FAZER LOGINCaldenThe thick pine branches slap across my face as I race through the deep border woods, but I barely feel the sting. The magnetic pull in my blood is practically screaming inside my chest now, pulling me straight toward the center of the dark forest clearing up ahead. Every single instinct inside me is dialed in on one thing: my son.Alvin is right on my heels, his heavy footfalls thudding against the damp earth as we burst through the dense treeline into an ancient stone clearing.My breath catches in my throat. Standing in the middle of the clearing is an old, weathered stone altar covered in moss and dark stains. And right there, laid out on top of the cold stone, is my newborn baby boy. Magnus stands over him like a shadow, holding a long black-bladed dagger directly above my son's tiny chest.*Kill him!* Erix roars in my mind, his supernatural presence surging through my veins with a bloodthirsty Alpha fury that makes my muscles lock tight. *Rip his throat out before he touch
CaldenThe cold night air near the border forest bites into my skin, but I barely feel it. My chest burns with a heavy, suffocating panic that keeps pushing me forward. Next to me, Alvin moves through the thick brush with his eyes glued to the dark ground, his flashlight beam shaking slightly against the damp soil. A team of fully armed MoonCrown border guards fans out around us, keeping their footfalls quiet while staying on high alert.Inside my head, Erix is pacing back and forth with a terrifying intensity. He isn't just listening to the wind or looking for broken twigs. His supernatural presence is locked onto the blood pull in our veins. That invisible thread connecting me to my newborn pup is humming like a tight wire, vibrating with a dull, agonizing ache right in the center of my chest.*He is close, Calden,* Erix speaks directly into my mind, his voice a dark, lethal rumble that resonates through our shared consciousness. *I can feel the child's blood calling out to us. The
JodieThe quiet hum of the heart monitor is driving me insane. I sit propped up against the stiff hospital pillows, staring at the empty glass bassinet standing beside my bed. Every single second that ticks by feels like a razor dragging across my skin. My abdomen aches, my body feels weak from losing so much blood, and my head is spinning from exhaustion, but sleep is the absolute last thing on my mind. How am I supposed to close my eyes when my newborn pup is out there somewhere with a stranger?"Jodie, please," Evelyn says gently, setting down a fresh cup of warm water on the side table. She reaches out to touch my shoulder, her eyes filled with deep worry. "You need to lay back down. Your vitals are still jumping around, and if you keep straining your core like this, you're going to start bleeding again.""I don't care about the bleeding, Evelyn," I say, my voice raspy and shaking. I don't mean to snap at her, but the terror sitting in my chest is choking me. "I am not laying dow
CaldenSerena's eyes go wide with pure terror as I hold her pinned against the wall paneling. My fingers dig into the expensive silk of her robe, my whole body rigid with the kind of dark fury that makes my muscles ache. Beside me, Prince Levi stands with a face like carved stone, his sidearm drawn and pointed right between her eyes. MoonCrown security guards spill into the marble foyer, filling the entire entrance with heavy boots and drawn weapons."I don't have him!" Serena screams, her voice cracking into a high-pitched sob as tears drench her pale face. "Please! Levi, put the gun down! Tell this man to let me go! I don't have the baby! I swear on my life I don't!""Don't play games with me, Serena!" Levi snaps, his voice cold enough to freeze the air in the room. "The nurse confessed to everything. You paid her to steal the baby and hand him over to your staff. Tell us where the child is right now before I end you right where you stand!""I am telling you the truth!" she shrieks
CaldenI stare down at Alvin kneeling on the floor, his body shaking with genuine sobs. Part of me still wants to throw him out for how he stood by while Magnus and Enid ruined Jodie's life back in Silver Moon. But looking at his pale face, I see sheer desperation. Right now, I don't have the luxury of turning away another pair of hands."Get up, Alvin," I say, my voice low and tight. "If you are coming with us, you don't slow down, and you do exactly what I tell you to do. You want to redeem yourself? Help bring her child home."Alvin wipes his eyes quickly, pushing himself up off the floor and nodding with hard determination. "Thank you, Calden. I won't let you down."I turn back to Jodie, leaning down to press a firm kiss against her cold forehead. She looks up at me with terror, her small hands clutching tightly at my shirt sleeves."Find our baby, Calden," she whispers, her voice breaking on a painful sob. "Please don't come back without him.""I won't," I promise her. "I will br
CaldenI am still standing in the reception room on the ground floor, finishing up my conversation with Prince Levi and Luna Vanya, when a horrific sound echoes down the main staircase. It is a sharp, desperate scream filled with pure agonizing grief.My heart drops into my stomach. I would recognize that voice anywhere in the world. It is Jodie."Calden!" Levi exclaims, his eyes widening as the sound travels through the wide hallway.I don't even answer him. My legs react before my brain can even process what is happening. I turn around and sprint toward the elevators, but they are taking too long to open, so I shove open the heavy stairwell door and take the steps four at a time. The blood is roaring in my ears so loud it almost drowns out my own breathing.When I burst through the doors of the maternity floor, the sight waiting for me makes my mind snap completely.Jodie is on the cold hallway floor outside her room, bleeding from her arm where her IV line was yanked out. Two nurse







