Nobela ni Gerda J Beelen

Alpha Dexter’s POVI let the second course settle before I stand to address my guests.The scrape of my chair cuts through the low murmur of every conversation. Crystal and silver fall silent. Every pair of eyes at the long table turns toward the head.I rest one hand on the table and look down the length of the room.My voice carries without effort.“Alphas. Betas. Honored guests.”The room settles.“It is my honor to host this year’s Alpha Summit. Every year, packs from across the country gather under one roof to discuss the matters that shape our future. The borders, our trade, security, resources, and mutual protection. The preservation of our traditions.”I pause.“But beneath all those discussions lies something far more important.” I slowly lift my glass. “Loyalty.”The room quiets again.“Loyalty is what allows an alliance to survive after the handshakes are finished and the wine has been emptied. It is what keeps a neighboring pack from becoming an enemy. It is what makes a B

Alpha Dexter’s POVThe Great Hall of Snowdon is a goddamn cathedral of power, and I’ve built every inch of it to remind every other Alpha who walks through those doors exactly where they stand.Crystal chandeliers blaze overhead, throwing light across the long oak table polished to a mirror shine.Servers in black move like ghosts, pouring vintage wine that costs more than most of these packs see in a year.The air is thick with the scent of roasted pork, rare steaks, and the sharp metallic undercurrent of dominant wolves sizing each other up.I stand at the head of the table, shoulders squared, the weight of the Snowdon crest heavy on my chest.This is my stage. These are my pieces.

Damien’s POVThe stone corridors of the Snowdon estate blur past me like gray streaks of malice.Every step feels like walking over live coals.Voss is clawing at the walls of my mind, desperate to tear free, howling a relentless, bloody chorus of ‘she’s mine, tear them apart, rip their throats out.’I swallow the iron taste of rage rising in the back of my throat, but it doesn’t help. Her eyes found mine across the entrance hall hours ago, and I gave her the smallest nod. It’s still eating at me, the promise I made a week ago. Claws in.She’s terrified and hiding it behind that brittle, untouchable armor of hers, but I know her better than anyone.I can feel t

Brie’s POVSeven days of names, ranks and grievances.Every morning I sit across from Elder Marcus in a west wing meeting room that smells of old paper and cold ash, and every morning he lays out the packs like pieces on a board. Who owes whom. Who lost a son at whose border. Which Alpha will take offense if his wine is poured after his rival’s.He never once uses my name.Damien keeps his claws in. He walks me to the west wing door each morning and waits at the end of the corridor when the lesson ends, jaw tight, saying nothing. The splintered doorframe in our room stays splintered. He won’t allow anyone in to fix it.The nausea doesn’t ease. The cramps come and go.Jackling ba

Brie’s POVHis thumbs press into the backs of my hands, warm and steady, and I can’t make the lie come.Not with his scent wrapped around me. Not with his green eyes searching my face like he’s counting every crack.“He called me in,” I whisper. “This morning. Elder Marcus came with the Alpha seal, and the guard let him through.”Damien goes very still.“Who was there?”“Alpha Dexter, Elder Marcus, Hale and Vance. Two guards were at the door.”“Did he touch you?” His tone is low, a near growl.I have to remind myself his anger isn&rsqu

Brie's POVMorning light cuts through the heavy silk drapes, exposing dust dancing in the cold air.Damien is already gone. I can feel the faint, restless echo of his wolf thrumming somewhere out near the eastern border. He’s patrolling, burning off the fury he swallowed last night.He thinks he can protect me by pacing the perimeter and snarling at the shadows. He knows exactly what his father is. What he doesn’t know is that Dexter has stopped aiming at him. Now he aims through me, and Moon Goddess help me, I pray Damien never finds out.A sharp, authoritative knock rattles the door.My stomach plummets. I don’t need to ask who it is.Outside, the guard hesitates, then steps aside.

