Avery’s POVThe days blend together in a haze of pain, hunger, and exhaustion.I don’t heal.The wounds on my back fester, throbbing with each movement. I can feel the torn skin pulling whenever I lift my arms, when I bend, when I breathe too deep. Sleep offers no relief, only nightmares that bleed into reality. Every time I close my eyes, I hear the crack of the whip. I feel it.I’m weak. Sluggish. Every step takes more effort than it should. My body trembles when I lift even the smallest weight. My mind is foggy, slow, trapped beneath the weight of exhaustion and something else… something worse.Then the nausea starts.At first, I blame it on the lack of food. My stomach is empty more often than not, and when I do manage to eat, it’s never enough. My body rejects it anyway, a sharp wave of sickness rising out of nowhere, leaving me gagging and breathless.I force myself to push through it. I have to.But the nausea doesn’t fade.It gets worse.By the end of the week, it has a patter
Avery’s POVI spent the next days trying to figure what to do next whilst keeping my pregnancy a secret. But it seemed nothing could ever be secret for too long in the pack as the healer betrayed me and told the whole pack about my pregnancy.I barely have time to react when they came for me.One second, I’m scrubbing the last of the dishes in the servants’ quarters, my back aching, my hands raw from hours of work. The next, rough hands seize my arms, yanking me backward. A startled gasp escapes my lips as I struggle, but their grip is unrelenting. “What—” “Shut up,” one of the warriors snarls, dragging me through the hallways. My stomach churns. Something is wrong. *Did they find out?* No. It’s too soon. I’ve been so careful. I’ve kept my secret guarded, my sickness hidden, forcing myself to swallow down the nausea every morning. But as I’m hauled into the packhouse, my pulse pounds violently against my ribs. The room is packedwarriors, pack elders, even omegas stand at the
Avery’s POVThe night is heavy with silence.I sit in the dim corner of the dungeon, my fingers curled protectively around my stomach. The weight of my father’s ultimatum presses against my chest, suffocating.But in reality, there is no choice.From the moment I felt the faintest stirrings of life inside me, my decision was made.I will leave.Not for myself, but for the child growing within me. For the tiny, innocent soul who deserves better than a life filled with hatred.The doors to my dungeon were not locked, and the guards were asleep, exhausted from the day's labor, their breathing deep and steady. I move silently, out of the dungeon and sneaking into the servant quarters to gather what little I have—torn clothes, a loaf of bread stolen from the kitchens, a small pouch of water.It isn’t much, but it’s all I can take.My heart pounds as I reach for the door.Once I step through it, there’s no turning back.I close my eyes, inhaling deeply.This place… this pack… it hasn’t been
Avery’s POVThe night is cruel, the wind biting into my skin as I stumble forward, my body weak, my steps unsteady.I have nowhere else to go.For days, I’ve been running, my mind clouded with fear, my heart pounding with desperation. The moment I escaped my father’s grasp, I knew I was living on borrowed time. If he finds me, he will finish what he started. He will make sure my child never sees the light of day.I can’t let that happen.So I did the only thing I could. I ran.Now, as I stand before the towering gates of Red-Claw pack, my breath comes in shallow gasps. My fingers tremble at my sides, my body screaming for rest. The journey has drained me, each step heavier than the last. But now that I’m here, now that I’m this close, uncertainty grips me.Will Kane even listen to me?Would he care?It’s been months since I last saw him, since I shattered what little was left of us. I rejected him. I left him. And now, I’m here, begging for his help. Begging him to protect a child he
Avery’s POVThe night air bites at my skin as I wander aimlessly through the outskirts of Kane’s territory, my heart pounding in my chest.I can still hear the heavy clang of the iron gates slamming shut behind me, the finality of it ringing in my ears like a death sentence.I was cast out like nothing.I have nowhere to go.But I refuse to give up, not when my child’s life is at stake.Swallowing the lump in my throat, I force myself to move. My feet ache, my body is weak, but I push forward, making my way through the dimly lit streets of the outer pack lands.There has to be someone, anyone, who will take pity on me.I stop in front of a small cottage, the warm glow of lanterns flickering inside. I recognize the house, an elder woman, a healer, lives here. She once treated the warriors after battle.Taking a deep breath, I raise my trembling hand and knock.Silence.Then, the sound of shuffling footsteps.Hope flutters weakly in my chest as the door creaks open.The healer peeks out
