Mary's POVThe sight of Eleanor stepping into my cottage after so long warmed my old heart like the first rays of spring after a bitter winter. She was a vision, that special she-wolf—radiant in a way that went beyond the soft glow of her dark hair or the strength in her stride. As she crossed the threshold, the faint scent of life stirred beneath her usual wildflower essence, a secret only a healer like me could catch. She was pregnant, though she carried it well, her frame still lithe despite the subtle curve of her belly. I ushered her into my kitchen, the familiar creak of the wooden floorboards welcoming us as I set about pouring tea from the kettle simmering on the hearth. The rich aroma of chamomile and honey curled through the air, mingling with the earthy scent of dried herbs hanging from the rafters.We settled at the scarred oak table, the mugs steaming between us, and I watched her take a sip, her hands cradling the warmth. “I’ve got bad news, Mary,” she said, her voice lo
Klaus' POVWere my eyes deceiving me? Were my eyes playing tricks? I stood in the cluttered confines of my study, the morning light filtering through the grimy windowpanes, casting slanted beams across the maps and papers strewn over my table. I’d been hunched over them since dawn, tracing routes and plotting moves, my mind a restless tangle of frustration and ambition. The witches—those elusive, maddening specters—had consumed me, and I was no closer to hunting them down. Thomas, that lumbering oaf, was useless beyond tracking werewolves, his skills as blunt as his wit. I was no Lycan, gifted with a nose sharp enough to sniff out prey across miles. Even the mightiest of our kind couldn’t track witches who didn’t want to be found—they cloaked their scents with spells as easily as breathing. And yet, here she was: Eleanor, standing before me, offering the chance of a lifetime.She’d arrived unannounced, her presence filling the room like a storm rolling in—quiet, but charged with purpo
Alicia’s POVI couldn’t believe the words spilling from Klaus’s lips. The air in the room seemed to thicken with every syllable, each revelation sinking deeper into my bones. This wasn’t just a dream anymore, it was becoming real, true, interesting. My pulse quickened, a flush creeping up my neck as I reached for the bottle of red wine on the table. With a trembling hand, I poured the red liquid into a glass cup, the sound of it splashing against the glass, oddly soothing. I downed it in one swift motion, the warmth soothing my throat and steadying my nerves.Klaus had just dropped a bombshell. Eleanor, that sly, unreadable witch, had arrived with news, credible news, about the witches’ hiding. So they weren’t just whispers or legends spun by paranoid villagers? They existed, flesh and blood, hiding in the shadows. And Eleanor, of all people, was willing to guide us straight to them. The implications swirled in my mind like the wine in my glass, intoxicating and dizzying.I wasn’t ju
Eleanor’s POVI hadn’t told Ryker about my decision to bring Klaus along for our journey to the Capris coven, and the omission ate at me like a splinter beneath my skin. The truth was, I was terrified—terrified of venturing into the unknown with just the two of us, uncertain of what awaited us there. The witches were a mystery, their power a danger that loomed larger with every whispered rumor I had ever heard.What if we were walking into a trap, outnumbered and outmatched? But with Klaus by our side, his strength, his resources, it tipped the odds in our favor. Victory felt less like a fleeting hope and more like a possibility I could grasp with his presence.Besides, we couldn’t use Sebastian’s boat without stirring up a storm of questions I wasn’t prepared to answer. His boat was too closely tied to him, too likely to draw his attention if it went missing for days or was moved ashore. Klaus, on the other hand, had a boat of his own,a sturdy, broad vessel capable of carrying our b
Sebastain’s POVI have been planning a surprise for Eleanors upcoming birthday, a romantic evening designed to sweep her off her feet and mend the briken edges of our past. I wanted to apologise, not with empty words, but with a gesture that would prove I still loved her, fiercely and unyieldingly, more than I had in those early days when I chased her with a wild, reckless devotion. The memory of her hesitant steps toward me back then, driven by hatred of our past rather, still clung to my memory. This time, I wanted it to be different. I wanted her to feel the depth of my heart, to know I will never take her for granted again.The plan was simple yet buried in meaning: a date in the garden where we exchanged our vows. That day, beneath the tall oak and the watchful gaze of the pack, she bound herself to me out of obligation, her eyes guarded and her smile tight. Now, I imagined us there again, surrounded by the same roses and lantern-lit paths, but with love as our motive instead of
Eleanor’s POVWe slipped away at dawn, the sky still filled with the last traces of night. Sebastian lay sprawled across the bed, his chest rising and falling in the deep, steady rhythm of sleep. I didn’t dare wake him. If I did, he would insist on escorting me to Mary’s cottage himself, his protective nature protesting against any excuse I could muster. It could spoil everything, hours wasted trekking from Mary's cottage to Klaus’s mansion when time was of great importance. So I left him there, a pang of guilt twisting in my chest as I stole one last glance at his peaceful face before closing the door behind me.Ryker met me outside, his broad frame taut with readiness, his sharp eyes scanning the shadowed trees lining the path. He moved like a predator, every step deliberate, every sense prepared for danger.He didn’t trust Klaus, not one bit.Neither did I, if I was honest with myself. There was something too polished about the man, too calculated behind his wuick smiles, and it se
