Corey "Alright, Malia," Jamie began, his voice gentle but probing, "if you don’t think Asher is the right fit for you, then who do you think is?" There was a pause before Malia looked at both of us, her expression a mix of certainty and something softer that I couldn’t quite read. "I had feelings for Corey at one point," she said, her voice steady. "And it's him I want." Jamie and I both stared at Malia, stunned into silence by her unexpected declaration. The air in the room shifted, heavy with tension and disbelief. Even the doctor, who had been calmly scribbling notes on her clipboard, paused mid-sentence. Jamie was the first to break the awkward silence. "Wait—hold on. What?" Malia lifted her chin defiantly, her voice steady. "You heard me. I had feelings for Corey at one point. And right now, I think... he's the right fit for me." I nearly choked on my own breath. "Me?" I blurted, pointing at my chest as if there was another Corey in the room. "You’re talking about me
Corey When the doctor returned with Malia, she seemed more composed than before, though there was still an air of confusion surrounding her. She didn’t say anything immediately, just stood quietly by the door as the doctor started explaining the results.“Everything seems fine,” the doctor said, glancing at her clipboard. “Physically, there’s nothing wrong with Malia. Her brain scans came back clear, and I don’t see any signs of trauma that would account for her memory issues.” I felt a brief wave of relief, but it was short-lived. The doctor’s gaze flicked to Jamie and me, then back to Malia. Her voice dropped lower, though she didn’t look directly at Malia. “But… I suspect there might be something magical at work here. I can’t make any definite conclusions, but something feels off.”Magic? My stomach twisted at the thought. That would complicate everything even more.Jamie gave a quick nod, taking in what the doctor had said, but his attention was already drifting elsewhere. “I’v
Corey I stood there, towel slung low around my waist, my heart pounding harder than it had any right to. Malia’s gaze was locked on me, her eyes wide and determined, and I knew, without a doubt, that she wasn’t going to back down. I should’ve stopped this, right? I should’ve stepped away. I had to. After everything that had happened with Asher—after everything she and I had been through—this shouldn’t be happening. But when she took a step closer, her lips brushing mine, I forgot everything.Her kiss was soft at first, tentative, but the way her fingers slid up to my chest, the heat radiating off of her, made it impossible to pull away. Every rational thought in my head screamed for me to stop, to remind myself of my loyalty to Asher, but the way she kissed me, the way she tasted, was intoxicating. My hands moved almost of their own accord, sliding around her waist, pulling her closer. 'This is wrong,' I told myself. 'This is wrong.' But God, it felt so good.I pulled away, trying
The real Malia *Before the attack*I woke up with a start, my heart hammering in my chest. The air around me was thick with the remnants of the nightmare, a haunting fog that refused to lift. I could still see their faces—twisted, contorted in agony, their blood staining the earth beneath them. I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the feeling of their eyes still watching me, still haunting me, even though I was awake. Nightmares had become a regular part of my life lately. Horrible visions of myself, but not the version of me I knew. No, these dreams were darker, crueler. I saw myself standing over bodies, lifeless and broken, drenched in blood that wasn’t mine. I could feel the weight of the knife—or was it a sword?—in my hand, the cold metal gleaming as it was raised again and again. My breath hitched in my throat. The faces of those men from that fateful day... men who had surrounded me, demanding to know where Asher was. I couldn’t even remember all their names, but the memo
Malia I growled low in my throat, the sound primal and filled with warning. But Jude didn’t flinch. His companion, whose face remained obscured, stood eerily still beside him. I wanted to lunge, to tear him apart for everything he’d done—for the nightmares, the blood, the chaos he’d unleashed in my life. But even as rage pulsed through me, a chilling realization settled over my thoughts. Why was he here? And how had he found me so quickly? Jude's lips curled into a cold smile as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. He took another step forward, his gaze cutting through the fading light to lock onto mine. "You've been hiding, Malia," he said softly, his voice smooth but laced with menace. "But not well enough." The other figure remained silent, their presence somehow even more unsettling. I bared my teeth, the growl rumbling deeper in my chest. My wolf was on the brink of losing it completely, and I fought to maintain what little control I had left. Jude tilted his he
Asher I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the scattered documents in front of me. The words blurred together, meaningless lines of text that held no weight against the turmoil ripping through my chest. My pen hovered over a report I was supposed to sign off on, but my hand wouldn’t move. Malia doesn’t want me anymore. The thought drilled into my skull, relentless and sharp. Forgetting me would have been easier to stomach. Memory loss is a condition—something that could be healed, reversed. But this? This was a conscious decision, a deliberate choice. She remembered everything, every moment, every touch, every promise... and decided I wasn't what she wanted. The gravity of it pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe. I gripped the edge of the desk, my knuckles whitening. How do you fight for someone when they’ve already decided you don’t belong in their life? A sharp knock at the door jolted me out of my thoughts. "Come in," I muttered absently, my voice hollow. The d
Corey I needed air. The room was stifling, and Malia's silence after my question haunted me. Her failure to answer whether she was the real Malia gnawed at my thoughts like a relentless itch. I couldn't shake the unease. Everything about her had been wrong—from the way she'd kissed me without hesitation to her strange, cryptic behavior. Malia wasn’t impulsive like that, not with me. I walked out before I lost my mind, leaving her behind in that room. My heart was still pounding from the mess we’d just left behind. Part of me wanted to lock her away until I could figure out what the hell was going on, but I knew that wouldn’t sit right. Even if Malia wasn’t herself, she still deserved a shred of autonomy. Still, there was only one person I could trust to make sense of all this: Asher. My footsteps echoed down the corridor as I made my way to Asher's office. The scent of wood polish lingered in the air, sharp and biting. My jaw clenched as I thought about what I had to tell him.