Kane’s POV The ache never fades No matter how much I try to drown it out, no matter how many times I tell myself that rejecting Avery was necessary, the pain lingers like a slow, festering wound. A bond severed, yet somehow… not. I feel it every damn day. A dull, persistent tug in my chest, like something is missing. Like something was ripped from me but refuses to fully let go. I tell myself it’s because of the rejection, that my body is simply adjusting to the loss. That the emptiness I feel is nothing more than the side effect of breaking a mate bond. But my wolf knows better. He hasn’t stopped pacing since the day she left, a low growl always rumbling in the back of my mind. Bring her back. I shove the thought away as I stalk toward my office, forcing my face into a mask of indifference. My warriors bow their heads in greeting, my Beta murmuring updates as he falls in step beside me. I nod absently, acknowledging his words without really hearing them. Because
Avery’s POVThe days blur together. Each one is a battle.A battle against hunger. Against exhaustion. Against the suffocating loneliness of knowing there is no pack, no home waiting for me.No one except the tiny life growing inside me.My child.That thought alone keeps me moving.I hunt where I can, stealing scraps from the forest. The human world is foreign, unfamiliar, but I force myself to adapt. To blend in. To survive.Because I have to survive.I spend most of my days in the abandoned cabin, fixing the broken windows, gathering blankets, trying to make it more livable. At night, I stay awake listening to the sounds of the human town nearby, my senses always alert, always on edge.I don’t belong here, but I have no choice.Then, on my second day in the town, everything changes.---I meet Glen at the local market.I hadn’t meant to interact with anyone, but hunger had driven me to the outskirts of town, where vendors sell fresh bread and fruit. The smell was overwhelming, my s
Kane’s POVThe sound of fists hitting flesh echoes through the training grounds.I don’t hold back.My opponent, one of my top warriors, barely has time to react before I land another blow, sending him sprawling into the dirt. A low growl rumbles from my chest as I pace the sparring ring, my muscles tense with unspent energy.“Again,” I order.The warrior coughs, clutching his ribs as he scrambles to his feet.We’ve been at this for hours. The rest of the pack watches from the sidelines, eyes filled with wariness. No one dares to question their Alpha’s relentless training.They all know.I haven’t been the same since Avery left.---It’s been weeks.Weeks of burying myself in work. Of increasing patrols, pushing warriors past their limits, drowning myself in anything that keeps my mind occupied.But it never works.No matter how many battles I fight, how many meetings I sit through, she lingers.Avery.Her scent. Her fire. The way she looked at me the last time we spoke, defiance burn
Avery's POV The whispers caame like the wind, soft, but impossible to ignore. Everywhere I walked, they trailed behind me like shadows, brushing against my ears. “Did you hear?” “The Alpha has cast Selene out.” "She begged.” "He showed no mercy.” “She was with another.” The rumors spread faster than wildfire. And I kept my head high. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t speak. I didn’t feed the flames. I had no need to. Dignity had become my armor. Silence, my sharpest weapon. I had spent too many years defending myself, biting back pain with grace. This time, I let the world talk while I simply walked through it. Selene, the name that once held weight in this pack, once dripped with entitlement and venom, was gone. Disgraced. Stripped of every illusion of power she once paraded in front of me. The same women who used to
Kane's POV The air in the packhouse was thick, tense with something I couldn’t quite name until I heard her voice echoing down the hall. Selene Her sharp, clipped tone lanced through the silence like a blade. “You clumsy little thing!” she snapped, voice shrill and soaked in entitlement. “Do you even know what this is worth? Or is your brain too small to understand luxury?” I turned the corner just in time to see the young servant girl flinch, eyes wide and terrified, tea dripping down her wrists and onto the marble floor. Selene loomed over her like a wolf over a rabbit, proud and cruel, forgetting her place entirely. I stepped in before I realized I was moving. “You will treat her with respect,” I said, voice low and cold. I didn’t shout. I didn’t need to. Selena turned, mouth already open to defend herself, probably with some pathetic reminder of who she once wa
Avery's POVI woke wrapped in Kane’s arms, his heartbeat a steady rhythm against my back. It was a feeling I hadn't known in years, warmth without fear, closeness without control. For a long time, I just lay there, eyes closed, letting the silence between us speak. Not the silence of estrangement, but something softer. Restful. Healing.He murmured something in his sleep, his fingers twitching slightly as if reaching for me even in his dreams. A smalll smile tugged at my lips, but I knew I couldn’t stay here all morning. I needed a moment. To breathe. To think. To remember who I was outside of him, tooI carefully slipped from his grasp, easing off the bed so as not to wake him. He shifted slightly but didn’t stir.My feet carried me to the my room. The moment I stepped inside, the air felt different, still scented faintly with lavender from an old satchel tucked into a drawer, and the cool morning light poured through the window like a familiar f
