LOGINWren’s POVSoren’s words hit the quiet like thunder.“We’ve found something, you guys will want to see this.”Whatever warmth had been in Caelum’s embrace vanished as we followed him down the marble hallway. Torches flickered along the stone walls, throwing erratic shadows that only added to the excitement I felt.We descended into the lower wing, a place that looked like nobody had been in years. The air was cooler there, dustier, filled with the scent of old parchment and forgotten magic.Robin, Jessica and Dane stood around a massive oak table, every inch of it buried under old scrolls and brittle books. The cloud of dust surrounding them was faintly visible and I sneezed once, twice.“Bless you.” Soren grinned at me, I blushed.“The dust in my lungs right now can build a dust castle.” Jessica complained and scratched her nose, grimacing when she pulled a thick wad of cobwebs away from her face.“Show me what you found.” Caelum said to Dane, ignoring Jessica's mutters of complaints
Wren’s POV The moonlight spilled across the balcony painting everything in shades of silver that gave a picture that was both beautiful and eerie. The palace had gone quiet, only the occasional footsteps of guards patrolling could be heard. I stood by the railing, arms crossed against the chill. Below, the courtyard glowed faintly and lanterns were lit in the gardens, only adding to its mystical feel. Everything here whispered royal and untouchable but at the same time cold and empty.If this was where caelum grew up, no wonder he turned out the way he is, I thought with a heavy sigh.I tried to think of reasons why he didn't tell me about his heritage but I gave up when each thought seemed to tear my heart even more than the last. I wasn't angry, just disconcerted. Hurt, maybe, in a quiet way. But then the quiet hurts are usually the ones that last the longest.Footsteps behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know who it was.“You shouldn’t be out here,” Caelum said softly, there was
Wren’s POVThe High King’s Palace was less of a building and more like a declaration of power. White pillars with golden vines reached for the clouds like they were trying to stab heaven itself. The air shimmered faintly with magic, the kind that hummed against your skin and whispered you don't belong here.Gold and white banners lined the grand courtyard, each marked with the High Court’s sigil, a wolf howling at the moon. The gardens were lush with plants of various species, all creating a diversity of colors and scents. It felt like stepping into a different, new dimension, one filled with magic.I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the various scents wash over me and I could feel some of my stress fading. Yeah, i thought, i could get used to this.We hadn’t even crossed the first marble step when people started bowing. At first, I thought someone had dropped something and everyone was helping look for it. Then I realized, nope, they were bowing. To Caelum.Dozens of guards
Wren’s POVThe meeting room was a disaster zone disguised as organization. Papers were scattered like battlefield casualties, coffee cups formed a defensive perimeter, bags of chips strewn everywhere, and someone had written Murder Suspect No. 1 with an arrow pointing to my chair. In short, it was a hot mess.“Real mature,” I said flatly. Soren snickered, it would have given him away if I didn't already know he was the one.He grinned. “It’s called crime scene labeling. You’re welcome.”Caelum didn’t even look up from the table. “Soren, if you breathe one more word, I will personally duct-tape your mouth shut.”“Could still hum,” He said cheerfully.“Not for long,” Dane muttered in that dry tone of his. I grinned at him, he didn't grin back but the corner of his lips curled and I counted that as victory.Across the table, he tapped away on his laptop, ignoring us all with the focus of a man who regretted every career decision that led him here. Robin leaned over his shoulder, nursing
Wren's POV I stumbled back with a gasp as my head turned black and my vision blurred. My head swivelled from one man to another, looking for an explanation.“I-I don't understand. That knife….” I trailed off, remembering that they weren't aware of the knife I had stolen.Caelum waved a dismissive hand, “Yes, you stole the knife to kill me, blah blah blah.”I threw him an incredulous look, “you knew about it?!”He snorted but it lacked humor, “every weapon in my armoury is well accounted for, I would be a shitty leader if I wasn't aware of my resources. Besides, there are cameras in the armoury and you're a shitty liar. Soren knew from your first meeting that you had taken something you shouldn't have so we went over the footage and we saw you try to sneak away with the cyanide and the dagger.” His voice was lowered at the ending. Soren stepped forward, “that isn't the important thing, we should be talking about how your dagger ended up in this man's chest.”I blanched, “do you think
Wren's POV The drive to the bakery was short but it felt like an eternity. My heart kept pounding and my hands grew sweaty, this fear was not from caelum, it was utterly my own. I kept thinking of the worst case scenario, the panic I had felt through the bond, was it Dane? Chills and cold sweat ran down my spine.A body…I was almost out of my mind with anxiety, if it was someone I knew, could I handle it? The added grief would push me over the edge, I just knew it. Losing someone else after losing my pup would break me and somehow, I didn't think I would recover from it.A sharp thought ran through my mind, could it be Caelum?If I was feeling chills before, I was downright shivering now. The panic I felt, had that been a call for help? No, i thought, soren would not be so composed if it was Caelum and I would have felt the bond break too. I checked the bond and it was as strong as ever, only a bit taut from the emotional distance between us, but it was there, a wave of relief cras
Wren's pov“Ah, the sweet smell of the mall." Robin grinned manically. I gave her a look of disgust as the smell of human sweat and other unidentifiable things wafted pass my nose. It was absolutely horrible.“We must be out of our minds." Jessica said as she eyed a small child that passed her with
Wren's povI narrowed my eyes angrily at Caelum's forehead, I imagined my eyes had lasers and we're slowly burning a hole in his forehead. So all his brain could spill out, I chuckled mentally. It was a little dark but I was pissed off.I figured the note out, Caelum meant blue and he was my mate,
Wren's POVI barged into Caelum's office slamming the doors shut behind me. I was beyond mad, I had reached my tipping point. Half of the anger drained away when I saw how his eyes lit up when he saw me.The date we had changed something, as much I didn't want to admit it. We had been sending each
Wren's POVThe whispers had grown louder by the next morning. Every where I went, I saw group of people hurdled together whispering loudly. The whispers stopped when I got closer though, I had become the prime suspect just for being the last person seen arguing with Leslie.It didn't help that I w







