LOGINThe central judges of the High Court did not take long to establish their terms. By noon, the white banners were pinned to the stone walls of the council hall, and the decree was read aloud to the entire Southern Alliance assembly.Because the lineage logs carried the Alpha’s seal from the night of the first frost, the pregnancy could not be dismissed without a legal trial. Elder Thomas and Cordelia had played the law perfectly. Valerie was granted sanctuary within the Whitmore estate until the child was born, at which point a formal blood-paternity test would be conducted under High Court supervision. Until then, the alliance contract remained frozen, and so did my status as the recognized Luna."It must be hard for you, Aurora," Valerie murmured later that afternoon.We ran into each other in the long gallery overlooking the eastern courtyard. She was accompanied by two of Cordelia’s personal maids, her cream velvet gown brushing the stones as she stopped directly in front of me. Sh
The iron doors of the great hall hit the stone walls with a heavy thud, vibrating through the long mahogany table.The low talk among the Southern Alliance lords died instantly. I sat in the high-backed chair at the end of the table, my fingers resting flat against the dark wood. My midnight-black wool gown felt heavy, the thick fabric a sharp contrast to the bright torches lining the pillars. A few feet away, Draven stood at the head of the room. His broad shoulders were rigid beneath his leather vest, his jaw clenched tight. The scent of cedar and lightning still rolled off him, heavy with the stubborn anger from our private argument in the master suite. He hadn't looked at me since we walked in.Then, Lady Valerie walked down the center aisle.She didn’t come alone. Behind her marched the three remaining high elders, their white robes sweeping the floor, their faces set. Valerie didn't wear her usual blue northern silk; she wore a loose, flowing gown of cream velvet that gathered r
The heavy iron door of the stone chamber slammed shut, the sound echoing through my skull. The lock clicked into place from the outside, a heavy snap that finalized my imprisonment.I sank against the cold stone wall, the rough granite biting through the thin fabric of my black gown. The residual northern paralytic was finally burning out of my system, replaced by the white-hot, agonizing sting of the mate bond. It was pulsing with a raw pain, weeping from the tear Draven’s words had left behind.He didn't believe me.The phrase repeated in my mind, each time hardening the wall around my heart. I looked at my hands, my claws slowly retracting. He had looked at a staged bed, a weak drug scent, and a political rival, and he had completely erased everything we had faced together. He chose his pride over his mate."Aurora?" A weak, raspy voice called out from the dark corner of the room.My head snapped up. I had forgotten Julian was still here, but he hadn't managed to get far. He was si
The smell of burnt iron and wet copper was the first thing that cut through the heavy, suffocating fog in my brain.My eyelids felt like they had been stitched together. When I finally forced them open, the ceiling above me wasn’t the familiar dark mahogany of the master suite. It was a vaulted expanse of rough, unpolished stone. The cold of the floorboards seeped straight through the fabric of my dress, freezing my limbs.I tried to sit up, but a massive, leaden weight was draped across my waist.My breath caught. I turned my head, my heart hammering a frantic, violent rhythm against my ribs.Julian Vance lay beside me on the narrow, disheveled mattress. His tunic was torn at the collar, his breathing heavy and uneven, his skin flushed with the telltale heat of a foreign substance. The distinct, synthetic scent of a rare northern paralytic stronger and more malicious than the one Valerie had used before hung thick in the damp air of the room.Before the panic could fully seize my thr
The silence that followed Draven’s roar was absolute. The silver chalices on the tables rattled from the sheer force of his voice, and the ambient heat of his revived Alpha aura drove the remaining delegates back another step.Cordelia stumbled against the high table, her face chalk-white, her flawless chignon coming loose as she stared at her son. "Draven... it was for the pack. You were acting on emotion. The contract""You drugged me," Draven snarled, his voice dropping into a register that made the stones beneath our feet vibrate. He stepped off the dais, his massive frame radiating a lethal promise. "You used Lunaria Root. You turned your own Alpha into a puppet to satisfy your greed.""Draven, please!" Angelica whimpered from the floor, clutching her ink-stained white silk gown. She looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror as she tried to crawl toward his boots. "I didn't know! I swear, I had no part in this! Luna Cordelia said you wanted the match!"Draven didn't even look d
The stone walls of the secondary wing felt like a tomb, but I didn't have time to cry over the marriage I thought I had built. I stood in the center of my old guest room, the silver vial of counter-toxin resting heavy against my palm.To save Draven, I had to get close enough to give it to him without alerting Cordelia's guards or my stepsister's eyes. The engagement banquet was scheduled for tomorrow evening. I had less than twenty-four hours to break the hold of the Lunaria Root before the alliance was finalized in front of the high court.A sharp knock at my door broke the silence.I slipped the vial back into my sleeve, my muscles tensing as my inner wolf bared her fangs. "Enter."The door swung open, and Angelica stepped inside. She had already changed into a deep purple velvet robe stolen from the master suite's guest wardrobe. Her venomous smile was fully intact as she closed the door behind her, locking it with a slow twist of her wrist."Still hiding in the dark, Aurora?" Ang
The suffocating weight of my royal aura still vibrated through the stone pillars of the grand hall, leaving the elders and the foreign delegates paralyzed in their seats. Angel was still trembling, her hands gripping the edge of the mahogany table as she stared at the silver Nightveil amulet in sho
The heavy winter snow continued to blanket the Whitmore estate, burying the courtyard in a deceptive white peace. Inside the eastern wing, the air was thick with conspiracy. Angelica stood by the frosted window of Lady Valerie’s chambers, a glass of dark northern wine resting untouched in her hand.
The scent of vintage lavender and heavy, suffocating royal incense permeated every square inch of the Dowager Luna’s private chambers. Cordelia Whitmore sat before her mahogany vanity, meticulously smoothing a rich cream into her hands. The fire in her hearth crackled with a low, rhythmic snap, cas
The silence that fell over the courtyard was absolute. Elder Thomas remained frozen, waiting for me to speak, while Valerie’s smug smile tightened, confident that her trap had closed around us.I held the broken silver amulet tightly in my fist, my mind racing. If I unleashed my true royal aura rig







