Leah's POVWhen I woke up, I was enveloped in warmth. Blinking against the light, I realized Lucas was holding me from behind. I cherished moments like this, moments that never happened when we were married. My head still felt foggy, and the tubes in my arms itched, making me impulsively pull them out. The machine beside me erupted in beeps, and a flustered nurse rushed in, her hand flying to her mouth in shock. Lucas sprang off the bed."I'm sorry, Sir. You can't be in here," she insisted, staring at him."I just want to be with my wife," Lucas shrugged,
Leah's POVI reached for the phone on my nightstand and dialed Darren's number. It rang for a while before going to voicemail. I paused, formulating my thoughts, then said, "Darren, it's me..."Suddenly, the phone was answered. "Leah?" Darren's voice sounded shaky."Yes, Darren. It's me."He let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Where have you been? I was so worried...""What's going
Leah's POV"What's the hurry?" A voice echoed from the doorway.Mick Toussaint?!What on earth was he doing here?"Ah, we've crossed paths again, Miss Lewyn." Mick's gaze locked onto mine, his eyes narrowing with intent. "Allow me to introduce you to my Luna and wife. I assure you, this reunion will be nothing short of spectacular."Clara's face materialized next to his.It was as though my worst nightmare had clawed its way into reality. They stood together, each an abomination that had finally found its twisted match."Leah, you conniving wench! At last!" Her lips curled into a cold, vindictive smirk as she slammed the door shut. "We're going to have such a delightful time.""Get out of my room!" I shouted, desperation hitching my voice. My legs were numb, unwilling to obey, while I knew exactly what this deranged pair had in mind."You look like one of the Swanson boys." Clara purred, flicking her gaze to Darren. "The Swansons have always been so... delectable. Care to join us?"D
Darren's POV"What's happening...? What the hell?!" Josephine gasped, her eyes widening as she saw Leah cradled in my arms."Leah's in danger. We need a doctor," I murmured, laying Leah gently on the sofa."If you need a doctor, you’ll have to go to a clinic! Not to me!" Josephine snapped."I can't take her there. There are soldiers everywhere," I replied urgently. "She's dying, Jo. The blood won't stop."Josephine's face twisted with hysteria. "What do you expect me to do? We can't help her! Didn't you see those soldiers on the street? They're hunting for her! If they find her, we're both dead!"Ignoring her, I tore through the linen closet, grabbing anything that could help staunch Leah's wound. Josephine tried to pull me back."Darren! Are you listening to me?!""I hear you, Jo," I said softly, but firmly. "But I have to save Leah. She took a bullet meant for me. If it weren’t for her, I’d be the one bleeding out."
Darren's POVJosephine's stern gaze pierced through me. I clenched my fists, feeling the weight of the decision I had to make. The life of Leah's unborn baby was in my hands. If I gave the go-ahead, the baby wouldn't survive, and Leah would never forgive me. But if I didn't, Leah would die.“Continue,” I instructed the doctor, my voice steady.“Are you sure...?” he questioned, hesitant.Josephine covered her mouth to stifle a scream. “Do it. Now,” I repeated firmly."I can't watch this," Josephine said, her voice breaking as she stormed out of the room.I was left alone to face the grim reality. Dr. Jafar bent back over Leah, resuming the delicate operation. After what felt like an eternity, he finally removed the last fragment and collapsed into a chair, utterly spent."Is she going to be okay?" I asked, desperation creeping into my voice."She's in critical condition. I’ve done everything I can. The
Lucian's POV“I am here to express our condolences to Your Highness on His Majesty’s passing…"“We are deeply sorry…"Their voices blurred and faded to a distant echo in my mind. I couldn’t focus on anything. The only thing consuming my thoughts was Leah.Where is she now? If Lucas’s plan had succeeded, she would be with Darren, fleeing to the north.The plan involved enhanced Darren killing Mick and secretly sending Leah to the north. Publicly, we’d claim that Leah, grief-stricken by my father’s death, had taken her own life. In this way, I’d eliminate Mick and seize the throne simultaneously.When Lucas first proposed the plan, I thought he was mad. No one had ever schemed like this before. No one had ever dared to deceive the Moon Goddess. Since yesterday, a troubling unease had crept over me. I didn’t like it one bit. It was the same bitter taste I’d fe
