Lianna: I adjusted Edward’s collar, tugging it with the kind of care a surgeon might use when slicing open a patient. His hands hovered awkwardly at his sides, and he stared at me like I’d just announced I was going to crown myself Empress of the Seven Kingdoms. "You know," he muttered, a lopsided smirk tugging at his mouth, "you’re acting like this is some royal wedding, not just a boring speech in the town square." I laughed under my breath, smoothing down the front of his jacket with a few sharp swipes. The fabric was rich under my palms. It was soft, expensive, and a little smug, just like him. "Oh, it is a royal wedding, Eddie," I said sweetly. "Between you, destiny, and whatever chaos we manage to unleash today." He rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might actually fall out of his head. "Should’ve known you were secretly trying to become an influencer," he grumbled. "Just this once," I quipped, giving the lapels one final, overly dramatic flourish. "I
Edward: The podium felt colder than it should have. Maybe it was just me. Hell, maybe it was the goddamn nerves humming under my skin, crackling through my bloodstream like I’d swallowed a live wire. I adjusted the heavy folds of my coat, brushing the fabric smooth with my palms. The leather was stiff under my fingertips, polished to perfection, but it didn’t ease the tension straining my spine. Harvey was a silent shadow at my back, his presence a steady weight between my shoulder blades. Good. I needed that anchor right now. The crowd before me shifted, a sea of bodies cloaked in muted colors and apprehensive whispers. I stepped forward, feeling the wood of the podium creak beneath my boots, and cleared my throat, the sound slicing through the low murmur of voices. "Good morning," I began. It was the kind of voice that made people lean in even if they didn’t trust a damn word coming out of your mouth. "I want to start by apologizing for dragging you all out here toda
Edward: “How the hell is she able to be this bubbly after she almost died yesterday?” Harvey muttered, leaning forward against the iron railing of the gallery. I stood beside him, arms loosely folded, my gaze drawn down to where Lianna moved like a wildfire in silk. She was everywhere at once, barking out orders to the kitchen staff, laughing too loudly at something one of the guards said, twirling away from an apprentice who nearly dropped a tray of wine glasses at her feet. Her hair whipped behind her like a banner, her cheeks flushed with life. She looked damn good doing it too. She looked alive, radiant, and unstoppable. And that made me damn rock hard. I felt my mouth curl into a slow, uncontrollable smile. “She’s Lianna,” I said simply, voice low, almost reverent. “Death’s scared of her, not the other way around.” Harvey shook his head with a chuckle, but his eyes stayed trained on her too, like he couldn’t help himself. Ingrid’s heels clicked ag
Edward: I didn’t think I had ever had a good time like that in my entire goddamn life. Seated on my ridiculous golden throne, which, by the way, I had told them was unnecessary but they had insisted like it was some sacred tradition, I watched the sea of smiling faces parading before me. Everyone looked genuinely happy to see me, like they were actually proud, and for the life of me, I couldn’t even pretend to be my usual sarcastic self. The grin splitting my face was impossible to contain. It felt ridiculous, too wide, too bright, but hell if I cared. My chest was warm, my fingers were drumming lightly against the armrest in time to the soft thrum of music weaving through the air. The scent of fresh flowers... roses, gardenias, something Lianna had picked, I was sure drifted through the hall, blending with the mouth-watering smell of pastries and meat pies and the sharp tang of aged wine. A few of the Alpha Kings I was c
LIANNA POV The first time I thought about killing myself was the night of my mating ceremony. I married the Alpha of my pack, Ethan and I thought I had hit the jackpot. When we first found out we were mates, he was second in line and his brother Sebastian who happened to be my friend was to be the Alpha. Everyone congratulated me and told me how lucky I was to mate with a beta, but that didn’t matter to me, even if he was very poor, it wouldn’t have changed my love for him because his status didn’t matter to me. All I was after was his love. Lianna and Ethan, forever together. I couldn’t stop my tears as I closed my eyes reflecting on the past. I heard my wolf whimper and tried to comfort me. I was nineteen when I first met Ethan, he was studying abroad and had just graduated, and we quickly realized we were fated mates. Handsome and charming at 24 he instantly swept me off my feet, he was everything I dreamed of and my wolf and I couldn’t be happier. That night I thanked th
LIANNA'S POV Afterwards, I tearfully went back to my room to pack some clothes before Ethan sent me out with only the clothes on my back. As I shoved clothes into a duffel bag I came across a photograph taken of us at our mating ceremony. I picked it up and stared at it, I looked so happy with Ethan standing by my side not knowing what I was getting into. When I looked at Ethan's face it confirmed what I had always suspected, he never loved me at all, he was just pretending. While I was smiling at my new husband he was smiling at someone else, the waitress who appeared in the background of the picture. Tears began to gather in my eyes, even on our wedding day he would rather look at someone else and pretend I didn't exist. I put the picture aside and finished packing, I grabbed the duffel bag and went down the stairs where Ethan and his mistress were waiting for me. I kept my head down and tried to walk out the door but Ethan stopped me. "Come back here you cunt." I stilled
