Novels by Liora Thorne

Cindy's POV The mansion returned to its normal quiet after the charity dinner. I noticed Mom watching me more often than before. Every time Blake and I crossed paths, even just to say good morning, it felt dangerous. One wrong look and everything could fall apart.Mom invited me out for coffee that afternoon. She wanted time alone with me. We sat at a small café near the city center. She talked about how happy she was that we finally had a stable home."I spent so many years worrying about money and moving. Now I can finally breathe.""You deserve that peace, Mom," I said."I do." She wrapped both hands around her cup. "Do you remember the apartment on Fifth Street? The one with the leaking ceiling?""How could I forget. You put a bucket under it and named it Gerald."She laughed, really laughed, and for a moment she looked younger. "Gerald served us well. But I do not miss those days. I do not miss watching you go without things because I could not afford them.""You never let me fe

The charity dinner preparations were almost finished. Mom asked me to help her set the long dining table. We stood side by side placing silverware and folding napkins."You have been smiling a lot more lately," Mom said casually while arranging the plates. "Is there something or someone making you happy?"I almost dropped a fork. "No. I am just happy you are happy. That is all."She laughed softly. "All right. Keep your secrets then." We talked about growing up, about how she always wanted me to find someone who treated me well."You deserve someone steady," she said, smoothing a napkin flat. "Someone who notices you. Not someone who just tolerates you.""I know, Mom.""I mean it. After everything with your father, I promised myself I would not let you settle for less than that." She glanced at me sideways. "You would tell me, would you not? If there was someone."I changed the subject as fast as I could, asking her about the flowers for the centerpiece instead. She let it go, but I f

Cindy's POV I was helping Mom decorate the mansion for the upcoming charity dinner, arranging ribbons along the staircase railing and tucking white lilies into vases that lined the entryway, when Blake walked through the living room. He wore a fitted black shirt that made his shoulders look even broader than usual, and for a moment I forgot what I was doing entirely. Our eyes met across the room. I felt my cheeks warm instantly, a heat that had nothing to do with the afternoon sun coming through the tall windows.He is not even trying to hide it anymore, I thought. Neither am I, apparently.Blake's gaze lingered on me a second too long before he looked away, and I found myself gripping the stem of a flower a little too hard. Servants moved around us carrying trays and folding chairs, weaving between the two of us like we were just another piece of furniture in their way, so neither of us could say anything. We just stood there, caught in that small silent moment, until it passed a

Cindy's POV I woke up feeling anxious, the kind of anxious that sits low in the stomach and refuses to lift. The memory of Victor looking up at me on the staircase last night would not leave my mind. Had he seen something in my expression. Something I had not meant to show. Did he suspect what was happening between Blake and me.I kept hearing Blake's words too."You will not be able to hate the right person." What did he mean by that. The sentence circled in my head like a warning I could not quite understand, over and over, until it stopped sounding like words and started sounding like a threat wrapped in something gentler.I went downstairs hoping Blake had already left for the day. But Victor was sitting on the terrace having breakfast alone, a newspaper folded beside his plate, the morning light catching the silver at his temples. He smiled warmly when he saw me. "Cindy, come join me. It is a beautiful morning out here."I sat down across from him, arranging my face into somethi

I woke up after only a few hours of sleep. Sunlight was coming through the curtains but my mind was still in the library. I kept replaying every moment. Blake’s gentle touch. The way he held me. The closeness we shared. I reached beside me in the bed, almost expecting to find him there, before remembering I had slipped back to my own room in the middle of the night. The memory made my heart ache in a way I did not expect. I saw the threatening note still on my nightstand. “Some secrets destroy everyone who uncovers them.” I folded it carefully and hid it deep inside one of my books on the shelf. My hands would not stop shaking. Downstairs at breakfast I hoped Blake had already left for the day. But he was sitting at the table drinking coffee. Our eyes met across the room. Neither of us knew what to say. The silence felt thick and uncomfortable. Mom noticed right away. “You two are very quiet this morning. Is everything okay?” Victor was distracted by work calls. He kept steppin

I could not stop thinking about the moment in the gazebo. Blake gently brushing the hair from my face. The way his thumb lingered on my cheek. The way my heart had pounded so hard I thought he could hear it. I spent the whole morning avoiding him. Every time I heard footsteps I took a different hallway. Every time I saw his shadow I turned around. But the mansion was big and somehow we kept crossing paths anyway. Near the stairs. By the big windows. In the corridor leading to the kitchen. Each time our eyes met for a split second and we both looked away fast. Mrs. Carter noticed the strange tension. She found me rearranging books in the sitting room and asked quietly, “Miss Cindy, is everything alright between you and Mr. Blake? The air feels different lately. Heavier.” I forced a smile. “Everything is fine. Thank you for caring.” She nodded but I could tell she did not believe me. Later that afternoon both Victor and Mom left for separate engagements. Victor had an important m

