Novels by Lara

Harper’s POV It couldn’t be. He was dead. I killed him. Damon had shown me the memory himself. But there it was again, faint but unmistakable. Panic clawed up my throat. My hands shook at my sides. “Harper?” Damon’s voice cut through the quiet. He had fallen back from the front without me noticing, his steps silent like a predator. He stood close now, eyes locked on my face. “What’s wrong?”I forced my breathing steady and looked up at him. His face was all hard lines, that ruthless focus still there, but worry flickered in his dark eyes for just a split second. I couldn’t tell him. Not here, not with the whole pack around us. If I said Tristan’s name out loud, everything would blow up—my secrets, his plans, the fragile thing we had going between us.“Nothing,” I lied, keeping my voice low and even. “Just thought I saw movement. It’s nothing.”He studied me for a long beat, like he could peel back my skin and see every lie I’d ever told. His hand brushed my arm, quick and hidden fro

Harper’s POV The forest air bit cold against my skin as I stepped out of the pack mansion just before dawn. My boots crunched on the frost-covered ground, and my breath came out in little white puffs. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, but it did nothing to chase away the chill inside my chest. Last night’s argument with Damon still sat heavy in my gut. He thought he could order me around like some weak pup, telling me to stay put during the hunt. Yeah, right. I was done being told where to stand and what to do.Glynn jogged up beside me, her red hair tied back tight. She bumped my shoulder with hers. “You sure about this, Harper? Damon looked ready to chain you to your bed if you stepped out of line.”I gave her a quick grin, the kind that said I wasn’t backing down. “He can try. I’m not hiding in the rear like some scared omega. If there’s something out there messing with our borders, I want to see it for myself.”She laughed under her breath, but her eyes stayed sharp. “Just do

Harper’s POV "Walk with me," he said."I'm busy.""Harper."I turned and walked with him because I was not in the mood to cause a scene in the middle of the hallway. He led me into one of the side rooms off the corridor, the small one with the tall windows that looked out over the eastern yard, and he pulled the door shut behind us.He turned to look at me. His arms were crossed. His jaw was set."Is there anything you haven't told me?" he said.I kept my face still. "About what?""About last night. About the crow. About anything you might have seen or heard that you decided to keep to yourself."I stared at him. "No."He studied me for a long moment, and I hated that he always did that. Like he could see through things. Like he had some way of reading me that I had never figured out how to block."You're lying," he said."I'm standing here answering your questions, Damon. That's what I'm doing.""Harper." His voice dropped. Low and firm. "If you know something—""I don't know anythi

Harper’s POV Glynn found me in my room about an hour later.She knocked twice, then let herself in the way she always did, and when I turned to look at her, I knew immediately that she had heard. Her face was pulled tight. Her eyes were doing that thing they did when she was trying to hold herself together and not doing a very good job of it.She closed the door behind her and just stood there for a second."The crow," she said. Not a question.I nodded.She crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed, and I sat beside her, and for a moment neither of us said anything."Tell me everything," she said.So I did. I told her about coming back to the room and smelling it before I even got to the bed. About the bird, the note, the blood. I watched her face go through about five different emotions in the space of thirty seconds. Shock. Anger. Fear. More anger. Then something that looked like she was trying very hard to be calm for my sake."Okay," she said. "Okay. That is seriously messe

Harper’s POV I didn't sleep.Not even for a second.I lay on that bed with my eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling while the image of that dead crow refused to leave my head. The slit throat. The dried blood on the parchment. That single word written like a promise.'Soon.'And then the whistle.God, that whistle.I kept telling myself it was the wind. I kept telling myself that I was tired, that my mind was playing games with me the way it always did when I was scared and didn't want to admit it. But deep down, underneath all the noise I was making in my own head, I knew what I heard. I have always known that whistle.By morning, the mansion was different.I felt it before I even stepped out of my room. There was a kind of heaviness in the air, the kind that settles when something has shifted and nobody is ready to talk about it yet. I could hear boots on the floor. More than usual. The sound of orders being barked across the yard outside my window. When I finally got up and looke

Harper’s POV "You are mine to protect," he whispered. "And I don't like people touching what is mine."He stayed there for a moment, his gaze fixed on my lips. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me, to claim me right there in front of the guards. But he pulled back, his expression turning back into stone."Move her things," he told the guards one last time before walking out of the room without looking back.The rest of the night was a blur of motion. The guards moved me to a smaller room deep inside the Alpha’s wing. It was safe. It was secure. It felt like a cage.Once I was alone, I sat on the edge of the bed. I hated this. I hated how my hands were shaking. I had spent so long trying to be strong, trying to show everyone that I wasn't just a "sacrifice" or a "gutter wolf." I had been playing a game of revenge against my father and Taylor.But this was different.The crow, the note, the whistle—it felt personal. It felt like someone was watching me, waiting for the right