Corey Asher's chest heaved with raw fury, and I knew I had seconds before he launched himself at me again. My jaw still throbbed from the last punch, and I wasn't eager for a repeat. His eyes were wild, murderous. "Listen!" I shouted, holding my hands up in surrender. "That's not the real Malia!" He froze mid-step, his breathing ragged. The weight of my words hung in the air between us. For a split second, I thought I saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Asher's jaw clenched. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, though his voice had lost some of its sharpness. I seized the opportunity like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline. "The real Malia would never come to me like that," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through me. "She wouldn’t kiss me. She wouldn't even look at me that way. You know that." His gaze flickered toward Malia, who stood behind him, looking innocent and fragile. "Malia, is this true? Di
AsherThe journal was old—older than I expected. Bound in cracked leather, the pages yellowed at the edges and laced with a scent of musk and ink. I stared at it for a long time before opening it, the weight of the thing pressing against my palms like it knew its contents would knock the air from my lungs.I didn’t know what I was looking for. Maybe a name. A signature. But the first line stopped my breath.‘This is the truth of Ian Vale.’My father's handwriting. Sharp. Purposeful. Controlled—just like the man himself.Ian had never been warm, never soft. Every memory I had of him came with cold eyes and clipped words. Praise was rare; affection, non-existent. I grew up thinking he saw me as an obligation. A duty. Nothing more.And yet… the diary was written in grief. In longing. In heartbreak. Every page screamed of things he could never say aloud.I turned to the next page.‘The priest told me it was a curse. That no Lycan should ever be mated to another man. He said it must’ve bee
AsherI returned to the only place I could still call mine. Tucked away from the world, surrounded by trees that asked for nothing and wind that didn’t whisper judgments—just solitude. The house hadn’t changed. I hadn’t either. Not really. I moved like a ghost through the front door, letting it shut quietly behind me.Silence greeted me, the kind that didn’t bring peace but didn’t argue either.I didn’t unpack. There was no point. The clothes I left on the couch a week ago were still there. The parcel Katherine handed me before she left sat on the windowsill, untouched. I glanced at it but moved past it like I had every day.I ended up at the bar that night.It wasn’t one of those classy places. It was dingy. Loud. Sticky floors and cheap liquor that burned going down. Perfect for disappearing. I sat in the corner booth, nursing something strong and bitter. My hair had grown out a bit, face scruffy, and I didn’t care. I didn’t want to be seen, yet eyes found me anyway.Women came firs
AsherSix months. That’s how long I’ve been in Reece—six slow, punishing months.At first, I didn’t even know what was real anymore. My memories felt like scattered fragments—some vivid, others hazy and distorted. The truth—the real truth—was a war I fought in my own mind. There were days I screamed until my voice gave out, days I curled into myself wishing I had never been born, and days I tried to hate the people I once loved.But this place… this tribe… they didn’t give up on me.The mages here, all marked by the strange glowing ink of their coven, didn’t treat me like a monster. Not even when I was one. They stripped me down—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—and forced me to sit in silence with my truth until it stopped feeling like poison.Now I can say it.I was enchanted.Jude, my own father, twisted my soul and turned me into something I never wanted to be. And the worst part? For the longest time, I didn’t even know.I’m better now. Or at least, that’s what the Head Mage kee
MaliaI nodded slowly, trying to piece together the strange sadness that had crept into Ronin’s eyes.“When did she die?” I asked quietly, my voice barely holding itself together. “The real Lia… when did she die?”Ronin’s eyes met mine, and his expression twisted with grief, something heavy and old—like it had been rotting in him for a long time.“She died the day I found out she was my mate,” he said. “But I'm not talking about Lia. She isn't my mate. My mate wasn’t from here. She was from my own Lycan pack.”I stared at him, my breath stuck in my chest. I didn’t know what to say to that, especially when his next words came so quickly and so desperately.“Malia,” he stepped closer, “please… just accept to be my Luna. I know you’re not my true mate. I’m not pretending. But since she’s gone, you’re the next best thing.”I flinched at the phrase. The next best thing. Like I was some kind of replacement. Some echo of a dream he’d lost.He kept going, determined. “It wasn’t Lia’s beauty t
