Novels by Cherish

Nicole's POVThe ride back to Mason's Pack was tense. I sat beside him, my heart rate anything but steady, my wolf anything but calm. His scent wrapped around me, doing nothing to ease the tension in my spine. Every second ticked by slowly. I shut my eyes, trying to steady my breathing. But the memory of him storming into that clearing like a beast kept replaying in my head. The way his eyes had settled on me and recognition had clicked in place. The feeling of that thread in my chest—tightening with his proximity. Mate. The worded sounded foreign. But the man beside me felt familiar, right. Mason didn’t spare me a glance. Not when he parked the car in front of an unfamiliar building. Not when he grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me in. Not when he slammed the door harshly behind us, as though the door had personally offended him. The living room was dark, the air filled with tension so thick I could almost feel it on my finger tips. “Mason.” I breathed. His back was tu

Nicole's POV"Alpha Mason," Serena greeted, her eyes darkening. "Welcome to the party.""Order your subordinates to back off," Mason growled, his eyes flashing between yellow and brown.Serena tilted her head, studying him with that calculating look. "And if I refuse?" She tested. Mason didn't blink. "Then I assume you want this handled formally."A ripple went through the warriors at the word.Formally.They all knew what it meant. Kaden stepped forward, his shoulders squared. "We will request an emergency Alpha Summit."Serena's smile thinned.Katherine's voice cut in, sharp as steel, her chin raised. "All seven Alphas will be present."Magnus added coldly, "And we will present evidence that you were in possession of a relic prohibited under Pack Law."A murmur spread through her ranks.Serena's expression hardened. "Careful," she growled. Mason took one step forward.Just one. But the ground seemed to shift with it."You used that relic," he said, his voice dangerously even, "o

Nicole's POVWe fought.Or at least, we tried to.But there were too many of them.Serena's goons closed in from every angle, disciplined, coordinated. We landed a few solid hits—enough to draw blood, enough to make it hurt—but it didn't matter. Numbers won.A fist caught my ribs.Someone drove a shoulder into my back.The air left my lungs in a sharp grunt as they forced us down the corridor.They didn't drag us.They herded us.Past Serena's office, past the guards who watched without blinking, past the polished floors that reflected our humiliation back at us.The doors burst open and we were shoved outside.The night air hit my face—cold, sharp, almost mocking after the suffocating heat inside.I staggered but didn't fall.I wouldn't give them that.Kathrine and Kaden were already there, completely surrounded with scowls on their faces. “I knew this was a stupid plan.” I muttered under my breath. Magnus shot me a look. “I didn’t see you coming up with anything better.” Kathrine

Talia's POVI froze, bracing myself for the impact. His heavy body hit me, slamming me to the ground. But not with claws. With weight. Pinning me to the ground. My heart hammered in my chest, my wolf fighting, clawing to take over. He snarled, his face mere inches from mine. That familiar spark—that had gone cold—sparked, thrumming softly underneath my skin. It wasn't strong, wasn't electric. But it was there. A hint. A reminder. His head moved closer, teeth grazing the air near my throat—I expected him to bite, to attack. Instead, he inhales. He goes up my neck, my face, my hair, sniffing. I lay there unmoving, offering him my throat. Then, he moved back. I instantly felt a cold shiver at the loss of his warmth. The fur receded. Bones snapped and realigned.And then he was there.Bare. Breathing hard. Steam rising from his skin in the cold night.His eyes were still wolf."Cass," I whispered, holding his gaze. He advanced, his strides long, purposeful. He stopped

Talia's POVI staggered. This was too much for me. I settled back on the seat, taking slow grounding breaths."One week," I whispered. "One week to get Cassian to remember me. One week to come back here. And we still don't know enough about the relic." "It's going to be okay." Mrs Alanna reassured, crouching in front of me. "We're not going to let them win."I swallowed, nodding despite the doubt creeping up. Despite the fear clawing at my insides. "Don't feel pressured. You've got this." I nodded. Everything depended on me. Everyone's lives as it was depended on me. Cassian, Mrs Alanna, Damien, Nicole—"What... what about Alpha Black? What about my mum?" I gasped. The two exchanged uneasy looks. "Tell me." "They're in confinement." Mrs Alanna answered, her eyes downcast. "They were charged with treason." I nodded. "Failure is not an option." I breathed. "Too much is at stake."Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled, loud and powerful. A shiver crept up my spine, my hear

Talia's POVDamien handed me a file. I opened it, trying to stop the tremor in my hand. My eyes scanned the words, a small frown on my face. "What is this?"Damien's eyes were already on me. Studying. "It's a report. It's called the goddess's silence cycle."I swallowed, nodding. "I know." I'd read about it, when Mrs Alanna was obsessed with shaping me into Luna material. The goddess's Luna cycle was an event that took place once every generation. It's a moment where the goddess withdraws her voice. He collected the file, turning a page. "The council was assigned by the goddess to keep the Alpha in check—to ensure no single wolf could ever wield power unchecked.""We don't have much time," Mrs. Alanna pointed out from where she stood by the window. "Get to it."Damien didn't look up immediately. He turned another page instead, his movement slow and deliberate, as if the paper itself carried weight."They were never meant to rule," he said. "Only to balance. Five voices agains

