MasukAmeliaWe need to protect them, my wolf roars in response as feeling I’ve never felt before takes over. It’s intense, easy to drown in, and the voices in my head are chanting for blood.Kill. Kill. Kill.Sapphira sees it. Fear flashes across her face. She lifts her hand and hurls a wave of power straight at me. Somehow, Conrad finds his strength as he jumps in between.Taking the blast and thudding to the ground. Blood trails down his nose, and his chest heaves as if struggling to breathe.Something inside me shatters completely. I don’t lose control. I let myself go.My wolf surges forward, and then it hits me—deep, electric, alive, and stronger than ever. Power explodes through my veins like lightning, burning and awaking something that’s been asleep for far too long.My hands tremble, energy crackling as I rise to my feet slowly.Sapphira turns toward me, eyes widening. “That’s not possible,” she whispers. “You—”I don’t let her finish. I lift my hand, releasing everything—the pa
AmeliaWe need to protect them, my wolf roars in response as feeling I’ve never felt before takes over. It’s intense, easy to drown in, and the voices in my head are chanting for blood.Kill. Kill. Kill.Sapphira sees it. Fear flashes across her face. She lifts her hand and hurls a wave of power straight at me. Somehow, Conrad finds his strength as he jumps in between.Taking the blast and thudding to the ground. Blood trails down his nose, and his chest heaves as if struggling to breathe.Something inside me shatters completely. I don’t lose control. I let myself go.My wolf surges forward, and then it hits me—deep, electric, alive, and stronger than ever. Power explodes through my veins like lightning, burning and awaking something that’s been asleep for far too long.My hands tremble, energy crackling as I rise to my feet slowly.Sapphira turns toward me, eyes widening. “That’s not possible,” she whispers. “You—”I don’t let her finish. I lift my hand, releasing everything—the pa
Amelia“Yes, it is. All we need is to make one sacrifice.” Her eyes slide to my daughter. “She shares half Blood Shade blood and half Silver Moon Blood. Her life is a small price we have to pay to bring our entire pack back. Amelia, can’t you see the bigger picture?”“Fuck you and your big picture,” I spit, burning with protective rage. “I won’t let you harm my daughter!”“I’ve watched that little girl grow for three years. Do you think I want to harm her?” She yells, eyes widening, the dark circle around her eyes growing more obvious. “I don’t, but I have no choice. Give me the child.”Her tone is aggressive, and it’s clear now I can’t stall anymore. I have to fight, even if it costs me my life. “Over my dead body!”I hold my daughter tightly, turning to the side so she’s shielded by my body, and my sides press tighter into the cold wall. I don’t care if I die here today.I trust Conrad to look after Sage after I’m gone. But the thought of Sage getting hurt—the thought of losing her
Amelia“Mommy, wake up!”The sound of Sage’s panicked voice makes me open my eyes. My vision is blurred, but the world around me slowly comes into focus. My ribs and arms hurt, and my head hurts even more as I try to register what just happened.“Mommy, are you okay?”I snap my head to look at my daughter, quickly scanning her for injuries. Thankfully, she’s fine, save for the fear dilating her storm-gray eyes.“Yes, baby. I’m fine,” I say, cupping her head. “Mommy’s fine.”“I don’t want to hurt you, Amelia,” Sapphira says, edging towards us. “Give it up already. You’re not a match for me, and you know it.”I glance at the woman who was supposed to be my best friend. The woman who stayed by my side and lied to me for years. She’d been the enemy all along, and I’d been too blind to see it—too trusting and naïve to question everything she told me.It all makes sense now—her rescuing me outside the fortress and her anger at me for getting back with Conrad. She never cared about me. She
AmeliaBut I need to be careful not to alert Sapphira. Schooling my expression, I tuck my phone back into my pocket and lower myself to pick my daughter up. “Sage, honey…” I call faster than I mean to. “Do you want to go get ice cream at the park?”Sage smiles widely, her eyes lighting up. “Yes! Strawberry ice cream!”“Let’s go get some, okay?” I say, hoping I appear calm enough not to raise any suspicions from Sapphira.She’s looking at me weirdly, but I keep my eyes on Sage, reluctantly brightening up with a smile. Sage nods cooperatively. “Okay, Mommy,” she says, and I start turning around, ready to flee to safety with my daughter.But we’re barely steps away from the living room, when a hand reaches out and snatches the phone from my pocket.I gasp, swiveling with urgency to retrieve my phone, but I’m too late. Sapphira intently scrolls through the messages on my phone and lets out a tired sigh. In a flash, the sullen expression she had previously falls away like a torn mask. She
AmeliaI’m pacing Sage’s playroom, watching her while she builds a castle with some blocks, but my insides are churning with anxiety.Conrad has been gone for two hours, and he hasn’t answered my calls or text messages since he left. The news reports an accident at a construction site, which I assume is Zayne, but the details haven’t been disclosed yet, and I can’t help but worry.I hope Conrad is okay. And Zayne, too.But I know the only reason Conrad hasn’t reached out yet is because whatever’s going on has to be serious. I can’t shake off the feeling he’s been hiding something very big from me.My stomach coils, and my chest constricts with unease.There’s too much happening with everyone—Sapphira, Conrad, and Zayne. And I’m stuck in the dark, completely unaware of what’s going on with the people I care about. Both Sage and I flinch when the doorbell rings.My daughter smiles and quickly flies up to her feet.“Daddy’s home!” she yells, her voice laced with so much excitement that
JaxonTeam family day has always been one of my favorite events, but this year it means everything.When I learned Natalie's assignment would end in just less than two weeks, I moved the entire event up by a month.I told her about the change during our phone call last night, my excuse being “sche
JaxonFreckles gave me her number, and that's considered the biggest win in my book.The thought runs through my mind as I lean back in my desk chair, phone pressed to my ear, unable to keep the satisfaction from my voice."When I gave you my number, I didn't expect you to call and text me daily,
Natalie Jaxon takes me to an Italian restaurant that’s known for its tiramisu—my favorite dessert.How did he remember that?We're sitting across from each other, the lighting warm and golden as classical music plays softly in the background.Jaxon has showered and changed into dark jeans and a n
Jaxon"Run it again from the top," Coach Harrison barks from across the conference room, his weathered face set in the permanent scowl that's made him legendary in the league.He also happens to be childhood best friends with my father."If you can't execute these plays in your sleep, you're gonna







