LOGINThe morning light filtering through the drapes was faint, but it was enough to wake me.Eilis was gone from the bed, though his scent still lingered on the pillows. I could hear his low, rumbling voice out in the corridor, barking orders to the guards posted at the door. He was never gone for more than a few minutes at a time, but those few minutes were the only space I had to breathe without his gaze pinned to me.My birthday was only a few days away now.And with it came the awakening.The thought weighed heavily on my chest every waking hour. The awakening was approaching fast, but I had no idea what it would actually feel like or how to handle it when it hit. More than anything, I needed to know how to use that magic to heal Eilis—to mend whatever magic my mother had used to split his mind in two and brought the Wolf out in the first place.When the door creaked open, it wasn't Eilis who stepped inside, but Calani.She carried a tray with a bowl of warm porridge and a cup of steep
The days dragged past without any real difference between day and night. The draperies over the bedchamber windows stayed pulled tight, keeping the room in a state of perpetual twilight. My stomach had grown significantly larger, high and heavy against my lap. With every passing day, the link between me and the first pup grew frighteningly strong. It was a constant, aggressive hum deep inside my core, pulsating with energy that vibrated straight into my veins. I could feel its strength. But on the right side of my belly, there was nothing. Every morning when I woke up, and every night before I fell asleep, I would press both hands flat against my right flank. I would close my eyes, quiet my breathing, and search. I strained into the dark corners of my own body, practically begging for a spark, a faint twitch, or even the smallest flicker of heat. Nothing. Just an empty void. The silence on that side panicked me more than the fever ever had. It was a slow distress that stayed
The Wolf didn't answer. He just stared down at my trembling hands clutching his chest, his eyes entirely flat.Then I remembered. The Wolf couldn't stand seeing me cry. It unsettled him. It cracked the absolute control he liked to hold over me.So I let the tears fall.I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a broken, shuddering sob, my fingers digging harder into his skin. Hot tears spilled over my eyelashes, running down my feverish cheeks and dripping onto my collarbone."Please," I sobbed, my voice cracking completely. "Bring him back. Bring Eilis back to me."The Wolf's chest expanded under my palms. His jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek, and his hand shot down to grab my wrist. He pulled my fingers off him, but he didn't let go."Stop crying," he said, his voice dropping an octave.I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. The terror of carrying two babies, with one so weak it was fading."I need Eilis
The Wolf pulled back, his jaw set in a hard line as he stared down at my trembling body."Stay here," he ordered.He didn't wait for me to answer. He yanked his trousers on, crossed the floor in broad strides, and threw the door open."Get the healers," he barked into the corridor. "Now!"Footsteps scrambled against the floor outside, and within minutes, two senior healers rushed through the doorway clutching their wooden medic kits.The moment they crossed the threshold, they froze.The Wolf stood towering over them, bare-chested with blood still smeared across his upper lip from his broken nose.The younger healer gasped, dropping his wooden kit. It hit the rug with a loud crash, sending glass vials and dried herbs rolling across the floor."In," the Wolf growled, pointing a thick finger toward the mattress where I lay shivering.Neither of them dared to pick up the fallen tools. Pale and trembling violently, they rushed to the edge of the bed. The older healer wiped his sweaty hand
The heat of his seed inside me was still fresh, but as the Wolf pulled me down against his chest, the adrenaline holding me together completely vanished. My skin felt like it was on fire, but my teeth started chattering violently. I tried to push off his chest to get off him, but my arms gave out immediately, my elbows slipping on his skin. "Raven?" The Wolf’s voice lost its smug edge, his hands catching my waist to keep me from sliding off the bed. My vision blurred, the dark corners of the room spinning together. Every breath took heavy effort, and my belly felt unnaturally tight, like the pregnancy was leeching whatever strength I had left straight out of my limbs. Sweat broke out across my forehead, icy cold against my flushed skin. "Get... off," I choked out, but the words barely made it past my lips. My chest hit his, my head dropping onto his shoulder because I literally couldn't hold my own neck up anymore. The Wolf sat up, shifting my weight into his arms. He bro
"Is that what you want, my sweet?" His warm hands caressed my body as he gently undressed me, unbuttoning my pants and easing them down my hips.I trembled under him, my mind at war with itself over what to do. Should I fight and make it harder for myself, or allow him to do whatever he wanted, with the promise that he would keep his word?"Just play along, pretty please? I don't want to hurt you. You don't want me to hurt the baby, right?"He carefully lifted my shirt over my head, his eyes never leaving mine, and every touch sent shivers down my spine. "How are you going to please me tonight?"I was smart enough to realize the indirect threat: no one was coming to save me. I was on my own, so why make it harder for myself? Pulse racing, I pulled my feet up onto the mattress and spread my legs, exposing myself willingly.His nostrils flared, and he pushed my thighs farther apart. "Look at how pretty you are, being so forthcoming. I scared you, didn't I?"Heat filled the gold eyes tha
Eilís sighed. "Look, we don't care about her. She means nothing to you and me, so drop it." "No, I want to know." "There's no need." "But—" "Drop it, Raven," he snarled. My eyes widened. "Why won't you just tell me!" "Her sister is the reason I'm split!" "So you're holding her responsible fo
The carriage jolted as we hit a deep rut in the road. Outside, the landscape shifted from the dense, pine-scented forests of the wolf kingdom to the flat, manicured greenery of the human territories. I leaned my head against the glass. The closer we got to my father’s estate, the more the dread ti
RavenI woke up alone on the bed, my chest spiked for a moment before I heard the sound of water being poured and breathed out. He hadn't left me alone. Just as I was standing up from the bed Eilis appeared from the washroom door, already fully dressed in his riding leathers. “You're going out of
The second morning was quieter than the first, the kind of heavy, suffocating silence that usually precedes a storm. I had spent the dawn hours standing in the center of my room, letting Calani adjust the binders until I could only take air in short, measured sips. My ribs ached with a dull, consta