Logan’s POVI learned about the council hearing from Celeste, not Reginald. That alone told me how badly things had deteriorated between us.I was in my office, pretending to read a border report, when Celeste walked in, shut the door, and dropped a folded notice on my desk. “You should see this before someone decides you don’t deserve to know.”The Neutral Council seal tightened something in my stomach. I opened the notice and read it twice. The preliminary hearing would take place in four days on neutral territory. Reginald Ashcroft, Jack Blackwood, and Ann Carter were named. Ann was required to testify about her departure from Silverstone before the council decided whether Reginald’s paternal claim could move forward. Doctor Elias Mercer had also been summoned.“They want Mercer,” I said.“Yes.”“They’ll want me too.”Celeste took the chair across from me. “You aren’t named. Not yet.”Reginald had moved quickly. The moment he discovered he had two Alpha sons, he reached for the onl

Ann’s POVI knew the council’s summons carried bad news before Jack broke the seal. It was not the Neutral Council stamp or the look on Tristan’s face when he entered the sitting room. It was the way Jack stopped smiling the moment he saw which envelope it was.I sat on the carpet with Adrian tucked against my legs, Lucas asleep in his padded basket, and Isla resting against my chest. We had already seen Reginald’s claim. I had already told Jack I would file my own. For almost an hour that morning, I had managed to believe we knew what came next.Then Jack read the letter once, frowned, and read it again.“What is it?” I asked.He did not answer, and my stomach tightened. “Jack.”

Reginald’s POVBy the time I returned to Silverstone, the blood on my clothes had dried. Some of it belonged to Jack, some to me. Mud from the creek stained my boots, and I could still feel Logan’s grip on my arm from when he had dragged me back from the edge of a war he had helped create.I should have gone to the infirmary. I should have spoken to the council before making any formal move. Instead, I shut myself in my office and wrote the claim with my own hand. I wanted no secretary softening my words, no Beta watching over my shoulder, and no adviser warning me what might anger Blackwood. I wanted Jack to know exactly who had sent it.More than that, I wanted Ann to understand that leaving when she asked did not mean I would walk away from my children.Three children. Two sons and a daughter.I sat behind my desk long after the messenger left with the sealed declaration, repeating their names until they no longer sounded like strangers. Adrian. Lucas. Isla. They were mine by blood

Jack’s POVShe didn’t say anything on the way back.I carried her most of it. After her legs gave out at the tree line, she hadn’t protested when I lifted her, and I hadn’t asked. Her face was pressed against my shoulder and her breathing was uneven in the way that meant she was holding herself together by sheer effort.I could still hear Reginald’s voice in the trees.Tristan walked ahead of us, clearing the path back to the residence without being asked. The Blackwood wolves fell in around us quietly. Nobody spoke. The forest felt heavier than it had on the way out.Ann stirred when we reached the back entrance. “I can walk.”“I know.”I didn’t put her down.She didn’t argue.The nursery was quiet when we reached it. Three small shapes filled the cribs, and the night nurse looked up with wide eyes before I shook my head slightly. She understood and slipped out.Ann slid from my arms the moment we crossed the threshold. She went to Isla first, touching her daughter’s cheek with the b

Ann’s POVFor one terrible second, I was back in Silverstone.The creek still separated us. Jack stood beside me, and Blackwood warriors surrounded the forest. Reginald was outside our territory, not inside a bedroom or council chamber where no one would dare challenge him. None of that mattered to my body. It remembered him before my mind could accept that everything was different now.His voice, my name in his mouth, and the weight of his stare dragged old fear to the surface. His wolf pressed against the air as if dominance alone should still make me lower my head.My fingers trembled around Jack’s hand, and Reginald noticed. Of course he did. His gaze dropped to our joined hands before returning to my face.“You’re alive.”Of all the things I had imagined him saying, that had never been one of them. “Yes.”He studied me as if he needed proof. “You disappeared.”A bitter laugh escaped me. “I escaped.”His expression hardened. Behind him, Logan shifted uneasily, but Reginald ignored

