Ivy's POVThe longer Alpha Leo’s arm remains wrapped around me, the more I struggle. It’s no use, though. His hold on me is firm. But the moment we step past the pack house doors and out of Alpha Jameson’s line of sight, Alpha Leo lets go of me. I recoil from him immediately, moving a couple paces away and skewering him with a glare. “I’m sorry,” Alpha Leo says apologetically. I raise a disbelieving eyebrow at him. He crosses the room and twists open a door, gesturing for me to step inside. I follow him over reluctantly, staring into the room. My stomach sinks. It’s a bedroom. The room is sparsely furnished–a small twin bed, a desk, and a chest of drawers shoved in the corner. A cold, utilitarian bedroom. I can feel myself starting to detach from reality as I look up at Alpha Leo. I know what this is. “Oh,” I say quietly, hesitating in the doorway. “It’s not like that!” Alpha Leo clarifies immediately, pulling away hastily. He shakes his head in disgust, quickly realizing w
Spencer's POVThe anticipation of combat hangs heavy over the camp. About two hundred meters outside of the camp’s borders, Gamma Everly and her warriors are busy training. I can see them fighting in the distance, can hear the rough clang of weapons and armor. The air feels tense, like the world itself is holding its breath. Everyone here is bracing themself for a fight that’s about to come. The only question left is when. I frown as I walk through the camp, feeling a deep sense of unease well up in me as though something bad is about to happen. While I’m hoping it’s just the usual pre-combat foreboding, I can’t help but fear it has something to do with Ivy. Our fates are entwined now, after all. All I want is to finish whatever battle needs to be fought and return to the palace, where I can see her once more. “Your Highness!”I’m jolted from my thoughts as a scout rushes towards me. I recognize him as the young soldier I’d send to check the borders of the enemy’s territory. T
Spencer's POVGamma Everly and I lead our warriors into battle. My group of warriors follows behind me, and Gamma Everly’s warriors follow her. We move swiftly and silently, eyeing the borders as the guards suddenly switch up and begin to relieve each other of their duties. The entire pack is bordered by a combination of ancient stone walls and wrought iron fencing that at a first glance appears impenetrable, but a closer look quickly betrays weaknesses. While the shift rotation seems coordinated and well-planned, any shift change is bound to reveal vulnerabilities, and theirs is no exception. We crouch low in the trees, anticipating the perfect moment to infiltrate. There. The guards move away from their posts for just a split-second. I gesture to Gamma Everly with my right hand: it’s go time. Quickly, easily, we breach the enemy pack’s borders. We could’ve fought our way through directly, sure, but that’s not the primary goal of our current operation. I’m keeping my focus on ou
Spencer's POV“Did you really capture her?”Elder Jet’s words make me pause for a moment, as my mind races into terrible speculation of what “her” he’s referring to. Could they have my mother, somehow? Sylvia? Or some other crucial player in the Lycan Royal Family’s court–Gamma Everly, perhaps, or any high-ranking noblewoman. For just a moment, I wonder if it’s Ivy, and a jolt of fear shoots through me. But that’s impossible. She’s back at the palace, safe and sound, with Beta Wilson there to protect her. I’ve taken every measure I could to make sure she’s being taken care of while I’m away. If Ivy was missing, I’d know. “Yes,” the young man replies. The sound of his voice brings be back to reality. “She’s in the pack house.”Before I can piece together who Elder Jet and his companion are referring to, I hear a distant clatter from the pack house. For just a moment, the world seems to stand on edge before tumbling into chaos. Suddenly, the sounds of combat catch my attention, scr
Spencer's POVI charge at Elder Jet with my claws extended and tackle him to the ground. Elder Jet huffs as his back hits the grass. In an instant, he shifts fluidly into his wolf form–a brown wolf with gray-speckled form–and manages to throw me off of him. I grunt as I land a couple paces away, already sprinting back towards him and ready to continue the fight. Although Elder Jet is old, it’s evident that he has extensive battle experience. He dodges and weaves through the swarm of fighting werewolves, seeming perfectly at peace in all the chaos and confusion. Every time I slash at him, he manages to duck away, grabbing a werewolf and using him as a human shield to absorb the blow. As my claws pierce a third werewolf warrior’s skin, I shake my head in disgust at Elder Jet’s deceitful tactics. “Stop hiding and fight me yourself!” I bellow at him, wiping the blood from my hands. “Look at these warriors that you’ve slaughtered!” Elder Jet shouts. I raise an eyebrow, tensing up and
Ivy's POVI want to tell Spencer to let me die, but if I do, I’ll doom us both. I find myself trembling as Alpha Jameson’s claws dig into my throat. My pulse sings against his claws, almost like a taunt. I can feel the skin stretched dangerously thin, so close to breaking I can feel my life balancing on a knife’s edge. I hate how vulnerable I am. I hate how vulnerable Spencer is because of it. If the situation were different, I’d lay down my life for him in a heartbeat. Everyone knows his life is immeasurably more valuable than mine. But I don’t even have the option of sacrificing myself for Spencer anymore. I understand the Blood Oath Ceremony well enough to know that our lives are bound together in such a way that if I were to die, Spencer would become a shell of himself–almost certainly dooming him to a quick death on the battlefield. I want to sob, but I’m terrified that moving will kill me instantly. Why do I always drag down the people I love? Why do I keep hurting them? Is
Ivy's POVEvery eye outside the pack house is locked onto Prince Spencer, breaths held in anticipation of his next move. Alpha Jameson grips me tighter, squeezing at my neck so hard my breath comes in strangled gasps. I can feel the tense fear in his stance. He’s well aware of the lines he crossed, the point of no return. He’s gone too far, and he knows it. No one has any idea what Spencer is about to do next. Standing a couple dozen meters away from Alpha Jameson and I, Spencer’s silhouette seems to melt into the night as though he’s made completely of shadows. His eyes pierce the darkness like blades, expression cold and inscrutable. With blood on his hands and that horrifying steely glint to his eye, he looks well deserving of his title as the God of Death. Everyone here should be afraid of what’s to come. “Ha!” Suddenly, Spencer lets out a disdainful laugh. Alpha Jameson jolts at the sound. His hand starts to tremble ever so slightly on my neck. As happy as I am to see Alp
Ivy's POVElder Jet quickly ducks behind Alpha Leo and several other werewolves like the coward he is. Still standing near Alpha Jameson, I follow Elder Jet’s movements with my eyes, bracing myself for whatever his next move is. Alpha Jameson–as I've already been able to ascertain–may be burly, but he also seems like something of an idiot. Elder Jet isn’t so dim-witted, though, and I’m afraid of what his retaliation may look like. He fixes his shrewd gaze on Spencer, eyeing him with caution. I can almost hear the gears whirring in his mind as he plots out his next angle, some other way to make Spencer look like the villain even as his own warriors threaten the very life of his mate. Suddenly, his eyes gleam with a menacing light. My stomach twists. “Prince Spencer showed our warriors that very same disdain the day he killed them!” Elder Jet shouts, cupping his palms around his mouth to project his voice. He speaks with the passion and fury of a luminary, but I can tell he doesn’