Novels by Monday Luisa

Sage woke strapped to a metal table.Silver restraints. They burned her wrists and ankles. Made shifting impossible.The lab coat woman stood over her. “I’m Dr. Sarah Wright. I developed the lycanthropy cure.”“There is no cure. We’re born this way.”“You were. But I can change that.” Dr. Wright held up a syringe filled with blue liquid. “This serum rewrites your DNA. Removes the genetic markers that allow transformation. One injection and you’re permanently human.”“That’s murder. You’re killing what I am.”“I’m saving you. Making you safe. Normal.” Dr. Wright smiled. “You should be grateful.”“I’ll kill you first.”“You can try. Once you’re human and powerless.” She turned to her assistants. “Prepare the injection site.”They swabbed Sage’s arm. Brought the needle closer.“Wait!” Sage struggled against the restraints. “You can’t do this. It’s illegal. It’s—”“It’s government sanctioned. Approved by Congress. Funded by taxpayers who want the werewolf problem solved.” Dr. Wright posit

Finally made it to the exit. Shifted to human. A federal agent threw her a blanket.“Where’s the rest?” Chen asked.“Still inside. Some dead. Some alive. I don’t know.” Sage was shaking. “We have to go back for them.”“We’re trying. But Richard’s people are barricaded. Using the other Alphas as shields.”The standoff lasted three hours. Finally Richard emerged. Hands up. Surrendering.“Where are the Alphas?” Chen demanded.“Inside. Alive. Mostly.” Richard smiled even as they handcuffed him. “But it doesn’t matter. I already won.”“What do you mean?”“The world saw werewolves attack humans. Saw them die fighting. Saw proof they’re dangerous.” He laughed. “Public opinion just turned against them. Permanently.”He was right. Sage saw it on the news later. The attack. The fighting. Edited to make wolves look like aggressors.Victoria died in surgery. Two other Alphas dead. Three wounded.The remaining seven gathered that evening. All exhausted. All traumatized.“What do we do now?” one as

Richard walked into the safe room like he owned it.His people herded the twelve Alphas into a corner. Weapons trained on them. One wrong move and everyone died.“Cameras are live,” Richard said to someone outside. “Broadcasting to every news outlet. The world is watching.”Sage looked at the camera being set up. This was planned. Coordinated. They wanted the world to see werewolf leadership captured.“What do you want?” Victoria asked. Her voice was steady despite the guns pointed at her.“What we’ve always wanted. A world without your kind.” Richard smiled. “But since extermination takes time, we’ll settle for control.”“Control how?”“Registration. Tracking devices. Designated living areas. Sterilization for those who don’t comply.” He counted on his fingers. “Basically everything we’d do to any dangerous animal population.”“We’re not animals.”“You shift into animals. Close enough.” He gestured to his people. “Bring her forward.”They grabbed Sage. Pulled her away from the group.

Sage called an emergency pack meeting at midnight.One hundred wolves gathered in twenty minutes. All armed. All ready.“We have intel about an attack tomorrow,” Sage said. “Multiple hate groups coordinating. Target is me, Kade, and Hope. They want to make an example of us.”“Then we evacuate,” Cole said. “Get you somewhere safe.”“Running proves we’re scared. Shows weakness.” Sage looked around the room. “We stay. We defend. We show them we won’t be intimidated.”“That’s suicide,” Beth argued. “How many hate groups? How many attackers?”“The informant didn’t say. But enough that he felt the need to warn us.” Sage touched the gun at her hip. “We have twelve hours to prepare. Fortify the compound. Set up defensive positions. Get civilians to the bunker.”They worked through the night. Building barricades. Checking weapons. Moving families underground.By dawn the compound looked like a military base. Guards on every wall. Snipers on rooftops. Everyone is waiting.Sage stood at the gate

