Something in the way he said it sent a chill down my spine – not entirely unpleasant. But dangerous. Like a hand offering a knife instead of help.He said it with a grin, but his dark eyes betrayed him.I didn’t want to like it. And I wasn’t sure I trusted it. But Asher was the only one besides Emma
LilaI stopped looking at Damon three days ago. I couldn’t afford the distraction, and Damon Sinclair was definitely distracting.If I was going to survive the next trial, I needed to become someone else. Someone smarter, who knew what fork to use, how to speak in riddles that sounded like respect,
LilaThe summons came mid-morning, delivered by hand in sleek parchment sealed with black wax. The message was brief:Report to the western courtyard. His Majesty will address a challenge to the throne.The phrasing was deliberate. A challenge to the throne, not a complaint or request. It was a warn
LilaI’d been pacing in my rooms for nearly an hour, every step drilling further into my headache.My thoughts looped like a bad song you couldn’t get out of your head: Damon’s claws. Alpha Rodrik on his knees. My father’s voice in the back of my mind demanding more and more from me.“Three days. Or
“I know,” I snapped. Then softened. “I know.”“But you’re going to anyway, aren’t you?”I nodded “I have to.”She didn’t argue. Just nodded, slow and reluctant. “What are you going to say?” she asked.“I don’t know yet.”We spent the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence. And by nightfall,
Damon“You may go.”I was done listening to Elena confirm everything that I finally convinced myself might not be true. But I should’ve expected it. I should’ve known better than to let myself feel anything for a candidate.Elena nodded and left my study the same way she entered. Resigned. Like she
I exhaled slowly. “I’m not angry, I’m disappointed.”Ronan nodded once. “That’s worse.”We stood there in silence for a moment, the breeze pushing through the leaves below, rustling against the stone.“She’s clever,” he said. “But she doesn’t know how to use it without burning something down.”I gla
LilaEmma was still fiddling with my hair when the announcement came through the main hall: Lord Jackson himself had selected a group of high-ranking noble daughters for “formal introductions and private conversation with His Majesty.” It was phrased as a tradition, but it sounded a lot like handpic
The man reached us in a few long strides, all easy confidence and noble polish. He was handsome, I’d give him that—classic profile, wind-swept dark hair, eyes the color of expensive tea. Polished. Disarming.“Lady Elena,” he said first, bowing with an easy grace that struck a sour chord in my gut. “
LilaThe sun filtered through the slats of the carriage window, turning the cobbled road outside into gold-dappled ribbons. An official break from palace walls, a sanctioned “cultural immersion” outing for the Luna candidates.The irony was that most of us spent the ride rehearsing how not to look o
LilaThe palace looked the same, but it didn’t feel the same.I stepped through the east entrance just after dawn, my boots silent on the polished stone. The hall was empty, save for a pair of guards posted at the end of the corridor. One of them blinked in surprise when he saw me but said nothing,
LilaMy mother lay still beneath thick blankets, her breath shallow but steady now. The sharp rise and fall of panic from two days ago had eased into something fragile, but survivable. Her cheeks held a faint flush again, and the dark hollows beneath her eyes had softened slightly.It should have be
She never existed at all.The longer I stared at the folder, the more I wanted to tear it apart and pretend I’d never seen it. But that would make me a fool three times over.The fire in the hearth crackled faintly now—Ronan must’ve relit it on his way out. But the warmth didn’t reach me. In this mo
DamonOutside, the courtyard stirred with the usual sounds—guards drilling, candidates murmuring in clipped, polite tones. But in my office, the silence pressed in on me like fog, heavy and muffling. The only sound was the sharp scratch of my pen against parchment as I signed off on trial amendments
My fingers curled into fists. “You would let her die just to punish me?”“I would let a great many things die to keep this Pack on top,” he said evenly. “Including illusions of usefulness. You’re only back now because you’re scared.”“No,” I said, breath sharp. “I’m back because I care about her. An
LilaThe scent of pine and damp earth hit me the moment I stepped from the carriage. Nightfall Pack always smelled earthy. And like wet stone and forgotten promises thanks to my father.The estate loomed quiet and gray under a sky streaked with morning haze. It looked the same, but didn’t feel the s
But I couldn’t.I turned and walked out of the room with the truth still burning on my tongue and my heart breaking all over again.The guards didn’t say a word as they escorted me down the corridor. I didn’t expect them to. But their silence felt like a verdict.I held my head high anyway.My boots