ia Ca

rk contrast to the phantom heat of the pyre. I'm

lly, searching for any give. Ther

him. Donovan. Why delay the execution? A c

, breaking the silence. My entire

ra washes over me again befo

lden eyes glowing. He circles me slowly,

the heat radiating from his body, and I catch his scent-pine and winter fro

. A smirk, cold and cruel, touches his lips. "Yo

, my own voice surprisi

an emotion for those with p

past life, when I bowed and begged for mercy to no

e unflinching. "You're going to kill an innocent

coffs, but a flicker of doubt, minuscule a

know your kind. Scheming, ambitious. You orchestrated our 'fate

. A true conspiracy would have a bet

g the only person who could support my claim as your Luna would be idiotic. Unles

isn't used to being challenged, espec

same primal fear I felt in my past‑life fina

a killer," he growls, the s

correct him. "One that

lpha's certainty warring with t

lly asks, the first questio

ore I can second-guess it. "Give me three days

" he challenges,

g none of its intensity, "I will walk into that

les him. I can see it. This is not the

his head, his wolf's instincts battling his cold logic. His gaze is intense, sea

the suffocating proximity. Th

unexpected," he say

s. He doesn't agr

the dungeons. It's colder than the pyre,

ut another word, leaving me wit

supposed to be high‑security, yet corruption and back‑door favours had long seeped into i

r touch rough. As they drag me away from the unlit pyre,