جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Ivy's Point of ViewPain.That was the first thing I registered. Sharp, throbbing pain radiating from the back of my neck down my spine. My skull felt like someone had taken a hammer to it.I tried to move, but my body wouldn't cooperate. Everything felt heavy, wrong. The ground beneath me was cold and hard. Not the soft mattress I expected on my wedding night.Where the hell was I?I forced my eyes open. Darkness. Dust. The underside of a bed frame inches from my face.Under the bed?My brain struggled to catch up. Why was I under a bed? Why did my neck feel like it had been snapped in half?Then I heard it.Whispering. Soft, breathy, intimate.And the unmistakable sound of lips meeting skin."Are you sure you want to be with me?" A man's voice. Low, husky, dripping with want. "There's no turning back after tonight, Sera."My blood turned to ice.Sera?"Bastian..." A woman's voice now. Familiar. Too familiar. Dripping with charm and urgency. "Stop talking and hurry up. I've waited lo

Ivy's Point of View"Miss Seraphina, may I come in?"The voice jolted me awake. My eyes snapped open, heart already pounding before my brain could catch up.Sunlight streamed through the curtains. Morning. It was morning already.And that voice. I recognized it instantly.Delia. Seraphina's personal maid. The one she'd brought from the Crescent Moon Pack. The one who'd probably helped drug me last night.This is an act.The realization hit me like cold water. Of course it was. This was the next part of Seraphina's little performance. The dramatic discovery. The shocked gasps. The perfectly orchestrated scandal.I had no choice but to play along."Come in," I called out, keeping my voice steady.The door swung open. Delia stepped inside, her face arranged in polite neutrality. Then her eyes landed on me, and she let out a shriek that could've woken the dead."Mi… Miss Ivy?" She stumbled backward, hand flying to her chest. "H-How could it be you? What are you doing in Alpha Dominic's ro

Ivy's Point of ViewBastian straightened his shoulders, lifting his chin with that arrogant tilt I was already beginning to despise. He released Seraphina's hand and stepped forward, looking down at me like I was something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of his shoe."Let me make something perfectly clear, Ivy." His voice dripped with condescension. "I have already chosen Seraphina as my wife. She is the only woman I want. The only woman I will ever want." He paused, letting his words hang in the air. "So whatever fantasies you're entertaining about remaining married to me, I suggest you abandon them now."I stared at him.And then I laughed.It wasn't a polite laugh. It wasn't a nervous laugh. It was a real, genuine laugh that bubbled up from somewhere deep in my chest and spilled out before I could stop it.The sound echoed through the chamber, bouncing off the walls and high ceilings. Everyone stared at me like I'd lost my mind.Maybe I had."Fantasies?" I wiped a tear from the corn

Ivy's Point of ViewI left the council chamber with my head held high and my maid Nell trailing behind me. Poor Nell had been terrified all morning, ever since word of the scandal reached the servants' quarters. She kept shooting me worried glances, her hands twisting in her apron."Miss Ivy," she whispered as we walked through the corridors, "are you alright? I heard what happened. I can't believe Miss Seraphina would do something so horrible.""Believe it, Nell." I kept my voice low. "And keep your eyes and ears open from now on. We can't trust anyone in this pack."Nell nodded, her round face pale but determined. She'd been my personal maid since I was twelve years old. Brought from the Crescent Moon Pack to serve me. She was one of the few people in this world I could actually rely on.The heir's residence was located in the eastern wing of the Silvermoon Pack estate. It was a beautiful building, all white stone and climbing roses, with a private courtyard and its own entrance. Th

Seraphina's Point of ViewI stared at Ivy like I was seeing her for the first time.This wasn't the same girl I grew up with. This wasn't the meek, pathetic little mouse who used to cower whenever anyone raised their voice. The Ivy I knew would never look at me with such cold defiance. She would never dare to make demands of me.What the hell happened to her?I searched her face for any sign of the weakness I'd exploited for years. The trembling lips. The downcast eyes. The hunched shoulders that made her look smaller than she already was.None of it was there.Back in the Crescent Moon Pack, she never fought back. Never. She let everyone walk all over her. The servants treated her worse than a dog and she just took it. She was pathetic. Spineless. She didn't even have the courage to look me in the eye.But now? Now she stood before me like she owned the world. Like she had never been afraid of anything in her life.Was it all an act? Had she been pretending this whole time?The thoug