Chapter: Chapter 193"Like Nathan," Valduz said quietly. "No one calls me that anymore."Hope Elara frowned, trying to follow where the conversation was going."I use Valduz Ryker now. It reminds people who I am."A bitter smile touched his mouth but never reached his eyes."And who he is."Something changed in his expression.Not fear.More like the tension of someone who had spent too much of his life beneath another man's shadow."Everyone knows I'm his heir," Valduz continued. "And everyone knows what comes with that."But Hope Elara barely heard the rest.One thing he'd said earlier kept echoing in her mind.Her heritage.A cold feeling crept up her spine."What are you hiding from me?" she asked again.This time, Valduz didn't avoid the question."Your heritage."Hope Elara went still.Her heritage.Her mother.The pieces connected so suddenly that she almost stopped breathing."You know something about my mother?"Her voice cracked."And you said nothing?"Disbelief quickly turned into anger."Afte
Last Updated: 2026-09-10
Chapter: Chapter 192Everything hurt.Not normal pain.Burning.Like Hope Elara's body no longer fully belonged to her.Even breathing felt wrong.Every inhale scraped through her chest.Where was she?Where were her babies?How long had she been unconscious?Panic tried to rise, but her body was too weak to hold onto it.Then something shifted beside her.Not movement.Presence.Something strong enough to press against her senses even with her eyes closed.She didn't recognize it.And somehow, she did.The scent reached her first.Warm.Deep.Earth after rain.Pine.And something darker underneath.It pulled at her immediately.Calmed her.Hope Elara hated that it did.Because the last time she'd trusted that feeling, everything had fallen apart."She's been like this since you left."Maria.Hope Elara knew that voice.Relief flickered weakly through her."She's waking up," Maria continued. "But this isn't how it was supposed to happen."Another voice cut through the room.Lower.Sharper."If you're not
Last Updated: 2026-09-10
Chapter: Chapter 191"Sit down."Valduz did.Violetta immediately started fixing his hair with quick, efficient movements, like she was annoyed the world kept falling apart long enough to interrupt her work.Across the room, Perry's keyboard clicked nonstop.Fast.Sharp.Loud enough to scrape against Valduz's nerves.The apartment felt too bright.Too awake.No one here seemed to know how to relax anymore."How is home?" Valduz asked, mostly to break the pressure building inside his head."As bad as expected," Violetta answered without looking at him. "Power struggles. Old rules. Men pretending the world still works the way it did fifty years ago.""Traditionalists," Perry muttered from across the room.Her fingers never stopped typing."They want control without understanding how much the world has already changed.""I get that," Valduz said quietly.Violetta snorted."My father still thinks he's in charge."There was no heat in her voice.Just cold irritation."He isn't.""You talked to him?""A few tim
Last Updated: 2026-09-10
Chapter: Chapter 190Valduz's chest tightened the second Perry and Violetta looked away at the same time.Too quick.Too practiced.Like they'd already agreed on the lie before he entered the room.Something inside him sharpened.He shoved the doctor's hands away before the man could finish checking the wound near his ribs."What did you do?"His voice came out rough.Violetta glanced at Perry.Perry almost smiled.That was enough."Don't play games with me," Valduz said quietly. "What did you do?"Perry shrugged as if they were discussing something ordinary instead of blood and betrayal."I took a contract. It helped all of us."Valduz's wolf went completely still.Listening.Waiting."How?""I don't know every detail. We don't ask questions." Perry paused. "But your father wanted someone gone."Cold recognition slid through Valduz."And when I found out who your mate was..." Perry tilted her head. "It became easy to connect the pieces."His stomach dropped."What did you do?"This time, the question cam
Last Updated: 2026-09-10
Chapter: Chapter 189"Let's fix that, Angel," Valduz murmured.His voice was low and possessive.Wrong.Every instinct inside Hope Elara screamed at her to get away."I'm going to make you need me."Fear hit her instantly.Not uncertainty.Not confusion.Pure fear.Her body locked.Then pain exploded through her shoulder.Valduz bit her.His teeth sank deep enough to tear a scream from Hope Elara's throat.Everything inside her snapped.She shoved him with all the strength she had.Hard.Desperate.Valduz released her immediately.Hope Elara stumbled backward, barely catching herself.Her hand flew to her shoulder.Warm.Wet.Her stomach dropped.She slowly pulled her hand away.Blood covered her fingers.Too much blood.Bright red drops fell onto the floor.Hope Elara looked up.Valduz was several feet away, staring at her as if he had just realized what he'd done.His eyes were wide.Horrified.Her blood stained his mouth and shirt.The hallway had gone completely silent.Whatever had just happened wasn
Last Updated: 2026-09-10
Chapter: Chapter 188The woman studied Hope Elara a little too long.Not hostile.Not warm either.Careful.“It wasn’t personal,” Bliss finally said. “You were in the wrong pack.”That word again.Pack.It seemed to follow Hope Elara everywhere now, like a warning she had never been meant to understand.“Alpha Zenna’s children don’t come here,” Bliss continued. “Even if they were human.”She paused.“Yours aren’t.”Hope Elara slowly nodded.“That tracks.”Disturbingly, it did.Too many things were starting to make sense.The staring.The whispers.The way danger seemed to circle her children before she even saw it coming.“I’m sorry,” Hope Elara said quietly. “I can be intense when it comes to my kids.”One corner of Bliss’s mouth lifted.“I noticed.”Some of the tension eased.Not completely.Just enough.“Clean slate?” Hope Elara asked.Bliss nodded.“Clean slate.”And just like that, it was done.Before the night ended, the paperwork was finalized.Uniforms.Schedules.A Monday start date.Everything f
Last Updated: 2026-09-08
