LOGINCHAPTER 41— Aching And Sore.KYRAFood has a way of bringing you back to yourself. So does a hot shower.I hadn’t realized just how hungry I was until I was sitting at the small table Myla had dragged me to, staring down at a plate piled embarrassingly high with warm bread, roasted meat, and other delicacies that made my mouth water.Myla sat across from me watching with an amused look as I ate like I hadn’t seen food in days. Which was partially true. I hadn’t eaten breakfast yesterday and after that messy thing with Tristan, I didn’t step out again until I fell asleep on the cold floor.“Slow down,” Myla muttered. “You have all the time in the world.”“Really?” I replied with a mouthful. “I thought I was having my last meal.”She snorted, clearly not bothered by my response, and instead kept hovering like a mother hen. “If you smile more, you’d look more beautiful and more approachable.”I tilted my head, smiling humorlessly. “Is that right? Someone told me this is my best smiling f
CHAPTER 40: Myla-strong-headed femaleKYRAI woke early, as I always did, my body trained to rise before the sun. My teeth clattered at the cold I felt deep in my bones, and yet my forehead was coated in sweat.The cold, hard floor had been my bed last night. I would have been damned before asking Tristan for a mattress or my new room, so complaining about my discomfort was out of the question. My eyes fluttered open, and instantly I was slammed with the events of yesterday. How everything had spiralled— from the day starting smoothly and well, from making up with Maddy, being exempted from work, the relief of making the top list, the summons to the council hall, to the awkward tension with Maddy. Now…now I was back to square one again. Or worse, because at least square one didn’t have me feeling lost.One moment I was smiling genuinely, somewhat glad that my life hadn't turned out exactly horrible, and now I was stuck, confused about what to do. I let out a low sigh and rolled onto
Chapter 39— Let Bygones Be Bygones.KYRA“What the fuck are you doing here?!” I asked as I walked in, anger still rolling off me in waves.Tristan stood a foot away from me. His posture was rigid and there was something in his eyes that I couldn't pinpoint. He lifted the threat note in his hand. “When did you get this, Kyra?” My stomach dropped. Why was he looking at me like a kid who just got caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar?I snatched the note from his hand and squeezed it as if the act was going to take away what was written in there. “You have no right,” I hissed in between each squeeze. “No right to sniff around my room without permission.”Tristan’s jaw tightened. He clenched his fists. For a second, I thought he would snap at me, raise his voice, or even say something mean to me but instead, he inhaled slowly, dragged a hand down his face, and then sighed. “I wasn’t sniffing around,” he said softly. The tone of his voice almost threw me off balance until I r
Chapter 38— Fear Their Retaliation.KYRAFor a moment after Maddy spoke, it felt like the hall grew quiet or maybe it actually had. My brows knitted together as confusion bloomed in my chest.What did she mean…she didn’t want it?I stared at Maddy as if the answer might be written on her face, but she wouldn't look at me. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, her shoulders stiff.My mouth was still open as I stared at her, as if I’d somehow misheard her, as if the words had somehow rearranged themselves in my head. I couldn’t understand it.I couldn’t understand her.Why would she say that?Why would she refuse, when she of all people knew what it meant to be voiceless? What it meant to live every day shrinking yourself smaller, so you wouldn’t be noticed, so you could blend in easily. So you wouldn’t be punished for merely existing. She had lived it, lived that fear. She had stood beside me in that room, trembled the same way I had just that mine hadn’t been obvious.I had believed— no,
CHAPTER 37— Omega Protection Charter.KYRA“Alpha Tristan,” I addressed. Tristan was watching me with an intensity that felt like I was being stripped bare. It unsettled me, especially with the hall getting unbearably hot. I resisted the urge to swipe at the beads of sweat already forming on my forehead before the Alphas mistook it for fear or weakness. That would be the last thing I would let them think of me.“You might not have been present in the entertainment room,” I said evenly, my voice coming out strong despite the tightness beginning to form in my chest. I gritted my teeth as a searing heat spread deep in my belly.“But what happened there happened in your name.” I forced out the words, my legs almost giving in to the scorching warmth flooding my body. My eyes watered and I looked down briefly, blinking before lifting my gaze. “Callie wouldn’t have done what she did if she didn’t believe she had your backing, approval, and protection.” I continued. My palms were now slick
CHAPTER 36— Devil’s Incarnate.KYRAThe hall was as quiet as a graveyard.I could feel the way the air pressed heavily against my skin. Even the most arrogant Alphas had gone unnaturally still.My gaze shifted until it settled on Alpha Damon.My father’s arch-enemy. Eric’s cohort and best friend. I like to call them ‘brothers in cruelty’ because they shared the same evil thoughts. If Eric was the blade, Damon was the hand steadying it.He stood in front of me giving me a challenging stare as if daring me to show what I could do. I wasn’t legendary because I judged with emotion, I was legendary because of how well I executed my mission. Damon didn’t even bother to mask his contempt. His lips curled into an ugly grimace as his eyes met mine, filled with hatred so strong I could feel it in my bones but I didn’t falter.“Alpha Damon,” I said evenly. I held his gaze, refusing to blink, refusing to give him even a fraction of the satisfaction he so clearly craved. I was letting him know t
CHAPTER 32— Morning Optimism.KYRA I woke up feeling refreshed.For a few blissful seconds, it felt as though yesterday had never happened at all. Like it had been nothing more than those horrible nightmares that I always had. But the soft, plush, warm bed I was lying on said otherwise. If it had
CHAPTER 31— Strike before you’re struck.KYRAThe knock sounded again.It was too light to be Tristan and too polite to be Callie’ hell, the door would have flung open long ago if it were her, and she wouldn’t even have the decency to knock. And it wasn’t like I had a long list of friends who visit
CHAPTER 29— Public Opinion.TRISTANI resisted the urge to rub at my temples as the Elders droned on. Callie had barely made it out of pack grounds when Kallum informed me they wanted an audience. The moment I heard his words, I knew at that moment what this was about. I could almost taste their di
CHAPTER 27— The Last Real Piece Of Home.KYRAI didn’t stop walking until the noise of the pack house faded behind me. I could still feel the laughter, the whispers burning into my skin, so I pushed deeper into the woods. Tristan had apologized like he really meant it. Like he wasn't the reason an







