MaliaI froze.Asher was awake. And he was looking right at me.His dull, golden eyes locked onto mine, flickering with something raw—hope, desperation, disbelief. For a moment, he simply stared, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. Then, as if afraid I would disappear if he didn’t move fast enough, he crawled toward me.His frail hands dragged against the cold, filthy floor, scraping against the stone. His once-mighty frame, now nothing but skin and bones, trembled with the effort. He barely spared a glance at the rotting food beside him as he reached for me.His fingers, dirty and trembling, brushed against my hand.I flinched.It was instinctual, but it was enough.Asher stilled, his expression crumbling. His hands dropped to his sides, and his shoulders sagged like the weight of the world had just crashed down on him.“I know,” he whispered, his voice raspy and broken. “I know I’m a monster.”I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple
MaliaI didn’t wait for Nina to say anything else.She had already played enough games, and I wasn’t in the mood for another round of her mind tricks.I turned on my heel and walked away, fuming.Behind me, Nina hesitated for half a second before I heard her footsteps fade.She was smart enough to know that I didn't want to be followed.But just as I stepped into the dimly lit corridor leading out of the basement, I heard a sharp, authoritative voice.“Hey! Stop right there!”I cursed under my breath and spun around.Five men stood between me and freedom, their bodies tense, their hands already moving toward their weapons.Guards.Shit!One of them stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at me.“What are you doing down here?”I forced my expression into one of confusion, schooling my features into something innocent.“I—uh—I got lost?”His eyes darkened. “Lost?”“Yes,” I said quickly, nodding. “I was looking for the storeroom, and I must have taken a wrong turn. I didn’t mean to—”“Bullsh
MaliaRonin’s voice was sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade.“What the hell is this?”I didn’t answer right away.Because I didn’t know what to say.There were five unconscious men laying around me. There was blood on my hands. And Ronin and Corey were staring at me like I had just walked out of a massacre.There was no way I could explain this away.I tried to think of something—anything—but my mind was blank.A long, agonizing silence stretched between us.Then—I felt a spark. Not in my mind. Not in my chest. But on my tooth.I felt it—a tiny shock against the gem Jude had put there.And suddenly, the words came out.I lied.“I—I saw someone coming down here,” I said, my voice steady in a way that startled even me. “I was curious. I wanted to see what they were doing.”Ronin's eyes narrowed. “And that led to five guards unconscious at your feet?”I nodded. “I went down, but before I could even figure out what was happening, the guards stopped me. They accused me of lett
MALIAThat night, I laid on my bed, eyes open and fixed on the ceiling, my thoughts spiraling into chaos.Lay low. That’s the plan.Keep quiet. Don’t talk too much. Keep my head down in class. Avoid Nina. Avoid Ronin. Avoid Corey. Avoid—everyone.And above all… stay far away from the basement.I sighed and rolled over, hugging my pillow close. My chest was still tight from the events of earlier, and my body ached from the fight. I'd scrubbed the dried blood from my knuckles, but it felt like it was still there. Underneath my skin. A reminder.Just as I was starting to settle down, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.My heart jumped. I snatched it up instantly, hoping it was my mother texting to say she was safe. Hoping for something—a lifeline.But it wasn’t her. It was from the school’s internal platform.‘URGENT SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT: Former Alpha Asher has escaped. A student is responsible. Suspect: Lia, daughter of Derrick.’I blinked at the screen, rereading the message three times
NinaI should’ve stayed with her.The thought had been clawing at the back of my mind since the moment I stepped through the front door, my palms still sweaty from adrenaline and guilt. The house was dark and cold—my parents were still out, and the silence only made the shame heavier. I kept thinking about Lia—no, Malia—alone in that basement, surrounded by five trained guards.I could’ve helped her. But I didn’t.And yet... I couldn’t miss the opportunity that was laid out in front of me like a miracle.I had to save Asher.The moment I got home, I went straight to the guest bathroom where I’d hidden him. The door creaked slightly when I opened it, and I found him sitting on the edge of the tub, legs curled up, eyes glassy. His long-sleeved shirt hung off him like a coat rack—thin and pale and nothing like the Alpha he once was.But when he saw me, his face lit up like a child seeing their favorite person walk into a room.“You said Malia’s coming soon,” he murmured, eyes hopeful.I
NinaMy mom’s eyes immediately filled with tears. She crossed the room without saying a word and wrapped her arms around him.I thought I was hallucinating.My dad followed, gentler than I’d ever seen him, placing a hand on Asher’s back as my mother cried softly into his shoulder. Asher stood still, blinking, then slowly allowed himself to lean into the hug. I could tell he was confused, but not frightened.I stood frozen in the doorway. I had mentally prepared myself for yelling, betrayal, disownment—heck, maybe even them dragging him away themselves.But this?This was… something else entirely.“He’s alive,” my mother whispered. “He’s alive, he’s really alive…”“I told you,” I said quietly. “I told you he was still in there.”Dad looked up at me and nodded, his expression serious now. “Where has he been all this time?”“Locked up,” I said. “Under the school. Ronin kept him there. He was being fed like an animal.”My mother pulled back slightly, cupping Asher’s face with both hands.
