LOGINOn the day Maelis discovers she's pregnant, her Alpha husband’s first love returns. With a child. And suddenly, the five-year marriage Maelis endured means nothing. Theron doesn't ask for an explanation. He doesn't defend her. He simply chooses the woman he has always loved. So Maelis makes a decision no one expects. She will leave but there is one problem. Her unborn child is dying and the only person who can save it is the same man she has finally decided to walk away from. She has thirty days to escape the Alpha. He has thirty days to realize what he's about to lose. And neither of them knows that Maelis is carrying a secret far more dangerous than a child.
View MoreSilas Thorne adjusted for the shifting heat haze rising from the valley with the rhythmic, metallic clicking of the spotting scope, but the ridge was completely silent. The Sterling estate appeared to be a specimen of excess laid out for his clinical dissection from this distance. He deconstructed rather than simply watched. A data point was any light that came on in the west wing. Every shadow that crossed the limestone patio was a heartbeat he planned to eventually stop. Silas saw the Sterlings as the infection in a world that was chaotic and bleeding. They lived in a bubble of fake safety, shielded from the elements by layers of glass, steel, and the illusion that money could get them out of nature's rules.
Silas shifted his weight, his boots making no sound on the packed earth. He had been in this position for six hours. A normal man’s legs would have cramped; a normal man’s focus would have drifted to thoughts of a warm bed or a hot meal. But Silas had long ago purged himself of "normal" needs. He viewed his body as a machine—a weapon that required maintenance, not indulgence.
He zoomed in on the patio. There they were: the "boyfriends."
Through the lens, he saw two young men, draped in designer linen, leaning against a marble balustrade. They were laughing, holding crystal flutes of champagne. Silas watched the way they moved—the loose, uncoordinated gestures of men who had never had to fight for a single breath of air. They were the ultimate parasites, clinging to the daughters of wealth, trading their curated looks for a seat at the table of the elite.
"Look at you," Silas hissed, his voice barely a vibration in the air. "Soft. Decorative. Useless."
He imagined the moment the glass would shatter. He envisioned the look of pure, unadulterated terror that would replace those smug grins when they realized that their status, their cars, and their connections were nothing more than paper shields against a man who had mastered the art of the shadow.
His gaze drifted past the Sterling property line, toward the darker, more secluded canyon where the Legend resided.
This was the source of his deepest, most concentrated disdain. The Hollywood icon—the man the world called a hero—lived there with his wife and his three daughters: Sophie, Sienna, and Stacy.
To the public, they were the American Dream. To Silas, they were a lie.
He had seen the Legend’s films. He had studied the way the man held a gun on screen—the theatrical recoil, the rehearsed grit. It was a masquerade. The Legend was a man who played at being a predator while living in a nest of silk and perfume. He was a father who raised his daughters in a vacuum of privilege, teaching them that the world was a stage where they were the stars, rather than a wilderness where they were the prey.
Silas thought of Sophie, Sienna, and Stacy. He had seen their social media footprints—the endless cycle of vacations, the filtered smiles, the shallow concerns of the ultra-rich. They were being raised to believe they were untouchable.
"I am the reality you didn't script," Silas muttered.
A black SUV pulled into the Sterling driveway. Silas checked his watch: 12:15 AM. The private security detail was rotating. Two men in tactical vests hopped out, their movements sluggish and routine. They carried submachine guns, but they carried them like burdens, not tools. They were bored. They were looking at their phones.
Silas felt a cold surge of predatory joy. These were the "Alphas" the rich hired to protect them—men who looked the part but lacked the soul. They relied on the technology around them to do the work. They trusted the infrared cameras and the motion sensors.
Silas knew those cameras. He knew the exact frequency of the digital sweep and the three-second lag in the server’s refresh rate. He had spent months learning how to move between the frames.
He reached into his pack and pulled out a small, heavy object wrapped in oilcloth. He unwrapped it with the care of a priest handling a relic. It was a custom-weighted hunting knife, the blade blackened to prevent any glint of moonlight. He ran a thumb over the edge. It didn't just cut; it whispered.
Silas sat back for a moment, closing his eyes to sharpen his other senses. He listened to the wind whistling through the scrub brush. He smelled the faint scent of expensive jasmine drifting up from the estate’s gardens, clashing with the smell of dry dirt and his own sweat.
He was a misanthrope by choice, but an Alpha by necessity. He believed that the modern world had become a nursery for the weak. Civilized society was just a collective agreement to pretend that the strongest didn't have the right to take what they wanted. He was here to break that agreement.
