Chapter 58: Shadows Hana woke to the soft, rhythmic sound of Jarrel’s breathing beside her. The warmth of his body close to hers brought a sense of comfort she hadn’t known she needed. It was still dark outside, and the castle was quiet. She lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of everything that had happened over the past few days.Her life had been upended the moment she found out she was Jarrel’s fated mate. The ruthless Alpha of the Sealhow pack had once been her enemy, a man she had feared and hated for what he had done to her family and her people. But here she was, sharing a bed with him, her heart torn between loyalty to her past and the strange, unexplainable bond she now felt with him.Hana shifted slightly, careful not to wake Jarrel, and said out of bed. The cool stone floor sent a shiver up her spine as she quietly made her way to the window, pushing the heavy curtains aside to gaze out at the vast expanse of land below. The night was stil
Chapter 59: Unspoken TensionsHana stood alone in the castle gardens, her gaze wandering over the trees and flowers she had once admired. The air was still, the birds chirped softly, but inside her, everything felt unsettled. Jarrel had been summoned for a meeting with the Elders in the Council, leaving her with nothing but her own thoughts. Despite the beauty surrounding her, Hana’s mind churned, filled with questions and doubts she couldn’t seem to escape. She had tried to find peace in the stillness, but peace eluded her. It had been days since the tension at the party, and though Jarrel’s presence had soothed her at times, the unease from her people’s disdain remained. She didn’t feel like she belonged, no matter what Jarrel or anyone else said. They still saw her as an outsider—someone to be mistrusted and not to be respected. And she couldn’t entirely blame them. Hana took a deep breath, the crisp morning air filling her lungs as she stepped deeper into the gardens. The solitu
Chapter 60: The Meeting Of The EldersThe council chamber was filled with the usual suspects: elders with faces as craggy and cold as the stone walls surrounding them, seated in a half-circle around the large oak table. In the center, Alpha Jarrel sat, his broad frame taking up the entirety of the stone-carved chair. His golden eyes gleamed under the flickering candlelight, cold and unreadable as he stared straight ahead, unbothered by the heated discussion that raged around him. The Elders were losing their composure, their voices growing louder, as if they believed volume could sway the Alpha’s decision. But Jarrel remained silent. He was never one for unnecessary words. He did not care for their opinions, nor for their whimpering protests. His decision had been made the moment Hana asked him to free her people. It had been made because she was his mate, and no one—certainly not these self-important, aging fools—would question him on it. “She’s nothing but a prisoner!” Elder Kolri
Chapter 61: The Garden ConfrontationThe corridors of the castle felt colder than usual as Jarrel walked through them, his mood dark and brooding. His steps echoed off the stone walls, the weight of the recent events pressing down on his mind. He had left the elder’s chamber in a storm of fury, but now all he wanted was to see Hana. Her presence, despite everything, had a way of calming the tempest that constantly brewed within him. He had asked one of the servants about her whereabouts, only to be told that Hana was in the garden, speaking with the remnants of her pack. The mention of a fierce banter made his jaw tighten. He could imagine what they had said to her, how they had torn into her, their hatred for him undoubtedly poisoning their view of her. His wolf stirred with unease, irritated that she had been left alone with those who despised her. Jarrel pushed open the large doors leading to the garden and stepped outside. The air was crisp, the morning light filtering through t
Chapter 62: Jarrel’s DarknessThe vast, opulent room was shrouded in shadows, the flickering candlelight casting eerie shapes on the walls. Jarrel lay alone on his king-sized bed of a grand oak, his posture rigid, as if the weight of his own darkness had crystallized into a physical burden. The cool night breeze whispered through the slightly ajar window, bringing with it the distant, mournful cries of the night creatures. Yet, the room was still, save for the rhythmic ticking of a clock on the wall—a cruel reminder of the passage of time and the heavy price he had paid for it.Jarrel tossed in his sleep, his face contorted in a grimace. The sheets were tangled around his legs, damp with sweat. His breathing was ragged, each gasp a struggle to escape the nightmare that gripped him. In the darkness of his mind, he was relieving his past—a hellish landscape where agony and fear were the only constants.The scene unfolded with haunting clarity. He was a child again, back in the cold, sto
Chapter 63: Torn Between Two WorldHana sat alone in the quiet of her nicely decorated garden, her knees drawn to her chest, her eyes fixed on the horizon where the sky met the distant mountains. The air around her was still, the morning sun was barely lifting above the trees. It was too peaceful for how chaotic her mind felt. Inside, she was breaking apart piece by piece, the weight of her conflicting emotions pressing down on her like a stone tied to chest.Her thoughts kept circling back to her people. The survivors. The ones who had stood before her only hours ago, faces twisted in anger and disappointment. Their words still echoed in her mind, sharp and venomous, each one a danger aimed at her heart.“You’re a traitor, Hana. A coward.”She had tried to speak, but the words had stuck in her throat, choked by the undeniable truth in their accusations. What could she say? How could she possibly defend herself when she had no idea what she was doing? She was the one who should have l
Chapter 64: Shadows of GuiltThe castle hallways were empty, save for the flicker of torches casting long, distorted shadows across the stone walls. Jarrel stood before a window in his private quarters, staring out into the dense forest that surrounded his kingdom. His reflection stared back at him in the glass, dark eyes brooding, his jaw clenched with tension.He hadn’t been able to shake the nightmare. Every time she closed his eyes, the past clawed at him, dragging him back into the dark corners of his already messed up mind where his father’s voice still echoed, cold and unrelenting.“You are my weapon, Jarrel. You will do as I command, no matter the cost.”His father’s words were burned into his memory, spoken with the icy conviction of a man who knew no mercy. Jarrel’s fists tightened as he turned away from the window, pacing the length of his room. He could still feel the sting of the lash against his back, the sting of his father’s disapproval for showing even a hint of hesit
Chapter 65: The Desperate SearchThe silence in the castle was unnatural, oppressive. It suffocated everything, thick and heavy like a storm that refused to break. Jarrel stood in the grand hall, his fists clenched at his sides, his breath coming in short, sharp bursts. He stared at the large doors that led out to the courtyard, the air around him crackling with barely restrained rage. She was gone.Hana had run. No one had seen her since she walked out of the garden. No one knew where she had gone, or how far she had gotten. Jarrel’s pack, usually so vigilant, had failed him. They had let her slip away. Behind him, Magnus stood near the fireplace, eyes red-rimmed, his shoulders slumped. His guilt was written all over his face. He had been tasked with keeping an eye on Hana, with making sure she stayed within the castle’s walls. But he had failed, and the weight of that failure was crushing him. “I’m sorry, Alpha,” Magnus whispered, his voice barely audible. His hands were tremblin