NinaI felt my heartbeat in my throat.The moment the front door creaked open and I caught a glimpse of the men in dark grey uniforms, I knew Ronin had sent his personal hounds. These weren’t ordinary patrol guards. They moved like they’d been bred for this—sniffing out secrets and dragging people away in silence.There were three of them. One tall and lean, the other stocky with a scar running down his jaw, and the third—he had the dead eyes of a man who’d been doing this job for too long.As soon as they stepped into the living room, the sniffing began.Literally.They tilted their heads slightly, nostrils flaring like bloodhounds, the way Lycans did when they were chasing scent trails. My stomach dropped. I could feel Asher behind the door in my room, still as a statue, his heartbeat wild and thumping so loud I was scared they might hear it.But then—Pssshhhh.My mom clicked on the fragrance dispenser she’d installed by the front door, and a fresh, heavy cloud of vanilla blossom f
NinaThe ride was silent. I sat between two guards in the back of the black armored van. The windows were tinted to the point of uselessness. I had no idea where they were taking me.At first, I assumed it’d be the regular interrogation hall in Lycone’s administrative tower. But then we passed it. We kept driving, deeper into a part of town that most students never had any reason to venture into.Then the vehicle slowed, pulled through a narrow underground checkpoint, and rolled to a stop.A cold wave washed over me as I was escorted down a sterile hallway—white walls, white floors, no sounds except for the buzz of distant lighting. This wasn’t standard procedure.This was off-record.I was led into a small interrogation room with a single table and two chairs. One of the guards opened the door, and I stepped in.And froze.Sitting in the chair across from me was a man I hadn’t seen in months. One I had almost convinced myself was dead.Banes. Beta Banes.Alpha Ian's former beta. He
AsherThe sun began to rise.The golden light washed over the field like a mercy none of us deserved. It touched the broken, the bloodied, and the dead. Too many. Faces I’d known. Names I’d grown up with.The Reece mages dropped one by one, barely able to stand. Their magic was gone—sacrificed to stop one man.Rhedd clutched her stomach, pale and shaking, her magic burned out like a candle in wind.The wolves—those still standing—shifted back. Naked, bruised, and dazed. They looked at me like they didn’t know what to feel.And then I turned and saw him.Ronin.He was bloodied, bruised, still limping from what Jude had done to him. But his eyes were sharp. Watchful.He walked toward me, the others parting in his path.He stopped a few feet away, lifting his chin.“So,” he said, voice raw. “Now what?”I didn’t answer right away.“I know what you think of me,” he continued. “And I don’t blame you. But I pledged because it was the only way to win. That doesn’t mean I—” He hesitated, jaw c
AsherJude was just a man. Twisted, obsessed, and broken. A shell of the force that had terrified every wolf and Lycan under the moon. And I wasn’t sure killing him would be victory… or vengeance.Should I kill him? Is that the answer?Behind me, I heard Rhedd cry out, pulling me out of my thoughts.“Keep him still!” one of the Reece mages shouted.They circled Malia where she lay floating in the air and then slowly brought her to the ground. They were unraveling the last of the threads Jude had embedded inside her. Magic that pulsed and bucked like it didn’t want to let go.“He used her like a damn conduit,” Rhedd muttered. “If we don’t cut it clean—”“He’ll pull her soul out with it,” another finished.I didn’t take my eyes off Jude. His breath hitched. His gaze was unfocused, but when it landed on me, I saw something strange flicker behind his eyes.Fear.Not because he was about to die.But because he wasn’t in control anymore.“You think this fixes anything?” he rasped, coughing
AsherWhile everyone else was unable to move. Ronin had it worse. His bones cracked—loud enough that even the stunned silence couldn’t hide the sound. I watched him fall to his knees, coughing up blood. His spine jerked one way, then the other, like it was trying to twist him into something unrecognizable. Something wrong.“Damn you,” Ronin hissed through clenched teeth. “I’ll kill you… I swear, I’ll—”But Jude just smiled and raised two fingers. Another wave of agony surged through Ronin, folding his body like a puppet whose strings had snapped.No one moved.Corey. Jamie. Rhedd. Everyone stood frozen in place, either physically or emotionally. Shock. Despair. Fear.Except me. I didn’t flinch and unlike everyone else, I wasn't unable to move. I just stood still because… well… I was stunned by all that had happened. But for some reason, Jude's magic wasn't working on me.Jude turned to me slowly, his eyes glowing like coals.“You’re quiet,” he said. “But you always were a little slowe
AsherI felt it before I saw it.A deep hum tore through the battlefield like a pulse from the earth’s core. The ground cracked beneath us, vibrating with something ancient and wrong. My body stilled, instincts taking over. Every wolf on our side growled low, confused. Even Ronin, standing opposite me with blood on his hands and a twisted glare in his eyes, paused mid-strike.And then it happened.The earth opened up and Jude rose from it, Malia by his side.He wasn’t walking.He was floating—levitating above the dirt like he belonged to another realm. Malia hovered next to him, limp but breathing, her hair weightless in the still air. Streams of energy—magic—flowed from her into his hands like threads being woven. Her face looked drained, pale, as though the life was being siphoned out of her bit by bit.I froze.This couldn’t be real. I heard he was confined and starving in the same cell that I had been locked in. But he was here.And he wasn’t just alive—he was drawing magic from
