KATHERINEI looked around the enormous palace, feeling a little tense.Despite the luxury and the meticulous attention from the maids and footmen, even though I told Elliot I would accompany him, I was afraid.Because this was the epicenter of hatred toward supernatural beings."Your Excellencies, what an honor to meet again," another person approached us in the vast hall, teeming with the elite of this hypocritical society.Drinking elegantly and murmuring in low voices, we once again began the cycle of flattery, pretending to be courteous—or at least I did.The truth was, outside the intimacy of our home, Elliot was a dog off his leash, or rather, a feral wolf.His responses were so curt that I almost felt sorry for the guests, judging by the looks on their faces."War is like that—whoever gets there first takes it and can be sure it’s well defended," he replied to the marquis who had the nerve to ask about the newly acquired lands."I'll rip the head off anyone who tries to steal f
KATHERINEThat was exactly what it was—an attempted murder. I spotted a handsome man arguing heatedly with a woman among the tall hedges.If I hadn’t been on an upper floor, I never would have noticed them. She was crying, wiping her face with a handkerchief.Her simple clothing told me she wasn’t one of the wealthy noblewomen at the party. Suddenly, she clutched her belly and screamed something that utterly terrified him.They struggled, the girl fighting desperately to get inside the palace.I shouldn’t have been snooping, but something about the man’s aggression told me things wouldn’t end well—and they didn’t.In the blink of an eye, I saw him reach inside his jacket, grab the woman by the arm, and yank her against his chest, whispering something venomous.Her expression changed in an instant. My supernatural hearing caught a muffled, dull sound, even from a distance.When the man released her, shoving her away, she looked down at her stomach in disbelief, her trembling hands pres
KATHERINE"I am the Regent's son, your future ruler, and I will take immediate action against the Duchy of Everhart—an investigation begins now!"He looked at me with cynical eyes and a sneer of disdain; he knew exactly what he was doing. He was going to get rid of the witness.Catching me in the act had given him the perfect excuse."TAKE HER AWAY, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"He roared again, worked up, but I wouldn’t let him.I would fight, even if it meant exposing myself completely—I knew all too well what awaited me in the palace dungeons.Only cruel torture.This so-called truce didn’t matter. The Regent hated creatures of the night. My children were in danger!I couldn’t imagine how out of control Elliot would be. Goddess, I had ruined everything… when we were so close to freedom!When rough hands reached for my arms to drag me away, I decided to resist.I even considered killing them and running. I called out to Elliot desperately in my mind, but whether it was my panic or the
BEOFI wandered through the garden, bored, waiting for that shitty meeting to end—it wouldn’t solve a damn thing.One look at the disgust on that Regent’s face was enough to know we weren’t welcome here.And the main reason King Aldric had sent me wasn’t being fulfilled either.Women still fled from me like I carried some contagious plague—worse here than even among supernatural females.I mean, their elemental men looked like dwarves next to me. Of course they’d run away in fear. I huffed, annoyed, those absurd feelings of self-pity creeping into my chest.Like always, I shoved them down without mercy. So what if I never find my mate? Better that way.It would be the final blow to my pride—to be rejected by my own fated partner."Money is the one thing I have too much of," I muttered bitterly.My wolf, Soul, remained as indifferent as ever—we disagreed on too many things.But I knew there was no other choice. I’d keep paying for sex with she-wolves whenever the need to fuck became un
BEOF"Father, I caught the Duchess of Everhart murdering that elemental girl!" he shouted, pointing to the side, at the unconscious woman lying on the grass.The shocking stain of blood on her clothes, her pale skin—it gave the impression of death. However, I could still hear her breathing. Weak, but there.The elemental soldiers were beginning to march in. I could hear hurried footsteps rushing through the corridors and the garden.We would be surrounded soon.A roar powerful enough to make the stones tremble erupted from that so-called Duke of Everhart as some soldiers moved to restrain him under the leader’s command.Chaos.I stood off to the side, debating whether to keep getting involved or not.From the shouted argument, I pieced together the truth—these two supernatural beings were hiding under the guise of elemental Dukes in this prison of a realm."Everyone, calm down. Lord Regent, it’s not wise to approach him now. He’s a lycan protecting his mate—he’ll tear apart anyone who
NARRATOR"Sir, our family has been protecting the Realm for generations!" Baltazar shouted, overcoming his initial fear and replacing it with genuine outrage."My son was only defending a poor elemental girl from this witch’s attack!" He pointed at Katherine but took several steps back at the roar of the powerful lycan guarding the woman."You see?! They are savages, murderers! Who knows how many elemental lives they’ve ended in their duchy? I was deceived! How many elemental men and women have they abused?!""THAT IS A LIE!" Katherine couldn't endure so much falsehood any longer.She pleaded with Elliot to change, but Vorath was stubborn. No one would imprison him while she was in danger."Everyone, calm down, please." Suddenly, amidst the chaos, Sigrid’s soft yet firm voice rang out.Standing beside Silas as his equal, her aura was equally powerful. It was hard not to respect her."Tell me what happened. We will hold a trial here and now, and the guilty will be punished...""But..."
NARRATOR"Mmmnn!" Maxwell screamed as he watched his father’s head roll across the ground.It happened so fast, so mercilessly. Blood still pumped from the severed arteries, painting the grotesque scene red over the grass.A collective gasp of shock filled the air. The elemental girl fainted again from the sheer horror."Silas, I told you to control yourself, love," Sigrid huffed internally."You promised we’d get back to the cabin quickly. Your father is busy with your mother. This was taking too long."She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at her mate’s madness."The entire Regent’s family is now imprisoned and exiled from the palace. They will no longer hold any authority," Silas added, his gaze locked on Maxwell, who was kneeling, choking on his sobs over his father’s lifeless body.Sigrid lifted the restriction on his mouth, but she instantly regretted it."We are descendants of your family! How could you do this to the man who always idolized you?!" Maxwell forgot his fear, co
NARRATORAnd just like that, a casual conversation about why he got rid of his two fanatics."Do you want me to give you a medal for your good deed?" Sigrid didn’t feel the slightest bit of sympathy for their deaths."I want that reward, and you know it very well.""Silas, control yourself and talk to the Dukes," the Selenia shot back, rolling her eyes. He needed to leave her ass alone.She stepped away for a moment to have the bodies removed and to check on the unconscious commoner."I... I don’t know what to say." Katherine was speechless, just like everyone else.What the hell had just happened? The way everything had taken such a drastic turn was unbelievable."First of all, Duke of Everhart, I know very well that you haven’t harmed anyone in this Realm." Silas locked eyes with the beast.Elliot listened from within his lycan form, feeling a strange mix of emotions.From the moment he had watched his greatest captor’s head roll so effortlessly, something inside him shifted. The ma