Novels by Queen Ugo

Sage’s POVAutumn returned to Redhollow again, a full two years since the night Vanessa’s rejection had first thrown my life into chaos, the same season that had once carried nothing but grief now bringing something entirely different. Little Vanessa, no longer little at all, toddled unsteadily across our garden’s grass, chasing a fallen leaf with the fierce determination of a child who had recently discovered walking and refused to be slowed by anything, her small dark curls catching the golden afternoon light.“Careful,” I called out, though I made no move to stop her, content to simply watch from the porch where Ethan sat beside me, one arm draped comfortably around my shoulders, a mug of tea cooling forgotten in his other hand.“She’s going to be trouble,” Ethan said, though his voice carried nothing but pride and affection, his eyes never leaving our daughter’s determined pursuit.“She already is,” I said, laughing as our daughter finally caught her leaf and held it up triumphant

Sage’s POV Summer arrived warm and full over Redhollow, and with it, the final weeks of my pregnancy stretched long and increasingly uncomfortable. The house felt smaller somehow, every room slightly too warm, every chair slightly too firm against my aching back. Dr. Petra, who had taken over most of the clinic’s responsibilities from the previous healer while still balancing her guardian network duties, monitored my progress carefully throughout these final months, her steady presence becoming a genuine comfort during a season that otherwise felt endless.“Everything looks perfectly healthy,” she assured me during one particular checkup, just two weeks before my expected delivery date, pressing gently against my rounded belly with practiced hands. “Strong heartbeat, proper positioning. You’re doing wonderfully.”“I feel like a boat that’s been left out in the sun too long,” I said, easing myself back into a sitting position with more effort than the movement should have required.Pe

Sage’s POVWinter deepened over Redhollow throughout the following weeks, the pack settling into its familiar seasonal rhythm of shorter days and quiet, cozy evenings. I found myself busier than usual coordinating the guardian network’s year-end assessment, a formality Sarah had insisted upon to properly document everything the collaborative system had accomplished throughout its first full year of operation.“The numbers are remarkable,” Sarah said, reviewing the compiled reports during our final coordination meeting before the holiday break, her laptop screen filled with careful charts and statistics she had spent weeks compiling. “Zero successful corruption attempts across all seven founding territories since the network’s completion. Three additional territories joined this past quarter alone, bringing our total participation to fourteen.”“Fourteen,” I repeated, genuinely struck by how far we had come from that small, desperate gathering nearly a year earlier when three guardians

Sage’s POVThe vow renewal ceremony was set for a crisp November afternoon, considerably smaller in scale than either my own wedding or the elaborate memorial ceremonies the pack had once favored. My mother wanted it simple, held in the same garden where we had honored Vanessa’s memory months earlier, the same stone marker visible from where they’d stand to exchange their renewed promises.“Is it strange, choosing that particular spot?” I asked her, helping arrange chairs the morning before the ceremony, the November air sharp enough that our breath came in visible puffs.“I don’t think so,” my mother said, considering the question thoughtfully, pausing with a folding chair in her hands. “I think it feels right, actually. Building something new and hopeful in the same place we finally properly honored her memory. It feels like continuity rather than contradiction. Like one kind of healing making room for another.”I helped with preparations throughout that week, genuinely enjoying thi

Sage’s POVThe message arrived on an ordinary Tuesday morning, nothing about its arrival suggesting the significance it would carry. Marcus called while I was helping my mother prepare breakfast, his voice carrying the particular controlled calm he used whenever delivering news that required careful handling rather than urgent panic.“We found Willis,” he said. “Or rather, a contact in Thornwood territory found him. He has been living there under a different name for months, working odd jobs, apparently trying to stay invisible.”I set down the pan I had been holding, giving Marcus my full attention while my mother paused at the stove, sensing immediately from my expression that this call carried genuine weight. “Is he willing to talk?”“According to Thornwood’s Alpha, he seemed almost relieved when their security approached him,” Marcus said. “Apparently he has been waiting for something like this, too afraid to come forward himself but not exactly hiding effectively either.”We arra

Sage’s POVWe spent nearly three weeks planning the memorial, my mother insisting on getting every detail right despite my repeated assurances that simplicity would honor Vanessa far better than elaborate ceremony ever had. We settled eventually on something small and intimate, held in our own garden rather than the pack’s central square where the old, false anniversary ceremony had always taken place. That square still carried too much weight, too many years of white roses and silver ribbons wrapped around a story that had never been true.“Just family,” my mother said, reviewing her list one evening, pen tapping against the notebook page. “And whoever genuinely knew her, genuinely loved her, rather than the whole pack showing up out of obligation the way they always used to.”That narrowed things considerably. Aunt Ruth, obviously, the woman who’d first cracked the story open in that clinic supply closet all those months ago. Marcus and Reyes, since Marcus had become close enough to

