Novels by Fathia

Lucas hadn't moved."I think you look familiar," Simon said again, quieter this time, as though repeating it might shake something loose.Lucas let out a short laugh, the kind people used when they didn't know what else to do with a moment. "Maybe I've got one of those faces." He shifted the reports under his arm. "Have we crossed paths before? Some pack gathering, maybe?""I don't know." Simon's eyes stayed on him a moment longer than was comfortable. There was something about the set of his jaw, the way he held himself. A shape his mind kept reaching for and missing."Well." Lucas glanced toward the main house, toward the work waiting for him. "If it comes to you, I'd like to know. Mysteries bother me.""They bother me too."Lucas gave him a brief look, unreadable, and turned down the path toward the house. Simon watched him go until the garden swallowed the sound of his footsteps.The feeling didn't leave.It sat at the base of his skull, not sharp enough to be a memory, not faint

Bella stared at the door for a second before finally moving. Harry was still standing outside when she opened it, and for a moment neither of them spoke. Then his gaze shifted past her shoulder."Ciara."Ciara immediately stood from the chair near the bed. "Alpha." The title sounded strange coming from her. It always did. Ciara had never been particularly impressed by rank.Harry gave a small nod. Ciara looked between them, and the tension in the room was impossible to miss."Well," she said, grabbing her coat from the chair, "I suddenly remembered I have somewhere else to be."Bella rolled her eyes. "Ciara.""What?" Ciara asked innocently. "I don't want to interrupt.""You weren't interrupting.""No," Ciara agreed, "but I might start interrupting if I stay."Harry looked like he was trying very hard not to react. Ciara pointed a finger at Bella. "We're not done talking." Then she pointed at Harry. "And don't keep her standing too long."Harry actually looked surprised, and Ciara seem

Harry entered the Council Hall without rushing.The moment the doors opened, every conversation inside died. Councilor Varek Stone sat at the center of the long table, his fingers folded neatly in front of him. Several other council representatives occupied the remaining seats, their expressions unreadable.Harry remained standing. Nobody offered him a seat. Nobody expected him to take one."We were informed Bella Quinn has returned safely," Varek said.Harry's face remained blank. "She has."A brief silence followed. Then Varek tilted his head slightly. "Then perhaps you can explain why she isn't being held."Harry had expected that question. The other council members exchanged glances. One of them spoke up. "The investigation into the missing treasury allocation was never concluded."Another nodded. "Neither was the matter concerning the access keys.""The primary suspect has returned," someone else added. "Yet she remains free."Harry's jaw tightened. For a moment he simply looked

Bella froze the moment she stepped inside.Harry looked up from where he sat near the edge of the bed. His shirt was gone. For a second, neither of them spoke. The room suddenly felt much smaller than it actually was.The fire crackled softly in the corner. Outside, distant voices drifted through the window from the busy pack grounds.Harry's eyes lifted to hers. "Bella."She realized she was still standing in the doorway. Still staring. Heat crept into her face immediately."Come in," Harry said quietly.Bella quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind her.Harry watched her. "Shouldn't you be resting?"She didn't answer. Instead, she walked straight toward him. Harry's eyebrows lifted slightly. Bella reached for the fresh bandages sitting on the table beside him. Only then did understanding settle across his face."Oh.""You opened the wound." It wasn't a question.Harry glanced down. The edge of the bandage had darkened with blood again. "A little."Bella shot him a look. Harr

The hand never reached Bella.One second she saw movement exploding from the trees, and the next Harry was there. His arm locked around her waist and pulled her hard against his side. The world tilted so suddenly that Bella barely had time to gasp before steel flashed through the falling snow.The attacker who had lunged for her never made contact. Harry's blade struck first. The man hit the ground.Bella's heart slammed against her ribs. Everything happened too fast. Snow flew beneath pounding boots. Voices echoed through the trees. Steel clashed against steel.Harry shoved her behind him. "Stay close." It wasn't a request.Another attacker charged. Harry met him head-on.For a moment Bella simply stared, not because she was frightened, but because she had never seen him like this before. Not at training. Not at pack gatherings. Not even during border patrols. There was something terrifying about watching a man fight when he had something to lose. Or someone.A shout erupted to their

The cold hit Simon the moment he stepped outside.Snow drifted lazily through the darkness, catching against the ruined stone walls before disappearing into the night. Behind him, he heard the shelter door open again and knew without looking that Harry had followed.Neither of them spoke. There wasn't much to say.The mountain seemed quiet, but Simon had spent enough years surviving in places like this to know that silence could mean many things. Sometimes it meant safety. Other times it meant something was waiting.He crouched near the edge of the clearing and brushed a gloved hand across the snow. Harry watched him."What is it?" he asked after a moment.Simon studied the ground. The marks were already fading beneath fresh snowfall, but they were there. Someone had been here. Not long ago.He straightened slowly. "We weren't alone."Harry's attention immediately shifted toward the surrounding trees. "How many?""I don't know."The answer clearly frustrated him. Simon understood. It