Kane's POVThe night was quiet, the kind of quiet that settled deep into your bones. The sky stretched above with stars scattered like forgotten wishes. I sat on the porch steps, elbows resting on my knees, fingers tangled together as I stared at the horizon. The cool wind carried the scent of lavender and pine, and for the first time in a long time, I let myself feel still.The door behind me creaked, soft and hesitant.I didn’t turned around.But I knew it was herAvery.Her presence was like a ripple,gentle, but impossible to ignore. She stepped closer, the wooden porch boards groaning beneath her weight until she lowered herself beside me. Her shoulder brushed mine. Light, barely there. But enough.Enough to remind me I wasn’t alone.We sat in silence, our breaths syncing with the rhythm of the night. I didn’t want to scare her off with words. She hadn’t been this close in weeks, this close. And I would’ve s
Avery's POVI couldn’t look away from themFrom the moment Kane learned he was a father, something in him shifted. It wasn’t dramatic, there was no grand declaration or overwhelming display of emotion after that first, raw encounter. No, the change was quieter. Deeper. Like the slow turn of the earth beneath your feet, steady, inevitable.The Alpha I had known, ruthless, calculated, commanding, was gone. In his place stood a man with paint-streaked jeans, tangled hair, and a voice several notes higher than necessary while reading stories about dragons, moon bears, and magical wolves who saved the day.He’d never held a toddler before that day in the nursery, but now he carried our son with a confidence that didn’t come from experience, itt came from love.Kane took to fatherhood with a kind of wide eyed eagerness that almost made me laugh. Almost. Because sometimes it hurt to watch, like something in my chest didn’t quite know what to do with
Kane's POV I wasn’t expecting her to reach for me that day Not tonight. Not after the way she’s kept her distance, like she’s been building invisible walls around herself just to survive being under the same roof as me. But then, in the silence of the corridor, she turned to me. Her hand found mine, not firm, not certain, but deliberate. I froze, afraid even a a breath would make her retreat She didn’t say a word. Just led me forward, past portraits on the walls. Her fingers trembled slightly, her pace cautious. I followed her, heart thudding like a war drum in my chest, unsure of what this meant, until she stopped in front of a door. Sky blue. Small. Innocent. The kind of door that had no place in the life I used to live. "I hand painted the door myself after we arrived" She said, then she hesitated for half a heartbeat, then pushed it open. My breath l
Avery's POVTime moves strangely in Kane’s packhouse. The days blend together, soft and slow, like fog creeping over familiar ground. Each morning, I wake in a room that used to feel like a prison. Now, it just feels.... quiet.Not safe. Not yet.But its not dangerous either.In the days that followed, I noticed something had changed. Not in Kane, he’s already change, hopefully, but in the air around us. The silence that once screamed now hums with something else. Something hesitant. Unspoken.I start to notice the little things.He sets out a second plate at every meal, never asking if I’ll join but always hoping I will. He adjusts the thermostat back to the exact warmth I always liked, the one that made me feel held without being touched. He doesn’t knock on my door. Doesn’t ask for talks. Doesn’t ask for anything, really. He just…. shows up.When I do come down to eat, he doesn’t stare or smile or try to fill the silence.
Kane's POVI find her in the garden again early in the morningHer figure framed by the soft sway of lavender that brushes against her dress. She always loved this place, said the scent reminded her of peace. Now, I wonder if it only reminds her of what I destroyed.Avery kneels beside the blossoms, her fingers brushing the petals like they’re more fragile than she feels. She hasn’t spoken to me more than a few words since she returned. She walks with purpose, keeps her distance, and when she looks at me, it’s like I’m a stranger standing in the ruins of the life she once tried to build.But I can’t keep letting her run. I won’t.“Don’t run from me anymore, Avery.” My voice is low, steady. No Alpha command. No anger. Just truth.She stiffens but doesn’t look up. Her silence wraps around her like armor, tight, defensive, and heavy. I step closer, not enough to crowd her, but enough to make her feel me there. I won’t let her face t
Avery’s POVThe ceremony was silent, somber even. No grand cheers. No joy. Just the quiet rustle of the wind and the heavy breath of a pack unsure how to process what they’d witnessedKane stood beside me, barely able to stay upright. His arm was bandaged, his face bruised and bloodied. Yet there was a gleam in his eye, a victorious gleam. One that reminded me of the old Kane. The ruthless one. The conqueror who always took what he wanted no matter what.He reached for me, his fingers brushing my arm. “You’re mine again,” he whispered, not as a question, but as a declaration.And I nodded.What else could I do?The fight had been issued. The outcome determined. The pack had no more words to say.I was his again, claimed by blood, by dominance, by the archaic laws we still obeyed.But as his hand wrapped around mine, something inside me twisted. It should’ve been relief. It should’ve been … something. A reunion.