LIANNA’S POV "Lianna?" He was surprised to see me as well. We had been best friends since school even though he was several classes my senior and that was only because I had been doubly promoted several times. But we drifted apart when Ethan and I started dating. And then he just left with no goodbyes or explanations. "Oh my God." I smiled. "You look great." He had always been handsome but the past year had been good for him. His features were now more defined. His brown eyes looked almost dark now and his pink lips were fuller. His killer jaw was covered with a light stubble. His smile faded as he gave me a quick inspection with his eyes. Even before the man attacked me I already looked horrible. Dirty and tired and my eyes were likely swollen since I spent most of the day in tears now my clothes were in shambles and I had bruises all over my body "Let me take you home." He started toward his car parked on the other side of the road. "No no, you didn't have to, I'm sure you
LIANNA'S POV He started to pull away but I held him, I needed him right now. And I was scared of what he would do in his current state. Because at that moment, he looked like he was ready to kill Ethan for me. "No just stay with me. Stay and be my friend" And I felt him nod against my forehead. The next thing I remember I was waking up in the morning. I got up to pee and brush my teeth and when I checked the time it was 10:15 am. The feeling of sleeping in was a bit strange since Ethan always made me wake up at dawn to do house chores and cook and if there was nothing to do he would create things to do. As I turned on the tap, everything that happened yesterday came back rushing into my head and I had to press my fingers against my eyelids to stop myself from crying. I didn't want to give Sebastian any more reason to worry. Oh my God, how was I going to face him after yesterday? What would have happened if he hadn’t come along and saved me? I didn't want him to treat me
Edward: I didn’t think I had ever had a good time like that in my entire goddamn life. Seated on my ridiculous golden throne, which, by the way, I had told them was unnecessary but they had insisted like it was some sacred tradition, I watched the sea of smiling faces parading before me. Everyone looked genuinely happy to see me, like they were actually proud, and for the life of me, I couldn’t even pretend to be my usual sarcastic self. The grin splitting my face was impossible to contain. It felt ridiculous, too wide, too bright, but hell if I cared. My chest was warm, my fingers were drumming lightly against the armrest in time to the soft thrum of music weaving through the air. The scent of fresh flowers... roses, gardenias, something Lianna had picked, I was sure drifted through the hall, blending with the mouth-watering smell of pastries and meat pies and the sharp tang of aged wine. A few of the Alpha Kings I was c
Edward: “How the hell is she able to be this bubbly after she almost died yesterday?” Harvey muttered, leaning forward against the iron railing of the gallery. I stood beside him, arms loosely folded, my gaze drawn down to where Lianna moved like a wildfire in silk. She was everywhere at once, barking out orders to the kitchen staff, laughing too loudly at something one of the guards said, twirling away from an apprentice who nearly dropped a tray of wine glasses at her feet. Her hair whipped behind her like a banner, her cheeks flushed with life. She looked damn good doing it too. She looked alive, radiant, and unstoppable. And that made me damn rock hard. I felt my mouth curl into a slow, uncontrollable smile. “She’s Lianna,” I said simply, voice low, almost reverent. “Death’s scared of her, not the other way around.” Harvey shook his head with a chuckle, but his eyes stayed trained on her too, like he couldn’t help himself. Ingrid’s heels clicked ag
Edward: The podium felt colder than it should have. Maybe it was just me. Hell, maybe it was the goddamn nerves humming under my skin, crackling through my bloodstream like I’d swallowed a live wire. I adjusted the heavy folds of my coat, brushing the fabric smooth with my palms. The leather was stiff under my fingertips, polished to perfection, but it didn’t ease the tension straining my spine. Harvey was a silent shadow at my back, his presence a steady weight between my shoulder blades. Good. I needed that anchor right now. The crowd before me shifted, a sea of bodies cloaked in muted colors and apprehensive whispers. I stepped forward, feeling the wood of the podium creak beneath my boots, and cleared my throat, the sound slicing through the low murmur of voices. "Good morning," I began. It was the kind of voice that made people lean in even if they didn’t trust a damn word coming out of your mouth. "I want to start by apologizing for dragging you all out here toda
