Ivy’s POVThe morning light filtered weakly through the heavy curtains, casting long shadows on the stone walls of Kiernan’s chambers. I hadn’t slept. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the letter again. I saw Selena’s smirk behind the lie. I saw the look in the Alpha’s eyes as he read it out loud. Calm. Calculated.But not cruel. That was what haunted me most. The Alpha wasn’t cruel. That meant this wasn’t about hate. It was about order. Truth. Power.I sat up slowly, my body stiff from sleeping in the same position for too long. The bandage on my wrist itched, and I tried not to scratch it. Kiernan was still asleep, slouched in the armchair near the fireplace, arms crossed, boots still on. He hadn’t left the room once.It was strange, having someone like him protect me. Kiernan wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t warm. But he was present. And right now, that meant more than kindness ever could.I rose quietly, not wanting to wake him. I padded toward the bathroom, washed my face in
Selena's POVThe first thing I felt was pain.It spread through my chest like fire, burning every inch of me. My throat was tight, and my limbs wouldn't move. I tried to open my eyes, but the light stabbed through my skull like knives. I groaned softly, barely able to breathe.Then I heard voices. Distant. Muffled. Like I was underwater."She's waking up."That voice—I recognized it. Cold. Sharp. Magnus.I blinked, forcing my eyes open. The room was dim, lit by the soft glow of candlelight. Shadows danced on the walls, and the air smelled of herbs and something stronger—something darker. I wasn’t in the packhouse. I wasn’t in the infirmary either.I was somewhere else."Where..." My voice cracked, barely a whisper. My lips were dry and cracked.Magnus stepped into view, his expression unreadable. "You're safe. For now."I tried to sit up, but my body screamed in protest. My arms felt like lead, and my stomach twisted with nausea. I remembered the tea. The faint bitterness. Then nothin
Ivy's POVFew Days ago.The moon hung low over the Blackwood estate, casting long shadows across the cold stone walls. I stood by the window in Kiernan’s chambers, arms folded tight around myself. My reflection in the glass looked nothing like the girl I used to be—wide-eyed and hopeful. That girl was gone. In her place was someone harder, quieter. Someone waiting for the storm to break.It had been two days since I’d last seen the Alpha. Two days of silence. No updates. No word from Selena’s side. Just hushed whispers in the halls and cautious glances from passing servants.I wasn’t stupid. I knew what they thought.Ivy Gray, the poisoner.Ivy Gray, the weak omega who snapped.But I wasn’t weak. Not anymore.Kiernan had been watching me from his desk. He always watched. Quiet and still, like a predator. But I could tell his mind never rested. He didn’t trust easily. Maybe he didn’t trust me at all. But he hadn’t let me out of his sight, just like the Alpha ordered. I was safer here,
Elias' POVThe hallway outside the Alpha's council room was suffocating. The silence wasn't peaceful; it was heavy, like a storm pressing down on our shoulders. Ivy stood to my right, her fingers twisted together in a nervous grip. Kiernan leaned against the wall beside her, arms crossed, his face unreadable like always. Me? I couldn’t stop pacing. Every second that ticked by made my skin crawl."You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Kiernan muttered."Better that than standing still while this whole thing hangs in the balance," I shot back.Kiernan raised an eyebrow but said nothing else. Ivy didn’t look at either of us. Her eyes were locked on the wooden doors in front of us, her expression tight, shoulders drawn in. She looked like she was trying not to shake.I couldn't blame her."This will work," I said, mostly to fill the silence. "We have the evidence. Once Ronan sees it, he won’t have a choice."Kiernan hummed in agreement. "He’ll listen. He always does."Ivy still said
Selena's POVThe secret chamber within the Blackwood estate was where I had come to hide. To gather the strength to continue my plan. Magnus stood beside me, his figure shrouded in the shadows, his ancient presence barely a whisper against the thick silence of the room.He hadn’t spoken for what felt like hours, and that unnerving quiet stretched out between us. I could feel his eyes on me, the disapproval in his gaze seeping through the air like a bitter draft."You were too careless," Magnus’s voice cut through the stillness like a knife, sharp and unforgiving.I didn’t respond immediately. Instead, I let my fingers trail over the surface of the ritual dagger at my side, the cool metal grounding me, though it did little to settle the storm of frustration brewing inside me.I had worked so hard, so carefully, weaving my plans together, only to have them unravel like fragile threads in the hands of those damn triplets."Elias, Kiernan… They’re the reason everything has fallen apart,"
Ivy’s POVAfter the meeting with the Alpha, I was no longer locked in Kiernan’s chambers.I was allowed to walk around the west wing of the estate, as long as I stayed away from Selena’s side and never left without a guard.It wasn’t freedom. Not really. It just meant the cage had gotten a little bigger.I walked slowly down the hallway, keeping my eyes low even though I could feel people watching. Servants moved around me like I was a ghost. Some glanced at me with pity. Others didn’t even look at all.I didn’t blame them. They’d heard the rumors.Ivy Gray,the poisoner.Ivy Gray,the liar.Even with proof in hand, I was still the girl who almost brought shame to the Blackwood name.I stopped by a window and looked out over the gardens. They were quiet too. Even the flowers seemed to be holding their breath.A low voice pulled me from my thoughts. “You shouldn’t be alone.”I turned. Kiernan stood behind me, arms folded, his expression calm as always.But I saw the tension in his eye
