Avery’s POVBy now, I thought I had endured every cruelty they could throw at me. The whispers, the sabotage, the physical traps, all had left their mark. But this… this was different. This wasn’t whispered behind closed doors or scrawled on my walls in ink. This was public. Calculated. Designed to humiliate me beyond repair.The hall buzzed with laughter and chatter as the pack gathered for one of their ceremonial events, some celebration I didn’t bother learning the details of. I knew better than to mingle. Instead, I stood near the back, pressed against the stone wall, my son safely nestled against my side. I wanted to be invisibleBut invisibility was a luxury I no longer possessed.The moment the Alpha’s eldest son stepped into the center of the room, I knew something was coming. Cassian. Smug. Cruel. The mirror image of his father in every possible way. He raised a goblet and smiled, but there was no joy in it. Only venom.“We all know why she’s here,” he began, his voice cuttin
Avery’s POVThe candle flickered in the quiet, casting long and trembling shadows along the cracked walls of my chamberI sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over the small mirror that hung crookedly above the washbasin. The reflection that stared back at me didn’t feel like mine. It looked like that of a stranger.Once upon a time I was a very pretty young maiden, the daughter of the Alpha, I was admired and loved by everyone, I had suitors lined up to behold my beautiful face. Now its years later and here I am, a shadow of my former selfMy face was gaunt, sharper than I remembered. My cheekbones were more pronounced, my lips pale. And my eyes… gods, my eyes. They looked dull. Lifeless. Like all the fire I once carried had burned out and left nothing but cold ash behind.I touched the glass, fingers brushing over the reflection like I could somehow reach in and pull the old me out. The girl who had once stood tall, even when the world tried to beat her down. The girl who had surviv
Avery’s POVI hard warned them before, they can mess with me but they should never dare to come close to my son. But my words were all bluffs to themThe laughter echoed before Ibeven saw them that morning.It was shrill, mocking, laced with a kind of careless cruelty I’d come to recognize all too well. The Alpha’s sonss, always scheming, always circling like wolves sensing weakness. But today, the target wasn’t me.It was him.My son’s laughter, pure, soft, innocent, rang through the hall as he darted across the polished floor, clutching the small wooden horse I’d carved for him just last night. I was only a few steps behind, carrying the folded blanket I had taken outside for the sun. Just a moment of peace, that was all I had wanted. Just one moment where I could pretend this place wasn’t suffocating us both.But peace is not something this house allows.My eyes lifted just in time to catch the flick of movement at the top of the stairs, the slight, deliberate shift of a boot brus
Avery’s POVFor days, I pondered over the knife I had gotten. Should I really use it to just end them all myself?But that would make me a killerThat would make my hands stained with the blood of the Alpha and his children.How will I still be able to use the same blood stained hands to raise my innocent son?No, I cant kill them.Not now.So I hid the knife, waiting for a day when I would have no choice but to use it.......To day was another weekly pack meeting day.The mansion buzzed like a disturbed hive. Whispers flitted through the halls like venomous wasps, my name being the subject of discussion.Their faces were laced with surprise, curiosity, and barely veiled contempt.“Did you hear? Avry snapped at the Alpha’s son a few days back”“She threatened them.”“I heard she nearly clawed his face off.”None of it was true. But none of it was false enough to be ignored either. And the more they whispered, the more I felt their eyes on me. Some filled with scorn, others with some
Avery’s Point of ViewI walk through the pack grounds this evening, and it’s… strange.The air feels differentNot in the way a storm brews or when something ominous lingers in the shadows. No, this was more subtle, like the pack itself is holding its breath. As if something fundamental had changed, something they couldn’t quite name but felt in their bones. And I could feel it too.Once, they only sneered and hissed at me.Once there was only scorn, mocking laughter, sneers, pointed fingers but now.... now there is hesitation. The Alpha’s children still glare at me, their hatred far from extinguished, but even that looks different now. Duller. Muted by uncertaintyI'm no longer the easy target they used to enjoy tormenting.I see it in the smallest ways.A warrior, Kyle, I think his name is, passes me near the training grounds. Before, he wouldn’t have looked twice at me, mayb
Pain. That’s the first thing I feel as I drift into the realm of the living, raw, agonizing pain that claws through every muscle, every joint, every memory I’ve buried deep.I try to move, but my limbs are dead weight, like they belong to someone else. The darkness clings to me, thick and suffocating, until a dim flicker of candlelight filters through the fog in my mind. My eyes flutter open. The ceiling above me is is unfamiliar. The scent of medicine hangs in the air, laced with something metallic, blood, old and bitter.I’m alive.But at what cost?A presence stirs beside me. I turn my head slowly, every muscle screaming. It’s Dylan, my Beta. Loyal, dependable, always by my side. But there’s something in his eyes. A shadow. A hesitation that doesn’t belong there.My throat feels like sandpaper, my voice little more than a croak. “Where is she?”He stiffens.
Kane’s POVWeeks. Endless, goddamn weeksEach morning I wake with fire in my blood, and each night I fall into restless slep with nothing to show for it but empty trails and false hope. It’s as if she never existed. As if my son had been nothing but a dream conjured in the haze of pain and regret.But I know better. I saw them. I felt her presence, her fear, her defiance, when they were ripped away from me. That memory haunts me more than the scent of blood in battle. And the silence that followed? It’s the loudest torment I’ve ever known.I stand in my war room, maps and intelligence reports strewn across the table like a battlefield. Pins mark every rumored sighting, every report of a she-wolf and child passing through human territories. We’ve scoured border towns, questioned informants, turned rogue packs inside out. And still...... nothing.“Still nothing?” My voice is low, but the threat in it is undeniable.Dylan stands acr
Avery's POVThe scent of pine and damp earth fills my lungs, grounding me as I sit beneath the old cedar tree that overlooks the training field. The moon hangs low in the sky, casting a gentle silver glow over the clearing. My son is a blur of motion, darting after fireflies, his laughter spilling into the night air like a song I never want to forget.It’s peaceful here nowIt’s not something I take for granted. Not after what it took me to finally get this peace.I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, my eyes never leaving him. Every step he takes in joy is a reminder of why I had to leave. Why I had to disappear from the only life I’d ever known. Why I endured so much to get here.This place… Midnight Hollow… it is now unlike any other pack I’ve known. They didn’t welcome me with open arms at first. They were wary, curious, they literally bullied me at first. But I didn’t come here seeking approval. I came seeking safety
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.