Lucian's POVSurrounded by mournful faces, I felt completely isolated and helpless. My father had spent his life punishing, manipulating, or killing these very people. Yet, they were the only ones who showed up for his funeral."Where is your Beta? Jalin, is it? Such an admirable young man. I haven't seen him lately," Alpha Siluria of the Ocean Howler Pack leaned towards me and inquired.He was almost as old as time itself, having served three kings in a row. Now, he was about to serve me. I wondered if he would live to see my funeral."Alpha Siluria, it's always a pleasure to talk with a loyal subject like you," I responded curtly.Just then, chaos erupted in the crowd. People stepped back, revealing Alpha Mick striding into the graveyard, carrying a severely mutilated woman’s body in his arms. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he was holding Leah, and I nearly leaped from my chair. But as Mick laid the body on the ground, the woman's head lolled
Lucas' POV"Alpha, we’ve found a woman lurking around. She demands to see you. She claims she has something you really need to know," a soldier reported to me, his voice tight with urgency."Bring her in." I set the phone down and exhaled deeply. I had exhausted all my resources. Leah was nowhere to be found, and she wouldn’t respond to my mindlink. Time was slipping away with only ten hours left.I hadn’t slept in three days, and without Leah by my side, my focus was shattered."Alpha Lucas," a woman entered my office, cloaked in a voluminous medieval hood."Who are you, and why are you here?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes as I tried to pierce the shadows concealing her face. Despite the obscurity, she felt oddly familiar."Every werewolf knows my name. I have come to answer your call," she intoned, bowing slightly before throwing back her hood, revealing silver-white hair that glittered like stardust. Her skin shimmered l
Leah's POVLiam stared. "What the hell are you?"I wiped my hands on his jacket. "Hungry."He laughed then, wild and unhinged. "You're crazy.""Crazy enough to fix your problems. If you obey.""Obey?" He raised an eyebrow. "That's kinky."I stared at him. "You want to save your grandmother? Stop playing gangster. You're a joke."His smile died. "Yeah? And what's your deal? Some kinda runaway mob wife?""Like you can't even imagine." I released him.Silence.He rubbed his neck. "Fine. What's the plan, boss?"I glanced at the photo. The old woman's eyes glared back, unyielding. "First, we get some money.""From where?"-Vinny's nightclub reminded me of Sheridan Club. It was a cacophony of neon lights and pounding bass, the kind of place where secrets were buried under the weight of too much noise and too many bodies.I walked in with Liam trailing behind me, his face still bruised
Leah's POVThe first thing I remembered was the cold. Not winter's bite, but the slick, oily chill of concrete against bare skin. My knees were scraped raw. My breath came in ragged bursts, fogging the air like gun smoke. I pressed my palms flat against the alley wall, felt the grime cling to my fingertips.Naked. The word slithered through my skull, venomous. Not just my body - my pride flayed open, left to rot beside dumpsters reeking of stale beer and regret.What the hell has happened to me? I remembered stabbing Lucas in the chest and walking into the flames.Now here I am. Naked in some sort of back alley.Voices slithered from the street."Lookie here... fresh meat. Yummy..." a man slurred. Three shadows lurched into the alley, their laughter wet and jagged. One held a bottle by its neck; the glass caught the neon buzz of the bar sign above. Red Rabbit Tavern. The letters bled crimson down the brick.Is this... human world?
Lycidas' POVLucian shook his head, his eyes closing as if the effort of speaking was too much.Late afternoon light slashed through barred windows, gilding dust motes that swirled like trapped spirits above Lucian's bed. My brother's once-indomitable frame now sank into feather pillows as if the mattress conspired to swallow him whole. His labored breaths syncopated with the grandfather clock's metronome tick-tock, tick-tockfrom the western wall - a sound that had scored every pivotal moment of our cursed lineage. I counted them as one counts heartbeats before execution: thirty-seven ticks since he'd last spoken. Seventy-three since I'd entered this tomb disguised as a king's quarters.When Lucian finally stirred, his eyelids lifted like rusted portcullises. Sunlight caught the silver threads in his black beard - premature aging, or the Moon Goddess' fingerprints? "Lycidas," he exhaled, the name disintegrating into a wet cough. I watched his thro
Lucian's POVJalin seized my chin, wrenching my face back to the mirror. "Are you waiting for me to dress you, Your Majesty?" His hands slid down, slow and possessive, unbuttoning my shirt with deliberate malice. The fabric parted, exposing my sunken chest, and his gloved fingers lingered, tracing the jut of my ribs. I grabbed his wrists, my frail grip trembling. "I'm tired," I whispered, voice a broken thread. "I don't want to see anyone today."Jalin sneered and tore the shirt from my shoulders, seams splitting like skin. He shoved me from the wheelchair, and I crashed to the floor, legs limp, a puppet with slashed strings. "Your brother's coming," he hissed, looming over me. "If you greet him like this - pathetic, lifeless - he'll think I've neglected my duties." His eyes burned with that familiar madness, a sadistic gleam that promised torment.I shrank back, breath shallow, rasping, "Jalin, please don't…" But he didn't pause. His hand fisted my hair,
