Jaselyn's POVI stood up to my feet and took a deep breath.“That was intense. Are you OK?” Nila questioned and I nodded.“Hm.”“You really went all out, you were so overwhelmed by anger that I couldn't even reach you. If Hadrian hadn't shown up when he did, you really were prepared to kill Isla, weren't you?” Nila asked rhetorically but I answered anyway.“Yes and I don't regret my decision. She deserves it, she crossed the line this time. She tried to kill Ziarre.” I spoke defensively and for a moment, I couldn't tell if I was trying to convince her or myself.“But we don't know that, do we? She might be innocent and even if she's guilty, do you think it's our place to punish her? I'm not trying to act like a saint. Isla is a truly horrible person and she deserves to be punished but think about it, would you be able to live with yourself if you took her life?” Nila asked and I winced, knowing she was right.“What am I supposed to do then? Just let her continue to ruin my life? She w
Jaselyn's POV“What are you saying, brat? Ziarre has no siblings. You'd better not lie to us because that won't save you.” Rion gritted, dragging him up by the collar once more.“Rion please, let him speak.” I pleaded and he finally relented, letting go of the boy.I walked up to him. “Was any of what you just said to us true?” I asked and he glared at me.“Why would I lie when I'm still gonna be punished anyway. I was caught and that's on me. I might as well tell you the reason for my actions.” He said but paused as a heavy cough racked through his body.I had one of the maids go get some water and he took a big gulp before catching his breath. I'm not being kind for the sake of it, I just need to know why anyone would want to kill someone like Ziarre.“Go ahead, speak up now before I lose my last bit of patience left.” Rion threatened with a menacing expression.“It makes sense that you're just as murderous as her. The two of you are truly meant for each other.” The boy snarked but
Jaselyn's POV15 minutes later, Rion walked out of the room with an expression I couldn't quite read. His lips remained in a tight line but he didn't seem sad or angry, his eyes didn't convey happiness or relief either. It was more……confusion, like he was trying to process something.I approached him. “How is she doing?” “You should go see for yourself. She's waiting for you.” He answered monotonously before going to take a seat.I sucked in a breath before walking into the room and closing the door behind me. My eyes watered when I saw her condition.She was hooked up to a ventilator and had several IVs attached.The sound of the vital signs monitor beeping was the only other thing I could hear aside from the crazy beating of my heart.I didn't know if I could take another step towards her without breaking into tears. Her eyes slowly opened but were heavy and remained droopy. She looked pale, parts of her neck almost bluish.“Jas….elyn….” Her voice was hoarse and sounded muffled ove
Rion's POVI went into her room, my heart beating with trepidation. When I saw her condition, I rushed over to her side quickly and she gave me one of those reassuring smiles but it came out looking so sad.“Ziarre.” I took her hand in mine and kissed it, wanting to be close to her, desiring to comfort her. There was only so much I could, sending a gentle nudge, like a warm caress through our bond. She seemed to appreciate it as she sighed in satisfaction.“You don't have to worry, all of this will be over soon. You'll recover and we'll spend time together. I'll take time off work as much as possible and I'll stay by your side. All you have to do is stay strong for me now and get better as soon as possible.” I proposed and I felt her hand that was in my grasp move weakly so I loosened my hold.She entwined our fingers instead.“I'm sorry….. for being so stubborn at times. You remember when we had to make that difficult decision and we lost our baby? I was so heartbroken but you remai
Rion's POV I wanted to open my mouth and scold her, yell at her to stop spouting nonsense but I had suddenly lost all my willpower. The fight was gone and I was completely drained.The last of my strength I used to grab a chair and sit beside her bed, leaning down and resting my head gently on her shoulder while she brought her hand to my hair, threading her fingers through the dark strands, gently massaging my scalp.“Ziarre……” I whispered, breathing in her scent like I was starved of it, wanting to take all of her and lock her away safely in my heart, where no one could hurt her ever again.“Just stay with me like this, please.” Her voice was so low I could barely hear it.I closed my eyes, letting myself bask in her warmth, listening to the rapid pounding of her heart against her ribcage, almost like it was doing overtime. Part of my brain understood what was going on but I chose to be delusional, if only to protect this precious moment and keep it as perfect as possible.I couldn
Rion's POVAll my feelings of grief and loss, the emptiness; it all condensed into something more feral, malicious. Anger. Hatred.Everything was going perfectly between Ziarre and I. We loved each other and we were happy together. We were going to live a long, fulfilling life together but that monster suddenly showed up and stole Ziarre away from me. He cut her life short just in the blink of an eye and all for his stupid ignorance and twisted sense of justice.It all felt cruel, wickedly so. I don't care how he's related to Ziarre, he killed her and I'm going to make him pay dearly for that. He didn't consider her family so why should I? I'm going to take my time destroying him piece by piece so horrifically that death will seem like the easy way out.This is a promise I'm making to my lost love. I might have failed to be with her during her last moments but I won't fail to get justice for her.I stand up abruptly and wipe my tears, storming down the hallway, the dungeon my only des
