Bowden Griffin and Jaeger show up at my office for our weekly meeting just after I break my mind link with Kaiya. Her emotions are cycling faster than the spin cycle on a washing machine, and I can't keep up with her. It’s putting me more on edge than usual, and I'm still right on the brink as it is. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t check in with an emotional mate every five minutes, but after what had happened, I can’t help myself. “You're late,” I growl at my advisors as they enter. “Close the door.” I glare at Griffin while Jaeger gently closes the door. Sensing the tension between the Beta and me right away, my Gamma asks, “What’s going on?” “We had a bit of a fight,” Griffin answers. “Really?” I ask my Beta. “That’s all you’re going to say? Do you want me to tell him?” I try to soften some of my anger towards my Beta, especially after he confessed his desire to die, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Not yet. Griffin sighs and briefly tells Jaeger everything he told me last nig

Kaiya“What kinds of questions?” Vanessa asks.This is embarrassing. “I…can you keep a secret?”Smiling at me, her face softens as she nods.“When the king met me, he said that we won’t have a physical relationship, but now…I think we’re headed that way.”“Okay, and?”“All I know about sex is the mechanics.” I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. “You know, what parts go where. I don’t know anything else.”To my surprise, Vanessa doesn’t laugh or make fun of me. I was ready for that, so I’m slightly taken aback when she shows sympathy instead of mirth. “Wolves really like to keep their women pure, don’t they?”“I don’t know…no, I don’t think so, not really. In our pack, everyone fornicated with everyone else until they were mated.” Except, of course, girls like me. The high-ranking wolves' daughters were off-limits and expected to keep their virginity until they mated.“How did they prevent pregnancy?”“Uhm,” my mother told me this when I was about thirteen, but a lot of it’s gone

Bowden This morning, like every other morning, whizzes by, and I still haven’t had time to talk to Kaiya about the kiss we shared. It’s not just the Alphas’ and excitement of the upcoming ceremony that’s taking up my time; I still have to pay attention to my daily tasks and the mundane chores of running a kingdom. I remind Kaiya of the Alphas' arrival at ten-thirty and get up to meet her in the lobby. Today, she’s wearing blue, which suits her just as well as the red did. Unlike yesterday, her hair is loose, framing her beautiful, and by now, familiar face. “Hey,” she says and tucks on the gold necklace that's always around her neck. I take her hand in mine, touching her for the first time today, and realise I don’t want to let her go again. It feels good and right to have her by my side. This is the kind of mate bond we used to talk about when we were young Lycans. We saw our fathers with our mothers, the love and the bond they shared, their devotion to each other, and we’d dream

**TRIGGER WARNING:** This chapter contains graphic scenes that might be upsetting to some readers. Please proceed with caution or skip to Chapter 39 Kaiya Bowden stares at me with those cold, green eyes of his. I can see him switch off, and I remember Elias saying that it’s never a good idea to get on his bad side. Now I can see why. The anger radiating from him is like a nuclear blast, and it’s threatening to take my breath away. “Are you angry at me?" I ask him through our mind link. "I didn't do these things." "I know. I am trying here, Kaiya." "Can’t you use your aura to compel me to speak the truth?” I ask him. I can’t stand all their judgy eyes on me. All these men who hurt us and abuse us, then play these games with us, treating us like shit. I stick my fist in my mouth to stop the tears. I won't give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Bowden takes a step towards me but then reconsiders and stops. “My aura doesn’t work on you,” he explains and folds his arms over his

Kaiya A strange kind of hush falls over the castle. Usually, there’s always someone bustling around, off to do one of the many things needed to keep this place running like a German train schedule. Even in the middle of the night, I can hear guards calling out to each other on the grounds, or the sound of Omegas running through the hallways. Tonight, it’s like a grave. As quiet as the catacombs. Around midnight, the silence unnerves me and I get up to ask Oswald about it, but he’s not on his post. I turn my head in every direction, but there’s no one. I'm all alone up here. Feeling a little nervous, I go to the last person I want to see. Bowden. He came by earlier, but I refused to talk to him. He left again without saying a word. “Why won’t you talk to our mate?” Elowen asked when he left. “I’m angry at him.” “It wasn’t his fault,” she said. “He tried to protect us.” I didn’t listen to her. She’s a wolf, and she will do anything her mate asks her to do without question, even