جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

Ashina's POVThe carriage door closed behind me. I barely had time to settle before Draven climbed in after me as the carriage began moving but neither of us spoke.I kept my hands folded in my lap, trying not to feel the folded piece of paper hidden beneath the fabric of my dress.Ella's letter. I could still feel its weight against my skin.The words kept repeating in my head as I stared through the window.The palace disappeared behind us, but the conversation refused to leave.“Kill him.““Take the throne.““Avenge Grandfather.“ My stomach twisted as draven sat opposite me.Usually, his silence didn't bother me but Tonight, it did. I could feel his eyes on me.“You're quiet.” I didn't look at him.“I'm tired.”“That isn't why.” My fingers tightened together as He noticed everything and I hated that or perhaps I hated that I was beginning to like being noticed by him.“I said I'm tired.” Draven studied me for another moment as he leaned back.He couldn’t question me again that some

Draven's POVThe words echoed through the room long after the guard whispered them.The last White Wolf has awakened.I stared at Ashina. She was on the floor, one hand pressed against her chest as she tried to steady herself. Her breathing was uneven but her eyes had changed.They were no longer the eyes of the woman who had spent years believing she was wolfless but something strange stared back at me through them.I had heard the stories.The White Wolf was supposed to be extinct. The last one had disappeared decades ago and no wolf had carried that blood since yet Ashina was sitting in front of me with white fur still visible beneath her skin.I looked toward the guards. “Get everyone out.”“Now.” They moved immediately as another guard helped another servant out of the doorway while the others kept their heads lowered. Nobody dared look directly at Ashina.“My Lord!” Then hurried footsteps came from the corridor, Evelyn appeared at the doorway. She stopped the moment she saw Ashin

Ashina's POVThe guard unlocked the cell door.“My Lady, you said you needed the washroom.” I nodded, keeping my expression neutral.“I do.” He stepped aside but remained close enough that I could hear his boots behind me as I walked down the corridor slowly.Every step carried me farther from the cell, Farther from the guards.When we reached the washroom, I stopped at the doorway.“I can go alone.” The guard hesitated.“Stay here,” I added. “Unless the Alpha ordered you to watch me while I use the washroom too.” His face tightened.“No, my Lady.”“Then wait.” He stepped back as I entered while closing the door for several seconds, I simply stood there as I looked toward the small service door at the back.It led into the servants' passage as my heart began pounding. I had found my way through those passages.I pushed the door open as the emptiness of the passage terrified me. I slipped through and closed it behind me immediately my breathing quickened as I moved through the narrow c

I barely made it ten steps down the corridor before a hand clamped over my mouth.I tried to scream, but the sound died in my throat as I was yanked backward into the shadows. My back hit something solid and cold."Hello, little dove." The voice was silk wrapped around steel. I knew that voice.Kieran.I thrashed against him, but his arm was like iron around my waist. He laughed softly, his breath brushing my ear."I wouldn't do that if I were you."I bit down on his hand. He hissed but didn't release me."Feisty," he murmured. "I like that."Before I could react, he moved. The world blurred walls, windows, moonlight and then we were outside, the night air sharp against my face.Vampire speed, I realized but the strength...I'd heard the stories. Half vampire, half wolf. The one even Draven's court whispered about with fear.He stopped at the edge of the forest as I finally got a look at him. Dark hair, sharp features, eyes that gleamed amber in the darkness wolf eyes. His smile was a

The cold bit into my skin like a thousand tiny needles. The damp stone walls of the Blackwood dungeon smelled of iron, rot, and ancient magic. I tried to move, but the heavy silver chains around my wrists and ankles clanked loudly, biting into my flesh and smothering the strange warmth that always lingered beneath my skin. I was chained. Truly, utterly chained. My mind raced, spiraling back to the last time I saw Draven. The coldness in his eyes. I don't know what you are to me yet. Those words had shattered something inside me pushing me to run, to seek out the truth on my own and now because of my pride because of my foolish, stubborn heart, I was here. What if he doesn't come? The thought was a knife twisting in my chest. Why would he? I walked away. I practically told him I was nothing to him. He’s a king, He won't risk his kingdom, his life for a woman who means nothing. A low, mournful sound echoed in the dark. You are not nothing, a voice whispered from the deepest, most pr