Tristan’s POVLady Annika starts the seance, and I sit there, watching as she begins to speak in a language I couldn't understand. The hairs on my arms start to rise, and I feel a sense of unease in the pit of my stomach.Suddenly, she looks me dead in the eyes and then she tells me what she sees."I see two twin souls, both equal in energy and heading in the same direction," she said, her voice low and gravelly. "But one starts to burn brighter and faster than the other, overtaking them in speed and destination."Her words caused a chill to run down my spine. The image she was painting is unsettling, and I can't help but wonder what it means for me.I listen intently, hanging on her every word. But then, her tone changes, and she speaks of a darker path. "The bright soul meets an even brighter soul with purer energy on his way, but he consumes her, snuffs out her light, and continues on his way."I feel a sense of rage building inside of me. How dare she suggest that I would snuff o
ZANDER’S POVI received news that the house of Lady Annika, the renowned witch on the outskirts of our town, was burned down in a fit of rage by one of her customers.She had been a steady face when I was just a pup, and an important mother figure to me when I had lost my mother and she had also been the one to help me train my beast.She was a tough, no nonesense woman that refused to bow even to death… or so I thought as I walked into the clearing, my boots digging into the melted rubber and ashes, the sense of loss heavy in the air.My heart squeezed in my chest as I inspected her burned down home, the aching sense of loss festering in my bones.No. No. No. Not another one! I can't lose another person dear to me!I stand there, taking in the devastation that has been wrought upon Annika's home. I placed my hand to the ground, feeling the soil and sniffing the air. I froze when I found the scent of the arsonist.Of course. Who else could it be? The very person responsible for fuck
Zander’s POVI closed my eyes for a moment, lost in the memory of the day my mother took me and Tristan to see Annika. We were just kids then, barely old enough to understand the gravity of what was happening. But my mother was insistent - she wanted to know what the future held for her sons.I opened my eyes and looked at her, wondering if she remembered that day too. "Annika, do you remember when my mother brought us here for our first reading?" I asked, my voice tinged with nostalgia.Annika smiled softly, her eyes flickering with recognition. "Of course, Zander. You and your brother were such bright-eyed and curious children. I remember being hesitant to read your futures, though.""Why were you hesitant?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.She hesitated for a moment before answering. "Well, when twins are born, it's often said that one will have a bright star and the other a dark star. And it's not always a good thing when both have dark stars."I frowned at the memory, feeling a sen
Selena’s POVSomeone banging loudly on my door made my heart skip beats in fear.I looked at Ana who shared my cautious looks before I got out of bed. Ana followed me, and together we made our way to the door. As soon as Ana opened it, Karla stormed in without an invitation, her face twisted in annoyance."Karla, what's the matter?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even.Her response was a twisted grin. "Oh, nothing much, just that Laleh has invited you to a dinner party organised for all the women in Tristan's harem."This left a sour taste in my mouth. Laleh had been the reason I had been whipped to within an inch of my life the last time. Why would she invite me to dinner when she has never done so before?Ana stood in front of me, glaring at Karla. "Like HELL she would! Run back to that little cult of yours and tell them my mistress is not interested.""Your mistress is treated worse than a common dog in this house and your words hold no weight compared to Laleh's. If I were you,
Selena’s POVAs I walked into the grand dining room, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I had never seen anything like it before. The room was massive, with high ceilings and ornate chandeliers hanging from above, casting a soft glow over the room. The walls were adorned with beautiful tapestries and paintings, and the table itself was a work of art. It was made of the finest wood and was adorned with silver plates and cutlery, and crystal glasses sparkled in the candlelight.But what really caught my attention were the people. Everyone was dressed to the nines, wearing the most expensive clothes and jewelry I had ever seen. I felt so out of place in my simple top and jeans, and I couldn't help but feel self-conscious about the scar on my face. Ana had styled my hair to cover it up, but I still felt like everyone was staring at me.Ana tried to boost my confidence as I left the room, but it wasn't enough. As I stepped into the dining room, I felt my confidence plummet to th
Selena’s POV There is silence for a few seconds and I count the seconds that will no doubt lead to my death.She's going to tell Tristan. Spin the lies so well, it's going to come out like the truth and Tristan is going to murder me.At that, Karla arrives, a keen smile on her lips. She is dressed in an elegant silvery white dinner dress, her hair styled to perfection and when she sees me, her smile turns absolutely venomous."Ugh. What's that awful smell," she cries, pinching her nose, "I swear, somebody forgot to take the trash out. There's a stench coming off of her."The other women laugh at this and I pray to the goddess to deliver me from this torment.She looks me up and down, sneering at my outfit. "Looks like you missed the dress code memo, Selena," she sneers. "You really do stand out like a sore thumb."I try to ignore her, but she just keeps on going. "I mean, really, jeans and a t-shirt? Did you think you were coming to a barbecue or something?" She laughs, and the other
