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Alaric “What the fuck, Garrett?” I hiss as soon as Sage and Iris are gone. But the fucker just chuckles and grins like my irritation amuses him. “What’s the matter Ric? Our great and powerful king can’t handle one little car ride with his ex-girlfriend and his new mate?” He taunts me. “How are we supposed to trust you with a whole kingdom when you can't handle two harmless women?” I roll my eyes at his childish behavior. “I have yet to understand what my baby sister sees in you. And that’s the last time I tell you my secrets. I can’t believe you told Iris about her. She’ll never let it go now.” “You know I tell Iris everything. Shouldn’t have told me if you didn’t want her to know.” He shrugs and I have to resist the urge to punch my Beta. “And don’t pretend you didn't love me long before your sister did. But seriously, Sage is gorgeous and seems really sweet. Have you thought anymore about telling her what she is to you?” I shake my head, wishing it was that simple. “I can’t. H
Sage “Hey, want some company?” Iris pokes her head in just as I’m slipping into some pajamas I found tucked into a drawer, a cami and short set she must have purchased for me. “Of course. Please come in.” Everyone was so prim and proper at dinner and I felt so out of place. I’m not sure how to address her after that. I guess she is technically a princess. Iris giggles. “You don’t have to speak so formally to me. No one does. Well, no one except Eris and I hate it. Come to think of it, I really kind of hate her.”A snort slips out before I can stop it and Iris laughs with me. “Sorry, it’s just, well dinner was a bit overwhelming.” I confess. “It’s not usually like that unless we have guests. Even with Eris, my brother usually doesn’t play along with her ‘Queen of the Castle’ attitude. I’m not sure what’s going on with him tonight. Seems like he has a giant stick up his ass about something.”“He did look kind of constipated.” I comment, and we both break down into full-belly laugh
Sage My heart hammers against my ribs as Alaric's powerful presence fills the pantry doorway. The familiar scent of pine and winter wind wraps around me, but there is something else there too—a dangerous edge that makes the air crackle with tension.Eris's perfectly painted lips curve into an innocent smile. "Alaric, I was just explaining to your... guest... that we have strict protocols about food distribution in the pack.""Is that what you call cornering a traumatized wolf in a confined space?" Alaric's voice is deceptively soft, but I can feel the fury radiating from him in waves. His steel-gray eyes have shifted to molten amber, fixed on Eris with predatory focus."I didn't—" Eris begins, but Alaric cuts her off with a low growl that makes us both flinch."Get out." The words carry the full weight of an Alpha command. Eris's face contorts in rage for a split second before she masks it, ducking her head in a show of submission before slinking past him.As soon as she’s gone, Alari
Alaric I can't stop watching her.Sage has fallen asleep halfway through the movie, her small frame gradually relaxing until her head rests against my shoulder. The sweet scent of honeysuckle and rain that clings to her skin is slowly driving me mad, but I don't dare move. She needs this rest, this moment of peace.My animal prowls restlessly beneath my skin, desperate to claim what we both know is ours. Our second chance mate. The truth sits heavy in my chest, unspoken. Every protective instinct I possess screams at me to tell her, to sweep her into my arms and never let go.But I remember the terror in her eyes in the pantry earlier. The way she'd pressed herself into that corner, expecting punishment for daring to seek food. The fresh wounds Cassius left on her soul are still bleeding, and I won't be another source of pain.Iris catches my eye from her end of the couch, where she's curled up against Garrett, who joined us an hour ago. My sister's knowing look makes me want to growl
Sage Sleep evades me as dawn creeps over the horizon. The nightmare still lingers – Cassius's cruel smile, the searing pain, the pack's jeering faces. But something else tugs at my mind too: the feeling of safety in Alaric's arms, the warmth of his touch as he calmed my fears. It's dangerous to think about that too deeply.Instead of tossing in my too-soft bed, I slip out of my room in the pack house. The halls are quiet this early, and no one stops me as I make my way outside. The morning air carries the crisp bite of approaching winter, and I wrap my arms around myself, following whatever instinct draws me toward the eastern edge of the grounds.I find myself in what must be the pack's medicinal garden. Neat rows of herbs stretch before me, their scents mixing in the morning air. Something about this place feels... right. Like coming home, though I've never had a real home to compare it to.A small whimper draws my attention. Near the garden's edge, a young mother kneels beside her
Alaric Her scent lingers on my skin – honeysuckle and rain, with an undertone of something ancient that calls to my wolf. I force my attention back to the council meeting, where raised voices echo off stone walls."Three more attacks in as many days," Garrett reports, pointing to marked locations on the territory map. "The pattern is clear – they're testing our defenses.""Then we strengthen them," Elder Marcus growls. "Double the patrols, set more wards—""And stretch our resources thinner?" Another council member interrupts. "We're already—""Enough." I don't raise my voice, but the authority in it silences the room. My lycan paces beneath my skin, agitated by the threats to our territory, to our mate—I clamp down on that thought. Hard.Movement at the door catches my eye. Ms. Winters, our ancient librarian, hovers at the threshold, her wire-rimmed glasses glinting in the morning light. Her gaze holds mine with unusual intensity."The wards along the northern border," I say, turni
