Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 30

The moonshade root has become my lifeline. Once a day, bitter and burning, but it gave me what I desperately needed, and that was clarity without his messy emotions flooding through the bite. Distance from the overwhelming pull of the bond that threatened to drown out everything else that mattered.Three days had passed since Father told me about the knife. Three days of planning, watching, waiting for the perfect opportunity. I couldn't risk not planning and letting what happened that night happen again.Thankfully, that opportunity came tonight.I already learned Ares's schedule through careful observation, Julius’s help, and Elinor’s spying. Every evening, he met with his council in the war room on the opposite side of the castle. The meetings usually lasted at least two hours, giving me a window to search his chambers. I just had to go in and then out, in under fifteen minutes. It should be easy. And sneaking in shouldn't be hard. I was his fancy sex slave he had never had sex wi

A hand shot out, grabbing my wrist with bruising force.Ares hauled me back through the window, and we both tumbled to the floor in a tangle. The blessed blade clattered across the stone, its otherworldly glow unmistakable in the darkness.For a moment, neither of us moved. His body was pressed against mine, his breathing harsh in my ear, his hand still gripping my wrist.For a moment, we just lay there in the courtyard, his arms wrapped around me, both of us breathing hard. "What the fuck were you doing?" His voice was strangled, caught between his wolf's panic and his human rage. Through the muted bond, I felt it - the terror that had seized him the moment his wolf sensed me falling.Then he saw the blade."You fucking idiot," he snarled, rolling off me and snatching up the dagger. "You could have died. You could have…" He cut himself off, his grey eyes blazing with fury and something that looked almost like fear. "How long were you out there?"I couldn't answer. My whole body was s

The world tilted beneath my feet. "What?""That dagger was meant for Ares to find." Father's voice dropped to an urgent whisper. "You played your part perfectly. He'll never suspect the real blade still sleeps, waiting for you."My mouth went dry. "The real blade?""Did you think I'd trust your success to a single weapon?" Father's eyes gleamed in the darkness. "That blessed silver was a decoy, child. A beautiful, convincing distraction to make Ares believe he'd thwarted your assassination attempt."Behind me, I heard Julius shift, his presence a weight I could feel even without looking."The true blade is hidden in the old chapel," Father continued, his grip tightening on my hands. "Beneath the altar stone. It was forged from a fallen star and blessed by the blood of the original Alpha line. It requires activation under the Blood Moon with royal blood. One drop is all it takes.""And then?" My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears."Then it becomes the most lethal weapon in exist

The red silk dress arrived at dawn, draped across my bed like a pool of blood.I stared at it for a long moment, my stomach tight with dread and something else, something I refused to name. The fabric shimmered in the early light, cut low enough to be scandalous, high enough on the thigh to promise sin.A breeder's dress. A whore's dress.Exactly what Julius wanted me to look like.My hands trembled as I reached out to touch the fabric. It was softer than anything I'd worn since my wedding day, before everything turned to ash and blood."It's beautiful," Elinor's voice came from behind me, gentle and knowing. She'd let herself in so quietly I hadn't heard. "Explicit, but beautiful."“A breeder’s dress.” I turned to face her, and she must have seen something in my expression because her own face softened with worry."Child, what's wrong? You look like you haven't slept.""I haven't." I sank onto the edge of the bed, the dress pooling beside me. "Elinor, what if everything I've been told

The hour crawled by like a death sentence.I moved through the celebration on autopilot, smiling when expected, accepting congratulations on my "match" with the king like it was something to celebrate rather than a brand marking my servitude. Every moment felt surreal, like I was watching myself from a distance.Through the bond, I tracked Ares across the room. He was entertaining the northern alphas, discussing trade routes and territory disputes with the kind of casual dominance that made even hardened warriors defer to him. But I felt his attention on me, constant and unwavering, even when his eyes were elsewhere.He knew something was coming. He just didn't know what.My hands shook as I accepted another glass of wine I wouldn't drink. The blessed blade from my father was hidden somewhere in this castle, waiting for the Blood Moon. But tonight wasn't about that blade. Tonight was about proving my loyalty to Julius, about an arrow that wouldn't kill but would maim. Would put Ares d