Theron’s POV It had been days since that encounter, and Elowen’s words still clung to me like a curse. I told myself I didn’t care—that her defiance was nothing more than a desperate act of rebellion from a weak Omega. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face, heard her trembling voice challenging me. My wolf hadn’t let up either. “You’re a coward,” he snarled, louder and angrier each day. “She’s your mate, and you’re running from her. Do you even realize the damage you’re causing?” I tried to drown him out, focusing on anything but the relentless pull of the bond. It was suffocating, clawing at my chest like a wild animal desperate to escape. But no matter how much I resisted, the bond refused to loosen its grip. And then it happened. I was walking through the campus courtyard, trying to clear my head, when I saw her. Elowen. She was sitting on the edge of the fountain, her face pale and drawn. She looked… fragile. Her scent hit me like a punch to the gut, and
Elowen’s POVI had spent weeks avoiding the triplets as much as possible. They were a storm I wasn’t ready to face—a mix of danger, hatred, and something I couldn’t quite name. But their shadows loomed over me wherever I went.Today, though, I managed a rare moment of peace, sitting under the old oak tree near the pack training grounds. The cool breeze carried the scent of pine, and for once, I felt a sliver of calm. Lisa was nearby, practicing sparring moves, and I watched her with a faint smile.It didn’t last.A strange scent hit me—a mix of smoke and iron. It was unfamiliar, sharp, and sent my wolf into a frenzy.“Danger,” she whispered, her voice tight with warning. “Be ready.”Before I could process it, a figure appeared, stepping into my line of sight. He was tall, with dark auburn hair and eyes that gleamed like polished steel. His presence radiated power and confidence, and the way he moved made it clear he wasn’t an ordinary wolf.“Who are you?” I asked, my voice trembling s
Elowen’s POVThe air was electric, thick with unspoken tension as Alaric, Theron, and Ranon squared off against Cillian. My heart thundered in my chest, and I could barely catch my breath. Cillian’s smirk widened as he took a step forward. His casual demeanor only made the situation more unnerving. “You really think the three of you can protect her? She deserves better than the scraps you’ve thrown her way.” Theron growled low in his throat, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. “Say another word, and I’ll shut your mouth permanently.” Cillian ignored him, his steel-gray eyes settling on me. “Tell me, little Omega, do they treat you with the respect you deserve? Or are you nothing but their dirty secret?” I clenched my fists, my wolf howling inside me. “Don’t let him talk to us like that! We are stronger than this.”But I felt frozen, caught between the venom in Cillian’s words and the heat radiating off the triplets behind me. “You don’t speak to her,” Alaric said, his
Elowen's POV The air still crackled with tension as I watched the triplets exchange grim looks. They stood like an unbreakable wall, each projecting power in their own way. But the weight of their stares on me felt suffocating. “We’ll fix this,” Alaric had said, his voice calm and full of promises I didn’t trust. Fix what? My bond with them? Their hatred for me? The fact that I felt like a pawn in a game I hadn’t agreed to play? Lisa rushed to my side, pulling me into her arms. Lisa looked past me, glaring at the triplets. “You three better sort this out before you destroy her completely. She deserves better than this chaos.” Her words stung, and I felt tears pricking at my eyes. She was right. I deserved better. But I was tied to this—tied to them—whether I wanted it or not. Theron turned to me, his jaw tight. “You don’t trust us,” he said, his voice rough, almost broken. “How can I?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. “You’ve treated me like nothing but a b
Elowen’s POVThe hallway was quieter than usual, the shadows stretching long across the floor as the last of the students hurried to their destinations. I had stayed behind after class, hoping to avoid running into anyone—not Alisa, not her gaggle of bullies, and especially not the triplets.But fate had other plans.I turned the corner, and there he was. Ranon.His broad shoulders leaned casually against the wall, his dark eyes locked onto me the moment I appeared. It was as if he’d been waiting for me.My chest tightened, and I stopped in my tracks, my instincts screaming at me to turn and run. But his gaze held me frozen in place.“Elowen,” he said, his deep voice rolling over me like thunder.I swallowed hard. “What do you want, Ranon?”He pushed off the wall and took a step closer. “To talk.”I shook my head, already backing away. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. “I figured you’d say that. But we need to talk. You and me. Now
Ranon’s POVThe next day, I found her alone in the library. She sat by the farthest window, her face buried in a book, trying to disappear into the background like she always did. But there was no escaping me.I made my way over, deliberately taking my time. Her scent hit me first—warm, soothing, and maddeningly addictive. My wolf stirred, whining softly.“Don’t do this, Ranon,” he growled, his tone pleading. “She’s innocent. She’s ours.”I ignored him, forcing a smirk onto my face as I approached. She didn’t notice me at first, too lost in her own world, but the moment I pulled out the chair across from her, her head snapped up.Her wide, startled eyes met mine, and I could see the wariness there, the fear she tried so hard to hide.“Ranon,” she said quietly, her voice steady but guarded.“Relax, Elowen,” I drawled, leaning back in the chair. “I’m not here to bite.”Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she closed her book with a soft thud. “What do you want?”I let my smirk deepen,