Sable's POVI woke up between them.Not tangled, not touching in any way that would make the elders faint twice in one day, but between them. Vex slept on his back like even though in deep sleep and unconscious he was standing guard. Knox slept curled toward me, one arm slung over a pillow he must have grabbed sometime in the night because it definitely wasn't there when I passed out exhausted.The cabin smelled like woodsmoke and pine and something warmer underneath it, something that made my chest ache in a way I didn't have a name for yet and couldn't fathom as well.My wrist didn't burn anymore. It pulsed, slow and steady, like a second heartbeat that had decided to live under my skin.I lay there for a long minute just breathing. Yesterday I had one life and it was a quiet one, a life where nobody said my name like it meant something and now I had two mates asleep six inches away and an entire pack outside probably still arguing about whether that was even allowed.Knox's eyes

Sable's POV We slipped into the forest under the cover of deepening night, moving as quietly as we could. The howls had grown louder, closer, and my heart pounded in time with them. Vex led the way, his steps sure and silent on the uneven ground.Knox stayed right beside me, one hand occasionally brushing my arm like he needed to make sure I was still there. Elias brought up the rear, his breathing a little labored but steady.The bond between us sharpened with every step. Brief flashes came through, Vex’s quiet determination mixed with a deep worry for the pack he was leaving behind, Knox’s fierce protectiveness that bordered on anger at anyone who would threaten me.It wasn’t just feelings anymore. Sometimes it felt like pieces of their thoughts slipped through. Keep her safe. Don’t lose her. The connection pulled me forward even when my legs wanted to give out.We pushed deeper into the trees, following the rough map Elias had given me. The forest grew thicker, branches snagging a

Sable's POV The distant howls multiplied, echoing through the trees like a warning no one could ignore, and I stood frozen on the tower steps as scouts burst from the forest line below, shouting reports that carried sharp and urgent on the wind.Strangers had crossed the eastern border, moving like they knew the land far too well, and the pack was already stirring around me, voices rising, doors slamming, the quiet evening turning into a controlled kind of chaos that made my pulse pound in my ears.Vex took charge immediately, his voice cutting through the noise with quiet authority. Knox was to stay close to me while Elias joined him and the others, and together they would get me back to the lodge, gather what we needed, and decide the next move from there. No one was to go off alone, he said, and something about the firmness in his tone told me this was not a moment for argument.Knox nodded, though his jaw stayed tight the entire time. He told me I would stay close to him, that if

Sable's POV I froze on the spot. The old man’s words hit me like a slap. Little moon girl.That nickname pulled something sharp and painful from deep inside my chest. For a split second I heard a woman’s voice saying it the same way, soft and full of love, right before everything went dark. The memory vanished as fast as it came, leaving my hands cold and my pulse racing.Vex stepped fully in front of me, his broad shoulders blocking part of my view. “Who are you?” he asked again, voice low and hard, the kind of tone that left no room for games.The man raised his hands slowly, palms open in a gesture meant to calm. “Easy, son. Name’s Elias. I used to be the pack healer here, back before I had to disappear. About eleven years ago.”Knox moved to my other side, restless energy rolling off him like heat from a fire. “How do you know her name? How do you know any of this? You better start making sense fast.”Elias sighed and leaned against the railing like the climb up here had tired hi

Sable's POV I woke up gasping in the dark of my tiny cabin, sheets tangled around my legs like they were trying to hold me down. For a second I thought someone was in the room with me. Then I realized the sound was not outside. It was inside my head. Laughter. Bright and wild, the kind that makes you want to run and jump just because you can. It felt like cold lake water rushing over my skin, the shock of it waking every nerve.Knox.I sat up fast. The bond. It had stuck around after last night like an uninvited guest who refused to leave. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the window. The sky was still that deep blue before sunrise. I had barely slept, my mind too busy replaying every touch from the festival.Another feeling slid in right after the laughter. This one was quieter. Focused. Like someone sitting at a table with maps spread out, marking routes with slow, careful lines. Vex. Checking patrol schedules or something. For the first time in years I was not already reaching for my

Sable's POV Run, The word hit me before my eyes even opened. I woke up leaning against an old wooden post at the edge of the Blood Moon festival, heart already racing. Three days ago I had rolled into Moonridge hoping for quiet work at the lodge.Now the drums pounded in my chest while pine smoke and warm wine filled the air. My black tank top stuck to my skin. The silver mark on my wrist itched like fire.I looked around slowly. Kids ran past with glowing sticks. Couples danced close. Everything looked normal, but my stomach twisted.Then two deep voices spoke my name at the same time."Sable."No one here knew my real name. I had kept it hidden on purpose. I turned around with my mouth drying of out of surprise.Two tall men stood out from the crowd. Broad shoulders, dark hair, golden eyes. Tattoos covered their arms. One held himself straight, jaw tight like he was already thinking through every possible problem. The other tapped a restless rhythm on his thigh, grinning like he ha