Novels by Lacaya

Taydyn POVI had been sitting in the parking lot for about an hour when she finally pulled in.Zey sensed her before I did.Mate.The word hit my skull like a hammer.My eyes snapped up just in time to watch her climb out of her Jeep, shoulders tight, movements quick and efficient. But what really caught my attention——some loser trailing her like a bad smell.My grip tightened on the steering wheel.The guy closed the distance between them, talking, pressing.Zey was instantly on edge.Get out.His growl rumbled through my head, low and dangerous.I cracked the window just slightly, straining to hear.The male leaned closer.Too close.My hand was already reaching for the door handle when her voice cut through the night, sharp and controlled.“I’m having a small allergic reaction… and I’m hoping the Benadryl kicks in…”I paused.Well.

Chapter NineSeannaI slipped into the bathroom at the 7-11 and peeled off my black dress, folding it carefully and tucking it into my backpack like contraband.Black jeans.Uniform shirt. Normal enough.My fingers stilled when I caught sight of my reflection.The redness had spread.It crawled across my chest and up toward my collarbone in thin, branching lines — like lightning trapped under my skin. Angry. Hot. Wrong. I swallowed hard and looked away.The second shower before work hadn’t helped. If anything, the heat had made it worse. My skin still felt tight and prickly, like something just beneath the surface was trying to push out.Don’t be dramatic, Seanna.Probably just the oil.Definitely just the oil.I forced my hands to steady and brushed on a light coat of mascara. Nothing too noticeable. Nothing that would start a lecture if anyone from church ever saw me.Just enough to feel like… m

Taydyn’s POVI had run for what felt like hours.The world blurred past in streaks of green and gold, the early morning sun filtering through the trees in fractured beams that flashed across my vision with every powerful stride. The earth was cool beneath my paws, damp with dew, the scent of pine and rich soil filling my lungs in a way that felt almost intoxicating.Running like this—really running—always did something to me.Everything sharpened.The wind tore through my fur, carrying a thousand different scents. Rabbits. Fox. The faint metallic tang of distant water. My muscles stretched and bunched in perfect rhythm, power coiled and released with effortless precision.Freedom.Zey was living his absolute best life.He surged forward with reckless joy, fully in control, fully committed, and absolutely not interested in handing back the reins anytime soon.He had headed north.It had been far

Seanna’s POVThe pain.It came fast—violent and merciless. Knives dragging through my flesh, slicing deep and slow like someone was taking their time. Heat followed, white-hot and unbearable, spreading under my skin until I thought I might split apart.I tried to scream.The sound that tore out of me didn’t feel entirely like my own.Another voice overlapped it—raw, strained… familiar in a way that made my chest tighten even inside the dream. I couldn’t see anything. Just darkness and pain and the awful certainty that something was very, very wrong.Then—I woke up in a cold sweat.A groan ripped from my throat as I dragged myself upright, every muscle in my body aching like I’d actually lived through the nightmare. My room was still dark, the heavy curtains blocking the morning light.And someone was standing at the foot of my bed.I jumped half out of my skin.“Seanna,” my mother said calmly.I

Chapter NineTaydynI barely make it three steps into the pack house before the day goes straight to hell.Terrance is mid-sentence beside me, probably about to make another terrible joke, when I feel her.Too close.Too familiar.Too—“—There he is.”I stop.Karissa.Daughter of Alpha Gavin of Crescent Creek.Tall. Leggy. Blonde. Built like most female wolves — strong, sleek, confident in a way that used to be… entertaining.Now?My stomach turns.Unfairly, my brain flashes an image of my mother standing in almost the exact same poised stance and—Ew.Zey makes a deeply offended noise in my head.“Do not compare mate’s rival to Mother. She will never measure up to even that of a Luna.”I wasn’t trying to, I shoot back.For the last two years — ever since I turned eighteen — Karissa has made her intention

Seanna POV The gas station coffee tastes like regret and burnt dirt.I drink it anyway.Classic rock hums softly through my speakers — something old and electric and absolutely scandalous enough to give my mother a full cardiac event if she ever heard it. The guitar riff vibrates through the Jeep, and for a few precious minutes on the empty morning road, I feel… normal.Free.Or at least pretending really well.The parking lot is nearly empty when I pull into the little gas station halfway home. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead as I slip inside, keeping my head down out of habit more than necessity.Old habits don’t die.They just get quieter.The bathroom mirror is harsh and unforgiving, but I face it anyway.First things first.I reach into my bag and pull out the long black dress, stepping into it with practiced efficiency. The familiar weight of the fabric settles over me like armor. Like expect