Chapter 13

The silence in the grand ballroom was absolute, heavy enough to crush bone. Hundreds of backs remained rigidly turned toward the landing where Kaelen Cross knelt. It was the ultimate, ancient gesture of Lycan rejection. To be shunned by one’s own pack was a fate worse than execution; it

Chapter 14

The silence of the master bedroom was a stark contrast to the chaotic aftermath of the ballroom below. For five years, this sprawling, opulent suite had been Seraphina’s prison. Kaelen had decorated it in dark, heavy tones—obsidian marble, charcoal silks, and silver accents—all designed

Chapter 15

The heavy, armored wheels of the royal transport hummed a low, steady rhythm against the pristine obsidian-paved roads of the Royal Realm. Outside the tinted, bulletproof windows, the dense, untamed wilderness of the outer territories gave way to towering silverwoods and ancient, glowing