LOGINLucien pov.
We had just finished sparring, and the men and I were taking a break. It was intense, precisely what I needed to bleed off the agitation simmering under my skin. I had been losing my mind over Seraphina’s sudden coldness. Just when I thought my mate and I were finally moving forward, obstacles kept appearing. I was actively looking for ways to bypass the ancient laws banning human-werewolf relationships. She was human, but it was the Moon Goddess’s wiI woke up to a soul-splitting headache that felt like my skull was being ripped open. I couldn’t even find the words to describe the sensation; it was a rhythmic, agonizing throb that made every movement feel like a chore. The influx of morning sunlight pouring through the curtains did nothing to help. In fact, the brightness only intensified the pain, stabbing at my eyes. ‘I really hate mornings today,’ I thought, pulling the covers over my head. Usually, I would be up and about, tidying my things and minding my business, staying productive to keep my mind quiet. But today, I didn't want to get up. I just wanted to be one with my mattress, to sink into the fabric and disappear. The conversation from yesterday kept replaying in my head like a cursed record. The truth about where I came from—the Valentine blood, the Blackwood lineage, the twin brother I never got to hold. It hurt. I felt fresh tears prick at my eyes at th
My father was executed... by his? “Look, I know you may hate me for what my father did,” Lucien started to speak, his voice desperate to bridge the widening gap between us. “But that doesn't—” “Get out.” I cut him off before he could finish another word. The air in the room felt like it had been sucked out, replaced by a cold, suffocating vacuum. He looked hurt—genuinely wounded that I would dismiss him so easily—but I didn't have any sympathy left to give. “Seraphina, I know—” he tried again, taking a step toward me. “You don’t know anything, Lucien!” I screamed at him. The sound ripped from my throat. “You can’t even begin to fathom what I feel right now!” I could feel the agitation vibrating in my limbs, the power in my blood reacting to the sheer chaos of my heart. “My entire birth family is dead, and it’s thanks to your father,” I said, my voice wobbling on the final word. “So don’t you da
Seraphina’s POV “Seraphina, we need to talk.” Those were the first words Lucien uttered to me, his voice low and vibrating with a tension that matched the storm inside my chest. What did we need to talk about? How he sent people to try to kill me? Or how he had gone to make arrangements with his people for my demise? I stared at him, my grip on the door handle so tight my knuckles were white. I felt like I was looking at a stranger wearing the face of the man I had started to trust. “We have nothing to talk about,” I said coldly. I looked directly into his eyes, checking to see if he would fluster or turn away, but he held my gaze with a haunting intensity. He looked... exhausted. “Yes, we do, Seraphina,” he said, letting out a long, heavy sigh. “Can I come in?” He asked quietly, looking down at me. Up close, he looked like a man who had carried the weight of the entire world on his back for fa
I stared at Madame Vivienne in total shock, as if she had suddenly grown two separate pairs of heads, making it three. The words coming out of her mouth were so absurd they felt like a fever dream. “What do you mean, Seraphina and I are the reincarnations of Alaric and this ‘Serene’ woman?” I asked, my voice thick with disbelief. I couldn't fathom how such a thing was even possible. My mind was racing, trying to find a logical explanation for the madness. “It is a hypothesis, Lucien. I am going on the facts provided by what Seraphina experienced,” she explained calmly. “What she saw… or more like what that woman ‘wanted’ her to know,” I countered. I wasn't ready to accept that my soul was tied to a man who had committed such atrocities. “What she wanted her to see to manipulate her against me.” “What makes you think so?” she asked, feeling another wave of bone-deep tiredness wash over me. The
“I said, stand down.” Lucien’s voice sounded like a booming crack of thunder, ceasing all movement in the yard. Instantly, all the men who had come to capture me dropped to their knees, bowing down to him. The fight drained out of them in that second. Of course they would yield. He was their King. “Speak. Who sent you?” he asked, his voice deadly calm. Why was he putting on this show for me? It was obvious they were his goons. They wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t sent them. He was the one sitting on the throne; nothing happened without his permission. “What are you doing in my house?” he asked again, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer to the kneeling men. “Your Highness, we were sent by the Council to bring in the hybrid for punishment,” the leader answered, keeping his head firmly bowed to the grass. I saw Lucien visibly tense up at those words. His broad shoulders went completel
Hybrid?Me? The word echoed in my head, mocking me. It had to be some sick, twisted joke. I wasn't anything of the sort. I was just a normal human. A girl who baked on her free time. I belonged in a kitchen with the smell of flour and sugar, not standing on a porch facing down a hit squad. “But you were adopted,”Serene’s voice rang out,reminding me of my unknown origin. It was true. I was adopted. My breath hitched in my throat as the realization settled in like lead. What if my birth parents were… part something? Oh God, no. If I wasn't fully human, the laws of would… “They would kill you. Just like they killed me,” Serene finished for me, her voice dripping with reserved sadness. ‘Lucien would do to you what Alaric did to me.’ I felt physically sick at the thought. I wanted to scream, to deny it, but the doubt was already a poison in my veins. What if Lucien hadn't authorized this? He wouldn't do this to me.
The kitchen was my sanctuary, and the rolling pin was my weapon. I worked with a manic intensity, channeling all the fear, confusion, and adrenaline from the village into the dough. Fold. Roll. Chill. Repeat. I knew what they were now. Or at least, I suspected. The glowing eyes in the diner, the
I woke up in a bed that cost more than my entire life. The room Mrs. Higgins had given me was in the servants' quarters, but it was still nicer than anything I’d ever owned. Silk sheets, a private bathroom, and a window overlooking the dense, fog-covered forest. I remembered the rules Lucien—Mon
I turned to head up the stairs, my heart pounding in my ears. I was shaking, but for the first time in my life, I felt light. The secret was out. The poison was drained. "Wait." The voice was barely a whisper, but it stopped me cold. I turne
The room was spinning, my cheek throbbing in time with my racing heart. I touched my face, my fingers coming away warm."You hit me," I said, my voice trembling not with fear, but with a cold, shaking rage."You deserved it!" Thomas bellowed, his chest heaving. "And more! You insolent brat! After e