Sage shot first.The bullet hit the human leader in the shoulder. He went down screaming.“Traitor!” she yelled at Claire.Claire shifted to wolf form. Ran toward the fence. Escaping.Riley intercepted her. His gray wolf tackled her brown one. They fought while chaos erupted around them.Kade fired from his wheelchair. Taking down humans trying to breach medical. His aim was perfect even sitting down.Sage moved through the compound despite her body screaming in protest. She’d given birth twelve hours ago. Should be in bed. Instead she was fighting for her pack’s survival.A human came at her with a silver knife. She shot him. Point blank. Kept moving.Cole appeared beside her. “Medical is secure. Margaret got Hope and the other patients to the bunker.”“How many attackers?”“Fifty when they started. Maybe thirty left. But they’re armed and organized.” Cole shifted and took down two humans trying to flank them. “We’re holding but barely.”The fight lasted twenty minutes. Felt like hou

Sage woke in the medical building for what felt like the hundredth time in her life.Margaret was beside her. Kade on the other side. Both looking exhausted.“The baby?” Sage asked. Her voice was hoarse.“Still there. Heartbeat strong.” Margaret showed her the ultrasound screen. “But you’re on strict bed rest. Any more stress and you will miscarry.”“I can’t be on bed rest. The war—”“The war will happen with or without you running around making it worse.” Margaret’s voice was firm. “You’re pregnant. High risk. You don’t get to be Alpha right now. You get to be a mother protecting her child.”“But the pack needs—”“The pack needs their Alpha alive and sane. Not dead from stress.” Kade grabbed her hand. “Cole can lead temporarily. You focus on staying pregnant.”Sage wanted to argue. But the cramping pain was still there. A reminder of how close she’d come to losing this baby.“Fine. Bed rest. But I want updates. Every day. On everything.”Cole came by that evening. Brought reports on

The machines beep faster.“Antonio spent forty years watching Carlos Sandoval build an empire on blood while he lost everything for an honest relationship with me. When you started dating Mateo, Antonio saw his chance.” Her eyes bore into mine. “Everything he did—the cameras, Marina, all of it—was about punishing Carlos Sandoval through his son. About destroying Mateo the way Carlos destroyed that woman.”“Who was she? The woman who died?”“I don’t know. Antonio never told me her name. Just said she was young. Brilliant. Pregnant with Carlos’s child when she died.”“She had the abortion then—”“No.” My mother’s grip tightens. “She didn’t have the abortion. She had the baby. Gave her up for adoption before she died. That baby is alive, Elena. She’s been part of this story from the beginning.”My heart stops. “Who? Who is she?”“You know her. You’ve been working with her.” My mother’s voice is fading. “The adoption records—Antonio found them years ago. He knew. He’s been—”Her words cut

I’m running through Madrid-Barajas Airport before Mateo finishes the sentence.“My mother had a heart attack. I need to get to Valencia. Now.”Sofia is beside me, Patricia behind us. Mateo is on his phone, already making calls.We reach the ticket counter. “Next flight to Valencia.”The agent checks her screen. “Fully booked. Next available seats are tomorrow morning at six—”“Tomorrow?” I slam my hands on the counter. “My mother is dying. There has to be something.”“I’m sorry, miss. It’s peak travel season. Everything is booked.”Mateo appears beside me. “I can get us there.”“How?”“My family still has corporate accounts. Private charters.” He’s already dialing. “I just need to authorize one last expense before they freeze everything.”Five minutes of terse phone calls. Then: “Plane will be ready in forty minutes. Private terminal.”We run again. Through security. Across the airport. To a section I’ve never seen—where the wealthy bypass lines and crowds.A sleek jet sits on the tar

The video continues. It shows my father explaining that Marina is dangerous, that having a defense plan isn’t the same as plotting murder.“Isabella edited it,” I breathe. “She cut out the context.”“She manipulated the footage to make it look like premeditated murder when it was actually your father preparing your mother for possible self-defense.” Ana puts her phone away. “I have the full video. The metadata proving when it was recorded and when it was edited. Everything we need to prove Isabella fabricated evidence.”“So my mother is safe.”“If we release this before the wedding, yes. Isabella’s leverage disappears.”I look at Patricia. “Then why haven’t you released it already?”“Because we need Mateo’s cooperation. And he won’t break the engagement unless he knows you’re here. Unless he knows you still want him.” Patricia meets my eyes. “He thinks you moved on, that you chose MIT over him. He’s going through with the wedding because he believes there’s nothing left to fight for.”