SageThe healing wing has become my sanctuary over the past few days. Here, among the herbs and bandages, I can almost forget I'm a wolfless omega in the Lycan King's territory. Almost forget the way my skin tingles whenever he's near.Cain's fever broke this morning, the black lines finally receding from his wound. I'm sorting fresh herbs when a familiar scent of pine and winter wind washes over me, making my hands falter."How is he?" Alaric's deep voice sends an unwanted shiver down my spine."Better." I keep my eyes on the herbs, pretending to be fascinated by yarrow leaves. "The silver-leaf poultice worked.""Thanks to you."Something in his tone makes me look up. Bad idea. His steel-gray eyes capture mine, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe. The scar along his jaw catches the morning light, and my fingers itch with the memory of touching it back in my cottage, when I thought he was just an injured wolf seeking help.The head healer's arrival breaks the moment. As she updat
Alaric Dawn hasn't broken yet, but sleep is impossible. My lycan paces restlessly, replaying yesterday's confrontation with Sage in the rain. The way her silver-blonde hair clung to her skin. The defiance in those violet eyes. The scent of her – honeysuckle and rain and something that calls to every primitive instinct I possess.“Mate,” Phantom growls. “Protect.”But how do I protect someone who sees safety as a cage?"You look like shit." Garrett strides into my office without knocking, dropping a stack of reports on my desk.I glare at him. "Your timing is impeccable, as always.""You're going to want to hear this." All humor leaves his face. "Blue Moon Pack was hit last night. Three omegas taken."The wood of my chair splinters under my grip. "Taken? Not killed?""No bodies found. But the survivors reported the mutant wolves seemed... selective. They ignored stronger wolves to target the omegas specifically."Images flash through my mind – Sage alone in the healing wing, Sage wande
Sage The pendant feels different now that I know its history. Not just a mysterious link to my past, but potentially a key to ancient healing knowledge. If only I knew how to access it."Focus," the head healer instructs as I examine a warrior's infected wound. "Don't think about healing. Feel it."I close my eyes, letting my hands hover over the injury. There's something there - a sense of wrongness I can't quite explain. "The infection spreads deeper than it looks," I murmur. "Like threads of darkness under the skin.""Exactly." She sounds pleased. "The healing packs could sense illness this way. Reading the body's patterns, understanding what it needs."We've been testing these abilities all morning. Not the dramatic soul-healing the ancient texts describe, but practical applications of what seems to come naturally to me. My mysterious talent for knowing which herbs to combine, for sensing where injuries run deepest."It's like..." I struggle to explain as I work. "Like the body t
Alaric The scouts kneel before my throne, exhaustion clear in their postures. Three weeks in the northern territories has left them gaunt but determined."We found it, my King." The lead scout places a weathered scroll case at my feet. "Hidden in the mountains where the healing packs once lived."My beast stirs at the scent clinging to the artifacts - ancient herbs and something that reminds me of Sage's unique fragrance."The settlement was destroyed," another scout reports. "But some records survived in underground chambers. Records that tell a very different story than the one the Blackthorn Beta Female presented."I unroll the first scroll carefully, its edges crumbling with age. Detailed accounts of the healing packs fill the brittle pages - their abilities, their bloodlines, their sacred duty to protect all wolves."There's more." The lead scout hesitates. "We found evidence of an attack. Not by their own pack as was claimed, but by outsiders who feared their power."Garrett e
Sage The training room feels different in early morning solitude. My muscles remember the moves now, body flowing through sequences Alaric has drilled into me night after night. I catch glimpses of myself in the mirrored walls - not the scared omega from Blackthorn anymore, but someone stronger. Someone who knows how to fight back."Your form is improving."I don't startle at Iris's voice. Another change - I'm more aware of my surroundings now, harder to sneak up on."Alaric's a good teacher." When he's not distracting me with other activities, I don't add."Speaking of my brother's... teaching." Her grin turns wicked. "Those marks on your neck are new."Before I can sputter a response, voices approach the training room. Eris enters with her usual entourage, including Victoria and three other noble wolves."Well, well." Eris's smile shows teeth. "The little poison-maker, practicing her... skills."I continue my exercises, remembering Alaric's lessons about staying calm. "Good morning
