LOGINTANYA’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
Amara's POVThe first explosion shook the entire estate.BOOM!The windows rattled violently. A crystal chandelier crashed somewhere downstairs, followed immediately by screams. My heart slammed against my ribs."What was that?"Martha grabbed my arm. "We have to go."Another explosion thundered through the estate. This time, the floor beneath my feet trembled, and dust fell from the ceiling. I looked toward the corridor. People were running everywhere—servants screaming, guards shouting orders. Somewhere below, metal clashed against metal. Someone was fighting."Take me to the cellar," I said.Martha stared at me. "The cellar?""Father's old war room."Her eyes widened. "You know about that?""I found the plans in his library."I didn't wait for an answer. I grabbed her hand and pulled her down the corridor, but we barely made it ten steps before a group of guards rushed around the corner."Lady Amara!" Their captain immediately moved in front of us, his sword already d
KAEL’S POVI hadn't slept. Not even for a minute.I sat against the cold, damp stone wall of the subterranean cell, my eyes fixed on the heavy iron door as Ragnar's final words echoed relentlessly inside my head.Another Alpha showed her kindness.It shouldn't have mattered. Not in the slightest.Amara Everhart was not my Luna. I had made that decision publicly, before the entire gathering of the Twelve Kingdoms. I had chosen Tanya—a woman of political standing, grace, and noble heritage.The imperial kingdom knew it. The Royal Council knew it. And Amara herself certainly knew it.So why was my wolf still thrashing against its magic suppression chains, pacing back and forth in the dark corners of my mind like a caged beast?Who was he?I tried to push the question down, to smother it beneath sheer force of will. What did he want from her?"Enough," I growled aloud to the empty cell.My wolf snarled back, its voice raw with possessive fury: You want to know his name. You wa
AMARA’S POVMorning arrived far too quickly.The small red apple the elderly cook had secretly pressed into my hand the previous night had done little to ease the hollow, dull ache gnawing at my stomach.I sat quietly in Father's library, staring at the faded ink of an open history ledger while my thoughts wandered miles away.A gentle knock sounded against the oak door frame."Lady Amara?" Martha stepped into the room. "The dressmaker has arrived with your attire."I frowned, setting my quill down. "The dressmaker?"Martha nodded, her mouth drawn into a thin line. "Lady Vivian ordered your gown for tonight's function to be delivered directly."Tonight. The Duke of Ravencrest's charity banquet. I had been trying so hard to push the thought of it from my mind.Half an hour later, a young seamstress stood nervously inside my bedroom, holding a heavy garment bag as if it were fragile glass."My Lady..." She swallowed hard, avoiding direct eye contact. "I... I only followed the
AMARA’S POVI spent the rest of the morning in Father's library.The silence between the towering mahogany shelves was the only sanctuary left in the entire estate that didn't judge me. Ancient leather volumes lay open across the desk—detailed works on regional history, diplomacy, military strategy, and the governing legal frameworks of the Twelve Kingdoms.I had barely finished copying a passage on territorial trade rights into my notebook when the heavy library doors burst open."Lady Amara." A young maid bowed hurriedly, her eyes darting nervously around the room. "Lady Vivian requests your immediate presence in the east courtyard."I carefully capped my ink pen and closed my notebook. "Did she mention why?"The maid hesitated, shifting her weight. "No, my lady."That single answer was enough to make my stomach tighten into a knot. Vivian never summoned me without a specific purpose—and that purpose was rarely ever kind.AMARA’S POVThe east courtyard was unusually lively