Richard’s apartment is nice. Modern and impersonal.We barely make it through the door before he’s kissing me. It’s fine. Technically competent. Completely empty.I kiss him back anyway. Try to lose myself in someone who isn’t Mateo.His hands are under my shirt when my phone rings.I ignore it.It rings again. And again.“You should get that,” Richard says.I check the screen. Patricia.“I need to take this.” I step into his hallway. “What?”“Elena. Where are you?”“Boston. Why?”“You need to see this. I’m sending a link.”My phone buzzes. Article link from The Guardian.Headline: *SANDOVAL HEIR’S SECRET: FIANCÉE UNAWARE OF COERCED ENGAGEMENT*I scan the article. Someone leaked everything. The medical incompetence angle, Isabella’s threats, the coerced contracts, everything.“Who gave them this?” I ask.“I don’t know, but it was published twenty minutes ago and it’s everywhere. Twitter. Reddit. Every major news outlet is picking it up.”“What does this mean for Mateo?”“It means the

I destroyed my MIT lab on day three.Not intentionally. I’m running a quantum resonance test, miscalculate the electromagnetic interference, and the entire array overloads. Sparks. Smoke. Alarms screaming.My advisor, Dr. Chen, finds me in the wreckage. “Miss Vega. My office. Now.”I follow her through the physics building, still smelling like burnt circuits.She closes her office door. “You’ve been here two weeks. In that time, you’ve produced brilliant preliminary work and nearly burned down a fifty-million-dollar lab. What’s going on?”“Personal issues. They won’t interfere again…”“They’re interfering now.” She sits. “I recruited you because your research is exceptional. But I need your head in the game. Whatever is happening in your personal life, fix it or compartmentalize it. You have one week to prove you can handle this program.”One week. Mateo’s wedding is in four days.“I understand.”Back at the apartment Sofia found us, small, expensive, walking distance from campus—I tr

I’m at gate B17 when I see his face on the departure lounge television.Mateo. In a suit I’ve never seen. Standing beside a woman who’s all polish and poise and everything I’m not.The chyron reads: *SANDOVAL HEIR ANNOUNCES ENGAGEMENT TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS HEIRESS*Sofia grabs my arm. “Don’t look. It’s probably old news—”“Three days ago.” The timestamp on the screen. Three days after he left the hospital. Four days after he held me in his bed and promised we’d figure this out together.The reporter’s voice carries across the gate area: “In a surprise announcement, Mateo Sandoval, newly appointed CEO of Sandoval Holdings, has confirmed his engagement to Victoria Ruiz, daughter of telecommunications magnate—”I turn away. Can’t watch.“Boarding for flight BA213 to Boston Logan will begin in ten minutes.”My phone buzzes. Text from my mother: *Did you see the news? Good. Now you can move on properly.*Another buzz. Carmen: *I’m sorry. Isabella works fast.*I silence my phone. Board the

Hart was still thirty miles from Veilridge City when Jethro’s phone exploded with emergency alerts from every allied pack territory simultaneously, and the cold dread in his expression told Hart everything before he even spoke.“Operation Silver Dawn just launched,” Jethro said, his voice tight. “Eighteen hours early. Multiple coordinated strikes hitting all twenty-three target territories at once.”Hart’s phone buzzed with incoming reports, and he watched the tactical map light up with red indicators showing active military assaults.River Basin Pack: under attack, heavy casualties reported.Mountain Crest Pack: perimeter breached, requesting immediate backup.Coastal Ridge Pack: evacuating under fire.The list went on, every territory they’d been trying to warn and protect now facing overwhelming military force.“Casualty estimates?” Cole asked, his voice dangerously calm in the way that meant he was barely holding his rage together.“Already at thirty-plus confirmed dead in the fir