Selena's POVDarkness suited me.Not because I liked the shadows or the silence, but because the world forgot to look too closely when it was afraid. And they were afraid. The Blackwood estate, the council, even the Alpha himself—they whispered, they watched, but none of them truly saw me. Not yet.I sat in the forgotten chapel deep beneath the estate. Moss clung to the old stone, and the altar was cracked down the middle. Candles lit the room in a soft, golden glow, their flames too steady for a place so cursed.Magnus stood across from me, his hands folded behind his back. He never sat. Never rested. His eyes glowed faintly red, like dying embers. The power inside him made the air buzz."She remembers," I said quietly. My voice echoed off the chapel walls.Magnus didn’t flinch. “Fragments. Nothing clear. Your spell worked. For now.”I ran a hand through my tangled hair. “It’s not enough. She saw something. I felt it. When she touched the charm.”“She is beginning to wake,” Magnus s
Ronan’s POVThe cold wind rushed through the trees as I stood at the edge of the forest. The moon hung high above, fat and pale, but the night was too still. Too quiet. I didn’t trust quiet nights anymore. Not in this place. Not with everything falling apart inside the Blackwood estate.I rolled my shoulders and listened.No howling. No rustling. Just silence.I turned and walked back toward the estate, boots crunching over dead leaves. My wolf stirred under my skin, tense and restless. He felt it too—something was wrong.I’d been keeping my distance from the others lately. Kiernan was busy shadowing Ivy, and Elias was always disappearing at odd hours, chasing shadows. And me? I watched. I listened. And I waited.Selena had been too quiet lately.That wasn’t like her.She always made noise—whether it was with her voice, her glare, or her games. But now she was playing the long game. The kind that didn’t make noise until it was too late.And Ivy—she was changing.I noticed it when I pa
Ronan’s POVThere was a time when I didn't care about the politics of the pack. I didn't care about diplomacy. My instincts, my loyalty, and my fight kept me grounded. I didn't need anything else.But that was before Magnus came.Before Ivy’s life hung in the balance, and before I saw the fear in her eyes—the kind of fear you don't forget. I had seen it in the faces of enemies, but never in hers. That shattered something in me. And it scared me more than I wanted to admit.Now, I couldn't shake the thought that everything was changing. And with every passing day, it was becoming clearer: this wasn’t just a battle for survival—it was a fight for the future. A future I couldn’t ignore, not with Ivy at the center of it.So, here I was—standing in front of the Alpha, my brother Kiernan, and Elias, all of them watching me with hard eyes. The pack was depending on me, even if they didn’t say it out loud. They knew I wasn’t the one to speak diplomacy, but I was the one who would go, the one
Elias’s POVI hated the silence.It had been quiet since we got back from the Hollow. Too quiet. Ivy wasn’t talking. Selena barely looked anyone in the eye. Kiernan kept pacing like a caged wolf, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how close we came to losing everything.One more minute, one more step into that ritual circle, and Ivy could’ve been gone. Taken by Magnus. Or worse—changed by him.The image of her face when we found her—confused, pale, trembling—burned behind my eyes. I had seen her angry. Sad. Determined. But that was something else. That was broken.And I let it happen.I had stood back for too long, keeping peace while others doubted her. Pretending we still had time. Pretending things weren’t as bad as they seemed. But I couldn’t pretend anymore.Ivy was at the center of all of this. Magnus wasn’t just trying to destroy the pack—he wanted her. For something bigger. Something darker.I found Ivy in the old greenhouse behind the manor. She liked it there. Said the plant
Kiernan’s POVThe woods had always been quiet at dawn, but that morning, they felt dead. Not calm. Not peaceful. Just still—like something was holding its breath beneath the surface.Like the forest itself was waiting for the worst to come.I kept a firm grip on Ivy’s shoulder as I guided her back from the Hollow. Her skin was clammy. Her eyes were distant. Selena trailed behind us, silent and ashamed, but I barely looked at her. All my focus was on Ivy.She looked like someone who had walked through hell.Elias was already ahead, scanning the path for danger. His jaw was tight. I knew he was worried, but Elias always handled things with quiet concern. I didn’t. My worry came with fire.I wanted to kill Magnus.Not arrest. Not contain. Kill.Because whatever he’d done to Ivy—whatever he’d made her see—it had left a crack in her. One I wasn’t sure could be repaired.And the worst part?He wasn’t finished.When we finally made it back to Blackwood territory, the guards at the perimet