He wasn't interested in the money in the Sterling vaults. He didn't want the Legend’s fame. He wanted the experience of the collapse. He wanted to be the one who pulled the thread that unraveled their perfect tapestry.
He imagined the sequence. First, the boyfriends—the easiest to pluck, the most satisfying to break. Then, the isolation of the sisters. And finally, the confrontation with the Legend himself. He wanted to see the "Action Hero" look into the eyes of a real monster and realize that his stunt doubles weren't coming to save him.
Silas stood up. The watch was over. The blueprint was complete in his mind.
He didn't leave a footprint as he stepped off the ledge and began the treacherous climb down the ravine. He moved with a terrifying economy of motion, his body perfectly in tune with the harsh terrain.
As he reached the base of the hill, he looked back up at the lights of the estate one last time. They looked like dying stars.
"Sleep well," he said, the shadow of a smile touching his hard, scarred lips. "The architect is coming home."
The night swallowed him whole. By the time the security guards at the gate finished their shift and headed inside for coffee, Silas Thorne was already miles away, lost in the labyrinth of the city, preparing the tools that would turn their sanctuary into a slaughterhouse.
NERINEI woke up naked the next morning, the sheets tangled around my legs and my nightgown lying somewhere on the floor.Sunlight filtered through the curtains, falling across my bed. I stretched lazily before reaching for the robe on the chair beside me.Aiden’s presence the previous night had been completely unplanned. I had simply been too excited about the earlier arrangement and had gotten carried away. I had wanted to stay a few feet away from Maelis’s room, just long enough to make sure no one discovered what was happening before the drugs took effect.With a sigh, I tied my robe around my waist and glanced at the closed door.Making Aiden my personal guard had been a convenient decision. It meant I could summon him whenever I wanted, and his position gave me another pair of eyes and ears around the pack house. Besides, no one would suspect anything. He was my personal guard, after all.But Aiden was the least of my concerns that morning.Maelis occupied my thoughts.I quickly
THERONThe door closed behind Nerine, leaving Alistair and me alone. He waited a moment before taking the seat opposite my desk. His expression remained stern as he settled into the chair.“I hope you understand the position you have put us in by bringing Prince Dorian Ashford into SilverCrest without consulting me, Alpha Theron.”I leaned back in my chair and chuckled. “I thought we had already discussed this, Beta Alistair. His warriors are here to help secure our borders. I made the arrangement directly with the Alpha King, and I don't see why it required a council meeting.”“Because Dorian is not just another warrior, Alpha.” Alistair lowered his voice. “He is the Alpha King's son. His presence here carries political weight, and you have given him access to our territory at a time when we are dealing with matters that could threaten the stability of this pack.”“He is here to help us deal with the rogues.” I pressed my lips together.“Are you certain that's all he intends to do?”
MAELIS’S POVBy the time I returned to the pack house, my knees and feet were aching, and all I wanted was a warm bath and a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.The visit to the lower districts had been worthwhile, but listening to the families talk about the attacks and everything they had lost had left me emotionally drained.Dorian had also taken detailed notes and asked several questions about the attacks, promising to look into the concerns we had raised.I was glad I had gone with him, but I couldn't deny how exhausted I was.After a quick bath, I changed into a comfortable dress and combed my hair. I had barely finished when my stomach let out a loud growl.I laughed and rubbed my stomach.“All right, little one. I know you're hungry.”I had missed lunch and barely eaten anything since morning. If Hura were here, she would have made sure I had something packed for the day.Oh, how much I missed her.I was still thinking about her when a knock sounded at my door.“Come in,” I call
NERINEYes, I was going to kill Maelis and her baby. I would make sure neither of them survived to see my son's coronation and legitimacy rites.Sighing in satisfaction, I took out three tablets and crushed them into a fine powder before transferring them into a tiny container.All I had to do was add a little of it to her tea or food, and that would be the end of everything.But I knew better than to handle this myself. It was too risky, so I decided to wait until mid-afternoon, when the pack house had settled into its usual routine, before sending for one of the maids.I chose someone who had served in the household long enough to understand how things worked. She had also been one of my most useful accomplices.Remember the rumours that had been spread about Maelis? She was the one my mother had assigned to the task.When she arrived, I asked her to close the door. She obeyed, then stood before me with her hands clasped.“You sent for me, my lady?” she mumbled, bowing.“Yes.” I rea












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