LOGINLillian’s POVI held Celeste’s small hand tightly as I guided her out of the noisy, suffocating ballroom and down the quieter, dimly lit hallway toward the restrooms. The transition from the roaring chatter of the crowd to the quiet marble corridor was an instant relief, but the moment I pushed open the heavy door to the ladies' room, a strange sound caught my attention.From one of the locked stalls at the far end, I heard a woman sniffing softly in deep, heartbroken tears.I paused, but I didn't want to pry into high-society drama tonight. I quickly focused on Celeste, helping her into an open stall. By the time Celeste was finished washing her hands and we were finally about to leave, the door to the end stall slowly clicked open.Shantel walked out.Her eyes were red and slightly puffy, though she was desperately trying to hide it. She walked straight to the mirrors, pulling a compact from her designer clutch to powder her face and cover up the tear tracks. Our eyes locked in the
Lillian’s POV“Exclusive? This does not feel exclusive at all. It feels like a public dinner in a busy park,” I said very quietly to myself. I looked around the giant, noisy ballroom. My eyes were wide with shock. I could not believe what I was seeing.When Dorian first told me about this dinner party, I thought it would be a small, quiet meeting. I thought there would only be about thirty important guests from the highest families. I expected nice music, soft lights, and plenty of space to breathe. Instead, the grand hall was completely full of people. There were hundreds of shouting men and women. I saw greedy business investors, loud socialites, and very pushy reporters who were holding up small microphones.It was very easy to see what had happened. The people who made this party had lied. They told everyone the dinner was highly exclusive just to trick rich and powerful leaders like Dorian into coming here. They wanted all these big names in one single, crowded room so they could
Dorian’s POVI stopped moving completely. My hands stayed on her soft shoulders. A sudden wave of surprise hit me hard. The Viremoor necklace was a very big secret. Only the Alphas of the most powerful families in the north knew its real name. Normal people did not even know it existed. They definitely did not know its history. So, how did Lillian know about it?"How do you know that name, Lillian?" I asked her. I made my voice very quiet and low. "Where did you hear about the Viremoor?"Lillian turned around slowly to face me. Her small fingers were still touching the beautiful blue stone on her chest."For a very long time, I thought this was just a fake story," she said. She looked up at me with big, honest eyes. "When I was younger, I loved to read. I found some very old books in the libraries near the border. The books told a story about a great war. Many years ago, several strong families from a big pack fought each other. They did terrible things just to get this necklace. They
Dorian’s POVI gasped, my chest heaving violently as I sat upright in the bed, my hand instantly flying to my collarbone. My heart was pounding like a war drum against my ribs, and cold sweat was dripping down my temples.I blinked rapidly, looking around the bright, sunlit master bedroom. The air wasn't ice-cold, the room was completely quiet, and there was no masked killer standing over me.It was a dream. An incredibly realistic, upsetting dream that I hadn't had in years. The memory of the silver blade sinking into my flesh felt so vivid it made my skin crawl, but it was nothing more than a trick of my exhausted mind. I let out a long, shaky breath and looked over toward the large bay window. The morning sun was already high in the sky, casting a warm, golden glow across the carpet. Lillian was already fully dressed, standing in front of the vanity mirror as she brushed out her hair.She caught my eye in the glass and spun around, a bright, playful smirk on her face. "Well, look
Dorian’s POVThe suffocating silence returned to the study, thicker and more oppressive than before. Aiden stood perfectly still in the center of the room, the color slowly draining from his face as the sheer weight of my words sank in. For a long, agonizing moment, he went completely silent. His eyes stared blankly at the polished hardwood floor, tracing the grain as if searching for a reality where what I had just suggested wasn't true."I had a bad feeling about this, Alpha," Aiden finally whispered. His voice, usually steady and commanding, trembled slightly. He looked up at me, attempting to force a weak, unbelieving smile onto his face. "But... I really didn't want to believe it. It doesn't make sense. Why would they strike now, of all times? It has been a very long time. Years. I thought they had completely forgotten about me. I convinced myself that I was just a ghost from their past, and that they had finally moved on to other targets.""Aiden, stop," I said, my voice cutting
Dorian’s POVThe silence in the room stretched on, the ticking of the wall clock sounding like a countdown in my ears. As I looked down at Lillian’s pleading eyes and felt the nervous tremble in her hands, the fierce, defensive wall inside my mind finally began to crack.I knew she was right. The ceremony I had frantically agreed with Aiden to hold was simply too sudden, too messy, and entirely fueled by blind panic. But Lillian didn't understand the sheer terror driving my actions. I knew with absolute certainty that someone was out there in the dark, hunting us. Someone was actively trying to stop my happiness, trying to tear down the life I was building. I had truly thought that pushing the mating ceremony forward would give us a shield. I thought it would make me make us happier, stronger, and more hopeful against the invisible storm.But looking at her stressed, pale face, I realized I was only making her suffer.I let out a long, heavy breath, the rigid tension slowly leaving my
Lillian’s POV.“Are you ready, ma’am?”My driver’s voice jolted me back to reality as I fumbled with the door handle. Outside this door was what I’d spent the past five years preparing for.My big reveal to the world as a new woman— not Aaron Moonstone’s mate, not Moonstone Pack’s docile Luna but a
Lillian’s POV. Beeping machines. Alcohol. It all came crashing down on me like a deja vu as the reality hit me. I was in the hospital. But how did I get here? My eyelids fluttered open as sunlight streamed into the room through filtered glasses that casted soft, golden hues on my face. I sat up c
Dorian’s POV. “Come on, Dorian,” Luka’s voice crackled through the Bluetooth speaker. “You’ve been holed up for weeks. One drink won’t kill you.”I gripped the steering wheel tighter, eyes on the winding road ahead. “I’m not in the mood,” I replied flatly. Luka’s been trying every attempt to get
Lilian’s POV. Elm Square. That’s where I was. Even without staring up, I could tell. I could tell because I’d walked this path over and over for hours, pacing around this side of the Pack like someone caught in a loop. I felt dead inside. Dead, hollow, hurt and angry. I looked up to see my susp







