Xander's PovSomething snapped in me when he held Ava's waist, whatever charm she was using has to be really strong. I will find out what it is, because it is messing with my head and my daily life.Leo, my wolf, has been awfully silent these days, he feels what I feel. Whenever I mistreat Ava something in me breaks, it disconnects me from myself, I've been having a lot of sleepless nights because of it and I am fed up.The smell of her blood was prudent in the air but I ignored it. I paused as I felt her body go limp halfway down the stairs.I looked at her unconscious body for a second then continued on my journey, the guards who failed to excuse my order will be punished. I am the alpha king and when I give an order you follow it no matter what, you do not stop for anybody.I got to the doors leading to the dungeon and the guards stationed in front of it opened it up for me, I dragged her down the stairs and into the abyss.It was pitch black at the entrance but I was familiar with
Ava's PovI was floating, the sky was bright above me and birds flew. I landed on something soft and fluffy, my hand ran across it, it seemed to be fur.I giggled at the feeling and snuggled into its warmth. After a while I came down from whatever it was and took in the view before me. I was on a lush green hill which had a lot of flowers. It overlooked a beautiful lake which glistened in the sunlight.I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, I let the peace and tranquility wash over me. There was a slight rustling behind me, it reminded me that I had been on top of something fluffy.I turned around and was met with my own eyes, except it was on a wolf. A giant wolf, it had white fur with silver streaks, I took a step back upon seeing its size.“Careful.” A soft angelic voice said.I looked to my right and saw a beautiful woman, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Her skin glistened under the sunlight, it glowed like the moon, she was draped in an elegant white cloth
Xander's povAfter my meal I headed to the dungeon to assess the situation myself. I walked up to her cell and saw her on the floor where I had left her.I felt a sharp pain in my chest, a call to save her. I noticed the blood at the back of her head and wondered what happened.Did someone do something to her?Because I knew for a fact that the potion healed her former head injury, the thought of someone hurting her made me angry.I turned and left, she would wake up soon. The next day I asked for the dungeon guard on duty to come to my office.“The new captive, the human. Is she awake?” I asked.“No, your majesty.” He replied with a bow.“Get water and dump it on her, we need to interrogate her as soon as possible.” I ordered him.“Yes, your majesty.” He gave a bow then left.Beta Magnus and Gamma Draven wherein the study with me, “let's go train.”I needed to blow off some steam. Pack members gathered around to watch us spat, it had been a while.Magnus and Draven were a team whilst
Xander's PovVanessa picked up her things and hastily ran out of my office.Good.Immediately I turned back to my work a knock sounded at the door.“What now?” I muttered in frustration running my palm down my face.“Come in.”The door opened, revealing Lyra and Magnus on the other side. Irritation began to bubble within me because I knew the reason why they were both here.“Alpha.” They said in unison with a slight bow.“What do you want?” I demanded ignoring their greeting.“Alpha,” Lyra started. “Please let Ava go.”“No.” I returned my focus to the map of the pack grounds and the position where Magnus had placed the warriors.“You claim that she bewitched you, right?” Lyra continued. “What evidence do you have? As a king, you of all people should know never to accuse someone with evidence to back up your claim.”I did not speak, but my eyes signalled to her to continue.“You know the tension between our kind and hers has surged tremendously, there's on telling what will happen if
Xander's povIt has been three days since we moved her into my wing, four days in total since she has been in a coma.The healers have given up on her but too afraid to say anything to me, I overheard them one night.They had just finished dressing her wound which has made no healing progress. I stood there watching her.Her flawless face gave the impression that she was only asleep, as if she would wake up the next second. I took a moment to take in her form, her usual annoyed expression wasn't there, she just looked peaceful like she was sleeping.Her long lashes slightly brushed her cheeks and her hair was fanned out on the pillow underneath her head, she looked like an angel.The sun filtering in through the windows casted a warm glow on her pale skin, I have never seen anything more ethereal in all my years.I took a seat next to her and watched her, my hand reached out to brush her cheek softly. Her pink lips were slightly parted as she took in soft breaths.Her scent once again
Ava's povI was confused. Something was off about the alpha, about us.I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I remembered the kiss. The sparks and tingles that spread across my body, the softness of his lips, the feeling of his stubble against my cheek and the most intoxicating scent that infiltrated my nose.Something has shifted between us, I could tell from the way he spoke and acted towards me. I felt a deep connection and longing for him.I rubbed my eyes tiredly, the healer had left a few minutes ago after a thorough examination of my healed body and an hour of grueling questions.My answer remained the same all through. I don't know.I knew that I couldn't tell anyone about the woman and the wolf, Aria. I still have a lot of unanswered questions.Xander had instructed me to go to my chambers and clean up once the healer gave me the go ahead, which he had. I got up from the bed and headed for the door.My body felt lighter, stronger and far more healthy than it had ever been. A smil
