LOGIN~AMARIS"You know what, Dad?" Gray purred, his voice smooth, filling the quiet room like a death warrant. He tilted his head, his smirk widening into something deeply sinister as he gestured toward the open doorway where Ember had just fled. "I think this is the best decision right now. A nurse will not just get her to be fine again temporarily... but will also diagnose and confirm every single word I said in the dining room.”A single thread of my control snapped. It didn’t break with a dramatic crash, it went entirely silent, the vacuum of my sanity swallowed whole by the roaring, primitive beast caged within my chest.I didn’t see my son standing before me anymore. I didn't see the bloodline that connected our veins, or the ten years of exile he had just crawled back from. I only saw a parasite. A venomous, preying creature who had looked upon my dying fated mate with a smirk, like her failing lungs was nothing to be bothered about.Before Gray could even draw his hands out of his
~AMARISThe metallic tang of blood always signals a battlefield, but I never expected the trenches to be dug across my own dining table.I had been sitting at the head of the mahogany expanse, watching the quiet, erratic tremors in Amaris’s fingers as she held her linen napkin. Beneath the strict, iron-clad protocols of my mandatory Saturday breakfast, my focus had been entirely anchored to her. My wolf was pacing the cage of my ribs, low and possessive, responding to the subtle, sweet spikes of rain and jasmine that bled from her skin.I knew she was hiding something from me. The hollow, defensive stance she had maintained since stepping through the double doors spoke of a creature cornered, but I had chosen to let her breathe, to let my pure aura stabilize whatever fragile peace she was clinging to.Then, the silence of the room fractured.A violent, jagged cough tore from her throat, her entire upper body jerking forward with a force that made the silver platters rattle against th
~AMARISThe world stopped spinning. In fact, it stopped moving entirely.The clatter of the silver utensils, the soft crackle of the fireplace in the corner of the grand dining hall, the distant rustle of the morning wind against the heavy glass windows...all of it vanished, sucked into a vacuum of absolute, suffocating silence. The words Silver Decay hung in the air like a cloud of toxic gas, paralyzing the room, suffocating the very oxygen right out of my lungs.My eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at the space just above Gray’s shoulder, frozen in a mask of pure, unadulterated horror.No. No, no, no.For a terrifying, desperate moment, my mind completely fractured, rejecting the reality crashing down on my head. I hoped, with every single shred of sanity left in my soul, that it was a lie. I hoped that my ears were playing tricks on me, that the chronic illness had finally reached my brain and made me hallucinate the entire thing.Gray did not just do this to me.He couldn’t hav
~AMARISThe heavy brass handle of the dining hall doors felt cold against my palm, a stark contrast to the volatile heat radiating from my skin. My heart wasn’t just beating, it was thundering against my ribs like a trapped beast, each strike a frantic countdown to an inevitable execution. I had spent the last thirty minutes in the bathroom trying to scrub the phantom sensation of Gray’s fingers off my wrists, but the dark, blooming bruises beneath the fabric of my long-sleeved forest green dress were a permanent, agonizing proof of the night before.I took a slow, shallow breath, forcing my shoulders back. I had to look strong. I had to look like the tragic survivor who could handle the elite weight of the Iron-Howl Pack, even while my internal organs felt like they were slowly turning to ash.I pushed the doors open.The immediate shift in the room's energy was suffocating. The dining hall was a massive, stone-walled chamber, dominated by a long, polished mahogany table laden with s
~AMARISEvery single second of the night was a slow, agonizing crawl. I lay there thinking about my life, analyzing every broken piece of it until my chest began to ache with a hollow, physical pressure. It was a complete, unending nightmare. I was a tragic survivor who had watched her parents burn to ash, a girl running out of time because of a terminal illness I had to keep hidden, and now... I was the ultimate forbidden fruit. Mated to my best friend's ruthless father, Alpha Varg, while being hunted and terrorized by his vengeful, narcissistic son.I must have drifted off eventually, my brain simply shutting down from sheer emotional exhaustion. But I didn't realize I had even fallen asleep until a sudden, aggressive movement shattered my fragile peace.Swoosh.A brutal wave of golden Saturday morning sunlight poured directly onto my face, forcing me to gasp as my eyes flew open, stinging against the sudden, blinding glare."Come on, Amaris! Wake up!" Ember’s voice boomed through t
~AMARISThe echo of my own voice was still vibrating in the stone rafters when the world outside my door erupted into absolute chaos. I sat frozen at the head of the bed, the raw, burning agony in my lungs flare-ups from the Silver Decay completely forgotten under the sheer weight of adrenaline. My hands were locked around my shirt, pulling it so tight against my collarbone that the seams groaned. My knees were pressed to my chest, a pitiful shield against the lingering, toxic ghost of Gray’s presence.Then came the heavy, unyielding thunder of combat boots.The door didn't just open; it was nearly taken off its hinges as three elite pack guards breached the perimeter, their silver-tipped blades drawn and gleaming under the harsh overhead light. Their predatory eyes scanned the room in a synchronized sweep, their nostrils flaring as they caught the sharp, unmistakable scent of pure terror bleeding from my skin."Clear the perimeter! Check the balcony!" the lead guard barked, his voice
~Amaris“Ember, I already told you it's the pool. There is no need to say things like that,” I said weakly, moving back.I'll do anything to avoid that conversation completely. But she swam toward me.“We should go out and mingle with hot male wolves so you can find someone to satisfy your ache. H
~AmarisKneeling on the floor, I could still feel the slick dripping down my thighs. That was when I heard footsteps.Someone was approaching. The air felt lighter. Not like when Alpha Varg walks into a room. Ember. I was certain she was the one approaching. I could not afford to let her see me
~Alpha VargOh, that little cub with scent like rain and Jasmine, that pulls at me in ways I hated to admit. Intoxicating. From the very first day she stepped her feet in this house, I recognized it.The way she left me hunting, searching for her like I was a predator hunting down a prey.Her eyes
~Amaris“I- I…”I couldn't find the right words to deny. Her gaze pierced through me, the air between us suddenly felt thinner. My brain moved fast, too fast, shirking through different things to say. “I was just lost in thought,” the words slipped out of my mouth.Ember's face softened slightly