Lianna: I adjusted Edward’s collar, tugging it with the kind of care a surgeon might use when slicing open a patient. His hands hovered awkwardly at his sides, and he stared at me like I’d just announced I was going to crown myself Empress of the Seven Kingdoms. "You know," he muttered, a lopsided smirk tugging at his mouth, "you’re acting like this is some royal wedding, not just a boring speech in the town square." I laughed under my breath, smoothing down the front of his jacket with a few sharp swipes. The fabric was rich under my palms. It was soft, expensive, and a little smug, just like him. "Oh, it is a royal wedding, Eddie," I said sweetly. "Between you, destiny, and whatever chaos we manage to unleash today." He rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might actually fall out of his head. "Should’ve known you were secretly trying to become an influencer," he grumbled. "Just this once," I quipped, giving the lapels one final, overly dramatic flourish. "I
Freya: I was deep in the middle of a very satisfying drea. It was a dream about me on a deserted island, no nagging voices, no endless plans for world domination, when the knocking started. It was persistent enough to rattle the door on its hinges. I groaned into my pillow, dragging the blanket over my head like that flimsy piece of fabric would somehow drown out the inevitable reality waiting for me on the other side. No such luck. The knocking only grew louder, like a war drum signaling my doom. "Gods," I hissed under my breath, pushing myself upright. My muscles protested. I rubbed at my eyes, feeling the crust of exhaustion scraping against my lashes. Another knock. This time, it shook the whole damn doorframe. "I'm coming!" I snapped, stumbling toward the door, the wooden floor cold against my bare feet. I yanked it open with a sharp tug, blinking against the blinding hallway light, and there she was. My mother. Standing in a fury, arms crossed so tightly
Lianna: The solar was soaked in gold. Thick streams of morning sunlight pouring through the wide windows, catching on the dust motes that floated lazily in the warm air. I curled further into the deep cushions of the settee, absently twirling the stem of my empty goblet between my fingers, feeling the slight slickness of glass warmed by my palm. Edward sat across from me, long legs sprawled out, shirt sleeves rolled up in that reckless way that always made my blood simmer. The door creaked open and one of the maids stepped in, the rustle of her skirts brushing against the polished floors. She bowed slightly. "My Lord, My Lady. The announcement has been made. About the address at the market square." I straightened, lips curving into a slow, knowing smile. "Did they make it obvious that I wouldn’t be there?" "Yes, my Lady," she nodded briskly. "It was made clear you are away visiting family." "Perfect," I m
Lianna: The morning sun spilled into the room entirely too bright for someone who’d just woken up. But I didn’t mind. I felt good. Better than I had in days. My limbs didn’t feel like they were filled with cement, my head wasn’t throbbing, and I wasn’t sweating through every damn sheet like I was trapped in a sauna sent from hell. No, this morning… I felt like myself again. Whole. Dangerous. Alive. I swung my legs off the bed, the marble floor biting cold against my bare feet. The silk robe I grabbed clung to my damp skin as I shrugged into it, its texture like water slipping between my fingers. The air smelled of fresh linen and pinewood, soft and crisp, and when I tied the robe around my waist, something fluttered in my chest. Excitement. Finally. I could train again. I didn’t get far before a voice groaned behind me. “Lianna… what the hell are you doing?” I turned, caught mid-step, with my hair messy, one knee bent, and my hand halfway to the doorknob. E
Lianna: I stirred to the sound of rustling fabric and the gentle weight of a hand on mine. My eyelids blinked open slowly. The low amber glow of the bedside lamp bathed the room in warm shadows. He was sitting right beside me, elbow propped on the bed, fingers trailing across my knuckles with an almost reverent tenderness. The second our eyes met, the tension on his face cracked and melted into a soft smile. "You're awake," he whispered, voice hoarse and threaded with relief. Then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead, one hand sliding up to cradle my cheek. "How do you feel, my warrior queen?" I let out a soft groan, stretching slowly as though my bones had been carved from old stone. “Like someone beat me with a broomstick, then threw me into a pit full of sorrow and set it on fire. But thank you for asking.” He chuckled, eyes scanning my face. “Your colour’s back. You had me panicking. You actu
Lianna: I’d fought wars with blood in my teeth and lightning in my palms. I had come out bruised, singed, but never like this. Never this empty. It was like something had drained the marrow from my bones, like my soul had been sifted through a sieve and discarded for sport. I wasn’t just tired, I was hollowed out. My eyelids felt like lead but lifted slowly at the sound of faint incantations. It was low and rhythmic, the syllables curling into my ears like smoke. My vision blurred, then sharpened around the figure of a woman draped in charcoal grey, her fingers twinkling with tiny, glowing sigils. I blinked once, twice. Ah. The Pack Witch. Relief loosened something in my chest, but I didn’t let it show. I hated looking fragile, even though I currently felt like someone had taken a hammer to every joint in my body. “Still alive, I see,” I murmured, my voice raspy and dry like parchment left in the sun. “Congratulations. You all didn’t kill me with your fretting.”