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
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
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
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 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
Kieran’s pov.I’ve always been the quiet one. The one who stays in the shadows, watching, listening, never drawing attention to myself. The Blackwood pack has always been my duty, my life, my purpose. My loyalty is without question. I was trained to follow orders, never to deviate, never to break ranks. My place was clear: protector, strategist, enforcer. I did my job, and I did it well. The rules were simple, and I stuck to them.But lately, those rules feel… different. They feel like chains, constricting around me, tighter with each passing day. It’s Ivy. Ivy Gray.At first, she was just another suspect, another name to watch. A threat, perhaps, or a pawn in a game much larger than any of us understood. My job was to protect the pack from her. To make sure she didn’t become a liability. But somewhere along the way, things shifted. I don’t even know when it happened, but it did.I no longer see her as just a charge. No longer just someone to guard with my eyes, to monitor and report.
June's POV.I never asked for any of this.Not the nightmares. Not the fear. And definitely not the war.I was happy staying in the background—patching up bruises, brewing teas, and reminding stubborn warriors to rest after battle. I was the healer. The quiet one. The one people barely noticed.But everything changed the night I saw it.The thing with red eyes.It wasn’t a wolf.It wasn’t a man.It was something else. Something twisted. Ancient. And it looked right at me like it knew me.Like it had been waiting.I wake to the sound of crows calling outside my window. My chest is tight. My throat dry. Another nightmare.Always the same.The woods. The wind. The glowing eyes in the shadows.I sit up slowly, pressing a shaking hand to my heart. It’s still pounding. Still racing like it did the moment I collapsed.That night, I ran until my legs gave out. I remember the pain in my ribs, the earth beneath my palms. Then nothing.Until Elias found me.He stayed by my side until I woke.Did
Alpha Blackwood's POV.Everything is changing.Faster than I ever imagined.The wind smells different. The ground feels less steady beneath my boots. Wolves whisper behind closed doors. And when I walk through the heart of Blackwood, I feel eyes on me—not just with respect. With doubt.They’re wondering if I still deserve this crown.I never asked to be Alpha for glory. I was born into it. Trained for it. Raised to put duty above all else. The pack was my purpose. My law. My family.But now, even that feels like it’s slipping through my fingers.I stand at the window of my office, watching the training fields below. Young wolves spar with dull blades and tired eyes. Their rhythm is off. Their trust shaken.We’ve lost something.Not just strength. Unity.I thought I had time to fix things. I thought tradition would hold us steady. But Magnus has returned, and the old rules no longer work. I feel it in every council meeting, every message from the border, every plea from the families wh
Magnus Pov.The air has changed.I feel it in my bones, in the stones beneath my feet, in the thin shimmer of magic that clings to the corners of the world like mist. Power is stirring again. Not wild or violent, yet.But close. So close. Like the slow rise of a tide before it swallows the shore.Ivy is remembering.And that is exactly what I’ve been waiting for.I sit in silence, deep in the heart of my sanctuary. The Hollow was once feared, now forgotten by most. But it remembers me. The trees bend for me.The shadows part at my command. This place is mine—woven with old spells, layered in whispers, haunted by memory.Here, I am king again.They think me a monster. A betrayer. A curse.But what they do not understand is that I was once their savior. I offered them balance. I offered power. They refused it. And then they feared it.She feared it most of all.I close my eyes and her face comes to me. Seraphina Gray.Ivy’s mother. The last omega who dared to stand against me an
Selena's pov.The wind was colder in Blackwood than I remembered. Or maybe it was just me.I stepped through the main gates with two guards flanking me.Their presence wasn’t gentle.It was a reminder—don’t try anything, don’t run, don’t speak unless spoken to. I kept my hands at my sides and my eyes down. I didn’t want to see the faces around me. I already knew what they looked like. Anger. Fear. Disgust.Some still remembered me as one of them. Some only saw a traitor.I didn’t blame them.The moment I returned to Blackwood, the whispers started.“Why is she back?” “She should be locked up.”“She’s working for him.”I heard them all. Each word was another knife, but I let them cut. I deserved it. Every last wound.Ivy hadn’t said a word to me.Not when we escaped the Hollow.Not when she woke up screaming from the nightmares.Not when she saw me standing outside her door, hoping for a chance to explain.She walked past me like I didn’t exist. And honestly, maybe I didn’t anymore.
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