MaliaCorey’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. “That being said. Why won’t Rhedd help her grandson?”I glanced up, studying Rhedd’s unreadable expression. She stood by the window, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on something far beyond what any of us could see. She didn’t flinch at the question, didn’t turn to face him. She just answered, coldly.“Asher shouldn’t even exist,” she said. “He was never meant to. That’s why he’s not important to me.”Her words dropped like a stone in my chest. I blinked, unsure I’d heard her right. Beside me, Jamie stiffened, his jaw clenching. Corey looked stunned, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Amara’s brows knit together, confusion clouding her features.“You’re going to have to explain what you mean by that,” Jamie said.But Rhedd didn’t respond. She turned away from the window and faced us, her expression still unreadable. “Don’t do anything against Ronin,” she warned, voice sharp with authority. “He is the rightful ruler of L
Malia“What?” I whispered, backing away from Ronin like he’d just slapped me.He had to be joking. He had to be.“I don’t love you, Ronin,” I said, my voice shaking. “I never said I did. I... I felt something, I won’t lie about that, but it was a moment. Confusion. Desperation. That’s not love.”His jaw clenched.“I only love Asher,” I continued. “And I can only be with Asher.”I turned toward Rhedd, desperate now. “Please. Say something. You know this isn’t right.”But she just stood there, her face unreadable. She didn’t say a word.I turned back to Ronin, fury rising like bile in my throat. “You can’t force this. You can’t just—decide you want me and then take me!”“I’m not forcing anything,” he said, but his voice had a hard edge to it. “I’m doing what’s best. For you. For everyone.”“You think locking me away in your house is best?”“I’m keeping you safe.”“You’re keeping me caged!”He ran a hand through his hair, trying to stay calm. “Asher isn’t stable, Malia.”My heart twisted
MaliaRhedd walked in like she owned the moment—no rush, no panic, just that same smirk, like everything was happening exactly how she planned.She looked Jude straight in the eye. “Your problem,” she said, “has always been your temper.”Jude scoffed. “You think this is funny?”“I think it’s sad,” Rhedd replied calmly. “You were close, Jude. So close to getting what you wanted. But like always, your rage got in the way. It always does.”He faltered. I saw it in the slight twitch of his brow, the way his jaw clenched. He didn’t understand who she was—but he knew she knew too much.“You have magic,” he muttered. “You’re part of the original circle, that's why you could seize my magic. The only thing is… the original witches in the circle are dead. I made sure of it.”Rhedd didn’t deny it. She just stood there, hands loosely clasped in front of her, like she had all the time in the world.Jude seemed to be irritated by her calmness. So irritated that he raised his hand, trying to summon
MaliaRonin’s grip on my hand was warm and steady, but my insides were in complete chaos.He didn’t say a word as he led me through the hallway, his pace brisk, his jaw clenched. I could tell he was furious, but not at me—at everything. At Banes. At the silence. At the confusion. At whatever was wrong and twisted in this place.When we got to his office, he opened the door and let me in first, then shut it quietly behind us.He turned to face me, those amber eyes of his searching my face like they were trying to pry the truth out of me before I even spoke.“Tell me,” he said, his voice low. “Tell me the truth.”I froze.I wanted to. Goddess, I wanted to tell someone. But I didn’t know if it was the right thing. What if Rhedd was playing me? What if telling Ronin only made everything worse? What if it put him in danger?I remembered the way she looked at me just before Ronin took my hand. Not a word spoken, just a nod. Subtle. Reassuring. She didn’t need to say anything. Her eyes told
Malia“Like I said before, all you have to do,” he said again, voice deceptively soft, “is tell them Nina deceived you. That she tricked you into helping her break Asher out.”I scoffed, shaking my head. “And you really think they’ll believe that?”“Oh, Banes will,” he said too quickly. Too confidently. It made me pause.“Why?” I asked. “Why are you so sure, Jude?”He smiled, but it wasn’t the charming kind. It was the smile of a man who knew something no one else did—a weapon he hadn’t revealed yet. “Don’t worry about that,” he said.I stared at him, my chest tightening with unease. “What are you going to do to my parents?” I asked quietly. “Since I’ve apparently… ‘messed up.’”He tilted his head slowly. That same smile faltered just a little, and then he studied me with a new sharpness. “That’s a very specific concern.”My heart thudded, but I forced myself to look bored. “What else is there to care about?”Jude crossed his arms. “Funny. For someone who knows the fate that befalls h