Ava's povHe noticed my movement and his face changed to one of panic, he reached a hand towards me in an attempt to calm me down.Whatever was in his place spoke, “calm down, Aria.” Its voice was deep and rough.Aria?“What?” I whispered, he took another step towards me making me crawl back.Hurt flashed on his face, he still held his hands out to show that he wasn't going to hurt me.Why'd he call me Aria?“Wait…please.” The thing said then took another step.I didn't move this time out of fear and confusion, he took another then another until he was towering over me.I swallowed as he bent down to be at my level, it reached a clawed hand towards my face and I shut my eyes tightly in fear.I waited for the impact but it never came, rather he gently stroked my face. He brushed my hair out of my face, sparks danced across the place where he touched.I opened my eyes and stared into his golden eyes, there was something else in them. They weren't just gold but they had an ethereal glo
Xander's povI ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. I don't know what came over me.Ever since the kiss with Ava I felt something, the presence I felt the first day I saw her. I was coming down the stairs to go check on the pack, one minute I saw Vanessa pinning down Ava the next I was standing with their blood on my hands.I hurt my pack members badly.I usually punch werewolves who break the law depending on the severity of their crimes but what happened today was different.I felt the mate bond.When it hugged Ava through my body I felt the full power of the mate bond course through me. I saw glimpses of Ava's life, that only happens when the mate bond has been completed but for some reason It happened today.Her eyes…They glowed, I felt like I was drowning in an ocean. There was something else in her, it recognized me.I didn't understand what was happening and I didn't like it but one thing was certain.Ava was my mate.She wasn't bewitching me. The pack elders saw eve
Xander's povThe night was quiet, save for the faint crackling of the fire still burning at the center of camp.But Ava… she had curled up beside me, her head on my shoulder, her fingers gently tucked against my arm. Her breathing slowed sometime between Rowan’s quiet jokes, Vanessa blushing with Kael teasing her and Lyra sitting in silence after her brief confession.She fell asleep there, in the circle of firelight and friends and whispered memories.I couldn’t bear to wake her.So I carried her.Her warmth pressed against my chest as I walked us to the chambers we’d been assigned in the temporary Ashville pack house. The bed was a bit small but clean, sheets tucked in and blankets folded. I laid her down carefully, brushing a stray strand of hair from her cheek before covering her with the blanket.I wanted to stay awake and watch over her. Zerathos may be gone but he has left a lasting trauma and fear of the shadows. I was scared that if I closed my eyes and opened it I would real
Rowan's POVLyra’s breathing had finally evened out beside me, a soft, steady rhythm that showed that she was finally at ease and I was glad. She didn’t say another word after I wrapped the blanket around her and sat by her side. She didn’t need to.I looked at her, really looked.Her face had lost weight in the past months, the edges sharper now—grief had carved out the softness she once had so effortlessly. The dark, sunken circles beneath her eyes told me she hadn’t been sleeping much. And even now, in the calm after the war, her body was tense beneath the blanket, like she was ready to spring awake at any given time if someone so much as touched her. .But she had opened up.That alone made something in my chest unclench for the first time in weeks.I tilted my head back, let my eyes gaze up to the stars, but even their beauty felt muted tonight. Everything felt… dulled. Like we’d survived the fire, only to emerge into the ashes.But she talked. She talked.And I’d take that over
Lyra’s POVThe fire had burned down to little fire, and one by one, they drifted off to sleep. Ava had fallen asleep curled against Xander’s chest. Vanessa and Kael were tangled up on a blanket near the edge of the camp, whispering and grinning like the war had never happened and they were in some sort of fairytale. Like they’d known peace all their lives.I was happy and envious of them so I forced myself to look away.Rowan had stayed with me.He always did.By the time the last bit of fire was snuffed and silence had settled over the camp, he rose, wordless, and offered me his hand. I took it, letting him guide me away from the others, deeper into the shadows where the weight of their stares couldn’t follow.We walked to a place in Ashville that we liked. It was a little hill above the camp where the entire land could be seen and the sky felt so close. The stars were particularly bright on that night, I just stood there and took a deep breath.The night air was cold, crisp, almost