Tristan’s POVI paced back and forth in my room, the sound of Laleh's heels clicking against the marble floor echoing in the room. I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that had been following me since my meeting with the witch."Are you sure this dinner is a good idea, Tristen?" Laleh's voice cut through my thoughts. "The last time we gathered the elites, things didn't exactly go as planned."I turned to face her, a faint smile playing at the corners of my lips. "I have a feeling things will be different this time, Laleh. We need to show our strength and unity to maintain my position as alpha."Laleh nodded, her expression serious. "You're right. We need to keep a close eye on Zander. He's a wildcard and we can't afford any slip-ups."Just as I was about to respond, a sentinel burst into the room, panting heavily. "Alpha Tristan, there's been a murder at the pack's boundaries. One of the pack members you sent out was found dead and mutilated."A vein popped in my head at the new
SELENA’S POVAna and I are putting on our hoods, trying to be as quiet as possible when Roy suddenly appears. I jumped, startled by his presence."Hey, you two," he whispers, "The coast is clear. The alpha is holding a party tonight. You can leave now.""Thanks, Roy," Ana said, smiling.I nodded in agreement, still feeling a bit uneasy. I knew that leaving the pack house without the alpha noticing is risky, but Ana was right. Tonight is the best opportunity we'll get.As we start to head out, a sentinel stops us as usual. We were the diversion needed for Sonya, Lily and Roy to get the food out without the guards noticing. He interrogated us, asking us what we were doing and where we were going. I tried my best to act naturally, but my heart was pounding in my chest.As he approached us, I could feel a knot in my stomach. We were so close to leaving undetected, and now this sentinel is blocking our path."Where do you think you're going?" the sentinel asks, his arms crossed over his c
Zander's POV. I'd planned several times how I'd kill my brother. It's a sick thing to think about one's own twin, but I'd hated Tristan from the very moment we'd come out of my mother's womb together. I'd planned a slow death for him, I wanted him to watch as I took over the pack, I wanted him to see me take down every single thing he'd put in place, I wanted him to watch me make him obsolete once more. But I'd brushed all that away the moment Selena's body fell limply against mine. I could feel the few borders I'd kept up collapse in one instant and before Tristan had the chance to move I was on him, my hand was at his neck and my teeth were buried onto the other side. He screams under me, scratching at me, hitting in the eye nose and trying to break my teeth, but that barely worked on a regular wolf talkless of me, so undaunted by his little attacks I buy down and before he can react even further I rip a huge chunk of flesh out of his neck. His screams increase as I tear into his
Zander's POV. If not for the fact that her scent was everywhere. It wouldn't be the first time I'd dreamt of her, gliding into my office like that, saying that she has decided to forgive me, then she kisses me and I touch her and she moans and then I wake up. Sometimes I just dream of her walking into my office to talk to me, to laugh with me again, to slip her hand into mine and smile at me that bright way only she knows how to, I felt happy once again at peace and then I'd wake up… back to my miserable reality where she couldn't even look me in the eye. I hate it, I hate it. I hate not having her around, I hate having her so mad at me, I hate knowing I'm the reason she cried so pitifully that day. I miss her so fucking much.But in the midst of all the chaos happening in my mind, in the midst of all that turmoil and pain I was still planning, searching for ways to finally bring my brother down once and for all. While I knew Selena's current grudge with me was all on me I knew tha
Selena's POV. I was never a particularly cruel person. My mother raised me to be many things, strong, uncompromising when need be, tactical when making decisions, kind and many many other things that she crafted to make me the next great leader. But cruelty, I was unused to turning eyes away from people if they needed help, I was uneasy when it came to making decisions about execution or anything that had to do with murder and now even with everything I knew about him, I was still hesitating to make the decision that would get me the revenge that my family and I rightfully deserved. I had no trust for Tristan. Just because he suddenly woke up and told me about Zander's secrets doesn't mean we were suddenly friends. I wasn't stupid, telling me was more for his benefit, even though I wasn't sure how it was possible for me to kill a whole ass cursed Prince, getting Zander out of his way would benefit him a lot more than it would me. Two sides of me were conflicting here, one part of m
