LOGINLEA’S POV I couldn’t bear to take my eyes off them even if it was for a second, even after a whole hour had passed, even when I had shed all the tears in my eyes. We had moved from the courtyard to one of the private sitting rooms in the back, and even then, my eyes were still fixed intently on them. I couldn’t stop staring.Every time I blinked, a part of me was scared that they would disappear, and that I would open my eyes and discover that this had all been a dream, a trick, or some illusion.My mother sat beside me on the sofa, her hands clutching mine so tightly that her knuckles had turned a ghastly white colour. She held onto me like she was scared I would disappear as well. My father was seated across from us, looking exhausted beyond words.The years we spent apart from each other had not been kind to them. They had lines on their faces like they were aging faster than they were supposed to. The pain they held in their eyes was too heavy...heavy enough to make me shed years
AMRETH’S POV “Alpha, Rowan is here.”The moment these words came out of Marcus’s mouth, something inside of me went completely still. I felt like a blade that was waiting to be drawn. I didn’t say anything at first. I just stood up from my desk and pushed the chair back hard enough to make it scrape against the floor.“Where is he?” I asked.“The courtyard.”That was all I needed. I had already started walking before Marcus stopped talking. Rowan’s name was enough to leave a bitter taste in my mind. The last time I saw him was amid all the blood and chaos. My twin brother, who was in love with the woman after my heart.I still remembered how he had kidnapped her. My hands clenched into a fist. If we hadn’t found her that day, I wouldn’t have been able to handle being without her. My jaw tightened as I walked into the corridor. Guards straightened when they saw me, a nervous look on their faces. Maybe they could feel the anger radiating off my skin.Marcus kept a steady pace behind me
LEA’S POV “Do it again.”The old Mage’s voice rang through the entire clearing. I groaned as I looked at the woman who was standing in front of me, an unimpressed look plastered on her face. For someone who looked old enough to spend her days sitting in a rocking chair and knitting sweaters, she had the cruelty of a drill sergeant.I was beginning to question whether she just enjoyed watching me sweat my ass off.The clearing where we trained sat deep in the outskirts of the territory, right where her cottage was. Trees surrounded us from every direction, the branches acting like a natural canopy from the blazing hot sun. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in scattered rays of light, casting golden patterns across the grass.It looked breathtaking, but that didn’t make the training feel any easier.I wiped sweat away from my forehead and gazed hard at the flowers growing at my feet. The old mage folded her arms.“Well? What are you waiting for?” she asked.I glanced at her. “I am t
ROWAN’S POV The journey to Downfall Ridge took three whole exhausting days of crossing through rough terrain and narrow mountain paths, which had dense forests that seemed to make it their life's mission to slow us down at every given opportunity. By the time the Ridge came into view, every wolf travelling with me looked as tired as I felt.But I didn’t complain because a part of me told me that we were close to uncovering the truth. The burned letter remained tucked inside my jacket, and over the last few days, I had read it so much that I practically memorised every word in it.And no matter how much I had read it, none of it seemed to make sense. Why was he deliberately keeping these captives alive? And more importantly, who were these captives?The cold wind whipped against my face as I guided my horse onto a rocky hill. I looked down below, and my eyes landed on what looked like an old fortress, surrounded by cliffs and thick forest. The structure looked so old, it was ancient.
AMRETH’S POV Something was bothering Lea, and I had noticed it for three days. She hadn’t told me anything, but I couldn’t help but notice that she had been quieter than usual. She was more distracted as well and very distant. Every time I saw her, she looked like she was lost in thought, thinking about something I couldn’t comprehend.It didn’t seem like she was just distracted or exhausted; it felt like something heavier.I had tried asking her what was wrong, but she always found a way to avoid answering it. Three days went by and by the fourth day, I was tired of her ignoring me, especially when I could basically see that her thoughts were eating away at her.I stood at the edge of the training grounds with my arms crossed. My eyes were fixed intently on Lea. The afternoon sun was shining down hard, making shadows pour across the floor. Lea was standing several yards away.She was crouched down over a cluster of small flowers, staring so intensely at them that I choked back a lau
ROWAN’S POV The more I dug into Damian’s past, the less sense any of it made. I expected to find an answer that tied everything together. Maybe this was another hidden enemy, or a conspiracy. Some long-buried secret that would explain why the man whom I had trusted for years was somehow dead long before anyone realized it.Instead, everyone I found only led me to more questions, and I was getting sick and tired of it.I sat on a horseback at the edge of a dense forest, my eyes locked on the crumbling cabin that was hidden between a few trees. The cabin looked abandoned, and most of the walls and part of the roof looked like they had collapsed years ago. Yet, according to the information I gathered, Damian used to come here rather frequently.Or at least, the man pretending to be Damian did.The wind blew, stirring the trees as I dismounted from my horse and handed the reins to one of my guards.“Do you think there’s actually something in there?” he asked.I shrugged, looking at the c
LEA’S POV I couldn’t remember when the whips stopped.At some point, the sound of the whips drowned into a distant echo, and it blended with the ringing in my ears. It stretched out so long that the pain on my back blurred into something numb. My body no longer reacted the way it was supposed to.
LEA’S POV The guards grabbed onto my arms and began to drag me down the stairs. Their grip on me was tight, and my arms began to ache where they held me as they forced me to move forward. My feet could barely keep up with their pace, and my mind was still spinning, unable to understand why this wa
LEA’S POV A slow smile curled up her lips as she began to walk up the stairs, her footsteps echoing in the quiet space between us. My stomach stopped the moment she was standing right in front of me.“You’re so persistent. You really won’t give, will you?” she scoffed, the amusement in her tone ev
LEA’S POV I had forgotten how to breathe.My body was pressed tightly against his, and I could feel the way his arms wrapped around me, and all I could do was stay pressed against his chest. Everything inside of me had gone completely still as my hands rested against the fabric of his clothing, no