Rion's POV Today, he will know true pain.“So the coward finally returns. You look like a wreck, did that bitch finally die? I hope she did or else I'll have to find a way out of here and finish the job.” He jeers and that only adds insult to injury.The more he mocks Ziarre's death, the less guilt I'll feel for what I'm about to do because he deserves it all.I walk over to him unhurriedly, taking calculated steps that only seem to escalate his nervousness. His mask is beginning to crack little by little. This foolish child is only pretending to be brave. He knows danger when he sees it and I must certainly reek of it.“Do you really think bringing me here will do anything? That any of this will affect me?” His laugh is strained, forced.I finally stop next to him, towering over him while he winces softly.“Take off the handcuffs and leave us.” I command the guard and he does as he's told, leaving only I, Nolan and the brat in the room.“Nolan, if you're going to stay you'd better n
Rion’s POVAs Jinu's cries continued to echo around the dungeon, I turned to Nolan.“Get me the drug.” “But…..”“Get me the drug.” I ordered again, stressing the words this time.Nolan sighed and got up, leaving the room only to return a few minutes later with a syringe.“Be careful with it, an overdose could cause hallucinations or worse….. It could mess him up forever. That's why we only use it in extreme cases.” Nolan warned and handed it over to me.It's almost comical how he's showing concern for this brat when he tortures people almost every other day. It's annoying.Jinu finally raised his head, his face stained with tears and his eyes red. There was pure fear in his face as he saw the syringe in my hand.“What….. What are you going to do with that?” He stuttered out, fresh tears pouring down.“Oh, this? Nothing much.” I said as I jammed the needle into his leg, injecting the entire contents into his bloodstream.He groaned and hissed while I handed the used needle to Nolan so
Celio's POV The wooden floor creaked under my knees as I scrubbed away at the dirt, pushing the rag back and forth with all the strength my small, 8 year old body could muster. The chill of the mountain wind seeped through the cracks in the old walls, biting at my skin. My hands were raw and red, the rough texture of the rag scraping against my knuckles. I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind the pain, the hunger gnawing at my stomach, or the loneliness that pressed on me like an iron weight. I was used to it.I glanced out the cracked window at the gray sky that mirrored my feelings. The little shack we lived in sat at the base of the mountain, far away from any Pack. Isla had always told me that it was better this way—away from the people who would look at me and know that I wasn’t wanted, that I was abandoned by the very woman who should have loved me most.“Your mother didn’t want you, Celio,” Isla would say, her voice sharp and filled with disdain. “She threw you away like you were nothing
Luka's POV The day started out like any other. Mika, Sawyer, and I were playing in the woods behind the palace, chasing each other through the trees, our laughter echoing in the air. At seven years old, we were pretending to be fierce wolves on a hunt, leaping over fallen logs and dodging branches. It was perfect, like it always was when we were together.But then everything changed in an instant.I heard the thud first—a sound so sharp and heavy that it made my heart skip a beat. I stopped and turned around, the world seeming to move in slow motion as I saw Mika crumple to the ground, his face twisted in pain.“Mika!” I shouted, racing back to him. The sight that met me made my stomach lurch. His leg was twisted at an odd angle, and there was blood—so much blood—pouring out of a long, deep gash along his shin. It covered the grass, bright and red, and kept coming. I couldn’t breathe.Sawyer came running up, her eyes huge and frightened as she saw the blood. “Luka, what happened?” sh
Jaselyn's POV I took his hand, and he pulled me close, holding me from behind as we swayed gently to the music. His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “You’re beautiful, you know that? Even after everything, you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m the luckiest man alive to have you.”Tears pricked my eyes, but they weren’t tears of sadness this time. They were tears of happiness, of gratitude. “Rion… you don’t know how much that means to me.”He kissed my neck softly. “You mean everything to me, Jas.”Suddenly, the music stopped, and a projector flickered on. I turned to see a slideshow of pictures—our memories together. Photos of us when we first arrived at the Pack, a few of the whole family, some from the day of our mating ceremony, which also doubled with the coronation, pictures of us as Alpha and Luna at a few events, including one of us at the Peace Ball. Pictures of me with the twins when they were born and finally, pictures of us with Luka and Mika. I
