—like someone made it for him. I move forward. Eyes dart toward me. Whispers crawl like insects through the crowd. They see me, but they all believe i am already late . The real Eva. Bruised. Bleeding. Glowing faintly under the sun’s rays . Some gasp. Some scoff like i have failed them. Most look away, too confused—or too enchanted by the view that lays i
Eva’s point of view “Only those who carry pieces of the whole can find the path.” The words chase me like ghosts through the corridors of the castle. No matter where I go, no matter how fast I move, I can’t outrun them. They crawl under my skin, cling to my thoughts, and whisper in the shadows of every failed plan we’ve made. The day before the Marking. The day before I lose everything. And still—we have nothing. No clue. No map. No magical whisper from the Goddess. No secret door opening with glowing runes. Just those damn riddles, heavy as tombstones. So I go back. To the beginning. To where everything started. To the place I first felt my spirit wolf as we became one . The place the old executioners used to guard with blood and silence. Maybe the answers aren’t out there. Maybe they’ve always been here. ⸻ It’s almost midnight when I arrive. The door seals behind me, swallowing the tunnel in darkness. My footsteps echo as I walk deeper, only the faint orange glow of to
Rufus’s point of view Pain is… beautiful. Not in the way mortals romanticize it—not the kind that inspires sonnets or earns sympathy. No, this pain is sacred. It strips me bare. Boils away the weakness. What’s left is pure. I no longer scream. I did, in the beginning. When Isabella used fire to remind me of the love we once shared. When Nathaniel dug into my veins with his light, thinking he could burn the truth out of me. But pain and I… we’re old friends now. I listen instead. To their voices. Their fear. Their panic. The way they whisper in the shadows of this room, thinking I’m too far gone to hear them. “They found out she’s not Eva.” My broken lips curl. So they know. Good. “She tricked them all.” Of course she did. “She still has Theo. And Aries wants to mark her.” I laugh. It’s a raw, wet sound that scrapes my throat. That’s my girl. Even exposed, even unveiled, she has him wrapped around her cursed little finger. Oh, she learned well. She studied their desires,
Isabella’s point of view The room is silent except for the drip… drip… drip of blood hitting the floor. Rufus is hanging by his wrists, barely conscious, his body a patchwork of bruises, burns, and open wounds. The scent of scorched flesh clings to the walls like rot. I circle him slowly, a jagged blade in hand—one of my favorites. Thin enough to slice cleanly, sharp enough to peel skin like paper. “I once begged you for mercy,” I say softly, running the blade along his collarbone, not yet cutting. “And you laughed. Remember that?” His only response is a rasping breath, barely audible over the sound of his own suffering. I lean in, voice ice-cold. “Where is she, Rufus? Where is my daughter?” He lifts his head with effort, blood crusted at the corners of his mouth. “Still sentimental… I thought the years would harden you properly.” “They did. You just weren’t around to see it.” I stab the blade into his thigh and twist. His scream fills the chamber, echoing off the stone like
Theo’s Point of View They’re watching me. I can feel it. Sonia’s eyes track my every move like I’m a threat. Parker keeps talking to Elias in whispers. And every time I enter a room, the conversation dies like someone pulled the plug. They think I don’t notice. “You’re too quiet.” Aries’s voice slices through the fog in my brain. “I’m thinking.” “That’s the problem.” He scoffs. “You’re thinking like a fool. Wake up, Theo. They’re turning against us.” I run a hand through my hair and stare at the wall. I’ve barely slept. The only peace I’ve had is when I’m with her. Eva. The only one who hasn’t tried to gaslight me lately. The only one who believes in me. Who trusts me. “Are you seriously calling Eva your safe space?” Aries growls. “She’s not just my safe space . She’s my everything ” My jaw clenches. “You accepted her too. You’re the one who wanted to mark her.” Silence. A beat of hesitation. “…I know what I felt,” Aries mutters. “Her scent, her voice, her touch. It