LOGINChapter 4 Valeria I can’t sit still. I’ve tried—goddess knows I’ve tried—but the moment I stop moving, I think about what Dagar said. She could be a demon. I pace the length of my room again, my bare feet brushing over the rug. My hands won’t stop shaking, so I clench them into fists, then unclench them, then rake them through my hair. It doesn’t help. I stop at the window, press my forehead against the cold glass, and breathe. My baby…my daughter. I squeeze my eyes shut. “Demon blessed,” I whisper to myself. “Brilliant, Valeria. Really top‑tier decision-making.” I push away from the window and start pacing again. My room feels too small, like the walls are inching closer every time I turn. I stop in front of the mirror and touch my stomach with trembling fingers. “She would be dead if you hadn’t done what you did.” That’s what Dagar told me. I don’t know if that’s supposed to comfort me or haunt me. Probably both. I know she wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t, but
Chapter 3 Valeria It gets colder the farther I go down into the dungeon. The stairs twist down under the castle, and the air grows heavier with every step. The smell of damp stone, rusted metal, and that old, stale scent hits before I even reach the bottom. It settles in my nose. The torches along the walls burn low, their flames small and shaky. They throw long shadows that stretch across the steps. My hand brushes the wall as I descend, and the stone is wet, slick with moisture. By the time I reach the bottom, the dungeon feels like I stepped into a different world. The hallway stretches out in front of me, lined with cells on both sides. My loud footsteps echo off the walls in the tight space. Some cells are empty. Others aren’t. I stop in front of one of the cells and lean against the bars, catching my breath. “Every time I see you, you look worse.” Florence’s head snaps up, eyes alert despite the exhaustion hollowing her face. “You.” Florence looks nothing lik
Chapter 2 Valeria “My liege.” The guards bow as I pass, and I still don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. As I move through the hall, I catch a glimpse of a group training in the back courtyard. Grimm must be at it already. He’s been put in charge of the wolfless, helping them unlock their wolves while also serving as protector of the royal crown. “Ugh! He is so infuriating!” Jade stomps down the hall, peering out of every window like she’s hunting him. I have the urge to ask what her problem is, but thankfully, she spares me the effort. “Can you believe that guy?” “Uhm… what?” I ask. “Grimm! He keeps refusing my date proposals!” “Good for him?” Her head snaps toward me, eyes blazing. “I already told him I was sorry so many times! And I really am! Why can’t he at least try to… forgive me?” “Well… I’m not sure what you did is forgivable. You are a horrible person after all.” “Shut the hell up! I’ve changed… am changing.” I roll my eye
Chapter 1 Valeria Help me… someone… help me… My insides feel like they’re tearing apart. I stagger down the corridor, the walls stretching and shrinking as if they’re breathing with me. A table catches my hand when I slam into it, my knuckles whitening as I cling to it for balance. The weight of my swollen belly drags me forward, as if something inside is trying to claw its way out. “Asha’ren.” The word drifts from the darkness, but there is nothing there. A twisting pain rips through me, and I gasp, folding over myself, with one hand gripping the table and the other cradling my stomach. My vision blurs. Shadows crawl along the walls, stretching into long, crooked fingers that reach for me. Another wave of pain hits, forcing my breath to break. I look down and freeze. My veins glow a deep, burning red beneath my skin, branching like cracks in shattered glass as if the blood inside me has turned to fire. “No… no, please…” The glow spreads across my belly, pulsing, as
Prologue “The Widow Coven has been destroyed!” Malindra bursts into the chamber, breathless with excitement, a newborn child in her hands. Elspeth lifts her head with a scowl. “What madness are you spewing now?” “Elspeth—listen! The Widow Coven is gone.” Malindra’s hands twitch in frantic and uneven motions around the swaddled infant. Irena steps forward, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean, gone?” “Exactly what I said, Irena. They’ve been wiped out!” “Impossible.” Elspeth waves her off with a bored flick of her wrist. “You lie, Malindra.” “I do not!” Malindra snaps. “Mother Witch told me to make a detour after acquiring the child to check on them.” “Check on them? Why?” “I don’t know. You know how Mother Witch knows things no one else does. Anyway, their Crone was dying. Barely clinging to breath. She told me everything before she passed in my arms.” Elspeth rolls her eyes. “I still don’t believe you.” “Then scry for them and see for yourself—” “By who, Malind
Valeria Dagar grabs me by the throat, lifting me up and cutting all air from reaching my lungs. “I’d break your neck, but your child could die. And we can’t have that. He will be my heir after all. I’ll break your arms and legs instead. By the time you are able to move again, I’ll hand you your mate’s head on a spear—” Dagar is tackled. I collapse beside Grimm and watch as Raphael pins Dagar by the throat. With a surge of strength, he hurls him against a tree, the bark splitting as Dagar crashes through it. Raphael rushes to my side. “Are you hurt?” I cough and take deep breaths. “I’m okay.” We watch Dagar get up from the rubble of branches. He stands tall and reaches his hands to the sky. A sea of ravens rises from the trees at his command. Not even I can control that many. Dagar swings his arms toward us, and the wave crashes into us, though Raphael takes the brunt of it because he shields me. I can’t take control of all of them as I did before when it was Dagar in Grimm’s bo
Raphael “Raphael?” “Mom, did you—what happened?!” I see a woman lying on Mother’s bed. “This poor girl came out of nowhere,” Mother says. The woman is covered in blood and bruises, so it takes me a few seconds to recognize her. “V-Valeria?” “You know her?” I nod slowly and step closer, my expr
Valeria “Hm… you have a dirty mouth.” “What do you want?” Raphael’s hand closes gently around my chin, guiding my face up to meet his eyes. “Don’t run from me again.” He’s not even answering my question. “You should know better than to run from an Alpha.” “What? What do you want?” “I wanted to
Valeria “Where are we going?” I sit in the car with my family on the road to who knows where. “Do you not pay attention?!” Mother shouts at me, while Father calmly explains, “Plans have changed, Valeria. One of the royal packs was attacked. Someone called for war. All of the royal packs have been
I never thought this would be my fate, that this would happen to me. All I ever wanted was my mate—my fated one. It was the only hope of finally feeling loved. “I’m sorry, but I… can’t be with you. I reject you…” After those words left his lips, I don’t recall anything else that was said. Only th