Alicia’s POVKlaus’s boat was a floating testament to extravagance, a marvel of wealth that screamed luxury from every polished inch. The Selene gleamed under the morning sun, its white hull stretching long and proud, a beauty I hoped to possess one day, soon. The deck above was a spread of polished wood, wide enough for a small banquet, with cushioned lounges and a bar stocked with wines of various types. Below, the cabins were arranged in an orderly fashion , marble floors, silk curtains, and chandeliers that moved gently with the boat’s motion. It was a palace on water..Now I sat on the soft bed in the room Klaus had assigned me, the mattress sinking beneath me like a cloud. A velvet bedsheets in deep red draped over it, and a small mahogany table nearby held a silver tray filled with delights: a bottle of rich red wine, a layered stand of cakes dusted with sugar, and a bowl of buttery cookies that melted on the tongue. The walls were paneled in dark wood, and a small porthole win
Klaus’ POVIt was as if some unseen hand had pulled her away from me, a force sharp and sudden that left my skin tingling with unease. One moment, Eleanor’s fingers brushed mine, warm, soft, and the next, she was sprawled across the deck, her body crumpled. The air still hummed with the fading echoes of the storm she tamed, and I couldn’t shake the certainty that settled into my bones: Eleanor was a witch. A powerful one. And if the Capris coven proved to be a myth or a disappointment, she was my contingency plan, a living, breathing weapon I could wield.I just watched her command a storm that had threatened to break my beloved Selene into driftwood. The sky had roared with fury, black clouds churning like a witches’ brew, the wind clawing at the sails with relentless effort. Rain had lashed the deck in torrents, and I shouted orders to the sailor, my voice hoarse, my heart pounding, praying my precious boat would survive unscathed. I couldn't die at sea.Then Eleanor had stepped f
Klaus' POVThe boat rocked beneath my boots as I dragged Eleanor away from that blood-soaked cabin, her beta sprawled on the floor like a broken toy. Ryker’s chest barely rose, his breaths shallow and ragged, his worthless blood staining my pristine Selene. That idiot, he’d dared to fight me, dared to defy me, and now he was a mess of torn flesh and fading growls. I smirked, kicking the door shut behind us. Good riddance.Eleanor didn’t resist as I pulled her across the deck, her steps steady despite the chains rattling around her wrists. She couldn’t fight back, not with the poison I’d been slipping into her meals for days, sapping her strength, dulling that wild power I’d seen her wield. She was mine now, a tool to bend or break. Either she’d lead me to the Capris Coven, or I’d haul her back to the Crescent Moon pack and force her to my will. No more games.I shoved her hard, and she hit the deck on her knees, her auburn hair spilling over her face like a curtain.“Get up,” I snarle
Ryker’s POVI was trained to protect Eleanor, not to blindly obey her every word. That distinction had guided me through years as her beta, my duty was her safety, her life, above all else. So when the door burst open with a splintering crack and Klaus loomed in the threshold, flanked by two hulking guards, my instincts took over. My switchblade was already in my hand, its weight familiar and steady, and I thrust it forward, the steel glinting in the dim lantern light.“Don’t you dare come in,” I warned, my voice a low growl, edged with the promise of violence.Klaus’ dark eyes flicked to the blade, and a harsh, mocking laugh rumbled from his chest. “You plan to stop me… with that?” His tone dripped with contempt, his lips curling into a sneer as he took a step closer, his broad frame filling the doorway like a storm cloud rolling in.I didn’t care what he thought. I’d fight tooth and nail, hell, I’d tear this ship apart plank by plank, to keep Eleanor safe. She stood behind me, her v
Klaus' POVMore than anything, I despise being made a fool. The sting of it burned hotter than any wound, a festering humiliation that drove me from Alicia’s cramped cabin with a snarl still twisting my lips. My boots pounded the deck as I stormed toward the helm, the sea air sharp and briny in my lungs. I needed answers, and I needed them now. Ryker and Eleanor had strung me along for six miserable days, and I was done playing their game.I found the sailor hunched over the ship’s charts, his gnarled fingers tracing lines I couldn’t decipher. “Where are we?” I barked, looming over him. “Tell me exactly where this damned boat is!”Torin flinched, his eyes darting up to meet mine before dropping back to the parchment. He muttered something under his breath, then pointed to a looping pattern on the map. “We’ve… we’ve been circling, sir. Same stretch of sea for days.”The words hit me like a fist to the gut. Circling. My worst fear confirmed, laid bare in ink and cowardice. Rage surged t