Chapter: Chapter 150Calix had to leave.Deep down, Nihan had always known she would eventually have to face that reality. But she had become so comfortable having him beside her that a foolish part of her had begun to believe he would stay forever.As though time had stopped.As though Manhattan no longer existed.“Wait, Nihan. It isn’t what you think.”Calix’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.She looked at him and forced a smile.“It’s okay. I understand. Your life is in Manhattan.” She lowered her gaze. “I’ll return there too someday, once I find a job.”Calix sighed.Before Nihan could react, he pushed the driver’s seat back, lifted her from the passenger seat, and settled her on his lap.Her eyes widened as he held her firmly in place.“Calix,” she whispered, her face burning as she glanced outside.The car windows were not tinted, and they were still parked near the center where she worked.“Someone might see us.”“You won’t listen unless I make you stay still.”Nihan stared at him.“I’m only ret
Last Updated: 2026-09-20
Chapter: Chapter 149“Should I send him a direct message?” Carmen asked excitedly while Courtney and Mary encouraged her.Nihan silently groaned.Why did they always have their breaks at the same time? More importantly, why were Carmen’s friends here again? Didn’t they have anything better to do, or was interfering in other people’s lives their full-time job?“Several people have messaged me asking whether we’ll have a special guest,” Carmen continued. “A lot of our former classmates are hockey players or hockey fans, so I think he would be perfect.”Despite herself, Nihan became curious.Who were they talking about?“That would be amazing!” Courtney exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to meet him.”“And since he isn’t playing right now, he might respond,” Mary added. “You have a lot of followers, don’t you?”Carmen tucked her hair behind her ear with a smug smile.“I just reached one hundred thousand.”Courtney and Mary immediately began praising her.“Then he’ll definitely notice you.”“With that many follow
Last Updated: 2026-09-20
Chapter: Chapter 148Calix had never felt this peaceful in his entire life.Living with Nihan’s family had shown him what a real family was supposed to feel like.Hannah and Jerry treated him as their own son, even though they had known him for less than a month. Fred treated him like an older brother, constantly asking for hockey advice or dragging him into whatever strange activity had caught his attention.Fred could be a menace at times.Calix could only imagine what would happen if Fred and Zayla ever met. The two of them together would create absolute chaos.For everyone’s safety, that meeting could never happen.Calix had even learned how to bake and knit, two things he had never imagined himself doing. Surprisingly, he enjoyed them.Whenever Nihan came home from work and smiled as she ate the sweets he had made, Calix wanted to bake for her again. That simple happiness on her face made every effort worthwhile.He had just finished gardening with Jerry. Fred was out playing hockey with his friends,
Last Updated: 2026-09-20
Chapter: Chapter 147“You’re not going, Calix. That’s final.”Nihan sat on the bed while Calix gently dried her hair with a towel.Over the past few days, they had become surprisingly domestic. Their simple routines felt so natural that she sometimes forgot this kind of happiness was something she had once believed she would never have.“What am I supposed to do?” Calix asked, peeking over her head with a smile.It was unfair how handsome he looked, even from that angle.“I already told them I would attend,” he continued. “I’ll go as Calix Godwin and introduce myself as your boyfriend.”Nihan’s cheeks immediately grew warm.Hearing him call himself her boyfriend still felt new. Every time he said it, her heart fluttered and warmth spread through her body.They had not been intimate since she left Manhattan, and looking at him now made her painfully aware of how much she missed his touch.She wanted him.“Do you understand how much attention that will attract?” she asked softly. “They’ll make a scene, and
Last Updated: 2026-09-20
Chapter: Chapter 146Calix knew who they were before they even introduced themselves.They had to be the people who used to look down on Nihan.They had squeezed themselves around the table without being invited, and Jerome even had the nerve to take the seat beside her.Calix clicked his tongue.He should have sat between them, but Nihan had stopped him earlier. Now he was forced to watch Jerome sit far too close to her.Across the table, one of the men nudged Fred and gave him an overly familiar grin.“Fred, it’s been a while. You’re playing for Oakridge now?”“Really?” Carmen exclaimed. “I heard the tuition there is expensive. How did you manage to enroll?”Calix subtly shook his head.Fred had been right about Carmen. She barely tried to hide her insulting tone.“I received a scholarship,” Fred replied without missing a beat. “Not many people can do that. Jerome and Logan couldn’t even qualify. I’m the first person from our high school to get into Oakridge that way.”A smirk touched Calix’s lips.Fred
Last Updated: 2026-09-20
Chapter: Chapter 145“Just drop us off at the house,” Nihan’s mother said. “Your father is probably exhausted. I haven’t seen him that energetic since the nineties.”Her father immediately protested. “I still have plenty of energy!”Despite his claim, Nihan could hear the exhaustion in his voice. She covered her mouth to hide a giggle. Her father had never liked anyone underestimating him.“After that, take Calix to Dorado,” her mother continued before turning to him. “It’s the most famous local diner in town. The food is cheap, but it’s very good.”“Mom,” Nihan muttered.Her mother merely smiled.“Just make him wear a hat. He’s already wearing Fred’s shabby clothes, so no one should recognize him.”Nihan looked at Calix and could not help smiling.Her mother was right.After playing at the rink, the men had changed because their clothes were covered in sweat. Calix had ended up wearing Fred’s shabbiest outfit, which consisted of a worn-out shirt and linen shorts with holes around the waistband.“What?” F
Last Updated: 2026-09-18
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