Novels by I.L SPARKS

That night, sleep brought no peace. The moment I closed my eyes, I was pulled into a nightmare more vivid and cruel than any I'd experienced before.I stood in the center of the pack's great hall, but it was wrong somehow – twisted into a grotesque amphitheater where every seat was filled with faces I recognized. Pack members, the Vale family, supernatural beings I'd never met but who somehow knew exactly who and what I was. All of them staring down at me with expressions ranging from disgust to pity to outright hatred."Look at her," Reena's voice echoed from somewhere in the crowd, though I couldn't see her face. "Still pretending she belongs here when everyone knows she's just a pathetic charity case.""She actually thought Alpha Kael cared about her," Victor's cruel laugh joined the chorus. "As if someone like him would ever choose a weak, powerless nothing like her."But it was Lyra's voice that cut deepest, dripping with venom and cruel satisfaction as she stepped into the c

The Lumina representatives were scheduled to arrive at dawn tomorrow, giving me enough time to wrestle with the decision that would determine the rest of my life. I spent most of it in the pack's garden, sitting on a stone bench with my mother's pendant warm against my skin, trying to sort through the chaos of emotions and revelations from the past few days.The garden was peaceful in the late morning light, filled with the kind of flowers that seemed to thrive in Portland's mild climate. Roses climbed trellises against the stone walls, their perfume mingling with the earthy scent of fresh soil and the distant pine fragrance from the surrounding forest. It was the kind of place that should have brought me comfort, but my mind was too turbulent for peace.I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice I was no longer alone until a shadow fell across the path in front of me. Looking up, I found Reena standing there with an expression of such pure malice that it made my blood run cold

I barely slept that night, Lyra's words echoing in my mind like a cruel lullaby. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Alpha Kael's cold expression in the medical wing, heard him referring to me as "pack business," felt the sting of his formal dismissal. Maybe she was right. Maybe I had been fooling myself about what existed between us.Dawn was just breaking when a soft knock interrupted my restless thoughts. I expected to see Kayla or Chloe with breakfast, but instead found Ryder standing in my doorway, his kind grey eyes filled with concern and something that looked like guilt."Ryder?" I sat up in bed, pulling my robe tighter around myself. "What are you doing here? It's barely six in the morning.""I needed to see you before the Lumina representatives arrive," he said quietly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. "There are things you need to know. Things about your past that no one else will tell you."My heart began to race. "What things?"He moved to the

The guest quarters felt more like a prison than a sanctuary. I'd been moved here after my confrontation with Alpha Kael in the medical wing, supposedly for my "comfort and privacy" while the Lumina representatives prepared for our meeting. In reality, I suspected it was to keep me isolated from the pack members who were still processing their fear of what I'd become.I sat on the bed, staring out the window at the forest beyond, when a soft knock interrupted my brooding. Before I could respond, the door opened to reveal Kayla carrying a tray of food that smelled infinitely better than anything I'd been offered in days."I figured you might be hungry," She said with a warm smile that was so different from her brother's current coldness that it made my chest ache. "Hospital food is terrible even when you're not recovering from a magical awakening.""You don't have to—""Yes, I do," she interrupted firmly, settling the tray on the small table near the window. "My brother might be a

"Are you asking me to leave?" The question came out much smaller and more vulnerable than I'd intended."I'm asking you to understand that this situation has become extremely complicated. As Alpha of this pack, I have a fundamental obligation to consider the welfare of the entire community, not just..."He stopped abruptly, his jaw tightening with visible tension."Not just what?" I pressed, though part of me dreaded hearing his answer."Not just my personal feelings," He finished quietly, but the admission sounded more like a curse than any kind of confession of care.Adeline cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Perhaps I should give you two some privacy to discuss this sensitive matter.""That won't be necessary," Alpha Kael said quickly, his voice sharp with dismissal. "This isn't a personal conversation. It's strictly pack business."The casual dismissiveness of those words hit me like a physical slap. Pack business. That's all I was to him now – a problem to be efficiently man

I woke in the pack's medical wing three days later, my body feeling like I'd been struck by lightning and then trampled by an entire pack of wolves. Every muscle ached with a bone-deep soreness, my head pounded with a relentless rhythm that matched my heartbeat and the metallic taste of copper lingered in my mouth as if I'd been chewing on pennies for hours.The room was sterile white and unfamiliar, filled with the antiseptic scent that all medical facilities seemed to share. Sunlight streamed through gauze curtains, suggesting it was well into the afternoon, though I had no real sense of how much time had passed since Marcus Webb's attack."Easy there," a gentle voice said as I attempted to sit up too quickly, the world spinning dangerously around me. "You've been unconscious for seventy-two hours. Your body needs time to properly adjust to the magical awakening you experienced."I turned my aching head to see Adeline sitting in a chair beside my bed, her kind brown eyes filled w