로그인AMARA’S POVBlackridge was far worse than the bleak descriptions in my father's books.The moment the heavy iron-reinforced gates slammed shut behind me, I understood why soldiers dreaded a transfer here. The entire settlement was carved into the sheer, black-stone wall of a sunless canyon. Freezing mountain winds howled through the narrow stone alleyways, kicking up soot and gravel.Hard-faced garrison soldiers moved through the streets in heavy furs. No one smiled. No one looked up.The captain led me down a steep flight of stone stairs into the central courtyard. "This is where you will be stationed."I pulled my thin cloak tighter around my shoulders. "Stationed doing what?""You will scrub the central barracks, clean the mess halls, haul coal for the smithy, and carry medical supplies for the garrison healers."I looked at him calmly. "And if I simply refuse to do it?""You won't," his to
AMARA’S POV"Then take me to the truth."The old woman stared at me for several long seconds, her weathered face unreadable in the dim light of the tree line.Then, her expression shifted. The faint warmth in her eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, assessing intensity."So you really are the girl the border patrols are whispering about," she said quietly.I frowned, taking a half-step back. "What do you mean?"She stepped closer, studying the line of my jaw, my posture, and my simple velvet dress. "The rejected mate."My stomach tightened into a knot. "Yes.""The one accused of betraying the Central Packs.""I didn't betray anyone.""I believe you," she replied without hesitation.Her instant answer caught me completely off guard. "You do?"She nodded slowly. "Guilty people usually run away from the truth to save their skin." She glanced down at the subtle bulge of the silver pendant hidden beneath my high collar. "You are running straight toward it."Before I could ask
AMARA’S POVThe moment I stepped past the threshold of the Council Chamber, I knew something had gone catastrophically wrong.The grand marble gallery was packed—wall to wall. Nobles, palace guards, High Council servants, and low-ranking court officials stood shoulder to shoulder. Every head turned toward me the second my boots struck the stone floor.This time, however, no one was whispering about my wolfless status or my lack of grace. They were whispering about something far more lethal."Traitor...""Look at her... she deceived the entire court.""How could an Everhart sink so low?""She shouldn't just be restricted—she should be thrown into the subterranean cells."My footsteps slowed, my chest tightening. I looked around at the sea of cold, accusatory faces. "What is the meaning of this?"No one answered.Then, the heavy oak doors of the Council Chamber swung open behind me. The High Chancellor stepped into the gallery, his face like carved granite."Lady Amara Everh
AMARA’S POVThe royal summons remained on my mahogany desk all night.I barely slept a single minute. Every time I closed my eyes, the same sharp, black-inked calligraphy burned behind my eyelids.You are hereby officially summoned to the Royal Palace.You will answer questions regarding the attack on the Everhart Estate and your possession of an artifact connected to the Forgotten Kingdom.Someone had told them about the pendant. Someone inside or close to the upper court knew.And I had a sickening feeling that whoever brought this before the High Council wanted me terrified, cornered, and entirely alone.At sunrise, I dressed in a simple, dark-blue velvet gown. No elaborate jewels, no intricate hairstyle—nothing that could give the court another superficial reason to dissect my appearance.I carefully fastened the silver Moon Pendant beneath my high collar, tucking it securely out of sight.Then, I turned and looked at my reflection in the tall standing mirror. For once, I
TANYA’S POVThe palace was asleep.Or at least, everyone believed it was.I stood alone in the eastern tower, staring through the tall, arched window at the distant, sparkling lights of the capital below.Beyond those lights lay the Everhart Estate. And beyond that... the cold, unforgiving ridge of the northern mountains.Somewhere out there was the man I intended to marry. High Alpha Kael.My fingers tightened around the stone balcony railing until my knuckles turned white.He had returned. Alive. Unbroken.And somehow—against every single countermeasure, trap, and political boundary I had meticulously put in place—he had gone straight to her. Again.My jaw tightened, a sharp, bitter anger pulsing behind my temples. "That useless girl."The words slipped past my lips before I could stop them.Amara Everhart had been an inconvenience from the very beginning. A quiet, oversized, wolfless noblewoman who should have remained utterly invisible in the lower court. A girl no one
AMARA’S POV"Lycan."The single word hung heavy and terrifying in the air of the ruined corridor.I stared at the black-armored warrior whose sword was still drawn. "What did you just say?"He didn't answer me. His focus remained pinned on the shattered stone archway of the courtyard, as though whatever he had heard outside frightened him infinitely more than the battle currently surrounding us.Around the grounds, the remaining estate guards slowly began to regroup, holding their bleeding arms, while even the black-clad attackers froze in place, looking toward the broken gates.Then—A deep, reverberating growl rolled across the estate grounds.It wasn't human. It wasn't the howl of an ordinary wolf, either. It was lower, older, and carrying a suffocating, ancient pressure that caused the glass panes in the upper windows to rattle in their frames.My heart hammered frantically against my ribs. "What is happening out there?"The warrior beside me finally turned his helmeted







