Mag-log in"You are out of your bloody mind," Mitchell says, his fingers snapping against the arm of his chair.
"We summon the grand meeting," I say, leaning my back against the heavy stone wall of the council room. "Every king. Every mate. Every single alpha from the werewolf packs. We lock them in one room."
Adriel shifts his weight, his boots scraping against the floorboards. "Is that a good idea? What about Bet
Adriel POV"Get your filthy hands off my clothes before I snap your fingers backwards."I do not look at the blonde wolf clawing at my sleeve. I do not look at the three others blocking the gravel path outside the training grounds. Ever since the bomb went off, the pack house has been crawling with them. They smile. They tilt their heads to show their necks. They track my scent through the hallways like starving dogs outside a butcher shop."We only wanted to show you the northern boundary, Alpha," the blonde whispers. Her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks. "The woods get confusing after dark.""Move."I take one step forward, my boots crunching hard into the stones.Elia steps up beside me, her shoulder clipping mine. The air around us turns thick and ice-cold in a fraction of a second. It is the Luna aura, heavy and suffocating, dropping over the path like a lead weight.The blonde wolf stops breathing. Her knees hit the gravel w
Betty POV"Get out of my face before I rip your tongue out," I snap, my voice cutting through the humid air of the Blaze Kingdom training ground.Jianna freezes, her fake smile stretching thin across her jaw. "Excuse me?""You heard me," I say, stepping closer until our toes touch on the red dirt. "You think because I am a guest in this mansion, I do not see the way you look at my mate? I smelled your cheap perfume on our sheets before I even opened the bedroom door.""Lottie was the one in your bed, Betty, not me," she says, her voice dropping into a smooth, defensive purr. "I was just trying to be traditional. We value honesty here.""Then be honest about the fact that you told her to do it," I spit back, my fists clenching at my sides. "You wanted her to take the fall so you could play the comforting friend. You wanted to slide into my spot the second my back was turned."The entire dirt oval goes dead silent.Dozens of unmated fem
Nina POV“Drink it before it gets cold,” I say.I slam the heavy ceramic bowl onto the scarred timber table. The gray kitten under the stove doesn’t even flinch. It just keeps licking its paws, eyes locked on the puddle of spilled milk near my boots.Jethro doesn’t move. His hand stays wrapped around the handle of the pram. He stares out of the kitchen window, his jaw tight enough to crack a tooth.“He is sleeping,” Jethro says.His voice is too low. It has been like this for three days. Ever since Mitchell took the elite warriors into the northern ridge to hunt for Novalee, the castle has felt like an empty tomb. The silence is a physical weight. It sits on my chest every time I wake up in the dark.“He needs to eat,” I say, crossing my arms over my apron. “And you need to stop pacing the floorboards like a caged beast. You are going to wear a hole straight through to th
Mitchell POV"Get your hands off me!" I bark, shoving the sobbing girl backward.She stumbles over the gravel, her eyes wide and wet. Luka steps between us immediately, his shoulder blocking her path. The local priestess, Nancy, narrows her eyes from the cabin porch. Her wrinkled face tightens into a mask of pure disapproval."I already have a mate," I say, my voice cutting through the thick mountain air. "Her name is Betty. My lycan does not recognize you. Clear out."The girl flinches as if slapped. She lets out a sharp, pathetic wail, turns on her heel, and sprints into the dark treeline."My apologies, Priestess Nancy," I say, though my tone carries zero regret."She will have to handle it," Nancy replies, her voice stiff as bone. "She is my granddaughter. But if your beast does not accept her, that is the end of the matter."She looks past me, her eyes tracking the movement of my warriors."Can we move ins
Betty POVThe tarmac was a blurred streak of grey, and the vibrations from the floorboards were rattling straight up my spine. Every bump in the uneven road hit like a physical punch. My stomach rolled. A sudden, violent wave of nausea surged up my throat, thick and acidic."Stop the car," I choked out, slamming my hand against the front seat. "Stop it now."The tyres screeched against the loose gravel at the edge of the road. Before the vehicle even came to a complete halt, I threw the door open, stumbled onto the grass verge, and fell to my knees. I retched, my hands digging into the dirt as everything inside me burned.You are used to cars, Betty. What is happening?Adriel’s voice snapped inside my mind, sharp with instant panic.I do not know, I thought back, squeezing my eyes shut as another wave of sickness hit. It feels like someone just rammed a fist into my stomach. Like someo
Mitchell POV“Move the warriors out now,” I bark, my boots slamming against the stone steps of the grand hall.Luka does not move. He stands by the heavy oak doors, his fingers white where they grip his leather pack. He stares at the floor.“She told you to find your mate, Luka,” I say, stopping two inches from his face. “Betty has Adriel. She has the guard. Move your feet.”Luka swallows hard, his throat clicking in the quiet corridor. “She is half a world away, Mitchell.”“And Novalee is bleeding out somewhere in the frost,” I snap, my voice dropping an octave. “Are we standing here sweating, or are we hunting?”He jerks his chin once, a grim acknowledgment. He hoists the pack over his shoulder.The heavy front doors groan open. Outside on the gravel driveway, the air is thick and damp. Kinslee stands waiting by the iron gates. Beside her, the two younger witche
Betty POV"Wake up and look at me," a voice commands from the darkness.The sound does not come from my ears. It vibrates deep inside the marrow of my bones. I am floating in a black, empty void. There is no floor. There is no ceiling. There is only a heavy, suffocating
Betty POV"Wake up, you useless human."The voice isn't Tola. It isn't loud, but it slices right through the thick, suffocating blackness pressing down on my chest."Tola?" I scream, but the word catches in my throat. No sound comes out. No echo. Just nothing
Mitchell POV"You have exactly three seconds to choose, Mitchell," Audrey says.She pulls her collar down. Her skin is pale, smooth, and completely blank."I am not losing her," I say. My chest feels tight, like an iro
Betty POV"Move away from me!"The words rip out of my throat, but they do not sound human. They sound like bones grinding together under a heavy boot.Every single vertebrae in my spine is twisting. It feels like someone is hammering iron rods directly into my lower back, fo







