Lianna: The palace was too quiet. I stood by the window in the corridor, my arms crossed, fingers tapping mindlessly against my elbow. Below, the courtyard was still, save for the flags hanging limp in the breeze that couldn’t seem to make up its mind whether to come or go. I wasn’t sure I could blame it. Edward said Ethan needed space, and for once, no one had argued. Not even me. Ethan had walked out after Freya, and Edward—who always had something to say—had said nothing. His silence had been the loudest thing in the room. I dragged in a breath, pushing it out slowly as if that would help clear the fog between my ears. It didn’t. But the silence was starting to itch beneath my skin, and I’d rather face Imogen’s fist to my ribs than another minute standing still. Combat practice was brutal. Imogen fought like she was trying to kill something inside herself, and maybe she was. I could relate. My knuckles were bruised, my ribs ached, and I was pretty sure I’d be ta
Lianna: "I mean you're happy." He continued. “Of course, life’s been good,” I said, smoothing the napkin across my lap even though there was nothing on it to clean. “I’m married to Edward. And honestly, if anyone told me years ago that it would end this way… him and me, I’d have laughed in their face. Actually, I probably would’ve thrown a drink at them first, then laughed.” That earned me a faint grin, but it was fleeting. His eyes flickered, something raw flashing behind them, but it was gone before I could pin it down. He just nodded, slowly, like he was counting out each beat in his head. “I’m glad,” he said finally, and his voice was rougher now. “You deserve it. And also, I am really fucking sorry for how I treated you." Of all the things I thought Ethan would say, an apology wasn’t high on the list. So I exhaled and said, “Well. That’s big of you.” He huffed a faint laugh, shaking his head. “You always had a way with words.” “Some people call
Lianna: The sun was barely out and I was already sulking, arms wrapped tight around Edward’s waist, as my cheek pressed against the smooth, black linen of his tunic. “Lianna,” Edward murmured, laughing warmly against the shell of my ear, “I’m not going off to die.” I pouted harder. “You might as well be. Three days is basically a lifetime.” He chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest and into my cheek. His fingers brushed down the length of my spine, like he was trying to soothe an irritable kitten. It wasn’t working. “It’s a conference,” he reminded me for the third time, his tone patient but amused. “The Alpha Kings are meeting to discuss how to make the realm safer.” I tilted my head just enough to look up at him. “Yes. Safer. Because nothing screams safety like you leaving me to play babysitter while you gallivant off to the northern isles.” “Hardly gallivanting.” His lips twitched. “And if I recall, you promised to stand in for me while I’m
Lianna: I tugged at the collar of my tunic as I walked alongside Ethan, every nerve in my body protesting the decision to follow him. His strides were leisurely, like he hadn’t just crawled out of a dungeon a few days ago. Like people didn't go hush or whisper every time he walked into a room. We stopped at the base of the gazebo. The wood creaked faintly beneath our feet as we climbed the steps. His boots scuffed against the weather-worn planks, while my lighter shoes made soft thuds that sounded far too loud. I didn't like it. The quiet. The absence of people pretending they weren’t watching. The way my pulse thumped behind my ears. Halfway up, I halted, my fingers flexing at my sides. “Alright,” I said, sharper than I meant to. “What exactly do you want, Ethan?” He stopped too, two steps above me. The corner of his mouth twitched—maybe a smile, maybe a grimace. It was hard to tell with him these days. “Scared to be around me?” he asked, turning to face me fully.