Hart stumbled through the darkened facility corridors using the totem’s light to see, his body still burning from the inside but alive in ways that shouldn’t be possible after his heart had stopped.Around him, chaos erupted as the power failure unlocked every cell and security door simultaneously, releasing dozens of detained werewolves and humans into the hallways.“This way!” someone shouted, and Hart recognized one of Kade’s pack members leading a group toward an emergency exit.Hart followed, his legs barely supporting him, and crashed through the exit door into early morning sunlight that hurt his oversensitive eyes.The facility’s parking lot was pure pandemonium, escaped prisoners running in all directions while guards tried to regain control without functioning communication systems or electronic locks.Hart spotted Cole immediately, his mate’s massive black wolf form tearing through security personnel who were stupid enough to get in his way.Their eyes met across the parkin

Hart spent the night planning an escape that probably wouldn’t work but was better than sitting in a cell doing nothing while Marcus experimented on his sister.When the cell door opened at dawn, Hart expected guards coming to drag him to Marcus for another negotiation attempt, but instead he found himself staring at a video monitor being wheeled in by two technicians.Marcus’s face appeared on screen, and Hart could see he was standing in what looked like a command center, probably not even in the same facility.“Good morning, Hart,” Marcus said. “I hope you’ve reconsidered my offer.”“Where’s Mira?” Hart demanded. “I want to see her, confirm she’s okay before we discuss anything.”Marcus gestured off-screen, and the video feed split to show a second camera view of Mira strapped to a medical table, wires and sensors attached to her body, looking pale and terrified.“She’s been very cooperative with our initial tests,” Marcus said. “We’ve learned a lot about how dormant werewolf genet

The apartment door splintered under the battering ram on the third hit, and Hart barely had time to shift Mira behind him before federal agents poured into the room with weapons raised.“Nobody move!” the lead agent shouted, his gun trained on Hart. “Hart Santino, you’re under arrest. Everyone on the ground, hands visible!”Hart raised his hands slowly, very aware that one wrong move would get everyone in this room shot, and through the bond he felt Cole’s barely controlled rage.“We’re complying,” Hart said, keeping his voice calm. “Nobody needs to get hurt here.”“Tell that to the thirty-seven wolves your kind killed at River Basin Pack,” the agent said. “On the ground, now!”They complied, all four of them lying face down on Lewis’s apartment floor while agents zip-tied their wrists behind their backs with plastic restraints that smelled like silver, burning against Hart’s skin.Mira whimpered beside him, still wrapped in the blanket, and Hart could smell her fear mixing with the s

Cole shifted immediately and put himself between Mira’s wolf and Lewis, using his Alpha presence to try to force her into submission.Mira’s wolf responded by attacking Cole, all teeth and claws and feral desperation.Hart shifted as well, his larger silver wolf form blocking Mira’s exit from the apartment before she could bolt into the hallway and expose herself to human witnesses.“We need to calm her down,” Hart said through the bond to Cole. “She’s terrified, she doesn’t understand what’s happening.”Cole’s wolf growled at Mira, using Alpha command, but Mira’s wolf was too panicked to respond to it properly.She scrambled toward the window, clearly planning to jump through it, and they were on the fourth floor.Hart intercepted her, using his body to block her path, and Mira bit down on his shoulder hard enough to draw blood.The pain was sharp and immediate, but Hart didn’t fight back, just used his size to pin Mira’s wolf gently against the floor.“Mira, please,” Hart said, hopi

Hart was helping Dr. Vergara catalog vaccine doses when his phone rang with Mira’s number, and the panic in her voice made his heart stop.“Hart, something’s wrong with me,” Mira said, her words coming out fast and scared. “My hearing is too sharp, I can smell things I shouldn’t be able to smell, and last night I had dreams about running through forests as a wolf. This isn’t normal, right? This is supernatural?”Hart’s stomach dropped because he’d been dreading this conversation since he’d learned about their mother’s werewolf heritage.“Where are you?” Hart asked, already moving toward the exit.“Lewis’s apartment,” Mira said. “Hart, my hands keep doing this thing where they look wrong, like the bones are trying to shift position. I’m scared.”“Stay there, I’m coming,” Hart said, gesturing to Cole that he needed to leave immediately.Cole followed him to a vehicle without question, and through their bond Hart felt his mate’s concern mixing with resignation, like Cole had also been ex