Caddalâs POVI was in my chambers that bright morning, soaking in the warm sunlight as I went about my usual bathing routine before breakfast. The soft rays of the sun made the room glow, and for a moment, I allowed myself to enjoy the peace. Suddenly, one of my servantsâa timid, nervous manâapproached me with a hesitant look on his face."Father," he said in a quiet voice while bowing low, "you have a message."I lifted an eyebrow, both curious and cautious, still backing him and gazing at rhe courtyard below. "From whom?" I asked, my tone calm yet alert.The servant swallowed hard before replying, "A maid delivered it, Father." His voice wavered, and I could feel that he was both frightened and unsure.I scowled, my anger bubbling just beneath the surface. "A maid? What nonsense is this? If I were to read every letter from every commoner, would I have time to rule this realm?" I grumbled, unable to hide my irritation at what I considered an unnecessary interruption.The servant trem
Sebastain's POV I was surprised when I received a message from Caddal, my father-in-law, requesting my presence. Our relationship had always been difficult, and be knew I still held him responsible for my brother's death. I could not imagine why he would invite me now, yet his request sparked my curiosity. What bold move could Caddal be planning? Caddal was always quiet until he had something up his sleeves, which were usually dangerous - as dangerous as the plans he had coerced my father into.I decided to accept the invitation despite my annoyance. I wanted to see what he had in mind, and I needed to know his reasons for requesting my presence. As I approached the palace, I felt a mix of anger and cautious interest. When I arrived, Caddal greeted me with a friendly smileâa smile I did not return. I walked straight to the matter at hand, my patience quickly wearing thin."Why am I here?" I asked in a firm yet polite tone.Caddal smiled again, a gesture that felt more like a sneer t
Caddal's POV I had not expected Sebastian to honor my invitation, at least not on the first call. Our relationship had always been strained. Sebastian blamed me for his brother's death, as if I had drained the life from Francis. But it was those witches from the Capris coven who were truly responsible. We had underestimated them, thinking that our physical strength could match their powers. Instead, they wielded mysterious abilities that we did not even know existedâand Francis had paid the price.Sebastian had chosen to inherit his father's anger and resentment, blaming me for the loss of his brother. Yet, he had also been responsible for killing Loretta. Despite everything, I had come for Eleanor, and that was all that mattered now. I was determined to get her back into my control, no matter what it took.A grand banquet was the perfect setting to receive a Lycan King, and thanks to the skill of our Pack's chefs, the table was soon laden with a feast of assorted dishes. As Sebastia
Eleanor's POV Sebastian's anger was written all over his face, and I could not ignore it. His breath came in heavy, ragged gasps, and his chest heaved with each labored inhale. The bright golden hue of his eyes had deepened to a dark, burnished copper, and his jaw was tightly clenched. His fists were balled at his sides, and the veins on his arms stood out as if they pulsed with every beat of his anger.I felt my heart race as I watched him struggle with his emotions. "Sebastian, what's wrong?" I asked softly, reaching out to gently touch his arm in an attempt to soothe him.He pulled back slightly and, in a rough, gruff voice, insisted, "I'm not upset, Eleanor. Everything's fine." But I knew his words were not true. The tension in his eyes and the way his muscles tensed told a different story."Please, Sebastian, tell me what's wrong," I said, my voice both gentle and firm. "You're scaring me." I needed to understand the cause of his pain.After a moment of heavy silence, his eyes f
Eleanor's POV I always knew that once Father discovered my healing power, he would send for me. For years, I had felt unwanted and small, simply an omega wolf in his eyes. Growing up, Loretta had been differentâshe could shape-shift easily, as if it were as natural as breathing. I, on the other hand, had struggled for years with transformation. I spent many nights crying myself to sleep, feeling like a failure because I never could do what came so easily for Loretta.I remembered those long evenings when Father looked at me with disappointment, his eyes full of sadness and frustration. He always favored Loretta, showering her with love and special attention while I was left in the shadows. I often wondered why I could not be like her. Why was it that I struggled with shape-shifting when everyone else seemed to manage with ease? After Lorettaâs death, something shifted in Father. He saw me not as the weak omega wolf he had always dismissed, but as someone who might be useful. Even
Caddal's POV I wanted everything to be perfect. I needed it to be just right because Eleanor, my daughter, was finally coming. The banquet hall was set up like a scene from a fancy movie: tables dressed with clean white linens, crystal glasses catching the light, and decorations hanging just perfectly. I even made sure the meal was top-notchânothing but the best for her. Today was my last day stuck in this wheelchair, and not just because I was about to be healed. I had a bigger mission. I needed to convince her that she had the potential to be more than a Luna. She was meant for greatnessâshe could be the ruler of the entire realm, not just someone to warm the Alpha King's bed.âGet the 1982 Chateau Lafite this instant!â I barked at the staff. âWe canât serve my daughter anything less than amazing.â I turned to the chefs and said, âBrine those chickens until theyâre perfect!â Then I called out to the maids, âBring in rosesâshe loves them!â I watched everyone rush around, trying to