Freya: I lay sprawled across my bed, one leg dangling off the side, staring blankly at my phone screen as if it owed me answers. My thumb scrolled lazily, pausing on Ethan’s name again and again, even though I knew it was pointless. Blocked. As if I was something filthy he needed to scrub off his hands. A stain. I scoffed under my breath, tossing the phone beside me on the bed, the device landing with a soft thud against the mattress. The ceiling above me was cracked in one corner, like someone had once punched it out of rage and never bothered to fix it. I could relate. The whole house smelled like polished wood and stale flowers—artificial freshness masking something rotting underneath. Two days. Two days back in this house, and my mother still hadn’t looked me in the eye unless it was to glare or scoff. Two days of silence broken only by the sound of her disapproving sighs as she floated through the halls like some bitter ghost. When I walked through the doors two n
Edward: The Lycan Confederate was a large castle of old stone and wood, soaked in centuries of blood and sweat. Even now, with the hall scrubbed spotless and banners from every allied Pack hanging high, there was no mistaking it for anything but a fortress. Its bones creaked with ancient power, and despite myself, I could feel it under my skin. Like it was sizing me up. I flexed my hand against the polished oak table, tapping my thumb once, slow and deliberate, against the grain. The sound echoed through the low murmuring of the gathered Alpha Kings. Every one of them sat tall, dressed in ceremonial black, silver crests glinting on broad chests. Some had beards like they’d walked out of an old legend. Others wore their scars like crowns. And all of them were older than me. Wiser? They’d say yes. I had other opinions. “Alpha Edward,” one of them said, in a voice so thin and cold. Osric of the Winterfang Pack. His Pack ruled the northern territories. Brutal lands. Brutal
Lianna: Edward was coming back today. I smoothed my palms over the front of my gown, the burgundy silk sliding cool and weightless against my skin. The morning sun streaked through the tall windows of my chambers, catching the fine embroidery near my waist, making the threads shimmer like liquid gold. I stood there, absently watching the glinting design while my heart thudded too fast in my chest. I should have felt calm, but instead, there was this jittery buzz beneath my skin, crawling up my throat like I was about to say something, scream something. Instead, I drew in a slow breath. “Ingrid,” I said, staring at my reflection in the gilded mirror. “If you make another joke about Ethan, I swear to the Goddess, I’ll drown you in the bath.” Ingrid chuckled behind me. I could hear her fiddling with my papers on the desk. “Dramatic,” she said. “But fine. I’ll keep my impeccable sense of humor to myself, your majesty.” I arched a brow at her reflection. “You’d bett
Lianna: I stood on my balcony, the stone balustrade cool beneath my palms, leaning slightly forward as though the extra inch might bring him closer. Below, the gardens were already draped in dusk, the lanterns flickering to life in delicate pools of amber. I heard it before I saw it—the distinct rumble of engines, heavy tires crunching against the gravel. Three cars, maybe four, but it was the second one that made my heart sprint. He was here. “Finally,” I breathed, straightening so quickly my head spun. “Ingrid!” Behind me, there was a thud and an irritated grunt. “What?” Ingrid snapped as she jerked upright from where she’d been dozing on the chaise. Her hair was a bird’s nest, she looked sleep-fogged and annoyed. “I was dreaming I was on a beach with—” “Save it,” I cut in, already making my way inside. My pulse was a thrum in my ears, matching the quick rhythm of my feet on the marble floors. “Edward’s back.” That woke her up. Completely. She was on her
Lianna: I woke him with a kiss. It was gentle and slow, the kind that lingered on his lips like sunlight brushing the edge of dawn. His skin was warm beneath mine, soft and familiar. He stirred slowly, lashes fluttering like leaves catching the breeze before his eyes opened, that drowsy gray haze still clinging to them. “Is it time?” he murmured, his voice low and hoarse with sleep. It was the kind of voice that made it feel like the world was still paused for us. I nodded, fingers brushing back the strands of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “Yeah. It's time.” He sighed, sitting up reluctantly. I could tell his body felt heavier than usual—grief had a weight all on its own. Still, he moved, slow but sure, like he owed it to himself to keep going. I slid off the bed to help him, but the rug betrayed me. My heel caught on the edge and I pitched forward with a sharp gasp. And just b
Lianna: The Palace was too quiet. That kind of quiet that sat thick on the skin like humidity before a storm, smothering and heavy, as if the very walls were mourning. The corridors were dimly lit, the sun long gone, and I could hear the distant creak of wooden beams settling overhead, slow and reluctant, like the house itself didn’t want to exist in this version of our reality. Edward hadn’t said a word in hours. He lay curled on his side, one arm slung carelessly over the edge of the bed, his knuckles pale against the white linen. His lashes fluttered occasionally like he was trapped somewhere between sleep and waking. Sometimes he’d blink open his eyes and just stare blankly at the ceiling, unmoving, unblinking, lost in a place I couldn’t reach. I sat behind him, cross-legged, one hand tracing slow circles along his back. His shirt had ridden up, exposing the bare slope of his waist. The skin there was cool, soft beneath my fingertips, marred only by the faint scar
Lianna: The morning light was shy, barely bleeding through the velvet curtains when I cracked my eyes open. I didn’t need a clock to know what day it was. My chest already felt like it was caving in. The air hung heavy, saturated with that stale chill that often preceded sorrow. A mourning fog rolled outside our window like some prophetic omen, brushing ghostlike tendrils across the glass. Edward hadn’t moved beside me. His breath rose and fell in shallow waves, his hand still loosely curled around mine like he feared I’d disappear in my sleep. I shifted slowly, brushing a thumb over his knuckles. We were going to banish his brother. I sat up and pulled the duvet around me, the fabric swishing softly against my bare skin. My toes hit the floor with a shiver, the marble tiles beneath me as merciless as the decisions we had to make today. My robe hung at the edge of the armchair, still draped from the night before. I sl