Elowen’s POVThe sun was setting, casting long golden streaks across the campus grounds as I walked back to my dorm. The air was crisp, a quiet calm settling over the evening. For once, I felt a sense of peace—no mocking voices, no sidelong glances, no triplets breathing down my neck. At least, that’s what I thought. I turned the corner, and there he was. Alaric. He stood leaning against the low brick wall near the path, his arms crossed, his dark eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my steps falter. “Alaric,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. He pushed off the wall, his movements smooth and predatory, and closed the distance between us in a few long strides. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, his tone low and accusing. I glanced away, the weight of his gaze too much to bear. “I haven’t been avoiding you.” “Don’t lie to me, Elowen,” he said sharply, his voice softening at the edges. “I can feel it. The bond doesn’t let me ignore when you’re pulling away.” I
Theron’s POV I had been watching them for a while, hidden in the shadows, my gaze never leaving the pair of them. Alaric and Elowen. The way she looked at him, the way his gaze softened as he touched her, his body leaning in just a bit too close for comfort. It irritated me. I hated it. At first, I tried to convince myself it was nothing. That I was simply concerned, protecting my brothers, keeping an eye on our mate. But deep down, something clawed at me—something unfamiliar and far too...raw. My wolf growled in the back of my mind, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of the bond or something more. I had ignored the bond for so long. The attraction, the tug of that connection, all of it. It had been easy to dismiss, to pretend it wasn’t there. But now? Now it was real. It was undeniable. Elowen’s laugh floated toward me, soft and sweet, and it caused a sickening twist in my gut. I didn’t like it. Not when it was directed at him. As she leaned in closer to him, I fel
Elowen’s POVThe midnight air was a cool balm against my fevered skin, heavy with the earthy scent of rain-soaked soil and the sharp, clean fragrance of pine. A gentle breeze whispered through the trees surrounding the training grounds, carrying with it the distant hoot of an owl and the rustling of unseen creatures in the undergrowth. But the peace of the night was a stark contrast to the turmoil that raged within me.I sat hunched against the rough stone of the training pavilion’s outer wall, my injured leg stretched out before me. Each shallow breath sent a fresh wave of throbbing pain radiating from the deep gash that marred my inner thigh. The wound, a testament to my reckless desperation to push beyond my limits, was a dark, angry red against the pale moonlight. It pulsed with a dull ache that mirrored the ache in my heart.I shouldn’t have come out here. The rational part of my mind, the part that still clung to a semblance of self-preservation, screamed at me. It was foolish,
Elowen’s POVDays bled into nights, each one a relentless cycle of training, exhaustion, and the gnawing fear that clung to me like a second skin. Sleep offered little respite, my dreams filled with swirling shadows and the echoing whispers of a past I didn’t remember, yet felt deep within my bones.The Academy, once a sanctuary, now felt like a cage. Every glance, every hushed conversation, seemed to center around me, a constant reminder of the change that had irrevocably altered my place within its walls. The awe in some eyes felt like a judgment, the unease in others a premonition of the fear I myself harbored.Caelum remained a peripheral figure, a silent observer whose presence was a constant, unsettling hum beneath the surface of my awareness. He didn’t approach me, didn’t offer any further cryptic pronouncements. He simply watched, his gaze unnervingly knowing, as if he held the missing pieces of my fractured identity. And that silence was perhaps the most terrifying thing of a
Ranon’s POVShe was really slipping away. The realization was a slow, agonizing unraveling, like a precious tapestry being pulled thread by thread. It wasn’t a conscious decision on her part, not a deliberate act of distancing. Elowen’s heart, when given, was a fierce, unwavering thing. There were no lukewarm affections in her soul. This was something more profound, more elemental. Like a fragile skiff caught in the relentless pull of an unseen current, drawn towards a distant, powerful shore I couldn’t even glimpse. It was as if a stronger moon had begun to govern her tides, an astral influence I was powerless to counteract.Every time she walked past me in the Academy halls, her very presence thrumming with a nascent magic that shimmered just beneath her skin, a faint, ethereal glow that seemed to emanate from her very bones, I felt it. It was a subtle shift in her aura, a deepening of the shadows that lingered in the depths of her usually vibrant eyes, a quiet intensity that separa