Ivy’s POV My legs were shaking, and every step felt like I was walking through mud. I didn’t know how I was still standing. The visions still swirled in my head, like ghosts refusing to leave.Selena walked a few feet behind me, her face pale, her eyes locked on the ground. Neither of us spoke. There was nothing left to say.She had betrayed me. That truth was sharp and bitter. But it wasn’t the only one that haunted me.Magnus’s words echoed in my mind over and over again.“Your mother served me. She chose me.”No. No, she didn’t. She couldn’t have.But I had seen the vision—clear and terrifying. My mother, standing beside Magnus, her face calm and cold. And then… something darker. A burst of power. A light inside her chest. Something he wanted. Something he said I carried now.What did he mean?I didn’t know who I was anymore.The moment I broke free of that ritual, I thought I would collapse. But something inside me pushed forward. Maybe instinct. Maybe anger. Maybe fear.Kiernan
Selena’s POV I stood at the edge of the woods, staring into the shadows where the Hollow waited. My hands trembled, not from the cold, but from what I was about to do. Again.How had it come to this?I used to know who I was. I used to believe in revenge—sweet, righteous, and mine. Ivy had everything I lost, everything I was denied. For so long, I hated her for it. But now... now I wasn’t sure.I had watched her closely these past days. At first, it was just to make sure the plan worked—to make sure Magnus’s lies were planted deep inside her mind. But something changed. The more I watched her fall apart, the more I saw myself in her. Not the same life. Not the same pain. But the same chains. Different shapes, same prison.She was breaking, and I could see it in the way she walked. Her shoulders hunched just slightly, her eyes always tired, searching for something she couldn’t name. I should’ve felt satisfaction. I should’ve enjoyed watching her crumble. But I didn’t.Instead, I felt
Ivy's pov.I had never been a stranger to nightmares. They had been with me for as long as I could remember—those fragmented, fleeting moments of terror that always left me breathless upon waking. But recently, it was different. The nightmares felt more like memories, memories that weren’t my own. They were so vivid, so real, that I began to question whether I was the one dreaming them, or if the past was simply trying to claw its way back to the surface.I had already come to accept that something was off. I couldn’t ignore the strange, flickering images in my mind, the unsettling feelings that seemed to follow me like shadows, lingering on the edge of my vision. At first, it was just a brief flash—my mother, standing beside Magnus, the dark elder who had helped Selena escape her exile. His cold, calculating eyes locked on mine, as if he were waiting for something. But it wasn’t just a fleeting thought. It happened again and again—too many times for it to be a coincidence. The face o
Magnus’s POVThe night air was thick with the scent of decay and magic. I stood at the edge of the burnt clearing, my robes dragging over charred grass and blackened soil. The smoke from the northern ridge still rose in lazy curls, a warning to the Blackwood pack. A promise of what was to come.Fools. They thought they could stop what had already begun.Selena had done her part. Played her role like the desperate girl she was—hungry for vengeance, easy to manipulate. But her use was wearing thin. She had started asking too many questions, hesitating in ways she never had before.Weakness.I had no room for it.With a flick of my hand, I summoned the shadows. They slithered forward like loyal dogs, coiling at my feet. They whispered to me, voices layered and cold, telling me what I already knew.Ivy Gray still lived.Not only lived—but fought.She should have broken by now. The poison. The lies. The isolation. Any lesser omega would have crumbled. But she was no lesser anything.She wa
Ronan’s POVThe cold wind rushed through the trees as I stood at the edge of the forest. The moon hung high above, fat and pale, but the night was too still. Too quiet. I didn’t trust quiet nights anymore. Not in this place. Not with everything falling apart inside the Blackwood estate.I rolled my shoulders and listened.No howling. No rustling. Just silence.I turned and walked back toward the estate, boots crunching over dead leaves. My wolf stirred under my skin, tense and restless. He felt it too—something was wrong.I’d been keeping my distance from the others lately. Kiernan was busy shadowing Ivy, and Elias was always disappearing at odd hours, chasing shadows. And me? I watched. I listened. And I waited.Selena had been too quiet lately.That wasn’t like her.She always made noise—whether it was with her voice, her glare, or her games. But now she was playing the long game. The kind that didn’t make noise until it was too late.And Ivy—she was changing.I noticed it when I pa
Selena's POVDarkness suited me.Not because I liked the shadows or the silence, but because the world forgot to look too closely when it was afraid. And they were afraid. The Blackwood estate, the council, even the Alpha himself—they whispered, they watched, but none of them truly saw me. Not yet.I sat in the forgotten chapel deep beneath the estate. Moss clung to the old stone, and the altar was cracked down the middle. Candles lit the room in a soft, golden glow, their flames too steady for a place so cursed.Magnus stood across from me, his hands folded behind his back. He never sat. Never rested. His eyes glowed faintly red, like dying embers. The power inside him made the air buzz."She remembers," I said quietly. My voice echoed off the chapel walls.Magnus didn’t flinch. “Fragments. Nothing clear. Your spell worked. For now.”I ran a hand through my tangled hair. “It’s not enough. She saw something. I felt it. When she touched the charm.”“She is beginning to wake,” Magnus s