marble halls of the Vandresa estate in a daze, her mind still ensnared by the ghost of a kiss. White walls, imbued with subtle enchantments, seemed to glow faintly around her, their poli

xistence. But her mind was elsewhere, adrift in a potent, dangerous reverie. It

an

t and dangerously sharp. Every measured step she took through the silent halls,

ust a whisper of lips against hers, barely there, yet it had ignited something feral and unta

was the only sound in the sudden silence. She stood in the dark, the faint moonlight spilling through the tall windows illuminating the fai

wly rose to touch her mouth. She could still feel

ken hunger-his, and t

ith familiar features: golden eyes rimmed with the stormlight of turbulent emotion, lips slightly swollen, a tell-tale sign of the

ing of being exposed, of being s

her wanted more. Craved it with a h

roat, where her pulse still throb

e curve of her collarbone, brushing the taut lines

a low, guttural s

uisite wound-pain and plea

furious desire. The words were meant as a curse,

f her mind, or the dictates of her pride. I

where his phantom touch had set her alight. She pictured Ethan's eyes-those unsettling, luminous gold eyes-how they looked when he said

rmth of his palm in hers, a grounding, yet electrifying contact. The sheer au

, a ragged gasp ca

r jaw clenched, her head thrown back, her spine arching in a silent, furious surre

n the massive canopy bed, naked and trembling, wrapped in the coo

he knew that. It

ngerous cocktail of curiosity,

ummeting into a depth s

d and contorted by time and storm, formed a crude, macabre crown against the pinprick stars. Crows, ancient and silent, watched him from their perches above, their eyes like

He inhaled slowly, deeply, the acrid smoke a familiar comfort, a grounding anchor in the swirlin

damp earth, and something else-the faint, acrid tang of dormant earth magic, of old, forgotten power. This place had once been sacred, a

mist that clung low to the ground,

t hit Ethan first-a potent mix of wolfsbane, bitter sage, a

y, his voice flat, devoid of em

s own. His face, when finally revealed as he pushed back his hood, was a roadmap of ancient, jagged claw scars, etched deeply into

sary rasped, his voice a dry, grating sound, like stones

s. "I can seduce and scheme at the same time, Emissary.

the Council g

resa's reign. The whisper

ll your Alpha this-progress is happening. She's curious. Intrigued. She's a locked vault,

silver eyes cold and unblinking. "He trained her fo

r a freedom she doesn't yet understand she craves. She knows the weight of her name, but not the power in her blood. And I.

ou will not fall for her, Beta Hale. This is a mission, not a dalliance. Her blood is tainte

mth, a single, sharp bark that echoed strangely

e used." The words felt c

from the path, I'll carve your heart out myself. Slowly. And the Red Wolf will watch." His

ck and heavy, punctuated only

impeccable. The pack, the Alphas, even Rafe... they respect my record. They believe me to be just another ambitious beta. And

ur true purpose?" the emissar

layout, the location of the hidden armory, the secret passages. I'll uncover the full extent of Dominic'

low, grim acknowledgemen

nal. The gates wil

choke on his own blood,

old chapel ruins and making the twisted tree groan like a living thing.

with the swirling fog. "We'll be watching, Beta. Always. Do not lose focus.

ng after he was gone, the

per, heavier than before. It was the silence

, the ember glowing like a single, ma

sy barrier against the restless thoughts plaguing her. She clutched an old, leather-bound book of poetry, one her mother used to re

nst the tempest

oft thud of it hitting the

stop. They curled and coiled, an endless, tormenting loop, all of them leading back to one place: the moon garden. To him.

int, with such reverence for the moment? He hadn't tried to

imply le

r want him more. It was a subtle, insidious power t

ed her spiraling thoughts. Three

ing. "Yes?" she called out, her

ugh the thick wood of the door, a low, inti

antic leap against her ribs. She felt a flush s

difference. She paused, her hand hovering over the cold iron handle, then

faint, almost imperceptible scratch marred his cheek, a thin, angry red line as though he'd been in a recent, minor scuffle. His eyes, those unset

, his voice low, gravelly,

d, her voice brittle, holding

noring her dismissal, his gaze droppin

her breath catch

ontinued, his voice softer, imbue

n years I didn't feel li

d the door wider, just enough for him to step inside. But she did

accepting the s

warmth of his skin, the subtle b

o," he murmured, his breath

racing, fighting against the po

really here

reached into his charcoal coat pocket, his movements slow and deliberate, and pulled out a sin

tly as they brushed against his. The contact, b

and intense, di

Vandresa." The words were

she whispered, her

e countered, his eyes holding hers,

y. Not gentle this time, but charged, almost viol

ecariousness of the moment, the

to go, his movement slow, alm

desperate, stopped him

r, a statue carved from

epeat hersel

verlooking the moonlit forest, her back to him, her posture rigid. She refused to look

dator slipping into the den of its

nd him, the click of the lock

nd her, close-b

jasmine and wolf-

is voice a low, gravelly promi

fiant sneer, though her heart hamme

ere a challenge, a declarat

room. It wasn't lust anymore. It was war. A battle of wills, of prid

ring darkness of the room. They gleamed with a fierce, untamed light. Ethan's chest ro

ngers, cool and soft, touched his lip. Her thumb brushed the faint, almost invisible scar nea

ce a barely audible whisper, a rar

ion that echoed with unseen wounds. "But not

irresistible magnetic pull-then stopped, inches from h

ng her stillness, her cont

hin and taut, pregnant with uns

oice a breath against his

wards the vastness of her bed, leaving him

s the one left b

f had carefully, pa