AsherThe moon was full and heavy in the sky, throwing pale light over the open field ahead. My boots pressed into the soft earth as I looked over the line of soldiers behind me—my father’s secret elite, all in wolf form, silent and still. Every one of them had trained for this night, and still, we were outnumbered.Four packs stood against us—Sky, Storm, Range, and Lycone. Wolves I had once thought would always be loyal to me. Jamie and Corey - Brothers I had fought with. Now they stood across from me with their teeth bared and claws ready, all of them backing the one who took what was mine.Ronin.He stood on the ridge ahead of us, arms folded, his wolf just beneath the surface because he wouldn't turn. He didn't need to. He was a Lycan. Day or night didn't matter for Lycans to shift. He didn’t look tense. He looked smug, like he already believed this battle was over. I mean, with me being outnumbered, he was probably right.I exhaled through my nose. My heartbeat was steady. I did
MaliaI didn’t breathe.Not for a full minute after Ronin said those words.Asher Mendoza is alive.I stood there, frozen beneath the branches of the old silverwood tree. Just moments ago, I’d been smiling faintly at the way Ronin had grumbled about paperwork. Just hours ago, I’d kissed him without shame in front of his guards.And now, my world has split in half.He was alive.My Asher.The one I had mourned in silence. The one I had cursed the stars for taking too soon. The one whose name I had stopped speaking, not because I forgot—but because remembering hurt too much.I had let him go.And now he was back.Ronin didn’t look at me. His entire body was taut, rage pouring off of him in waves as he crumpled the letter in his fist.“He dares to ask me to step down,” he growled, pacing. “After everything I’ve done—after the unity I’ve forged? The peace I’ve built? He wants to come back from the dead and reclaim what he abandoned?”His eyes flicked toward me at last. And the moment he s
MaliaIt had been almost a year.A full cycle of moons since I stood before the altar in a dress that felt like a cage and pledged myself to a man I did not love. A year of silent dinners, of shared quarters and unshared sheets. A year of waking up beside someone who looked at me like I was a world he couldn’t touch.Ronin had not once tried.He had kissed my cheek in public, taken my hand at royal events, and always ensured I had a personal guard at my side. He gave me space. Respect. But not once had he laid a single finger on me—not without my permission.And that restraint… it had become unbearable.Tonight, the weight of it collapsed on me.I sat on the edge of our bed, staring at the hearth’s dying flames. My nightgown clung to my skin in the low firelight, and my chest ached with something I hadn’t let myself name in months.“Just accept it, Malia,” Rhedd had told me only hours ago, his voice quiet but final. “He’s not coming back. If Asher was alive, he would’ve come by now.”
AsherThe moon was high the night I met with Nina’s parents. I had to meet them since I now knew the truth. They were the only ones I could trust. We gathered in the ruins of the old Northern chapel, a place sacred enough to keep secrets buried but strong enough to host rebellion. I didn’t ask how they got in contact with me—they always had a way to do things discreetly. Nina’s father, Nathan, regarded me with the tired eyes of a man who had carried the truth for too long.“He told us this day would come,” he said. “Ian prepared. We kept his will safe. And we kept his soldiers even safer.”From the shadows, they stepped forward—silent, deadly, focused. Wolves in human skin. Elite. Trained in secret under Ian’s orders for the day I would reclaim the crown.I couldn't believe my eyes. How did Ian think of this? How was he able to predict that I may not get any support unless he provides one for me?I was relieved that I had been given a head start, but it wasn’t enough. Not for a war.
AsherMy thumb hovered over the next page for longer than I cared to admit. The leather binding creaked softly beneath my grip, like it too feared what lay ahead. But I couldn’t stop now. I needed to know it all—no matter how much it hurt and no matter how much I wanted to stop, I turned the page.‘Brooke and Renah began their affair not out of love, not truly—not at first. Brooke wanted affection. She wanted to be wanted. Renah… he was a convenient escape. They were discreet. Not for my sake. For hers. Always for hers. She didn't want to ruin her reputation.’I leaned back, jaw tightening.So it was true.I watched them once. They didn’t see me. Her smile was real. His was reverent. That was the moment I knew—Renah loved her more. Brooke? She simply needed to be adored.It painted such a different picture of my mother than the one I’d held growing up. She had always seemed powerful, poised, in control of every room she walked into. I never imagined her desperate. Or fragile. But with