Lycidas' POVI looked down at him, my jaw tight. "If you want the thing between us to work," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "you need to know some ground rules. The first and most important one is that you stay the fuckout of my family business. Do you understand?"He met my gaze, his eyes calm, unflinching. "Yes, Your Highness, I understand. But the thing is, since you entered the Kingdom, all your actions have been under the control of the Court. They reported your arrival to His Majesty, who summoned me last night..." I grabbed him by the throat, slamming him against the mirror. The glass cracked under the force, shards raining down around us. His face was scratched, blood trickling down his cheek, but he didn't struggle."Did you go and see my brother last night?! Did he fuck you?!" I roared.He whispered, "Your Highness, Lucian is sick now. He didn't...""If you mention my brother's name again," I snarled, "I'
Lycidas' POVI woke to the sting of sunlight slicing through the heavy drapes, the kind of light that felt like a mockery after the night I’d had. My head throbbed, a dull ache that seemed to echo the chaos of my thoughts. I rubbed my eyes, squinting at the room around me. It was obscenely luxurious, every surface polished to a blinding sheen, every piece of furniture carved with ornate, gaudy details. I sat up, the silk sheets slipping off my bare skin, and let out a bitter laugh. Finn's bedroom?The place reeked of excess, of a desperate attempt to mask something hollow. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, my feet sinking into the plush carpet. The air smelled faintly of cedar and something metallic—blood, maybe, or the ghost of it. I stood, stretching the stiffness from my limbs, and made my way to the bathroom. The shower was scalding, the water slamming into my skin like punishment. I leaned against the tiled wall, let
Finn's POVLycidas didn't buy it. His clawed hand seized my hair, wrenching my head back so hard my neck screamed, and I gasped, the pretense slipping as pain flared."Fucking slut, is that all they'd taught you?!" he spat, raking his claws down my spine, tearing skin, spilling blood. I whimpered - half act, half truth—and he sneered, pressing his heat against me, his cock a brutal threat between my thighs. "You're a fucking disgrace. A whimpering slut who'd spread for any cock that paid."I clenched my jaw, nodding like I hated it, but the words sank into me, heavy and hot. "Yes, Your Highness. But now, I am yours..." I choked out, still clinging to the lie of reluctance, but then he slammed me face-first into the hardwood floor, his hands pinning my neck, and the air left me. He thrust in, no warning, no mercy, and the pain - fuck, the familiar, thrilling pain - was a jagged blade splitting me open. I screamed, the sound raw and real, my mask shattering
Finn's POVThe air in Mediland was thick with the stench of desperation and decay, a familiar reek that clung to the walls of the slave market like a second skin. I stepped through the rusted gates, my boots crunching over gravel and broken glass. The place was still a cesspool of misery, still a monument to the cruelty of the worst of the worst. But this time, I didn't feel the usual weight of despair pressing down on my chest. No, this time, I felt… light. My plan was going on smoothly.Lycidas, the fucking Lycan Prince, was here. In my territory. In my office. The thought almost made me smile. He'd spent years parading around the human world, basking in the adoration of his fans, untouchable. But now, he was mine. The fire in Los Angeles had been a stroke of luck - or perhaps fate. The paparazzi had scattered, and for the first time in years, Lycidas was vulnerable. Cole met me at the entrance, his face grim. "His Highness Lycidas
Lucas' POV"Alpha Lucas!" Dr. Jafar exclaimed, rushing to my bedside. "I saw the changes in your vitals on the screen and came as soon as I could. This is a miracle! You woke up!" I dismissed Jorah with a nod, and he left reluctantly, his eyes lingering on me as if afraid I'd vanish. "Dr. Jafar," I said, my voice low and urgent. "Did you perform the disguise surgery on Leah?"He hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. It was Finn's order, but it was my work. We had to change her appearance - everyone was hunting her...""What exactly did you do to her?" I asked.The doctor looked hesitant, but eventually he said, "We had to apply bionic skin, but her body rejected it at first. We had to keep injecting her with suppressants. And we… we reduced her height with bone surgery. It was painful, but necessary. Alpha Lucas, I felt so guilty about what I had done. That was why I was trying to remind you of her presence. I tried so hard to p