Freya: The night felt too loud for how quiet it was. Crickets whined in the grass like tiny, angry violins, and the wind kept slipping through the cracked wooden shutters, brushing cool air against my bare arms like an unwelcome ghost. I was lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling like it held the answers I’d been chasing in circles. My bed creaked with the slightest shift, the old mattress groaning beneath the weight of my body. I shouldn't have come back here. I shouldn’t have returned to this house. I shouldn’t have ever listened to her. My chest ached. That tight, slow burn of regret that started somewhere beneath my ribs and dragged itself up to my throat like it had claws. I reached up and rubbed the heel of my palm against my eyes, trying to stop the tears that had already found their way to my pillow. My face was warm, wet. I could taste salt. My breath shuddered on the exhale. “I didn’t want this,” I whispered into the room, voice barely audible over
Edward: The eggs Tarantino made were, as he warned me, an absolute disaster. But the bread was warm, and it was good enough to make me forget about the burnt rubber taste of the eggs. We ate in silence, only the scraping of silverware and the occasional sip of coffee filling the air. My mind wasn’t exactly on the food anyway; it was stuck on the conversation we’d had earlier. Tarantino was right, of course. Everything happens for a reason. I could hear the words repeating in my head, like a stubborn echo bouncing off the walls. But as much as I wanted to believe him, that sentiment did nothing to ease the weight in my chest. Nothing could change the fact that I was sending my brother into exile, to a life without the Pack, without me, without any of the privileges that came with being a royal. But I couldn’t just let the sorrow flood over me, not in front of Tarantino. Not in front of the only person who still seemed to see me for more than just my title. So I swallowe
Edward: The drive was long, and Harvey wouldn’t stop humming that off-key tune under his breath like he was trying to win some invisible award for irritation. I didn’t say anything because well, silence stretching between us felt safer than opening my mouth and letting all the tangled thoughts spill out. My jaw ached from clenching it too tight. My nails had dug half-moons into my palm by the time we pulled into the small, quiet Pack territory that felt like the world had forgotten it. “I remember this place being a dusty excuse of a town,” I muttered, eyes flicking over the paved roads and fresh buildings. “Now look at it. They have actual sidewalks. I should’ve sent Ethan here for humility training.” Harvey chuckled but didn’t comment. Smart choice. It’d been years since I last came here. I was just a boy, clinging to my father’s hand while he laughed and pointed at the bakery with the awful scones and the house with the broken weather vane that somehow never got
Lianna: The palace had never been this quiet. Not even during the former Alpha's father’s funeral, when the halls were draped in black silk and everyone spoke in whispers like mourning had a volume limit. No. This silence was different. It hung in the air like a mist, curling around the columns, sliding under doors, seeping into my skin like cold. I sat on the balcony, elbows on the marble balustrade, chin resting against the back of my hand. My eyes drifted somewhere beyond the courtyard, past the rustling hedges and the guards stationed like statues, to a place I couldn’t name. The sky was pale and slow today, the clouds dragging their feet like even they couldn’t be bothered to hurry. A soft breeze combed through my hair, lifting strands across my face, and I didn’t bother to tuck them behind my ear. Ingrid was beside me, her legs propped up on the ornate table, scrolling through her phone like it held the cure to this numbness
Ethan: The moment Edward’s footsteps faded from the dungeon, I felt my chest constrict. I was alone. And not in the usual way where I sought solitude; this time, I felt like I was suffocating. I collapsed to my knees, the cold, damp floor seeping through the thin fabric of my clothes, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. My tears came in torrents, hot and bitter, an unforgiving reminder of everything I had lost, everything I had thrown away. There was no one left to blame but myself. I didn’t even care how pathetic I looked at this moment. All I wanted was the sting of reality to fade, even if only for a second so I could catch a sense of monetary relief. The memories of my life before all this pain before Freya, before Lianna, before the twisted path I had walked flashed through my mind like a parade of ghosts. I remembered how everything had been so simple back then. It was supposed to be me and Lianna, always. We had a bond, a bond that nothing could break, or so
Edward: The echo of my boots against the marble hallway was all I could hear as I stepped out of the study, my hand still clenched from how tightly I’d been gripping the edge of the desk moments ago. My jaw ached from how tightly I was clenching it, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not now. I told myself I wasn’t going to interfere. I promised Lianna I wouldn’t. But promises made in the eye of a storm rarely stand when the wind changes. And gods, it changed. The moment the elders started screaming over each other like a pack of senile hounds, all clamoring for blood, I had to shut them up. I didn’t even remember raising my voice until the silence hit. Until they all turned to me, and I, like a damn fool, spoke the decree. Now my baby brother would be banished to the Drekavac Hollow, and somehow, my voice had sealed it. The air grew colder the deeper I went, but I barely noticed. My fingers brushed the stone walls out of