Romane von Hakken Nightshade

Kane POVThe drive was grueling. I sat in the back of the blacked-out SUV with Khanna, while Alpha Len sat up front, radiating a protective—and suffocating—aura. Every time he glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes landed on me with a flicker of lingering resentment. He hadn't forgotten the slap, and he certainly hadn't forgotten that I carried the scent of Alpha Mark’s pack, no matter how long I’d been a rogue."We’re crossing the border," Len announced, his voice snapping the tension in the car.I felt it immediately. As a rogue, crossing into a formal territory is like walking into a wall of static. The Pack Link—the invisible psychic tether that bound Len to his people—was thick here. It felt like a thousand eyes were suddenly pressed against my skin, weighing my worth and finding it wanting.Khanna must have felt the shift in my energy. She reached out, her fingers lacing through mine. Her touch was the only thing keeping me from jumping out of the moving vehicle and running ba

Kane POVI take a deep breath and mentally prepare myself for the oncoming conversation. I have been a rogue for years and a few years ago I met Khanna who was kind enough to help me when I had been attacked by other rogues, she helped me heal and so I decided to pay her back by protecting her.However, I never thought that it would mean that I would have to tell her about my past. Something that I had been hoping to keep buried for the rest of my life. It is not that I did anything wrong, or anything like that. It is just that once people realise my connection to a certain individual, they then become suspicious of me or hate me outright.I learnt very quickly to keep my mouth shut and not let anyone know about my past. But now it is all about to come to the light again, I just hope that Khanna does not see me in a different light. I think that would break me.I open the door to the boardroom and walk in, I see Alpha Len there with two of his pack members. I know Alpha Len through Kh

Khanna POV“This had better be good.” I say before giving Len the floor.I have a rough idea of what he wants to talk to me about, last time he asked for a meeting like this it was to try to get me to move to his pack. While I respect him and I understand that the idea came from a place of caring, I did not and do not wish to reside there.I enjoy my life of freedom; the town has always been kind to me and allowed me to live there with no complaints. They even helped and supported me growing up and I was able to go to school and be free, the woodlands and the cabin were my home for many years and the town has always protected me. So, there was never an option of me leaving.But something about Lens’ body language has got me worried today, so I will hear him out. I just hope that it is nothing too serious.“I know how much you resisted last time but please reconsider my offer. I would like you to come and live in my pack, but this time the offer is only temporary as there is a reason f

Alpha Len POVIt has been ten years since the event with the little girl and I have since been keeping an eye on her. For some reason I was drawn to her ten years ago, not in a weird way. More like in a protective older brother or father way. If I had a daughter, I probably would have felt like this towards her.The girl has been doing amazingly the last ten years, she has gone from strength to strength, but she has no one to lean on other than one rogue. It turned out that she was an orphan who was living on the edge of the woodlands boarding the town of Morinaga.The town knew that she was there, and they would give her essentials and treats, but she would refuse any offers to be taken in or to go to the local orphanage. When I dug into her background, I found out why- her father had given her the cabin for her eighth birthday, and it was her safe haven. She would go there and wait for him to return when he went away on business trips. That was why she would not leave, she thought h

Khanna POVI was out for a walk in the woods when all of a sudden I was surrounded by four wolves growling at me, they took it in turns to nibble me and hurt me a bit but then another wolf came. This wolf pushed me to the ground and stood protectively over me, he took on the other four wolves and saved me. But he was wounded in the process.Once he dragged me to the edge and I saw the rogue, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I ran, not looking back. I just hope that the wolf is still there when I return.I run to the nearest convenience store, thankfully one of those that I like is working today.“Mr. Ward, please may I have a first aid kit?” I ask nervously.“Why?” Mr. Ward asks me, looking me up and down with worry in his eyes. He notices the scratches on my arms and legs and the torn dress I am wearing.“Someone is hurt sir and I want to help them.” I reply.“Who?”“A wolf sir.”“A wolf?”“Yes sir, he saved me, but he is bleeding badly and I want to help him. Please Mr. Ward, I w

Alpha Len POVI cannot believe I was so reckless; I am an alpha so I should have known better and not rushed in without back up or some form of a plan. But I could not help myself, no matter how silly I was being I knew that I would have regretted not stepping in and helping the child.I was heading home from visiting a neighbouring pack to get a treaty signed. I had decided to run back rather than go with the guards in the car because I wanted to stretch my legs and have a bit of time to myself. I know I am the leader of a pack so I should always have a warrior with me, but sometimes I just need to be alone. And the pack I visited is only two hours run away from mine so I thought I would be safe. I enjoy the feeling of grass and mud beneath my paws.I was running through some woodland when I heard growls and screams. At first, I thought nothing of it but then the screams got louder and higher pitched. It was then that I realised that the screams were those of a child and I was drawn

