LOGINMERRIN’S POV“Enough.”The word cuts through the hall as my hands slam against the armrest.Sharp. Final.Everything stops.The elders fall silent mid-breath. Robes still. Voices dead.Good.Because if one more word is spoken, I might lose what little control I have left.Pain claws through my ribs as I rise, slow but unyielding. My body protests. I ignore it.“Stop talking,” I say, quieter now.No one moves.No one dares.The air thickens, suffocating. Every breath heavy, every heartbeat loud.And still…I feel him.Marrek.I don’t need to look to know where he is. Behind Violet. Hidden. Safe. Away from me.Something twists in my chest, sharp enough to blur my vision.What is the point of a throne if my own son won’t even look at me?A laugh escapes me.Low. Broken. Wrong.“What use is being Alpha,” I murmur, dragging my gaze across the room, “when my own pack turned me against my family?”No one answers.They can’t.Because they know.“What use is this title,” I continue, louder now
MERRIN’S POV I don’t hear the scream—I feel it.“Marrek—!”I’m already moving before I can think.The needles rip free from my arm with a wet, sickening pull. Blood follows instantly, hot and slick, sliding down my skin, but I barely feel it. Not when that voice sounded like my son.My feet hit the ground—and the world tilts.“Alpha—wait!” Nolan shouts behind me. “An alpha can’t run like this.”I stagger, but I keep going like I didn’t hear him. To hell with the rules.Pain detonates through my ribs. My side burns like it’s being carved open again. Something warm trails down my back—blood, I know—but it doesn’t slow me. Nothing can.“Merrin!” Nolan calls again. “Stop—you’re not healed!”“Where is he?” My voice scrapes raw against my throat.Nolan grabs my arm, and I rip free like he’s nothing.“Elder Ellis,” he says quickly. “Violet took him there. She didn’t trust the doctors.”Of course she didn’t trust anything tied to me.I run faster. Branches whip across my face, sting against
VIOLET’S POV“MARREK!”My voice tears out of me, raw and jagged as I lunge forward—but it’s too late.The blade is already at his throat, and something inside me breaks.My hand finds a jagged stone—heavy, slick with dust and blood—and I throw it hard. It cuts through the air and cracks against Helena’s temple with a sickening sound.She stumbles. Just one step—but it’s enough.Zoey lunges forward, ripping Nolan’s sword from his grip without hesitation and drives it down with a scream that sounds like it has been trapped in her chest for years.“YOU DON’T TOUCH HIM!”The blade cuts deep across Helena’s leg.Blood spills fast—dark and real. Helena drops, and for the first time, she looks human. Shock flashes across her face.Then chaos explodes.Guards surge forward. Chains snap tight around her, dragging her down and forcing her to the ground like she is nothing more than flesh and bone. Celine screams. Mirella sobs. Emily begs.But I hear none of it.I only see Marrek.“Take them!” N
MERRIN’S POV“NO!” I screamed.Arrows tore through the air, merciless—aimed at one place.At him… my son.I didn’t think or hesitate; I just moved. Everything slowed, and my body was already there before my mind could catch up, blocking my son as the arrows flew straight into me instead.One.Two.Three.The force slammed into me like a beast with iron claws. The arrows punched deep through flesh, brutal and unforgiving, stealing the breath from my lungs in a single, violent instant.Pain bloomed—blinding.My knees buckled, but I refused the ground. Not yet. Not while he was still behind me.I dropped to one knee, stone cracking beneath the impact as blood poured down my chest. My vision dimmed, but I forced my head up, because I needed to see her.“Mother…” My voice came out raw, scraped hollow. “That’s… my blood.”The words felt different now—heavier, sharper. Not obedience. Not trust. Something closer to accusation.Across the courtyard, Queen Helena watched me, unmoved. She didn’t
DOCTOR IDRIS’ POV“Stop! Alpha, please—you can’t kill your own blood!”My voice tears out of my throat before I even realized I'd reached the courtyard.Everything freezes.Chains stop rattling. Swords hang midair. Even the wind seems to hesitate.My chest burns like I’ve swallowed fire. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I only see him—that child—small, trembling, eyes wide with terror.My legs give out, and I crash to my knees.“Please…” I gasp, bowing so low my forehead almost hits the stone. “Listen to me.”Silence.Then—“You have five seconds.”Alpha Merrin’s voice cuts through me like a blade.Cold. Controlled. Deadly.I lift my head slowly, my entire body shaking. His eyes lock onto mine, sharp and merciless.“Explain,” he says.Behind him, Queen Helena watches.Smiling.That smile… It chills me more than the execution itself.My mouth goes dry.But I didn’t come here to survive.I came here to end this.“The child…” My voice cracks. I swallow hard. “He is yours.”The courtyard e
QUEEN HELENA’S POV“Zip it for me.”My voice comes out soft—almost tender—as I slip into Merrin’s room, my back bare and exposed to him.It isn’t a request. It never is.It’s a quiet test of his self-control. And with skin this smooth, this close… I know he won’t resist this time.Merrin steps closer behind me. I feel him before he even touches—the heat radiating from his strong body, the quiet control he carries like a second skin, sending my pulse racing.The silk of my nightdress clings softly to my curves, the fabric opens down my back… waiting for his hands. My skin tingles with anticipation, every nerve awake, the thin fabric doing little to hide how much I want to be noticed… even if he doesn’t yet realize just how much.The zipper slides up. Slow. Deliberate. Then his fingers brush my bare skin.A sharp breath slips from me before I could stop it. Unsteady, too warm, my body betraying the tension coiling deep inside me.“Too tight?” he murmurs, his voice low, almost careless,
QUEEN HELENA’S POVIt was late.The palace corridors were quiet, almost empty. I moved like a shadow, my soft heels whispering against polished marble. My heart thumped in my chest, steady, yet tense, like a warning drum.I couldn’t let anyone see me. Not the servants. Not the guards. Not anyone. T
CELINE’S POVThe club was loud.Too loud.Bass slammed through the floor and climbed straight into my bones, vibrating my ribs, rattling my teeth. Neon lights bled pink and blue through the haze, slicing through cigarette smoke and the sour sting of spilled alcohol. The air was thick… perfume layer
VIOLET’S POVDark.That was all the dungeon was.Not just dark like night… but dark like the world had forgotten this place existed.The air smelled damp and old, like rust and rot clinging to stone that never saw the sun.My stomach hurts.Bad.Hunger sat heavy inside me, sharp and hollow at the s
MERRIN’S POVI should have killed her.I had promised myself that day would come.A thousand times, I replayed it in my head.Her scream.Her blood slick on my hands.The girl who took my eye.The girl who ruined my life.Violet.She stood in my secret room, shaking, surrounded by her own painted f