Jack’s POVThe shift tore through me before thought could catch up with instinct.My bones cracked, my hands struck the earth, and my wolf surged forward with a roar that sent birds scattering. Across the creek, Reginald shifted into a large, dark gray wolf and landed hard on the muddy bank.Behind him, Logan shouted something I could not understand over the snarling, but Tristan’s command cut clearly through the forest.“Hold the line!”Every Blackwood wolf stayed on our side of the creek, teeth bared as they waited. Reginald lunged across the water, and I met him before his paws touched our soil.We crashed together in the creek. Water exploded around us as his teeth snapped beside my throat. I twisted and drove my shoulder into his chest, sending both of us rolling through the shallow current.Reginald recovered faster than I expected and came at me again. His wolf believed he was fighting for his children. Mine answered with a snarl, just as certain they were ours.Reginald’s teet

Julian's POVBy eight the next morning, maps and county records covered Marcus's dining table. Savannah sorted her notes beside my laptop while Mrs. Willy's breakfast sat mostly untouched.In a loose sweatshirt, her hair twisted up, Savannah leaned over the county map. She seemed more sure of herself here than she ever had with cameras following us through Seattle.She tapped the map. "This road ends here.""It does on the old county plan," Marcus said."Does it still end there?""Technically, yes, but an unused logging route runs another three miles east."Savannah frowned. "You never told me that.""You never

Savannah's POVBy late afternoon, I couldn't look at another number. Every figure represented a choice my parents had made while I assumed the ranch survived because it always had. They repaired equipment, renewed loans, kept workers through difficult years, and rejected an offer that could have erased most of their debt. I had loved this place without understanding what keeping it cost them.I closed the files. "I need air. Will you come with me?"Julian shut his laptop and reached for my jacket before Mom could remind me."Whose side are you on?" I asked, taking it from him."I enjoy being fed," he said.The cold hit us as we stepped outside, but his smile was the only comment he dared make.

Julian's POVDriving Savannah home didn't feel like admitting I had failed her. It felt right. She sat beside me with a folder on her lap, studying the loan statements, property records, and expenses Marcus had emailed the night before. Some of it confused her, but she kept reading."You're staring," she said, turning a page before I could deny it.She lowered the folder as the ranch came into view. This was home, and I was beginning to understand what it meant to her."You're working out how much you could pay off, aren't you?" she asked.I kept my eyes on the road. "I looked at the loan structure. There are better options."She closed her eyes. "That's not what today is about."

Savannah's POVAfter Damien stopped speaking, I stared at him, replaying what he had said about my father."If Marcus Willy ever stopped being a problem, Montgomery would finally get access through that ranch."Julian's fingers tightened around mine. He was already looking for someone to confront, while I was trying to understand how a conversation about access rights had turned into a threat against my family.I looked at Damien. "What does that mean?""I told you what I heard.""You've told me what they said, not what they meant." When his eyes shifted toward Julian, I leaned forward. "Don't look at him. This is my family, and I'm asking you."Julian's th

Julian's POVBy the time Leon finished explaining what he and Arya had found, I wanted Damien in front of me. I reached for my phone, then caught Savannah watching me across the conference table. She said nothing. Somehow, that was enough to make me put it down."You all right?" Leon asked."I'm thinking."His brows lifted. "Voluntarily?"Savannah's mouth twitched, but she lowered her gaze before I could accuse her of encouraging him.Two years ago, Damien had invested in North Ridge Urban Partners. Six months before Savannah and I married, Victor Hale's advisory company injected capital into it. The transaction was legal and openly recorded. That didn't make the timing any easier to ignore.

Savannah's POVI woke up to my face all over the internet.My phone buzzed nonstop on the bedside table while Julian slept beside me, his arm warm and heavy across my waist. For a few seconds, I stared at the ceiling and tried not to panic. Thirty-two notifications waited for me.Once, that number alone would have sent me spiraling. I would have imagined every possible headline before opening a single message: Marriage in trouble. Country wife humiliated. Julian Montgomery seen with another woman.But last night had been good. Whatever the reporters had captured, I knew what had really happened. That had to count for something.The first message was from my mother.Call me when you wake up. You loo