Klaus' POVThe sixth day at sea stretched before me like an endless galaxy, the horizon a mocking line of unbroken blue. Not a whisper of the Capris Coven, not a shadow of land, just the ceaseless slap of waves against the boat and the briny tang of salt stinging my nose that I was already getting tired of. I stood at the deck, gripping the weathered railing, my patience wearing thin with every passing hour. And Ryker,damn him, his presence grated on me more with each day. I have been catching strange feelings from him for a while now, a quiet unease that coiled in my gut like a serpent.We had no reason to like each other, that much was clear from the start. But this? This was different. He moved through the ship like a ghost, detached, his eyes darting away whenever I tried to pin him down. He acted as though he hadn’t just crawled out of the Capris Coven’s habitation a few days ago, as though he wasn’t the one who’d sworn he knew the way. And Eleanor, since that strange night when
Sebastain's POVI watched Leila’s face shift as the weight of my revelation settled over her like a storm cloud rolling across a clear sky. Her hazel eyes widened, then narrowed, her lips parting slightly as if the words she wanted to say were caught in her throat. The dim light of the lantern flickered across her features, casting shadows that danced with her confusion.“She’s pregnant?” Leila’s voice cracked, disbelief threading through every syllable. “How could you not know?”The question stung, sharp and accusing, though I knew she didn’t mean it to wound me. I swallowed hard, my throat dry as ash, and forced the truth out. “I only just found out she’d been using wolfsbane tincture.”Leila’s brow furrowed, her frown deepening as she tilted her head, studying me like I’d spoken in a foreign tongue. “Wolfsbane tincture? That bitter mixture—doesn’t it weaken a wolf’s abilities over time?”“What do you mean?” My voice trembled, betraying the dread coiling tighter in my chest.She lea
Leila's POVThe moment Nathan’s urgent message reached me, scrawled in his hasty hand on a scrap of paper, I leapt into action. I lashed the reins of my carriage, urging the horses into a frantic gallop toward Bloodmoon Pack. The wind tore at my hair, the wheels rattling over the uneven road, but my mind was a storm of its own. Eleanor, pregnant with my brother’s child, had vanished on some reckless voyage to uncover her roots, without a word to Sebastian. And he, predictably, had gone berserk. The note was cryptic, lacking on details for security’s sake, but it carried a weight that sank into my bones. I didn’t understand it all yet, not fully, but I knew one thing I had to get to him before he went completely wild.The journey stretched across a full day, the sun climbing and sinking as the landscape blurred past, rolling hills giving way to dense forest, then the rugged outskirts of Bloodmoon territory. The horses frothed at the mouth, their breaths heaving in clouds of steam, and
Eleanor's POVThe nightmares didn’t relent. Night after night, they clawed at me, vivid and merciless, peeling back layers of truth I hadn’t been ready to face. The pain was a constant now, a dull ache that throbbed in my chest and temples, but I’d grown accustomed to it, numbed by the burning need to uncover the full details of the betrayal surrounding me. Each vision was a rough piece of a puzzle, and by the third night, the picture was complete, its edges sharp enough to draw blood. I woke that morning with the taste of anger on my lips, the echo of thunder still rumbling in my skull, and a clarity that felt both liberating and suffocating.After a sparse breakfast, bread and a sip of refreshing water that did little to settle my churning stomach, I summoned Ryker to my cramped quarters. The boat rocked gently beneath us, the sea deceptively calm beyond the porthole, its glassy surface mocking the storm brewing within me. I sat on the edge of my bunk, my hands clasped tightly in m
Sebastain's POVCapris Coven.The name alone sent a shiver racing down my spine, a cold dread that coiled tight around my chest. Eleanor was headed there, chasing some fool’s errand with our pup growing inside her, our pup, a secret she kept from me, a wound that festered deeper than I cared to admit. The last and only time I journeyed to that forsaken place, I had been a boy, barely old enough to understand the world beyond my pack. It was a nightmare etched into my bones, a blur of terror and misery that still haunted me decades later.I had been small then, clinging to my father's side as we sailed across a sea that seemed endless, its expanse swallowing the horizon. I didn’t know the route, only that it took days, each one worse than the last. The waves had tossed our rickety boat like a toy, the air thick with brine and the sour tang of my own vomit as seasickness wrecked my young body. I retched over the side until there was nothing left, my stomach a hollow pit.. I hadn’t under
Eleanor's POVThe secret of our pup, a fragile life growing within me, I had it kept locked away, hidden with lies about this journey. I had told him I needed to master my powers to understand it, when really I was on a journey to a land I didn't know, a people who were thought to be wiped from this realm. My deception didn’t absolve his, but it muddied the waters, blurring the lines between victim and villain. We had both wielded knives, and we had both drawn blood. None of us was innocent of hurting the otherBut Klaus and Alicia, those two were a different breed of poison. Their betrayal wasn’t born of love tbat turned sour for a moment or promises broken, it was calculated, cold, a blade aimed at my heart with no remorse. I didn’t need more visions to fuel my resolve. The ones I had seen were enough, their revelations shattering everything Ibelieved. My mind lingered on the Great War, a memory not from this life but etched into my soul by the visions. It hadn’t been the necessary