Sage Small changes ripple through the pack in the days following the poisoning incident. Wolves still whisper when I pass, but some nod respectfully now. The warriors I saved make a point of greeting me publicly. Their families send quiet thanks through Iris.But at night, when I'm alone with my thoughts, doubt creeps in like poison. I know who I am now - a healer, someone who saves lives. But what about then? What about the memories that stay locked behind that dark wall in my mind?"You're brooding again," Iris declares, finding me in the garden. "I can practically smell the self-doubt.""Wouldn't you doubt?" I touch a moonflower petal. "Everyone keeps talking about how well I know poisons, how easily I recognized them. What if...""Don't." She grabs my hands. "Don't let their accusations make you question yourself.""But that's just it - I don't know myself. Not really." The words that have been haunting me spill out. "I know who I am now, but what about before? What if I really
Alaric "The practice is unnatural," Elder Marcus declares, his face twisted with revulsion. "We honor our dead, not mutilate them.""Two warriors are dead," I growl, barely containing my beast's rage. "Dead under suspicious circumstances that some are using to condemn an innocent wolf. You'd deny us the chance to prove her innocence because of tradition?"The council chamber fills with uneasy murmurs. No Alpha has ever suggested examining our dead this way before. But no Alpha has ever had their mate falsely accused of murder either."My King," Lord Harrison speaks carefully. "While we understand your... personal interest in clearing the omega's name, there are centuries of custom to consider."Phantom snarls at their inability to say Sage's name, to acknowledge her as pack. But I force my voice to remain steady. "And what of justice? What of truth?""There are other ways to investigate," Victoria's father suggests smoothly. "Ways that don't desecrate our fallen warriors."Before I c
SageMy first steps beyond my room feel like walking into enemy territory. I considered hiding out despite Alaric’s declaration of freedom, But that would make me a coward, unworthy of Alaric’s faith in me. So I lift my chin, refusing to skulk like a guilty thing. Alaric's marks still tingle on my neck, reminding me that I'm not alone anymore."Well, well." Iris's gleeful voice makes me jump. "What are those on your neck?"My hand flies up to cover Alaric's marks, face flaming. "I... that is... we were training and...""Training?" She circles me like a predator. "Is that what they're calling it now? Must have been quite the... defensive maneuver.""Iris!" I try to sound stern but my voice comes out squeaky."I mean, some of these look pretty high up for combat holds." She grins wickedly. "Unless you were practicing very specific escape techniques?""We were... I mean he was... oh moon, stop looking at me like that!"Her laughter echoes through the hall. "Wait till Garrett hears about
Sage The first rays of dawn filter through my window as I stretch languidly, every muscle pleasantly sore in ways I never knew possible. The bed beside me is empty but still warm, Alaric's scent of pine and winter wind lingering on the pillows. He stayed all night, then, holding me close as I drifted to sleep.My cheeks heat remembering everything we did, the ways he touched me, the places he kissed. I never knew such pleasure existed, never imagined one person could make another feel so much. At Blackthorn, the mated pairs were discreet, and no one discussed such intimate matters with a wolfless omega.But Alaric... he showed me things I didn't even know to want. Made my body sing with sensations I had no words for. Even now, my skin tingles remembering his reverent touches, the way he whispered "sweetling" against my skin like a prayer.I touch my neck where he left marks - not a claiming bite, but evidence of his passion nonetheless. The memory of how they got there makes me shiv
Alaric My beast roars in triumph as I finally let go of three days' worth of desperate restraint. Having to stay away from her, to maintain distance while investigating James's death and keeping hostile nobles at bay - it's been torture. Every instinct screamed to protect our mate, to keep her close.But now, with her soft body pinned beneath mine on the training mats, her scent filling my head with honeysuckle and rain and arousal, I can't remember why I ever tried to resist this."Mine," I growl against her throat, feeling her pulse race under my lips. The mate bond thrums between us, and even if she can't feel it yet, her body recognizes its other half."Yours," she breathes, and the word snaps the last threads of my control.I capture her mouth again, swallowing her soft gasp as I deepen the kiss. Her hands tangle in my hair, pulling me closer like she's as desperate for this as I am. She’s uncoordinated at first, but what she lacks in experience, she makes up for in enthusiasm a
Sage Three days. Three days of silence broken only by the soft scrape of meal trays being left outside my door. Three days of nothing but my own thoughts spinning darker with each passing hour.Guards murmur outside my room, changing shifts at regular intervals. Sometimes I hear wolves pass in the hall, their whispers carrying fragments that cut like knives: "—definitely poison—" "—just like they said—" "—can't trust—"Not even Iris, with her perpetual positive attitude, comes to visit. But it's Alaric's absence that breaks me. After everything - his promises to protect me, to face things together - he's just... gone. No word, no explanation..My pendant feels heavy against my throat as I pace the confines of my room for the hundredth time. What if they're right? What if somewhere in my missing memories lurks the monster they claim?The door's lock clicks suddenly, making me jump. Alaric fills the doorway, power rolling off him in waves. But his face... Moon Goddess, his face is cold