Raven's POVI don’t know how long I’ve been here anymore. The days blur together, each one identical to the last.We are given stale bread three times and day and only allowed to bathe thrice a week.There is no sunlight, no warmth, just cold stone and the scent of decay.I’ve lost weight. A lot of it. My petite figure is now leaner and weaker. I chopped my hair off in a desperate attempt to regain some control.In the beginning, I tried keeping track of time, scratching lines into the wall with a dull knife I found in the corner of my cell. I think I lasted three days before I lost count.Ara, my wolf, has been silent for days.I should be expecting my third loaf of stale bread for the day, but instead, the scent that drifts toward me makes my mouth water. Steak.Rich, seasoned steak. Moon Goddess, the steak smells heavenlyI swallow hard.But what if the steak was poisoned? I hesitated, bringing it close to my nose and sniffing cautiously. It smelled divine, rich and well-seasoned,
Ansel's POVWe had been searching for days, but there was still no sign of her.After we met with Father, we ran back to where we’d last left her, only to realize our mistake almost immediately. We left our mate unmarked in a territory on the brink of war. She could be dead. Or maybe—the bitch managed to survive and ran back to her pack.A low growl rumbled in my chest at the thought.If I saw her again, I’d kill her myself for leaving just like that.Who does she think she is? Defying me and my brothers as if she had a choice. I am an Alpha. Her mate. She belongs to us, and the sooner she understands that, the better.But right now, we had bigger concerns than chasing after some dumb, disloyal wolf.I should have paid more attention when she spoke about her pack, but honestly, why would I? It doesn’t matter where she comes from. Her place is with us.Asher burst into my office, his fury rolling off him in waves. His wolf had been restless since she left, and frankly, so had mine.“An
Raven's POVCaleb told me to meet him behind the guardhouse once I was let out. I don’t know where that is, but I’ll figure it out, I just need to stay alert.Two days passed faster than I expected, and I’m grateful for that. I’ve been counting the hours, desperate to be free. Locking up a wolf is the worst thing you can do to our kind.The guard who comes to release me doesn’t bother with gentleness. He yanks me forward, his grip tight enough to leave bruises. I grit my teeth but don’t fight back; I can’t fight back; I don’t have the strength.Stepping outside, I take in my surroundings. There are other prisoners, just as battered and restless as I am, some of them looking scary. Guards stand scattered around, but none of them are watching us. It’s not carelessness, they just know we have no chance of escape.Outside the yard, there’s only one building. It has to be the guardhouse.Keeping my steps slow and careful, I move toward the back of the building, doing my best not to draw a
Raven's POVI keep running the moment I realize they aren’t from my pack.But then I notice, they’re running after me.Panic blooms in my chest as they close in, their movements calculated. They don’t just chase me; they slam into me, trying to knock me off balance.I dodge as much as I can, using my speed and agility to stay ahead. Werewolves may be large, but we are fast. Still, they are more experienced with their wolves than I am with mine. It doesn’t take long before they overpower me.A furious snarl rips from my throat as they pin me down. My wolf thrashes, enraged at being restrained again.We shift back to our human forms, and I barely have time to catch my breath before strong hands clamp down on my arms, holding me in place between the two of them.“Who are you?” I shout, my voice dripping with anger, hiding the fear clawing at my chest. I struggle against their grip. “Let me go!”A young man steps forward from the rest of the pack.His eyes were red, a very unusual colour
Raven's POV“The Moon-shade Pack,” he says with a slow smile.I stiffen. The name sounds familiar.I’ve heard it before—in the Crescent Silver Pack. It seems like this is the Pack having issues with the Silver Crescent pack. Knowing the alphas of that park are my mates won’t do me any good .I decided to hide it at all costs.“And why am I here?” I ask, my voice colder now.He leans back, watching me with that same unreadable expression. “Because we thought you needed help. This is a pack for those who have no home… those who feel unwelcome in their own. We saw you running alone, and that’s uncommon for a wolf.”His words linger in the air, but my mind is elsewhere.The Moon-shade Pack.Why does it feel like I’ve just walked into something far more dangerous than I escaped from?“Well, thank you for your help,” I say, my tone edged with sarcasm. “If that’s what you want to call it. But I really must leave now. I have my own home. I am not a rogue.”He doesn’t respond immediately. Ju