Jaselyn’s POVExhausted didn’t even begin to cover how I felt. I was beyond it. No, it was more like EXHAUSTED in capital letters, underlined and bold. It had been a few days since Luka and Mika were born, and though I’d prepared myself for the sleepless nights and constant feeding, nothing could have readied me for the complete overwhelm of being a new mother to two newborns at the same time. Rion helped as much as he could. He was always there, doing everything in his power to make things easier for me. But there was only so much even he could do. There were things I had to handle myself—breastfeeding, comforting them when they both decided to cry at the same time, managing the constant pain in my body that hadn’t fully recovered from the trauma of childbirth.Luka was a good feeder. He latched on almost immediately, eager to nurse, but Mika wasn’t doing as well. He struggled with breastfeeding, and that meant more time spent trying to get him to eat, more time stressing about whet
Jaselyn's POVFive years have passed since the birth of our twin boys.And in those years, Luka and Mika had grown into mischievous, spirited children who constantly kept me on my toes. They were inseparable, their bond unbreakable, and they moved through life with a shared sense of curiosity and adventure.Completely identical, they inherited the dominant Solstice genes with their ebony black hair, deep green eyes, and strikingly beautiful features. They were so similar in appearance that even their grandmother couldn’t tell them apart.Only Rion and I could tell which was Luka and which was Mika, and the boys often used this to their advantage, tricking everyone around them. But when they weren’t up to mischief, they were the sweetest children imaginable—kind, considerate, and always eager to bring a smile to my face.They were the best of friends, always looking out for each other. If one fell ill,
Rion's POV“That’s it, Luna,” the midwife encouraged. “The hardest part is over. Just one more push, and we’ll have him out.”Jaselyn nodded weakly, her face pale and slick with sweat. She gritted her teeth, her whole body trembling as she summoned the last of her strength. With a final, desperate scream, she pushed again, her body arching off the bed as she bore down with everything she had left.The baby slipped free with a gush of fluid and blood, his tiny body wriggling and slick in the midwife’s hands. “It’s a boy!” she announced, holding him up for us to see, his loud, piercing cries filling the room.My heart swelled with emotion as I gazed at our son, his tiny face scrunched up in a wail, his fists clenched and shaking. Tears blurred my vision as I looked at Jaselyn. “He’s beautiful,” I choked out, my voice thick with emotion. “Jas, you did it. You gave us a
Rion's POVI slammed my fist against the desk, sending papers flying. The frustration had been building for months, and now it was boiling over. "Dammit!" I cursed, pacing the room in a futile attempt to calm myself. We had conquered the Rain Forest Pack with ease, but it had been a hollow victory. Hadrian, that fool, had chosen to die rather than betray his cousin, Isla. He'd poisoned himself before we could get any information out of him. Another dead end.The Fishers were a twisted bunch. Part of me relished the thought of wiping them out for good, to rid the world of their poison. Isla had slipped through our fingers, and I was beginning to fear we’d never find her. If I could only get my hands on her, I would make her pay for taking Celio. She would wish she had never been born.Blade had been another disappointment, another dead end in our search for Celio. We had pushed him to his absolute limits, hoping that the pain and pressure would force
Jaselyn's POV“Maybe we could…shower together?” I suggested hesitantly. “It might help me relax.”Rion smiled softly, his eyes filled with understanding. “That sounds like a great idea. Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”We both undressed completely, and I followed him into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, adjusting the water temperature until it was just right, then we stepped under the warm spray together.The water cascaded over us, washing away the tension and the grime from the day. Rion wrapped his arms around me from behind, holding me close as the water streamed down our bodies. I leaned back against him, feeling the steady beat of his heart against my back. His touch was gentle, his hands moving over my skin with care, never lingering too long in one place.He washed my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp in slow, soothing circles. I closed my eyes, letting myself relax under
Jaselyn's POVI agreed to see Nae, but only because I needed to know if she could give me any information about where Isla might have taken Celio. It was my only lead, and I wasn’t about to let it slip through my fingers, no matter how much I despised Nae.Before heading to see her, I turned to Rion. His clothes were torn and stained with dirt and blood from the battle. He looked tired, and I could see the weariness in his eyes despite his usual confident stance. He needed rest, and he needed to be taken care of. After everything he had done for me, it was the least I could do for him.“Come with me,” I said softly, taking his hand. I led him back to our bedroom, feeling a mixture of nerves and determination. “Rion, I want our lives to go back to normal,” I began, my voice wavering slightly. “I want to feel close to you again.”He looked at me with a mix of surprise and concern. “Jas, you don’t h