ReynaThe atmosphere in the living room is a mixed bag of emotions. Rune sits beside me on the plush sofa, a supportive hand resting on my knee, while Leana occupies the armchair across from us. Her eyes are brimming with disbelief as Rune extends the offer.“You’re welcome to stay in my kingdom, Leana, until you're back on your feet,” Rune says, smiling at her and my heart warms.She shakes her head and scoffs incredulously. “Are you sure? But… you don’t even know me that well!”Rune chuckles. “You’re Reyna’s only family left, that means more to us,” he says. “And from what Reyna has told me, you’ve never spoken a bad word to her, nor did you participate in the abuse.”“But I was complacent…” she says and looks down at her hands folded in her lap, sighing. “I can’t thank you enough, Alpha Rune and you, Reyna.”The look in her eyes is one of pure relief, but something niggles at the back of my mind, an unsettled feeling I can’t shake off. Maybe it’s the weight of Cassian and Malachi’
RuneMy eyes flicker open to darkness, disoriented and heavy-lidded. There’s a stale taste in the air, and the back of my throat feels like I have gurgled wolfsbane.The first thought is that I’m in some unfamiliar chamber of our castle, the second is of Reyna, and a gut-wrenching wave of emptiness washes over me, a reminder that something is dreadfully wrong. My body feels like it’s been run over, my muscles aching as if I’ve been through a brutal reconditioning courtesy of my father, and a hand-to-hand combat spar with Cassian.I attempt to lift my arms, but a biting pain shoots up my wrists. “Fuck!” I call out, and my eyes widen when I look at my arms.They’re shackled. Silver shackles. No wolf can bear the touch of silver; it’s like fire against our skin, and it leaves us weakened. I pull against them, but the sound of clinking metal merely echoes in the stale air.How did I get here? Why can’t I remember anything?I shift my eyes to that of my beast and peer into the darkened ro
MalachiThe tension in the air is palpable the moment Cassian and I step inside the War Room, fresh from the jarring revelations offered by Boreas. I try to reach out to Reyna and Rune through the mind link again, meeting nothing but static.“Anything?” Cassian asks for the tenth fucking time, his eyes narrowed.“Nothing. Silence still,” I say, trying to keep my temper down, because right now I’m not sure what the hell I’m angry about. It’s not his fault … it’s none of our fault.Cassian’s brow furrows. “We need to find them, Kai. Something’s wrong, I can feel it and I’m pissed off that we didn’t look into Leana more.”“You and me both,” I say, then I sigh. “Let’s go outside, the trackers have arrived and we need to give them instructions.”Cassian nods and we leave the War Room, slipping into our roles as Alphas is as easy as putting on a glove. They cannot see how this absence has affected both of us; Alphas aren’t supposed to have weaknesses.And yet, as my hand goes to the marks o
Reyna I stretch, the familiar lumpy bed beneath me making me groan. With the dust motes fluttering in the air and the cold chill seeping from underneath the door, it is clear that today will be a brutal one. As I sit up in bed, my eyes slowly adjust to the dim lighting of my wine cellar, which serves as my makeshift bedroom. Every day is the goddamn same; when will my life get better than this? As I swing my legs out of bed, I can't help but notice the softness of the garment I'm wearing; immediately, a foreign sensation prickles my skin, making me feel both curious and uneasy at the same time. I look down, realising I’m wearing the sleek, black dress Malachi bought me, not my usual comfortable sleepwear. Wait. If I’m wearing this dress, then—my heart speeds up as I turn to really look at my room. My eyes squint, as if trying to bring the picture into focus. My hands fly up to my temples, massaging them as if that would iron out the wrinkles in my thoughts. “The Alphas,” I breath
Reyna I am having a hard time believing that my Alphas would do something like this to me. We bonded, we claimed each other, and I know their hearts by now. It may be a short time, but I know them… I feel them. “Think about it, Reyna,” Shae urges, her voice trembling with a strange mixture of desperation and triumph. “Haven’t you wondered why you’ve felt so... calm, so placid since you met them? They’ve been dimming your fire, quenching your spirit. I’ve come to free you from that.” I step back, suddenly wary. Her words, laden with urgency and supposed concern, make me pause. Could it be? Could the very sources of my love and comfort be the architects of my suppression? But then, another thought enters my mind: If my Alphas have been tasked to poison my mind, what is Shae’s role in this? Is she truly here to liberate me, or is she another layer in this intricate web of manipulation? My eyes narrow as I scrutinise her. “How convenient that you show up now, revealing all these supp
CassianI’m sitting on the terrace outside of my office and staring off into the distance trying to shut away my thoughts. So far it’s not working; so far all I can think is how much of a failure I am.When Reyna ‘died’, I was the only one who refused to feel my link to her. I was the only one who didn’t want to admit that I thought she was still alive… all because I didn’t want to get my heart broken again.It’s the second time I failed Reyna, it’s all I seem to do. Now she might be gone from us forever, before I can even apologise for my carelessness.But I suppose there’s no point in being morbid about these things. We still have a chance to get Reyna back from whatever depths she’s fallen to, and to make things right. It won’t be easy, I know this… but I fought and ended a war I never started, so nothing’s impossible. My cell phone starts buzzing on the glass tabletop in front of me, and when I see the Caller ID, I immediately get a chill up my spine.“Yes?”“Alpha, there’s a pro
ReynaEvery nerve ending feels like it’s on fire. My vision is blurred, and it’s almost as if I’m looking through red cellophane– everything is crimson. Why does it taste like I’ve swallowed ash? “...na, listen to me, please! You don’t want to do this!”Hmm? That voice… I know that voice. Frowning, I turn my head from side to side to see where that voice is coming from and, as I take a step forward, I see him.On his knees, with his hands behind his back, is Rune. He’s peering up at me with wide, desperate eyes and as he moves to get on his feet, the sound of a whip snaps through the air and he grunts as he falls forward.I try to cry out and run toward him, but my body doesn’t seem to obey; instead I am rooted on the spot and watching as five more slashes come down on his back.“Enough! You’ve betrayed her, you know you have! Nothing you say will make her change her mind, not after catching you with him!” A voice filled with malice echoes to my left, and my body feels so heavy that
ReynaI don’t know what I manifested, but I am back in the forest dreamscape again. My heart thuds so loudly that I can hear it echo in my ears along with the crunching of dead leaves underfoot. I walk as if being pulled by a string, even if I wanted to walk away from this or wake myself up, I know I couldn’t. So I allow myself to be dragged to wherever I’m being pulled toward and as I come to a clearing, I see the beast with galaxies in its eyes again.It sees me and nods its massive head before looking off into the distance. I frown at this, not only because I am not stopping in front of the beast again, but because I am pulled toward where it’s looking.It’s a massive light in the distance, hidden in what seems to be a cave against a mountain.The glow intensifies as I approach it, and the brilliant blaze emits a sweet, smoky scent that fills the air. As I am led into the colossal cavern, I can’t help but notice the intricate patterns etched into the walls, resembling some sort of