Aria’s POVI am staring at the tubes when she walks in, her eyes tired but bright. She stops by the desk, leaning over to sign in. Someone tries to get her attention in the front row. The boy from last night. But she ignores him, heading straight for me.“You are in my seat,” she murmurs, angling her head.“Oh!” I blink, my brain scrambling all over the place. I didn’t think we were going to be in the same class. “Sorry.”“It’s fine,” she shakes her head, taking the seat next to me. “You can have it. Consider it payment for not walking into the kitchen and thinking you can save me from harm. Nyra would have done it in a heartbeat. It annoys me.”I narrow my eyes in confusion. “What?”“I saw you at the party yesterday,” Isla chirps. She doesn’t sound angry. “You know you do a shitty job at hiding, right? Your shoes were out in the open, and your smell….” She purses her lips and turns to look at me.Her eyes search my face intently before she shakes her head. “Strange.”I edge towards

Aria’s POVDarius.I tried not to think about him all night, but when I fell asleep, I saw those eyes in my dreams. It was strange, because I was right here, right in the woods beside my window.Twigs snapped underneath my feet as I ran forward, the trees fading into a blur all around me. The scent of the night air teased my nostrils, mixed with something else.Him.He was in the middle of the clearing, but this time, it wasn’t Darius. It was his wolf. Dark like midnight, with a fierce gaze. Dad had warned me that getting them not to shift was the important part in taking them out, that it was almost game over fighting with a wolf.But in that moment, as he approached, his paws hitting the earth, I was so certain he wasn’t going to harm me. And I did the strangest thing.I took a step forward in his direction.We stared at each other for the longest time, but that peace seemed to be fractured when our heads moved to the left, when we heard them coming.“Run,” I whispered, my tone urge

Darius’ POVThe word I have never heard in all my existence courses through me as I bring the rim of my red cup to my lips.Mate.Luca, my beta, angles his head, watching me as I stare at nothing in particular. He has always been able to read me for as long as I can remember.And right now, I feel him trying to do the same thing.I hear her sharp whimper up the stairs, but I don’t look. Instead, I bring the cup to my lips again. I can’t afford to think about her. Not right now.Still, those green eyes are nestled in my subconscious.It makes no sense.Nothing makes sense right now.The door cracks open, and Nyra steps in. Her feet come to an abrupt halt when she takes in the space, her gaze narrowing. “What happened here?”Luca crosses the space to join her, wrapping a hand around her waist and pulling her flush against him. I watch as she melts into his arms, as she turns her face to him, an easy smile lighting up her features immediately.I have never wanted this, even if it is all

Aria’s POVI seem to have suddenly forgotten how to breathe. All I can focus on are those dark eyes gazing intently into mine, the feral snarl of his lips and the damn scent that tingles my senses, threatening to pull me under.I try to swallow, try to say something, but my tongue has decided to remain glued to the roof of my mouth. His words wash through me, but all I can do is shake my head.A gasp escapes my lips when he brings one hand above my head, when his other hand moves down, a finger grazing my chin. I feel the sudden pull, the jolt of electricity coursing through me where his skin meets.He juts my chin up, and a plea almost falls from my lips.But what will I be begging for? For him to let me go? For him to take a tiny step closer, to bridge the space between us?It all ends as soon as it began. One minute, all I can feel is his presence, and the next, I hear the door close quietly. I release a breath, my heart still thudding hard against my chest, as if trying to claw it

Aria’s POVIt is crowded inside, kids laughing so loud that I am overwhelmed with the urge to press my hands against my ears. Red cups hang in the air, sharp eyes scanning the space, the music blasting through the walls.This isn’t my space.It has never been.Still, I push through the slim entrance, the smell of liquor hitting the minute I walk into the large living room, with couches moved aside and sweaty bodies pressed against each other.The Blood Ridge Pack.I have read a lot about them from the Hunters’ library, but it isn’t the same thing as being near them. As being in the same room as them. Their energy…there is something about it that makes me halt in the middle of the space.“Get out of the way,” someone screams. I move just in time before I get run over by a drunk college kid in roller skates. His laughter travels down the hallway with him, and I move in that direction.Searching for something.Anything.The hallway is the same as the living room, seemingly devoid of anyt