The forest had swallowed us whole.For three days, Amaya and I had moved through the trees like shadows, bruised and starving, every step a battle against the ache in our bones. The fire that had gutted the hall was long behind us, but the scent of smoke still clung to my hair, my skin, my memories. I could feel it every time I closed my eyes.We hadn't stopped long enough to rest properly. Sleep came in fits, stolen in hollows and shallow caves, broken by the crack of branches or the distant cry of wolves. Hunger gnawed at us, but worse than that was the silence, Ciro's silence. That empty place where my bond had once burned was a wound that no amount of running could heal.By the third day, my legs moved on will alone. My body screamed to give up, but Amaya was relentless. She pulled me forward with the same iron grip she'd had that night, refusing to let me collapse into the dirt."Jas," she whispered as we trudged along a narrow path littered with pine needles. Her voice was hoars

The night smelled of smoke and blood.My lungs burned with every breath as Amaya and I stumbled through the trees, the glow of fire behind us staining the sky red. The hall was gone, swallowed by the destruction I'd unleashed, but I could still hear the chaos, the howls, the screams, the furious cries of those who'd survived.And they would come for us.Branches whipped against my face as I ran, but my legs were heavy, my body barely holding itself together. Amaya was beside me, her arm looped under mine, dragging more than guiding. She was bruised, battered, bleeding from her temple, but her grip was iron."Don't stop," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Not yet. Keep moving."I wanted to tell her I couldn't. That my ribs felt like they'd been shattered, that my heart was ripping itself apart with every beat. But I couldn't form the words. My mouth was dry, my throat raw, my chest tight.And worse, my mark was gone.I reached for it again, like I had a hundred times since Duncan sho

They didn't even bother to speak to me when they came. Just a group of maids, their eyes hollow, their grips iron. They stripped me out of the rags I'd been left in and shoved me into a gown, long, white, mocking purity. My body screamed with every tug of fabric against my bruises, but I bit down on the pain and stayed silent.The dress wasn't for me, work for me. It was for him.When they were done, they wrenched my arms behind my back, rope biting into my wrists. Two of them dragged me through the corridors. The air reeked of smoke and sweat, of fear, and something darker that made my skin crawl.They threw open the doors to a vast hall. The hall was brightly lit with a huge chandelier. The room was filled with wolves, rogues, council defectors, faces twisted with eagerness to watch. And at the centre, on a dais like a king, sat Duncan.He smiled when he saw me.The crowd quieted as I was shoved forward, stumbling until I dropped to my knees before him. My wrists burned against the

The door opened, and I didn't even have the strength to turn. My body ached, my ribs screamed with every breath, and my mind was still unraveling from Duncan's poisonous words.Then I heard a laugh, sharp and cold. It twisted my insides. Tilda.She strolled inside as though she owned the place, her heels clicking against the floor in a deliberate rhythm. She took her time, circling me like a predator toying with prey."Look at you," she sneered. "The great Luna curled up like a beaten dog. I almost pity you." She crouched, her face inches from mine, her eyes gleaming with cruel delight. "Almost."I finally raised my head, slowly, intentionally. My face was swollen, my lips split from biting back the tears, but I forced the corners of my mouth into the faintest smile. "Is this what you do to feel important? Kick around the broken?"Her smirk faltered, just for a second.I leaned into it. "Duncan keeps you around because you're useful, not because you matter. You're a tool, Tilda. Not

"Ciro?" My voice was barely a whisper, my throat closing around the name. He didn't stir.Isabella shook him harder, her hands trembling. "Wake up! Damn it, Ciro, wake up!" Her sobs cracked through the air, raw and jagged, the sound of someone breaking. Tears streaked her cheeks as she pressed her forehead to his chest, her cries echoing down the hall.I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. My body felt like stone, rooted to the floor, staring at the sight that shouldn't—couldn't—be real. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would split open."What... what happened?" I whispered, but no one heard me. Or maybe no one cared to answer."Jasmine!"Amaya's voice cut through the haze, sharp and urgent. Suddenly she was there, grabbing my arm, yanking me back from the nightmare. "We have to go—now!"I stumbled after her, numb, my feet barely keeping up as she dragged me through the corridors. The walls blurred, Isabella's cries still ringing in my ears, carved into my bones."No

The room suddenly became stiff, small, almost closing in on me. Time slowed down drastically and my breathing became heavier.I felt it, being yanked out of my body suddenly and thrown towards the door. I shut my eyes, expecting to collide with the door but instead, I heard... sobs?My eyes flew open automatically, a sudden breeze hitting me. I wasn't in my room anymore.I was outside, where I had left them.Ciro was there, collapsed on the ground, his body limp, his face pale. My chest caved at the sight, the air torn from my lungs. Isabella was beside him, cradling his head, her sobs cutting through the silence like jagged glass.What?"No” The word ripped out of me, raw and desperate. I lurched forward, every instinct screaming to reach him, to touch him, to stop this, whatever it was. But my feet wouldn't move fast enough, like the air had thickened into water, dragging me back.The grass beneath me blurred, Isabella's sobs echoing, repeating, as if the world itself had narrowed t