Eleanor's POV I watched as Father's face changed in an instantâhis eyes grew wide in shock, almost as if Iâd hit him with a hard truth. I remembered back when I was a teenager and asked him about who my mother was. He had gotten so angry that he locked me up. Even now, I could feel that same anger and frustration bubbling up inside him, as if he still wanted to punish me for daring to ask questions after he told me that I shared the same birth mother with Loretta.I waited, half-expecting him to lose controlâdishes crashing to the floor, his loud shouts filling the room, and the whole place shaking with anger. But nothing like that happened. Instead, I saw the deep lines on his forehead start to smooth out, and a gentle, almost sad smile appeared on his face. I wasnât really surprised. Father was desperate for my favor, and he knew that letting his anger burst out wouldnât get him what he wanted.âThereâs nothing you need to know about your birth mother other than that she died,â he
Sebastain's POV The past few days have been a blur. I kept myself busy investigating the news leak, trying to ignore what I had learned at Mary's cottage. The name Capris coven sent shivers down my spine. As I sat alone in my office, I could almost hear the screams, the crackle of fire, the sound of destructionâand then a silence so deep that it was even scarier than the chaos.The witches of Capris covenâĶ My father and Caddal had really underestimated them. In fact, the discovery of these witches turned out to be a huge mistakeâone I would never forgive Caddal for. They had killed my brother. My father had believed that a strong counterattack would scare the witches into submission, that they could be tamed by force. But he had no idea just how powerful they were.I didnât know the whole story about the two Alpha Kings and the witches until after everything fell apart. Thatâs when I learned about their greed and ambition. It all started with Alpha Caddal. Somehow, he had learnedâfro
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. Rykerâs chest barely rose, his breaths shallow and ragged, his worthless blood staining my pristine Selene. That idiot, heâd 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 didnât resist as I pulled her across the deck, her steps steady despite the chains rattling around her wrists. She couldnât fight back, not with the poison Iâd been slipping into her meals for days, sapping her strength, dulling that wild power Iâd seen her wield. She was mine now, a tool to bend or break. Either sheâd lead me to the Capris Coven, or Iâd 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.âGet up,â I snarle
Rykerâs 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.âDonât you dare come in,â I warned, my voice a low growl, edged with the promise of violence.Klausâ dark eyes flicked to the blade, and a harsh, mocking laugh rumbled from his chest. âYou plan to stop meâĶ with that?â 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 didnât care what he thought. Iâd fight tooth and nail, hell, Iâd 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 Aliciaâs 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 shipâs charts, his gnarled fingers tracing lines I couldnât decipher. âWhere are we?â I barked, looming over him. âTell me exactly where this damned boat is!âTorin 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. âWeâveâĶ weâve been circling, sir. Same stretch of sea for days.âThe 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 hadnât just crawled out of the Capris Covenâs habitation a few days ago, as though he wasnât the one whoâd sworn he knew the way. And Eleanor, since that strange night when
Sebastain's POVI watched Leilaâs 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.âSheâs pregnant?â Leilaâs voice cracked, disbelief threading through every syllable. âHow could you not know?âThe question stung, sharp and accusing, though I knew she didnât mean it to wound me. I swallowed hard, my throat dry as ash, and forced the truth out. âI only just found out sheâd been using wolfsbane tincture.âLeilaâs brow furrowed, her frown deepening as she tilted her head, studying me like Iâd spoken in a foreign tongue. âWolfsbane tincture? That bitter mixtureâdoesnât it weaken a wolfâs abilities over time?ââWhat do you mean?â My voice trembled, betraying the dread coiling tighter in my chest.She lea
Leila's POVThe moment Nathanâs 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 brotherâs 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 securityâs sake, but it carried a weight that sank into my bones. I didnât 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 didnât relent. Night after night, they clawed at me, vivid and merciless, peeling back layers of truth I hadnât been ready to face. The pain was a constant now, a dull ache that throbbed in my chest and temples, but Iâd 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 foolâs 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 didnât 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 hadnât 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 didnât 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 wasnât 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 didnât 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 hadnât been the necessary