LOGINCelia's Point Of View"What?" I gasped, the word catching in my dry throat like a shard of glass. "The Dark Sigen?" My knees buckled beneath me. I slid down the wall several inches before my trembling fingers caught the edge of the wood trim, splinters digging into my palms. The Dark Sigen. Every pup in the northern territories grew up hearing those stories around the fire… tales of dark forces, of old and corrupted things that crawled from the ancient borders when the moon went black. The evil ones.The kind of bedtime stories mothers whispered to keep their children from wandering past the watchtowers after nightfall. Stories I'd dismissed as folklore meant to frighten the young and gullible, nothing more than superstition wrapped in shadow. Yet here one stood, in my bedroom, as real as the floorboards beneath my feet. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack bone. This couldn't be happening. Things like this didn't happen to people like me… to the daugh
Celia's Point Of ViewMy back slammed against the stone wall with such force that my teeth rattled in my skull. Pain exploded across my shoulder blades, radiating outward in waves that made my vision blur. I scrambled sideways, silk skirt tearing against the rough molding as I stared at the dark figure in pure horror.Each breath came in sharp gasps, my chest heaving as terror constricted my throat. A scream built from the depths of my lungs, clawing its way upward with primal urgency… the kind of scream that comes from somewhere beyond conscious thought, pure survival instinct taking over.I opened my mouth to release it, to summon my father, the guards, anyone who might hear. The cloaked figure merely lifted two fingers with deliberate calm, as though conducting an invisible orchestra. Nothing emerged. My throat clicked uselessly, jaw gaping wide, but the sound had vanished entirely. The air in my windpipe felt as though it had solidified into lead, crushing my ability to cry out.
Celia's Point Of View"Why would you say that about yourself, Celia?" My mother's face twisted, worry etching deep lines around her mouth as she stepped closer. Her skin had gone pale, almost translucent in the morning light streaming through the tall windows. Her hands hovered in the air between us… she wanted to grab me, to shake sense into me, but something held her back. Perhaps she feared I might shatter completely, like porcelain dropped on stone. The concern in her eyes warred with something else: frustration, maybe even disappointment. "Your life isn't finished. You are the daughter of an Alpha. You have everything ahead of you." A wail tore from my throat, loud and ugly, echoing off the high stone walls like a wounded animal's cry. The sound didn't even feel like it came from me… it belonged to some broken creature I'd become. "You don't understand, mother! You don't understand a single thing!" My chest heaved with each word, my lungs burning as if I'd run for miles. "Ronan
Celia's Point Of View"You're lying, Jake," I muttered, my voice dropping into a hollow, shaky register I barely recognized. I shook my head, feeling my curls sting against my cheeks like tiny whips. "You're making this up. No matter what happened between us at that Academy, Ronan can't stay mad at me for long. He never does." The words tumbled out, desperate and pleading. "I am his future wife. He knows what our names mean together… what our union would represent for both our packs. He's just trying to punish me. That's all this is."Jake didn't even look surprised by my denial. He reached into his pocket, pulled out another glossy red apple from the bowl by my door, and took a slow, deliberate bite. CRUNCH. The sound cut through the tension like a blade.He chewed methodically, regarding me like I was a tragic exhibit in a museum… something pitiful to observe from a safe distance. There was almost clinical detachment in his gaze, as if he were studying a specimen rather than lookin
Zane's Point Of ViewMy lungs seized completely. I shook my head so violently my vision blurred, the room tilting on its axis as though the ground had dropped away beneath me. The edges of my sight went dark for a moment, and I had to grip the vanity to keep from collapsing. My fingers found the cool marble, anchoring me to something solid in a world that suddenly felt like it was dissolving. The word emerged as a breathless, ugly sound that scraped my throat raw. "No," I choked out. "No, no, no. That's impossible. You've lost your mind, Jake." "Celia…" The scream tore from my throat, my voice cracking as I slammed both palms onto the marble vanity. "No! Shut up and listen to me!" Glass bottles danced and clinked against each other, the delicate sound at odds with the fury roaring through my veins. My reflection stared back at me from the mirror… wild-eyed, desperate, unrecognizable.I barely recognized the woman looking back, her face contorted with rage and something darker, some
Zane's Point Of ViewThe corset lace was giving me absolute hell. My fingers trembled slightly… a stupid, lingering side effect of the poison coursing through my veins. Even after weeks of pure, agonizing recovery, the concentrated wolfsbane Ronan had pumped into me still acted like toxic sludge in my blood. Trust Ronan to use the deadliest, most potent strain on the market. He never did anything half-assed. That was part of what I'd once admired about him, back when I'd been foolish enough to believe his ruthlessness would never turn on me. How naïve I'd been, thinking myself exempt from his cruelty. "Stupid... piece of... crap," I muttered, tugging violently at the silk cord. The door to my chambers didn't just click, it swung wide open without a single knock. "I swear to the Goddess, if you're bringing me another bowl of that cold broth, I am going to throw it right at your…" I spun around with a venomous glare, fully expecting to see one of the trembling omega maids who'd bee
Ronan's Point Of ViewThe hall had quieted again, though not from peace. This silence felt charged, like the moments before a thunderstorm breaks the skies in half.I could feel their stares on us.The professors from both academies sat in their velvet chairs, blank-faced and unmoving, but their au
Miles Point Of ViewThe ballroom gleamed.The chandeliers suspended above dripped with diamond-like crystals, casting fractured glints of light across the polished marble floor. Students from both the human and werewolf academies flowed in like two elegant rivers destined to never meet, one bathed
Zane's Point Of View The night air wrapped around me like velvet, cool and heavy with magic still lingering in the atmosphere. I cradled the ancient stone tablet against my chest, feeling the faint hum of power vibrating through it. The ballroom had finally emptied, laughter fading, gowns rustlin
Zane's Point Of View The second we returned to the academy gates, the warm golden glow of the evening lamps hit my face and the weight of everything we’d just gone through crashed over me like a second wave.Charlie was still unconscious, his face pale and arms limp as Ronan carried him with surpr







