Novels by Hamzat Yusuff

She is back.The words echo through the great hall like a death knell. A messenger stands before Rhydian, dusty from the road, his face pale with fear. He has ridden through the night to bring us this news."Virelle Sorn has crossed into our territory," he says, his voice shaking. "She is not alone. Alpha Darian Blackwood of the Crimsonfang Pack rides with her. They have fifty warriors at their backs."The room goes silent. I watch Rhydian's face, see the way his jaw tightens, the way his hands curl into fists at his sides. He does not speak for a long moment."Where are they now?""Camped at the eastern border. They sent a message." The messenger swallows hard. "She wants to meet. She says she comes in peace.""Peace." Rhydian laughs, but there is no humor in it. "Virelle does not know the meaning of the word.""My Alpha, there is more." The messenger hesitates. "She asked for you specifically. And for your wife."My blood turns to ice.The meeting is called immediately.Rhydian's in

The first letter is dated three years before my wedding.I know because I have memorized every detail of that day. The white roses. The trembling in my hands. The way Rhydian looked at me like I was the answer to a prayer he never dared to speak.But this letter was written long before any of that. Before the altar. Before the vows. Before I ever became his bride.I unfold it carefully. The paper is thin, brittle, yellowed at the edges. The ink is faded but still legible. Rhydian's handwriting. I would recognize it anywhere.Father,I am writing because I have no one else to turn to. I cannot speak of this to Torren. I cannot speak of it to anyone. You are the only one who might understand.Something is wrong with Virelle.The words blur before my eyes. I blink, forcing myself to focus.She says she is my fated mate. She says the Moon Goddess chose us for each other. But when I look at her, I do not feel the bond. I feel... nothing. And that terrifies me.At first I thought it was my

Three weeks.That is how long I have been Luna of the Blackmoon Pack. Twenty-one days of smiles and nods and careful questions. Twenty-one nights of lying beside a man I am supposed to hate, listening to him breathe, fighting the urge to touch him.I am failing."You are staring at him again."Maris appears at my elbow, a basket of herbs in her arms. We are in the pack gardens, pretending to gather supplies for the healers. In truth, I am watching Rhydian train with his warriors in the field beyond."I am not staring," I say. "I am observing.""Observing." Maris snorts. "Is that what we are calling it now?""Shut up.""He took his shirt off an hour ago and you have not blinked since."I feel heat rush to my cheeks. "I was not...""You were." She grins, but it fades quickly. "You like him.""I do not.""Vespera.""I do not like him." I turn away from the field, forcing myself to focus on the herbs. "I am trying to understand him. There is a difference."Maris is quiet for a moment. The

His hands are shaking.I notice it the moment our fingers intertwine. The slight tremble against my palm, the way his breath catches when the priestess begins to speak. This is not the steady, controlled Alpha I remember. This is not the man who watched me die with cold indifference in his eyes."Are you all right?" I whisper.Rhydian blinks, as if surprised I noticed. "I should be asking you that.""I asked first."A ghost of a smile crosses his lips. It disappears before I can decide if it was real. "I am fine. Just... this matters to me. More than you know."What does that mean? I want to demand answers. I want to shake him until he tells me the truth about everything. But the priestess is speaking, her voice ringing across the garden, and I have to focus."We gather beneath the light of the Moon Goddess to join two souls, two packs, two futures."I have heard these words before. In my past life, they felt like a promise. Now they feel like a cage."Do you, Vespera Vale, daughter o

Vespera's POVI died with a silver blade in my heart and my husband's name on my lips.And now I am awake. Alive. Lying in my childhood bed like none of it ever happened.My hands fly to my chest, searching for the wound, the blood, the gaping hole where Virelle's blade carved through bone and tissue. But there is nothing. Just smooth skin beneath my silk nightgown. Just the steady thrum of a heartbeat that should not exist."No," I whisper. "No, no, no."I sit up so fast the room spins. The canopy above my bed. The jasmine scent drifting through the open window. The distant clatter of servants preparing for something. It is all so familiar. Too familiar.This is my father's house. This is the morning of my wedding.I know because I have lived this day before. I have walked down this aisle. I have spoken these vows. I have smiled at the man who would one day stand aside while his former lover drove a blade through my heart."Vespera?"The door creaks open and Maris steps inside. She i