Asher's POV I have been frustrated since the day Raven disappeared. My wolf is restless, pacing in my mind, demanding that we find her. I can’t help but blame Ansel, it’s his fault she’s gone. We pushed her too far and let her slip through our fingers. And yet, I can’t bring myself to regret everything. She belongs to us. No matter how far she runs, she’ll never truly escape.I know we treated her harshly. We never gave her a chance, never let her feel safe. Ansel took things further than even I expected, but deep down, I didn’t stop him. I watched her break, watched her crumble under his dominance, and something about it made my wolf stir with satisfaction. Because no matter how much she fought, in the end, she always looked at me like I was her last hope. And I liked that. I liked knowing that after everything, she still saw me as her only escape.But now she’s gone. And that makes me fucking furious.Ansel has been leading the search, and I know he won’t stop until he has her ba
Asher’s povThe search had been going on for more than three weeks now. Everything had been silent—even from the Moon-shade Pack until today.Boom.The ground shook beneath me, and a loud noise echoed through the pack. I was mid-search when a guard mind-linked me, his voice laced with panic.“Your Highness, a part of the prison yard seems to have exploded! We need you here!”My body tensed. What the hell?“Fall back, men!” I ordered my team before taking off toward the prison. After days of nothing, was this finally a move from Moon-shade? My mind raced, but I didn’t have time to think. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, dodging scrambling pack members as dust began to fill the air.The moment I arrived at the prison yard, chaos greeted me. Dust still lingered in the air; Guards were running around trying to ascertain the situation, barking orders, trying to restore order. The destruction was contained to this section of the prison—nowhere else in the park had been touched.Tha
Rowan's POV I’ve been running for two days straight.I can’t afford to waste any more time; my brothers need me. Asher’s voice sounded tense over the mind link, and that panic still filled me as I crossed the border of our park.But I didn’t stop.Not until I reached the palace, my muscles screaming from exhaustion, my lungs burning. I didn’t bother cleaning the dirt off my body. I stormed straight to Ansel’s office, where I could feel their presence through the bond between us all.The door slammed open, and they both turned to me like they’d been waiting.“Where the hell were you?” Ansel snapped.I wiped the sweat from my brow. “You know where I was.”“We needed you here,” he growled, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.I stepped further into the room; I was so exhausted, but not enough to stop my fury from boiling over. “I’m here now,” I shot back. “Instead of wasting time bickering like idiots, tell me what the hell is going on.”Asher exchanged a tense glance wi
Raven’s POVThe palace was suffocating.Days passed in a blur, each one stretching longer than the last. I barely left my room, only slipping out when I was sure no one would see me.Not that it mattered.No one was looking for me.They hadn’t left.They were still here. Somewhere in this massive place, grieving their father, dealing with politics, handling whatever chaos came with the death of a king.I told myself that was why they hadn’t come.They were busy. Distracted.But deep down, I knew the truth.They’d forgotten me.Not once in the endless stretch of days did any of them come to check on me, not even to make sure I was alive.It shouldn’t have hurt.But it did.The bond throbbed like an infected wound, the connection still pulsing beneath my skin — a constant reminder that no matter how much they hated me, I was still theirs.“Ara,” I whispered, curling my knees to my chest as I sat on the cold floor. “Are you still there?”My wolf had been quiet for days, her presence fain
Rowen’s POVI woke up gasping, my body shaking like a leaf as the pain finally started to fade.The last thing I remembered was the intense pain, my brothers chasing after me. The agony had been unbearable, like every bone in my body was breaking and resetting, carving the curse into my very soul.I lifted my head, feeling exhaustion sink deep into my bones. Ansel and Asher were both standing nearby, looking so worried.“You back?” Asher asked, his voice rough.I nodded, pushing myself up, but the second I tried to stand, I staggered.The connection to my wolf, Rome, felt wrong. Distant.Rome? I called out in my mind, my heart hammering.Nothing.The bond wasn’t gone — I could still feel him, like a faint pulse in the back of my head — but his presence had dimmed to almost nothing.Talk to me, I tried again, panic rising.Still nothing.I swallowed hard, rubbing at my chest like I could physically reach for him. The curse must have drained him — the power shift, the transfer of pain.