Ranon’s POVFrom the shadowed vantage point of the balcony overlooking the training pit, I watched her move. She was a whirlwind of raw power, a dance of untamed energy that both captivated and terrified me. Each strike, each parry, was imbued with a ferocity I hadn’t seen before, a primal strength that seemed to emanate from the very core of her being.Elowen was changing, evolving into something magnificent and terrifying. The girl I had known, the one I had fiercely protected and possessively loved, was fading, replaced by a force of nature I barely recognized. She was shedding the constraints of her past, breaking free from the mold we had unknowingly cast for her.And with every passing day, with every flicker of that burgeoning power in her eyes, I felt her slipping further and further out of my reach. The invisible thread that had bound us together for so long was fraying, threatening to snap entirely.Alaric was a constant presence at her side now, a silent guardian and patien
Elowen’s POVThe silence in the Academy was a suffocating blanket, heavy with unspoken truths and the tremor of impending change. It wasn’t the peaceful hush of a sleeping forest, but the strained stillness before a lightning strike, the air thick with a tension that prickled my skin.Since Caelum’s pronouncements had shattered the carefully constructed reality I’d known, I felt like a fractured mirror, each shard reflecting a distorted version of myself. Something primal had awakened within me, a dormant power stirring from its ancient slumber. It pulsed beneath my veins, a low, insistent hum that vibrated through my bones, a wild and untamed thing that both terrified and intrigued me.The following morning was a blur of avoidance. I skirted the familiar paths where I might encounter Theron’s simmering fury, Alaric’s quiet concern, or even Ranon’s possessive gaze. Their worry would feel like a cage, their need to protect me a suffocating weight. I wasn’t ready to be handled, to be s
Elowen’s POVI didn’t sleep. Not really.After the bathroom, after Alaric’s kiss, I’d sat on the edge of my bed for hours, staring at the wall, his words echoing like a heartbeat in my head. You’re Elowen. Ours.A part of me had wanted to curl back into that warmth and never leave. To let Alaric hold me until the fear faded, until the world forgot.But I couldn’t hide.Not when I’d been seen.Not when my power—that part of me I never understood, never controlled—had surged out and made the whole Academy flinch.So when the sun rose and the corridors filled with the noise of footsteps and hushed whispers, I got up. Dressed. Pulled my hair back.And walked straight into the storm.The cafeteria went silent the second I entered.Utensils froze halfway to mouths. Students glanced at one another, nudging their friends, pretending they weren’t all watching me like I’d walked in wearing armor and a crown of fire.I didn’t stop.I headed toward the table near the windows where Ranon sat, his
Elowen’s POVThe next morning training courtyard buzzed with energy, but beneath it all, I felt a tension inside me like a bowstring pulled too tight.Theron’s words from last night still clung to me: I believe you.And yet, I woke up this morning feeling heavier. Like I was wearing a second skin made of doubt, stitched from every look, every whispered word behind my back, every way I had to hold myself together when I really just wanted to fall apart.I joined the others late.Alaric was already sparring with two older students in one of the inner rings, and Ranon stood by the weapons rack, hands gripping the hilt of a training sword too tightly. He hadn’t looked at me since Caelum’s arrival.Because he doesn’t trust me… or because he knows he’s starting to doubt himself?Caelum stood at the edge of the field, watching everything like it was a chessboard, his golden eyes a constant, quiet burn on the back of my neck.The Academy had given him instructor privileges. Of course they had
Elowen’s POVThe evening air was heavy with the scent of pine and smoke. The training grounds were mostly deserted, cloaked in twilight shadows. The Academy behind me buzzed faintly with life—distant voices, laughter, doors creaking open and closed—but out here, it was still.I didn’t mean to come here. Not really. But my feet had carried me toward the old sparring arena. The place where Ranon had first kissed me. Where so much had begun to shift.Where I was beginning to shift.I stood in the middle of the stone circle, the moonlight silvering my skin, when I heard the footsteps.Slow. Confident.I turned before he could speak.“Didn’t expect you to be the kind who lurks in shadows,” I said.Caelum stepped into the light, golden eyes gleaming with amusement. “And yet here we are.”He wore black again, always black. A dark shirt unbuttoned at the collar, sleeves rolled up to his forearms. A sword hilt peeked over his shoulder—ornate, ancient, wickedly curved.He looked like sin incarn
Elowen’s POVRanon didn’t let go of me for a long time.We stood beneath the moonlight, the soft hush of night surrounding us, his arms around my waist like he could shield me from whatever threat Caelum represented.But no embrace, no wall of muscle and fury, could quiet the fire building beneath my skin. Not this time.“I don’t trust him,” Ranon said, voice low and dangerous, his chin resting against the crown of my head. “Not with that power. Not with those eyes. And especially not with you.”“I don’t either,” I whispered. “But he knows something. Something about me. About my bloodline.”He pulled back just enough to look at me. “Elowen, don’t chase answers from someone who sees you as a weapon.”“He doesn’t see me as a weapon,” I murmured. “He sees me as a queen who doesn’t know she’s already wearing a crown.”Ranon’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing like the words had cut deeper than they should’ve. “You’re ours, Elowen. Not his. Don’t let him twist what we’ve built.”“I’m not le