ログインVIOLET’S POVThe moment I spoke, someone in the courtroom laughed loudly. I turned immediately, only to realize everyone was laughing now, not just one person.Even now, the sound wouldn’t stop echoing inside my skull.Hours after the trial ended.Hours after nobles bent their knees before me.After servants started whispering Your Majesty with trembling voices and fearful smiles.After the crown was placed at my feet like an offering dipped in blood.Still—I heard the laughter.Sharp.Cruel.Patient.Waiting.I stood motionless in the center of my chambers while maids hurried around me like frightened birds, replacing curtains, lighting candles, and changing sheets no one had slept in. The scent of jasmine and smoke thickened the air until it became suffocating.“They were laughing…” I whispered again.Because Helena had been right.The moment Merrin revealed me… the moment he named Marrek Crown Prince… he didn’t protect us. He exposed us. Painted targets directly onto our backs.A
MERRIN’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 POVI heard them before I saw them.Laughter.Soft. Free. Happy.That sound didn’t belong in this palace anymore.I stepped closer to the balcony edge, fingers curling around the cold stone railing as rain soaked the gardens below. The night smelled of wet earth and crushed leaves. T
MERRIN’S POVSleep refused to come.I turned on the bed again and again, silk sheets twisting around my legs like chains. They clung to my skin, cool and smooth, tightening every time I moved. The room smelled of cedar and fire oil… calm, grounding scents meant to soothe an Alpha.They did nothing
VIOLET’S POVSomething was wrong with me.I knew it the moment I opened my eyes.My body felt tight.Restless.Like my skin didn’t fit anymore…too small, stretched thin over heat and nerves that wouldn’t settle.I shifted again, the blanket doing nothing to ease the heat coiled under my skin. My n
ZOELLA’S POVI knew my sister, Violet, would do something stupid if she stayed in Wolves-Heaven for another minute.Something like… falling for that ridiculous, one-eyed Alpha Merrin.Ugh.Just thinking about it made my skin crawl.The way she smiled when he appeared in the dungeon this morning?Vo







