<i>Zephyrine </i>


    I watched in silence as Isolde set the table for dinner. She poured the water, then turned and beckoned me to sit.


    I obeyed without a word. If I resisted, Varyn woulde, and with that calm maniption of his, he would force every bite down my throat until I swallowed.


    It’s a bait. The marriage Varyn announced earlier today. I should have known better that Varyn is too clever to marry me off to a man who humiliated me.


    He would never give me to Nyroth so easily. No, he had staged it as a real wedding, which could only mean one thing.


    Lycannar will be forced toe to Hue Pack. And if hees… will he be captured? The thought made me go cold.


    I swallowed hard and lifted my cutlery, eating without tasting anything. My heart felt restless, my mind unsteady. I didn’t know what kind of trap Varyn had prepared for Lycannar, only that he must note. Not if he wanted to survive.


    We are done, I told myself. That’s the end of us.


    But are we?


    The question tore at me until I nearly choked. I pushed my te aside and emptied <i>my </i>ss of


    water, then rose from the table and moved to sit before the mirror, sighing heavily.


    I missed her. Blue. Since she left yesterday<i>, </i>I had not been able to bear the emptiness. The gods bless Isolde, but she was no Blue. My heart was more bound to Blue than to any other.


    “Good night, Isolde,” I whispered. She bowed, cleared the table, and left quietly, closing the door behind her.


    Alone in the chamber, my gaze wandered over the stillness of the room.


    Tomorrow night, Lycannar had said he would meet me at the tavern, the very ce where Alpha ck once spilled a drink over me. The memory stung, and I lowered my gaze.


    I turned toward the bed, but a book resting in the drawer caught my eye. My steps faltered. Blue’s book which she brought with her when she came with the ring.


    +10 Free Coins


    I pulled the drawer open and lifted it out to see it’s a diary. I stared at it for a long moment, intending to keep it safe for her until I could return it. But a slip of paper pasted at the back caught my attention. ‘Open the first page, mydy‘


    My heart tightened. A letter. Blue wanted me to read it.


    I studied the book again. It was old, worn, far older than Blue herself. Wait… was it even hers?


    I opened the first page. The title struck me cold. Juliana’s Diary.


    I froze. This wasn’t Blue’s. This was Juliana’s, Julie’s, the woman I had heard of, the one Lycannar had stabbed, again and again, to free his sisters. Blue’s mother.


    Shaking, I locked the door, hurried to my bed, and curled beneath the nkets, clutching the diary to me before I dared open it again.


    The pages were brittle, the ink blurred by dried tears. Every line was heavy with grief, pain, pity, and devotion.


    I turned carefully, page after page. Awe and fear bled through her words, uncertaintyced with unflinching truth.


    A prince cursed from birth. Five curses. One that stole his mind each month, turning him into a beast. Born in grief, condemned even by the goddess.


    My throat tightened as I reached the final pages. One entry glowed with affection.


    <i>“</i><i>The </i><i>prince </i><i>came </i><i>to </i><i>my door </i><i>today </i><i>and </i><i>asked </i><i>for </i><i>lunch</i>. <i>How </i><i>peaceful </i><i>he </i><i>seemed</i><i>, </i><i>how </i><i>kind</i>. <i>If </i><i>only </i><i>the </i><i>King </i><i>would </i><i>release </i><i>him </i><i>from </i><i>hatred</i><i>, </i><i>he </i><i>could </i><i>be </i><i>the </i><i>most </i><i>cheerful </i><i>of </i><id</i><i>.</i><i>‘ </i>


    But the next was smeared, hurried, written in shaky strokes and stained with what looked like blood.


    <i>‘</i><i>He </i><i>will </i><ie </i><i>tonight</i><i>, </i><i>the </i><i>eve </i><i>of </i><i>full </i><i>moon</i>. <i>He </i><i>warned </i><i>me </i><i>to </i><i>run</i>. <i>I </i><i>will </i><i>not</i>. <i>If </i><i>tonight </i><i>I </i><i>must </i><i>die</i><i>, </i><i>then </i><i>let </i><i>me </i><i>die </i><i>by </i><i>his </i><i>knife</i><i>. </i>I <i>will </i><i>go </i><i>in </i><i>peace</i><i>, </i><i>if </i><i>it </i><i>means </i><i>freedom </i><i>for </i><i>the </i><i>princesses </i><i>and </i><i>peace </i><i>for </i><i>my </i><i>prince</i><i>.</i><i>‘ </i>


    The words ended there. The scene reyed in


    my


    mind.


    Lycannar, consumed by madness, entering her house, striking her down. He had chosen the eve of full moon because that was the only time he could do it, when his curse stripped him of restraint and left only blood.


    I closed the diary andy back on my pillow, staring through the window at the pale dawn creeping in.


    +10 Free Coins <fn2148> Chapters first released on find{n}ovel</fn2148>


    The truth struck me, brutal and undeniable. Lycannar was the one who murdered Juliana. Blue’s mother.


    And yet… the diary had exined it all. On the night of the full moon, he lost himself. That was why he wasn’t there when I rejected Nyroth.


    Why, months ago, when I was framed for Alpha ck’s death, he didn’t appear until days after. The pattern was clear.


    But rity didn’t ease the pain. My chest burned as I realized the depth of Blue’s love for him. She had read these same pages. That was why she could forgive him.


    Forgiveness. If only it were so simple. For me, it was not. For me, it never would be.


    I pulled the nket over my head and tried to sleep, knowing Isolde woulde soon to wake me. Silence filled the room, until suddenly, painnced through me.


    At first it was only warmth, faint and crawling beneath my skin. Then it burned hotter, spreading with a searing glow.


    skin. I ripped the nket away and stared at my arm. Runes, glowing red, zed across my


    The heat grew savage, unbearable, crawling down my arm and across my back. My head dropped, teeth clenched against the agony.


    “Lycan…” The word slipped from me in a gasp, part prayer, part pleading.


    The runes spread like fire. The pain broke me open. My scream filled the chamber.