Selena's POV. Not even Ana's arms around me can comfort me at this point. I'm beyond distraught. The only thing going through my mind is an image of Zander standing over my mother, covered in blood smiling that same unhinged smile that was on his face when he came to rescue me that day in the woods. He was a monster, a violent bastard. He'd not only killed everyone I'd cared about he had the guts to fuck me afterwards and touch me with the very same hands he'd used to tear into my pack mates. These are the types of thoughts that are constantly making rounds about my brain. The majority of them were curses thrown in Zander's direction, others were shards of glass piercing into me as punishment for sleeping with the man that had killed my family. I was stupid, very stupid I'd let lust and infatuation drive me into the arms of a monster. Why? All because he'd shown me a little bit of kindness while I suffered in this pack. A nagging part of my brain feeds me with the thought that may
Laleh's POV. I could only laugh. Watching Selena in a state of clear turmoil might be one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. Prompting Tristan to tell her about what really happened to her family was the right choice after all.I can't say I was surprised to find out Zander was behind it, though we'd chosen to rule their death as suicide it was obviously not. Their bodies were ripped about brutally and purposely and savagely enough that even I was disgusted. Digging into their deaths though was more for curiously reasons than anything else, a creature that could easily murder a whole pack of healers like needed to be assessed, I needed to know if I had a friend or a foe on my hands and guess what, the fee sources that I'd had all painted back to Zander, a little while before he made his return known he'd slaughtered every last person in that pack.Of course the information was secret and extremely hard to gather, but there was nothing a couple of charms and a good han
Zander's POV. Fucking Tristan. I shift back and tug on a pair of trousers as fast as possible, ignoring the pointed stares that are tossed my way as I run up the stairs in search of my mate. I can't even imagine the state Selena is in and only the goddess knows what he told her. I burst into her room to see her on the floor, her hair is a mess, one side of her face is swollen and very bruised, and her eyes are distant. Horror rushes through me as I remember her last encounter with Tristan, the way she'd pushed me away and shut me out for weeks, she'd barely eaten and was just a teary mess, all because he'd spoken to her, I wonder what he'd said now.I kneel in front of her trying to get her eyes to follow me. But it remains fixed on something very far away, cold and closed off to me. Second only to the time she was kidnapped I've never been so scared in my life. "Selena, Selena please talk to me," I say stroking her face and trying to get her eyes to settle on me.She blinks and
Selena's POV. The first few days since I woke up were odd, I spent them walking about the mansion in a haze and trying to regain my bearings, obviously that took a lot of time and Zander was there through it all, holding my hand and muttering encouraging words to me as I sweated out the last of the drugs. But even with my torturously slow recovery I wasn't blind or dumb or weak, I still noticed everything, for example the clear absence of Naz and Callum, Zander's distracted nature and the tension radiating from everyone in the pack I'm guessing it's because the time for the coup was drawing nearer but I don't understand Zander's sudden tension with his friends, not that he'd answer me if I'd asked him about it, rather he'd dodge the question and disappear for hours to 'work', I wasn't buying it I knew something was wrong but I was much too tired to even fight him on this. Instead I bent to his prodding and his gentle touches, I basked in the feelings and sparks that danced about us
Zander's POV. I've never felt such a deep sense of relief before. Watching Selena's eyes flutter open must have been the most comforting thing I've ever seen, because I could have melted at the sight of those lovely brown yes meeting mine again, yes they were hazy, but I'll settle for that after watching her just drop to the floor in a dead faint in that forest and after haring Naz say that she was drugged heavily and make might not wake up for weeks. That was five days ago and she was awake now. I could feel the relief in my bones, even Aziel was calm for the first time in weeks, he was the main reason I wasn't able to fall asleep really. When Naz would pry me away from her bedside and forcee to get some rest all I could har was Aziel's voice in my ear screaming at me to do something or he would himself, and honestly I was much too tired to control him so for once I bent to his will and actually do something. I went to the dungeons and hit that rogue as many times as I could, I tor
Selena's POV. This time I woke up in my room to the sound of people speaking in hused tones about something that sounded extremely important, in the sleepy haze I was in recognized Zander's voice, tight and commanding as he spoke to who I assumed was Callum, my limbs feel heavy and my tongue is limp in my mouth, but at last this time I woke up on a soft bed instead of the cold hard floor.I struggle to open my eyes and when I do it's barely a crack. I squint at the brightness of the room around me, used to opening my eyes to a piercing darkness for the past few days. My head isn't pounding this time but the glare of the light is working up a headache low-key. The voices around me come into more of a focus now and I can hear the distress in Zander's tone. I hold my breath for a minute to enjoy the smooth, easy baritone of his voice. I never thought I'd miss the sound of someone's voice this much, I shift and try to lift myself up but my limbs are too weak and my head is much too heav