Aya’s POVThe silence in the castle was so loud that it was driving me insane. It had been two weeks since I woke up in this body.Two weeks since I realized I was no longer Aya Johnson, the discarded omega, the forgotten daughter, the girl who was betrayed by her mate and who was murdered by her sister.Now, I was Marie-Anne Rose Crown, the noble-born fiancée of the most feared man in the entire Lycan Kingdom.Asher King.Even his name sounded like a taboo, something that shouldn't be mentioned lightly. Rumor had it he didn’t smile, didn’t love, didn’t forgive. His enemies were buried in nameless graves, and his allies feared him just as much as they respected him.And soon, he would walk through that door.The thought alone sent my stomach flipping into knots. I stood in front of the same mirror that had betrayed me the day I saw her, this new version of me. I didn’t recognize her still. She had poise and elegance.A sudden, sharp knock came at the door and I jumped.“He’s here,” th

(Aya’s POV)The moment my feet hit the forest floor, I let out a sob so broken it didn't sound human. My wedding dress—once a dream, now a cruel joke—dragged on the damp earth as I ran, my vision blurred with tears. The trees stretched endlessly before me, their towering shadows swaying as if they were mourning with me. Mourning what exactly? Was it my relationship with Malakai or my life as a whole?How had everything gone so wrong?I clutched at my chest, gasping for air, but the pain wouldn’t reduce. It was as if Malakai had reached inside me and torn out my soul.My mate. My love.Had I been a fool all along?I collapsed against the rough bark of a tree, sinking to my knees. My fingers dug into the dirt, the cold sinking through my skin. A sob ripped from my throat, raw and desperate.“I hate you,” I whispered, tilting my face to the dark sky. “Moon Goddess, I hate you.”My voice broke on the last word. I had done everything right. I had endured. I had obeyed. I had suffered, all

(Aya’s POV)That night, I'd had my first kiss with Malakai. That night, I had been assured that he was the love of my life. And, for the past three months of being together, I had been assured I was set for the moment that is happening presently.My wedding day.The grand hall of the packhouse was adorned in gold and white. Candles flickered from every corner, casting a warm glow over the space. The scent of roses and pine filled the air, mixing with the faint aroma of roasted meats from the reception area. The entire Blue Moon Pack was present, along with delegates from Malakai’s Eclipse Pack.I stood at the altar, hands clutching the bouquet of white roses, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.I was getting married.I was becoming Malakai’s wife.He was my mate, my fated one, and despite everything—the years of suffering under my father’s roof, the cruelty of my stepmother and Jolene—Malakai had chosen me. He had loved me.He had promised me forever.I looked up at him, standing be

(Aya’s POV)I stumbled into my room, barely managing to shut the door before my legs gave out under me. My back hit the wood with a small thud, and I slid to the floor, burying my face in my hands. The laughter of my stepmother and Jolene still sounded in my ears, like a cruel sound meant to remind me of my place.A broken sob escaped my lips. No matter how much I tried to compose myself against their words, against their cruelty, it still hurt. Every day felt like a fresh wound, one that never had the chance to heal. I dug my fingers into the fabric of my worn dress, my nails pressing into my palms as if the slight sting could distract me from the deep ache in my chest.But then—something changed.A scent.It was faint at first, but undeniably there. A mix of lemon and something darker, something rich and intoxicating, like the first rain after a long dry season. It didn’t belong to the pack members who normally roamed the pack house. No, this was different. Foreign.I froze, my brea

(Aya’s POV)The scent of popping bacon filled the pack house kitchen, mixing with the natural aroma of brewed coffee and fresh bread. The dining hall buzzed with chatter as pack members gathered for breakfast, but I remained in the kitchen, my hands deep in a sink full of soapy water. The dishes from last night’s feast still needed scrubbing, and I knew better than to leave even a single plate not touched."Aya, hurry up with those dishes!" Jolene's sharp voice cut through the air, startling me instantly, making my hands move faster as I scrubbed the last of the greasy pots. "I need you to press my dress for the Alpha's meeting," she added, her tone mixed with impatience.I felt a familiar sense of resentment in my stomach, but I pushed it down, focusing on the task at hand. I rinsed the final pot and arranged it neatly on the drying rack, my movements quick and productive. "Yes, ma'am," I replied, my voice neutral as I dried my hands on the worn towel hanging from the hook.Jolene's