CHAPTER 261: ALLIES 2

KAEL The wind on the eastern peaks was biting today, slicing through the clouds with a precision I'd love to slice through to reach the turmoil threatening our world. I stood at the railing of the balcony, cloak flying behind me, the wind whispering its secrets against my skin as I called for Draco. Aurora walks in quietly. Her steps were always precise, always silent. But I'd know her anywhere even when she moved like shadow. "He told the truth, Kael," she stated, falling into step alongside me. I glanced at her "Noah, the new bear king?" She nodded. Her silver hair was braided with amethyst threads, and her eyes burned with the storms that danced upon the cliffs. "He came in peace and with a warning while trying to gain recognition or an alliance with the Queen."I tilted my head to one side. "Audacus came to him and not the other way around."Yes. Begging allegiance. Begging armies."And he rejected him."He laughed at him in his face, says Noah."I allowed the edge of my lip to ri

Last Updated : 2025-07-12

CHAPTER 262: FIRST HEAT

AKASHA I exhale as Jaden exits me, telling me to take care. Everyone has been really supportive, especially Mother, but I'm not doing great today; I curl up in pain as he shuts the door. The scent of wildfire clung to my skin, but it wasn't smoke. It was my excess longing for my mates. My hands trembled as I gripped the bedspread edge in the middle of the room. Moonlight poured through the arched window, striping silver along my bare arms. The fire in the hearth cracked, but it only added to the fluid pull in my core. "Akasha…" Virgo's voice, low and deep, rough along the edge of control. I turned slowly to him, my pupils expanding, the wolf inside me ripping its way to the forefront, pleading for touch, claiming. I knew the scent that had brought them here. My heat had come—and it hadn't asked permission. Lucian walked closely behind him, completely shirtless. Eyes as dark as an eclipse devouring the stars. He didn't speak. He didn't have to. They felt it too. I held

Last Updated : 2025-07-12

CHAPTER 263: MATING CEREMONY

HAILEY I always knew the day would come when I'd have to let her go; still, no amount of prophecy or preparation readies a mother to say goodbye to her child, even if it was a child conceived via your seed without your knowledge. The sun had barely breached the horizon when I woke. The sky was soft and pale, a quiet blush before the burn of goodbye. I stood in the castle’s eastern garden, fingers buried in the hem of my robe, staring out over the mist-covered valley. I could feel her before I heard her footsteps. Akasha....I didn’t turn. Not yet. I needed a moment to breathe. My heart had been too full for days; I knew this day would come. And now it has. "Mother?" Her voice was soft behind me. I turned slowly. She looked radiant, hair swept back into golden braids, the ceremonial silks of the mating rite wrapped around her shoulders. The mark of her lineage burnt faintly on her collarbone. She looked both young and ancient, a young version of myself and a replica of Turte

Last Updated : 2025-07-13

CHAPTER 264: FAILURE

Audacus I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be begging. Not in this life or the last. And yet, here I was—drenched in pride I could no longer afford to keep, knocking on gates that had opened to me in silence before. "We do not open our gates to ghosts," the gatekeeper of the Seraphim Mountains said, not even bothering to look down at me. "I'm not a ghost," I said to him. "You walk like one." The gates remained shut. My name, once spoken in awe, was whispered now only in corners of fear or disgust. Hailey had managed that. Her rise was my downfall. Her power, a shadow that now stood taller than even the oldest alliances I'd thought sacred. I left the mountains with wind whipping at my cloak and no answers. "Bastards," I muttered. Desperation tastes bitter. It coats the back of your throat like bile and rests at the back of your eyes, tightening your jaw when pride insists you scream instead. The Dune Empire was the second I auditioned for. Dry, gold, and infested with

Last Updated : 2025-07-14

CHAPTER 265: CLASH

MARISSA The wind was unusually cold. It whipped through the training fields like it had a cruel purpose, curling around my boots and tangling in Lyna's braids as she stood opposite me, stance poised, eyes focused. We'd been sparring all morning, or rather, she'd been sparring and I’d been trying not to laugh every time she slipped on the frosted grass. "Again," she growled, brushing snow off her elbow. "You sure? Your pride's already taken enough hits for the morning." "Shut up." I smirked and raised my blade again. We were about to lock again when a shadow passed too fast overhead. My wolf rose instantly, every hair on my body reacting. Lyna stilled. "You feel that?" I nodded slowly. "Something's wrong." We dropped our practice stances and sprinted. No more training. Just instinct. The castle wasn't far, but by the time we arrived at the edge of the southern garden, I could smell blood. "Alexia!" Lyna shouted. There, near the old archway, was chaos. Broken sto