Rowen’s POV“AHHHHHHH!”The scream tore through the air, it was loud enough to wake up the dead.Noooo!!“What the fuck is going on?” I muttered as the sound echoed through the pack house. I hadn’t heard anything like it before — not from her. Not from Raven.I bolted out of my room, my heart pounding really hard, only to freeze when I reached the hallway.I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.Raven — our mate, was clawing at Ansel with everything she had. She looked wild, feral, her nails tearing into his skin, blood dripping down his chest. Her face was twisted with rage, her eyes burning with hatred so intense it made my wolf moan in sadness.But she was losing.She was too weak to fight Ansel, her body still wrecked from whatever Moon Shade had done to her. Yet, she didn’t stop fighting.She dodged one of Ansel’s swipes and sank her teeth into his neck, tearing into his flesh like an animal. Blood spilt down his collarbone, and Ansel roared in a fury, grabbing her by the hair and
Raven’s POVI stayed on the cold floor long after Ansel left, too broken to move. My body throbbed with pain, every lash and bruise screaming at me, but nothing hurt more than the ache in my chest.I am back.Back to the place I’d spent weeks trying to escape, I am just so stupid.And I was more shattered than ever.I curled into myself, swallowing sobs, afraid someone would hear me cry. I didn’t want to make another mistake. Didn’t want to give them a reason to come back in. My skin still burned from Ansel’s slap, and my heart hammered like it was trying to escape my ribs.I should have just died in that place.I should’ve let Kelvin kill me.Because now… now there was nothing left of me.I dragged myself to the bed eventually, biting my lip to keep from whimpering as I crawled onto the mattress. My limbs barely worked, and my whole body shivered from the cold sweat clinging to my skin.The sheets felt suffocating like they were swallowing me whole. I think I am getting sick.But I d
Ansel’s POVThe second Asher crossed the border, relief flooded through me like a wave. The bond we shared as brothers tightened, pulsing with relief, I could feel Asher’s emotion.He found her.But we weren’t out of this yet.I barely dodged Kelvin’s claws as he lunged, his teeth snapping dangerously close to my throat. He wasn’t running, he was fighting. And he was stronger than I expected, using powers I am sure no wolf should possess. But I am not a weakling; I am the alpha of the Crescent Silver Park.“You think you can just take her from me?” he snarled, landing a brutal punch to my ribs that made my bones shake. “She’s mine. I claimed her the second she stepped into my territory.”I wiped the blood from my mouth, laughing bitterly. “You didn’t claim anything. And I’m going to enjoy tearing you apart for touching what’s ours.”Kelvin’s eyes flickered with something sharp and knowing. “Ours, huh?” he said, circling me like a predator. “I wondered which one of you she belonged to.
Asher’s POVThat morning, we ran with other wolves from our pack, a very small army. If possible, we wanted this to be diplomatic, a simple conversation to settle the tension. But in my gut, I already knew it wouldn’t be that easy.I told myself I didn’t want to find Raven there. That it would be better if she wasn’t trapped in that corrupt pack. But the truth clawed at me like a wound I couldn’t close. I did want to see her. I wanted to know she was alive and breathing even if it broke me to see her in their hands.And at the same time, the thought of her being touched by those lowlifes made my blood boil. My mate, suffering in a place like this? It made me want to tear the entire pack apart with my teeth.We ran hard, the air heavy with tension, until dusk fell and we crossed the border into Moon-shade territory. The moment we did, something shifted.The place made my skin crawl.The trees were twisted. The ground was slick with mud, and the entire forest smelled wrong — metallic,
Raven povI’ve been here for almost a month, and I’m nothing more than a glorified prisoner.I can walk around the palace, but I’m never alone, guards tail me like shadows, watching my every move. No matter how far I go, there’s no real freedom.And Kelvin won’t let me leave that bastard.I never asked to be his queen, never wanted anything to do with him. But he doesn’t care. In his eyes, I belong to him. And he’s made it very clear: if I step out of line, he’ll kill me without hesitation.But what unsettles me the most isn’t Kelvin.It’s the creatures; well, I guess Kelvin isn’t exactly a werewolf.I’ve seen things here that shouldn’t exist. Things that can’t be werewolves. Shadows that move without a source. Pale figures with elongated limbs gliding through the forest. And one night, I saw something with red eyes sipping blood from a goblet like it was wine.I threw up everything I’d eaten.Moon-shade Park is wrong. It pulses with darkness, with something ancient and foul that mak
Rowan's POV I’ve been running for two days straight.I can’t afford to waste any more time; my brothers need me. Asher’s voice sounded tense over the mind link, and that panic still filled me as I crossed the border of our park.But I didn’t stop.Not until I reached the palace, my muscles screaming from exhaustion, my lungs burning. I didn’t bother cleaning the dirt off my body. I stormed straight to Ansel’s office, where I could feel their presence through the bond between us all.The door slammed open, and they both turned to me like they’d been waiting.“Where the hell were you?” Ansel snapped.I wiped the sweat from my brow. “You know where I was.”“We needed you here,” he growled, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.I stepped further into the room; I was so exhausted, but not enough to stop my fury from boiling over. “I’m here now,” I shot back. “Instead of wasting time bickering like idiots, tell me what the hell is going on.”Asher exchanged a tense glance wi
Asher’s povThe search had been going on for more than three weeks now. Everything had been silent—even from the Moon-shade Pack until today.Boom.The ground shook beneath me, and a loud noise echoed through the pack. I was mid-search when a guard mind-linked me, his voice laced with panic.“Your Highness, a part of the prison yard seems to have exploded! We need you here!”My body tensed. What the hell?“Fall back, men!” I ordered my team before taking off toward the prison. After days of nothing, was this finally a move from Moon-shade? My mind raced, but I didn’t have time to think. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, dodging scrambling pack members as dust began to fill the air.The moment I arrived at the prison yard, chaos greeted me. Dust still lingered in the air; Guards were running around trying to ascertain the situation, barking orders, trying to restore order. The destruction was contained to this section of the prison—nowhere else in the park had been touched.Tha