Lyra’s povI don't know how long we sat there but I had droned out their conversation as I watched the burning fire. Suddenly, I felt the air shift. It wasn't the regular shift.But this time, it was different.Tense. Sharp.I knew why.I could feel it, their eyes were on me.And they deserved answers.I just wasn’t sure I had the strength to give them.Rowan came even closer, a steady wall beside me, his warmth grounding. He hadn't spoken much, just held my hand quietly under the blanket we shared. It should’ve comforted me more than it did. But the guilt clung to me, curling in my chest like a shadow that refused to be exorcised.I peeped at Ava across the fire, her knees were pulled to her chest, arms loosely wrapped around them. Xander had stood up and was standing just behind her, arms crossed, his gaze unreadable as it flicked from person to person—though it lingered on me more often than not.I was almost certain I could go the night without a word being said. That they’d keep
Lyra’s POVThe crackling of the campfire sounded distant just like the faint sound of voices laughing and talking. Familiar voices. Ones that once meant comfort and strength. Now, they sounded foreign and distant, like echoes bouncing off the thick stone walls of guilt I had built around myself.I sat wrapped in my cloak, hood drawn low, body leaning into Rowan’s side. His warmth was steady, grounding. I could feel his heart through the fabric, steady as a drum, but there was a tension in the way he held me. He didn’t trust me—not entirely. I didn’t blame him.They had every right not to.Ashville was ruined. The war was over. And I had helped start it. They just didn't know that.I didn’t know how to look them in the eyes, not after what I had done.Ava’s laugh echoed through the air, loud and carefree, like birds chirping and singing during the summer. She teased Vanessa about how she once fought her over Xander. Vanessa rolled her eyes but smiled, her fingers tangled with Kael’s. I
Ava's povThe fire crackled in the center of our circle, its warm glow and embers floating up to the dark sky above us. The scent of roasted meat and earth filled the air. It was the first night in what felt like centuries that I didn’t have to look over my shoulder or hold a weapon while I slept.We had won.The war was over. Zerathos was gone alongside his shadows and forge. It was a tough battle but we won in the end and that's all that mattered. The camp was quiet, solemn in places, and slowly coming back to life in others. Rebuilding had started before the ashes were even cold.We’d spent the entire day helping—healing, carrying, burying. Holding hands that trembled with grief. Offering words to those who could still barely believe they’d survived. It was exhausting in a new kind of way—no longer physical, but emotional.And now, for the first time in weeks, we sat around a fire without dread thick in the air. Just six of us. Allies through it all. Survivors of chaos.Ava sat bes
Ava’s POVThe morning after the final battle was a strange kind of quiet. Not silence, exactly—there were still murmurs, the crackle of the early fires, the low sobs of those mourning their fallen, and the laughter of those too happy not to laugh. It was a quiet that came after chaos, the kind that felt borrowed, fragile, as if the world was holding its breath, unsure if the war was truly over.But it was.Zerathos was gone. His shadows had dispersed, leaving behind only the smell of ash and blood.I stood at the edge of the ruins that had once been the main part of our camp, the place where strategy was whispered and sleepless nights were passed in tense silence. Now it was littered with broken weapons, scorched earth, and fat too many lifeless bodies.Kael called out names from a growing list, his voice steady despite the tremble in it. Vanessa stood beside him, her hand in his, as they honored each name with a nod and a moment of silence. Rowan knelt by the body of one of his falle
Ava’s POVLyra was a blur of shadows, her body twisting and jerking with the force of a nightmare that had fully claimed her. Her eyes were two hollow pits of blackness, her once vibrant blue eyes now lost beneath an abyss. The very air around her seemed to tremble with the power of Zerathos’ dark magic, and the wail that tore from her throat was not the sound of her voice anymore. It was something ancient, something malevolent, echoing in the very bones of the earth beneath us.Xander’s blade clashed with hers as she lunged at him again, but there was no recognition in her movements—just raw, unfiltered rage. The Lyra I knew, the sister of Rowan, the one who had laughed with me and shared secrets in the quiet corners of our kingdom, was gone.“Lyra!” Rowan screamed, his voice was raw and hoarse, breaking with the anguish of a twin who had just watched his sibling become something unrecognizable. His voice was a beacon of desperation, but it did nothing to stop the creature she had be
Ava’s POVThe ground trembled beneath our feet as Lyra's form charged toward Xander with unnatural strength, the sound of her shrieking filling the air with an unnatural, bone-chilling shrill. Her movements were too fast, too erratic, her body a twisted mockery of the sister I knew. Her eyes, once silver with kindness, now pulsed with an abyssal blackness—pools of darkness that swallowed any light. She was lost. But I refused to believe it. Not completely. Not yet.“Xander, MOVE!” I shouted, pushing myself forward, my heart hammering against my ribcage. I couldn’t lose him. Not now.Xander barely had time to react before Lyra was upon him, her blades gleaming with malice as they sliced through the air. He barely dodged, the edge of her dagger grazing his shoulder, sending a burst of pain radiating through his body. He growled, backing away, but she was relentless—her speed matched only by the cold fury in her eyes.“No!” I screamed, my voice raw with desperation, but the words were lo