e royal grounds below. Once calm and quiet, the courtyard now seemed charged with an electric tension she could

he was the key to it all. She was right in the middle as the pieces shifted. Lucian had made it obvious

he entrance. Dark and stormy with the weight of what lay ahead, his eyes were You have to realize this is

not flinch. "I've heard enough of your speeches, Lucian,"

while. Then why do I feel as thou

he palace walls. She had no solution for him. Not with Luc

there as though called by her ideas; the sound of footfall got louder. His dark e

stic, "Lucian, you have kept her too near

izzling in the atmosphere. Caught in the middle of their power

e low and menacing. Keep away fro

with mirth. Lucian, she's more than simply a

o interfere and claim control over her future. She was no longer only a pawn i

study, the idea of seeing him again and listening to more of his orders made her stomach turn. Her bloodline, her significanc

s protective, and possessive, yet still, there was a chill to their acts, a feeling that they each had their purpose. C

desk, his eyes fixed on her as she stepped in. His

concerned, "You seem troubled.

was, but now I don't," she said, the words tumbling out before she coul

tened a little. "I want your loyalty," he said

ware of that now. Still, she could not refute the draw she experienced to him

ning somber. Callum views you as just a means to an end. You are more tha

s correct? What if her bloodline held the secret to either saving or destroying

is my battle now," the weight of the

phelia spent the next few hours in restless solitude. Her bloodline's weight, the power it he

r train of thought. She opened it without hesitation and

e rogue wolves are advancing. They are no longer just

time for ambiguity has passed

gate. The leader of the

ne who had been manipulating everything from the sta

r voice almost a whisper and a fee

at would follow her for all time. It's that g

or all time. But suddenly, her greatest dread had come true. Her past had come back to

bro. The one individual who knew her better than anyone else. He w

dors as though on cue. Ophelia, you w

in her breast, as the far-off noises of howling wolves reverberated down the stone passageways. Every stare on her

everyone's attention. In the low light, his armor shone and

"Stay near." We have to be prepared n

this game, she was no longer only a victim. She was a player, a perilous one. The burden of her bloodline's power was

d open, his presence resembling a storm on the horizon. His black eyes m

playing? Though his tone was com

sides tight. You believe you can r

igid. That rema

Lucian and Callum. Though none of the three men could save her from the decision

ing stronger than ever. This was not only about

ng through the tension. None of you are required to

second, but only a little. Ophel

e. The risk doesn't bother m

n, the room slipped into an unsettling

d by her own blood, the renegade wolves savagely ripped through the defenses. The kin

the future of the kingdom; she did. But that decision's p

just happened as the conflict eventually started to calm down. Fighting for the crow

thing else she couldn't define. "You did what had to

rate on was the figure at the battlefield's edge. The leader of the rogue wolf, the one who had planned it all.

ty, and her heart raced. Her sibling, the one she h

lia," he yelled, his voice frigid and laced with scorn. You were always

r blood; he was the one who had left her when she needed him most, the one who

doma

dest

heart racing with a mix of fear and r

from finished, the batt