جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 80

Dustan's POVThe door to our chambers clicked shut behind us, and I was still trying to process what was happening.One moment, I had been sitting in the corridor, working up the courage to knock on my wife's door with a flower I had picked from the gardens—a pathetic peace offering after my silence…for my cowardice…for not being the husband she deserved…for not being able to show up for whatever reasons. The next moment, Elara had appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a maid's uniform, her eyes gleaming with something wild and desperate.And now she was wheeling me into our bedroom with a seductive smile that made my blood run hot… What the hell was happening? She was definitely hiding something. I could tell that much as I watched her move around the room with a frantic energy that belied her calm exterior. She was most definitely hiding something.The maid's uniform was rumpled. There was dust on her hands and smudged across her cheek. She smelled of old parchments. It was the unm

Elara’s POVI closed the door behind me, leaning against it for a moment as I caught my breath. My heart was still racing, my skin still flushed from the encounter with Dustan. The taste of him lingered on my tongue, and I forced myself to swallow it down, to push the memory aside.There was no time for that. No time for guilt or confusion or the strange conflicting warmth that had bloomed in my chest when he said those three words.I had a file to read.And before that, I had to dismiss the trembling maid. I paid her generously and for her safety, I asked her to take a leave, travel back to her village for at least a few weeks. Once she was gone, I crossed to the bed, and pulled the folded dress from where I had hidden it. My fingers trembled as I retrieved the file. I sank onto the edge of the bed, the file open in my lap, and began to read.Mother… . The words blurred before my eyes. I blinked, forcing myself to focus, so I could absorb every detail.The accused was charged guil

Dustan's POVThe council chamber was in total chaos when I arrived.Voices clashed like thunder, accusations flying through the air like poisoned arrows. The long oak table that dominated the center of the room was strewn with documents, maps, and the remnants of a hastily abandoned breakfast. The windows had been thrown open, but the morning light did nothing to dispel the suffocating tension that hung over the room like a shroud.Cassian stood at the head of the table, his face pale, his hands braced against the wood as if he needed the support to remain upright. His eyes were wild, darting from one council member to the next as they shouted over each other."—an outside attack! The wards must have been compromised—""Impossible! The wards are ancient magic, bound to the bloodline. No one outside the family could have—""Then it was someone inside! Someone with access to the King's chambers—""Are you accusing a member of this council? Someone from this house?!"I rolled into the roo

Elara's POVFuck you Lyria! I stared at my stepsister. My blood was turning to ice in my veins. Her words were doing something in the air, that turned the entire atmosphere more toxic, like a poisonous cloud, each one more absurd than the last.Elara can be very vengeful.She holds grudges.She would do anything to stop him.Anything!! I felt a laugh bubble up in my throat—a disbelieving, hysterical laugh that escaped before I could stop it."What the fuck?" I barked, my voice sharp as a blade. "What's this snake doing here anyway?"Lyria flinched at my tone, but she didn't back down. Instead, she turned to Ruth with those wide, innocent eyes—the same eyes she had used our entire childhood to make me look like the villain. The same eyes that had convinced our father I was the one who broke her favorite doll when it was really her who had smashed it against the wall in a fit of rage. And stupid me would bear the consequences of her actions thinking it was I who angered her so as an e

Dustan's POV“What the hell do you want, woman?”I stared at her, my jaw clenched so tightly I thought my teeth might crack. The audacity. The sheer, unbridled audacity of this woman.Lyria's smile didn't waver. If anything, it widened, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light that made my skin crawl.She stepped closer, her hips swaying with exaggerated grace. Her fingers trailed along the edge of my desk, then moved to my shoulder, tracing the line of my collarbone with a touch that was far too familiar."I've always wondered what it would be like," she murmured, her voice low and husky. "To be with a real Alpha. To feel that power, that strength." Her fingers drifted lower, brushing against my chest. "You're so much more than I ever expected,Alpha Dustan. So much more."I sat there, frozen, my teeth grinding together so hard I could feel the ache in my jaw.Her hand moved lower, her fingers splaying across my abdomen, feeling the muscles beneath my shirt. She closed her eyes, inhal