LOGINXander's POVLincoln turns back to Zahra, her face flushing beneath the weight of hundreds of eyes fixed solely on her.Holly passes him the blade, and he slices into his palm. For a heartbeat, the chalice sits waiting beneath his hand.Then, instead of letting his blood fall into it, Lincoln raises his bleeding palm to Zahra’s lips.She smiles before gently sucking on his palm, drinking the blood of her Alpha. Then she tenderly licks the cut closed, sealing the wound.I see the moment the Luna bond snaps into place. The whole pack shudders as one, Zahra reacting with them as the bond settles around her.Lincoln takes her wrist in his hand.“This will sting,” he murmurs.She simply nods.The ceremonial blade flashes once more, making a shallow cut across the inside of her wrist. Holly immediately raises the waiting chalice beneath it. Crimson drops fall into the metal chalice, and I have to grit my teeth at the sight of her blood flowing again today.Once enough has been collected, Ho
Xander's POVI walk onto the training field behind Zahra and Lincoln, beside Tobias. As we step onto the field, conversations begin to falter. Heads turn one after another until most of the pack are watching us. The uneasy looks make it clear they're wondering why Tobias and I are still here, but no one is brave enough to ask.Someone has set up a raised dais at the end of the field closest to the pack house, and Lincoln leads Zahra towards it as the pack mingle on the grass in front of us.Sam and Holly, Jackson and Olivia, and Isaac and Tammy are all standing to the side of the dais as a united front.The older grey-haired man I noticed this morning is close to the front of the crowd. As Lincoln reaches him, the man clasps his forearm before they exchange a few quiet words. Then I watch as Lincoln introduces Zahra. Although I can't hear what they're saying, the man studies her for a long moment before giving her a deep, respectful bow.'I like him,' Atlas murmurs from where he's lyi
Xander's POVI’m not gone long. When I return, I take my seat on the sofa, lift Zahra back onto my lap where she belongs and hand her the laptop.“What, here?” she asks incredulously.I nod. “I need you close right now.”She smiles and nods.“Okay, if you're sure.”“I’m sure.” I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “I love having you here, and Atlas and I are on edge with you still not wearing our mark.”She glances up at me. “I’m sorry we’ve still not had our time. I hate it too.” She glances over her shoulder at Lincoln. “I think it’ll just mess up the pack dynamic right now if I wear another obvious mark.”Atlas whimpers.The sound is pure heartbreak, and it twists something deep inside my chest.I think Zahra must feel his flinch of rejection because her head whips back to mine.“Please don’t feel like that. I’m sorry,” she whispers, her eyes glassy. “I want this too, so fucking much. But the pack...”I swallow because what can I say? If I argue, I’m only putting her
Xander's POVOnce Lincoln's arms have been put back together as much as the doctor can manage, given she's working in the living room of the Alpha suite, and Zanthe has growled at her every time she's caused Lincoln another spike of pain, the doctor dresses the wounds with a thick herbal salve before covering them with gauze and fresh bandages. Lincoln is then settled onto the sofa beside Zahra while the nurse makes sure his IV line doesn't snag on anything.“We'll come back and check on you in five hours, Alpha,” the doctor says with a respectful bow.The nurse gathers up their things and heads for the door. I follow, opening it for them.“Thank you, Doctor,” I say.She gives me a nod before disappearing into the hallway. I lock the door behind them and return to the sofa.“You hungry, darling? You didn't get to finish your lunch,” I ask Zahra, squeezing into the tiny space beside her. After a moment, I give up and lift her onto my lap instead.Atlas instantly settles, happier with o
Xander's POVI know he's right. The scent of my mate's blood on the air is tainted, and the triumphant expressions on Logan, his mate and Councilman Adams's faces confirm their duplicity.Then Zahra flexes her arms and snaps the bitch's neck.The crack echoes across the training grounds before her body crumples at Zahra's feet. Zanthe roars and turns her attention to Lincoln.He's backed away from Logan now, the two of them circling one another. Logan watches his brother with bright, expectant eyes, clearly waiting for the poison to take effect.'Zahra, darling, are you alright?'She turns towards me, her eyes flashing with Zanthe.'We're fine. It's wolfsbane, but I'm immune. It just stings like a bitch. It's Lincoln I'm worried about. This is why they were so fucking confident. They cheated!'“This challenge is forfeit!” Tobias bellows, his voice carrying across the training grounds. “They're using wolfsbane on their claws!”Adams turns to him, his face flushed with excitement.“Once
Xander's POVI watch the councilmen as we all file outside. Truman looks anxious, but Adams looks triumphant. I glance at Tobias and see he’s watching them too, his eyes narrowed.I pull out my phone and hit record, keeping the camera trained on the councilmen. Something tells me the more evidence we have, the better, because I’m fairly sure the rest of the council don’t know this has been sanctioned.When Tobias notices what I’m doing, he gives me a small nod before pulling out his own phone. Unlike me, he focuses on Lincoln and the challengers. Two perspectives are definitely better than one.An older man with greying hair and a deeply lined face stands off to one side, his arms folded and worry etched across his features. I’m not sure who he is because we haven’t been introduced, but when he notices Tobias recording, he pulls out his own phone and starts filming too.Within moments, most of the pack follow suit, and I let out a slow breath. Evidence isn’t going to be a problem now.
Zahra's POVMorgan comes and helps me pack. She literally just puts everything I have with me into my massive new Task Force bag. Honestly, the thing’s so big I could fit inside it.After an omega delivers my new uniform, with my new green patches sewn onto the shoulders, I put that in as well, sti
Edwardo's POVI leave the conference room, pissed off and tired. The team investigating the suspected assassination attempts on the crown prince and the future leadership teams still has no leads. Literally nothing to go on. No threats, no one coming forward, nothing. They can’t even pin down a moti
Tobias's POVAfter five hours in the air, we finally touch down in the fae kingdom and are greeted by another convoy of cars. They take us through the city and out toward the palace. The streets are lit up, banners hanging from balconies, music drifting on the air. Clearly there has been a festival
Zahra's POVMy feet sink into the moss. The air presses close around me, thick with an acrid stench that burns the back of my throat. I’m back here again.The thin wind threads through the snarling brambles and coils around my ankles, tugging at my hair, shoving the stink of rot, smoke, and blood i