The three days of induced silence had felt like three years to those within the Hidden Hearth pack. The estate had been uncharacteristically still, the warriors moving like wraiths and the staff speaking in hushed tones. But on the fourth morning, the chemical veil began to lift, and the "mercy" Dr. Vance had promised began to reveal its jagged edges.In the master suite, the blue glow of the monitors was replaced with the cold, grey light of a winter dawn. Danny lay motionless, his eyes open but unfocused, staring at the intricate carvings on the ceiling.The sedation was gone, but the cocktail of drugs given to him had left a void in its wake. Without the artificial peace, the weight of his reality—the wolves, the lies, the dead man standing in his living room—crashed back down with the force of an avalanche.It was the withdrawal. Not just from the sedatives, but from the hope he had felt in his dreams.Danny tried to sit up, but his limbs felt like they were filled with wet sand.

Two miles north of the packs gilded gates, the air was colder, stripped of the silver-laced protection that warmed the Alpha’s inner sanctum. Here, the Whispering Woods earned their name. The wind whistled through the jagged pines like a low, mournful flute, carrying with it the scent of wet fur and iron.Three wolves crouched in the dense undergrowth of the western ridge, their forms nearly invisible against the grey shale and rotting moss. These weren't the sleek, well-fed guardians of Alex’s pack. These were North Scouts—leathery, scarred, and driven by a hunger that went beyond the stomach.The largest of them, a brindle-coated beast with a notched ear, shifted back into his human form with a series of sickening cracks. He pulled a rough deerskin cloak over his shoulders and spat into the dirt. This was Varick, the lead tracker for the North High-Alpha."The wards have changed," Varick rasped, his voice sounding like gravel being crushed.

Danny had fallen asleep in his uncle’s arms, who had proceeded to life Danny onto the bed and then leave the room. Danny weighed almost nothing since Alex had ‘died’. Danny had stopped eating and suffered from severe depression for a long time, resulting in him losing a lot of weight that he had never put back on.Uncle sighed as he looked back at Danny before leaving the room, his worry now was that Dannys’ depression would return and might even destroy Danny this time.At first uncle was happy to find out that Alex was actually alive and had been living here, but now he is filled with regrets of bringing Alex back into Dannys life.Back in the room, Dany remained asleep until the morning. His sleep was filled with nightmares from the past and the present, both merging together and creating a dream so dark that Danny couldn’t claw his way out of it, no matter how hard he tried.The transition from sleep to wakefulness was no

Down in the tactical room, the air was thick with the scent of old parchment and the electric hum of high-end surveillance equipment. Alex stood before a wall of monitors, his eyes tracing the thermal signatures that marked the perimeter of his territory. Even with the physical distance between them, he could still feel the phantom echo of Danny’s grief in his chest—a dull, rhythmic ache that refused to subside.The feeling sat like a stone in Alex’s heart, weighted down further by the crushing knowledge that he was the architect of this misery. Within the span of a few hours, he had stood before Danny, torn his reality apart, and forced him into a world he wasn't prepared for.While his intentions had been rooted in protection, the execution had been reckless. It was only now, watching the static on the screens, that the gravity of his mistake began to dawn on him. He had seen the light leave Danny’s eyes; he had watched him turn into a hollow

Danny turned around and walked out of the heavy doors the lead warrior had left open. Every part of him was shutting down—his mind, his body, and his soul felt as though they could take no more. His normal life had been violently upended once again, but this time, there was no calling for help. If he told the truth to the outside world, he wouldn’t be saved; he’d be locked away in a psych ward for the rest of his life.“Where is my room?” Danny asked, his voice dead and robotic.Alex signalled to a maid standing nearby. She dipped her head in a silent, respectful nod and began to guide Danny up the grand staircase. The journey through the sprawling house was quiet, the only sound the soft thud of their footsteps on the carpet. Danny was grateful for the silence; he didn't have the strength to form a single sentence as he was barely holding on as it was.The maid stopped at a room on the top floor and pushed the door open. Danny took one step inside and froze. His uncle was standing in

Inside the study, the air was thick with the scent of old leather and parchment. Alex finally let go, pacing the length of the room like a caged animal before turning to face Danny."You want to know what's going on?" Alex’s voice was lower now, stripped of the command he used for his guards, but it still vibrated with a dangerous intensity. "You’re Scented, Danny. In our world, a person's scent is their identity, their history, their status. But yours... yours is different. It’s pure, but it’s vocal.""Vocal?" Danny whispered, leaning against the edge of a heavy desk to keep his legs from shaking. "My smell has a voice now?""It tells a story you don't even know yet," Alex said, stopping his pacing to stand directly in front of him. "A Mark is a soul-tether. It means you were born to be the other half of someone powerful. Usually, that scent is dormant until the bond is sealed. But your Mark is 'bleeding.' It’s active, it&