Mag-log inElena’s POVThe knock at my hotel door came sharp and hurried, echoing through the stale Las Vegas air. I frowned, setting aside the glass of wine I had been swirling lazily. No one here knew me by name. No one dared to disturb me unless it was important.When I opened the door, Venessa stood there, her face flushed, eyes wide, and in her arms—wrapped in a soft blue blanket—was a baby.For a heartbeat, my chest seized. “Venessa,” I breathed, pulling her inside quickly before anyone in the hall could catch a glimpse. I shut the door hard, locking it. My eyes snapped back to her arms. “What in the goddess’ name did you do?”Her lips curved into a wicked smile. “What you’ve always wanted.” She shifted the blanket slightly, revealing the tiny, sleeping face of a boy. His features were delicate, but there was no mistaking it—the strong line of Kael’s jaw already etched in his infant form.My breath caught. “That’s… Aria’s son.”“Correction,” Venessa said smoothly, brushing her finger over
Aria’s POVThe night felt endless. My body was still sore, my heart heavier than my bones could carry. I sat against the carved wooden headboard of my chamber, the warm glow of the lantern flickering across the walls. In my arms lay the one miracle I had left—my daughter. Her small mouth suckled at my breast, her tiny fingers curled against my skin, reminding me painfully of the absence of her brother.Tears ran down my face silently, dripping onto her soft hair. I tried to hold them back, but the weight of my grief pressed too hard against my chest.“Shh, my sweet girl,” I whispered, though my voice trembled. “Don’t mind your mother. I’m just… I’m just broken right now.”Every cry that had left my son’s lungs echoed in my ears like a ghost. The memory of holding him only for a moment before he was ripped from me was a wound I couldn’t stitch together. No amount of Kael’s reassurances could fill that void.I kissed my daughter’s forehead and pressed her closer, as if clinging to her c
Kael’s POVThe silence was the first thing that felt wrong.Too still. Too heavy.I pushed the nursery door wider, the soft creak scraping my nerves raw. The cradle was there, rocking faintly from a breeze through the half-open window. But it was empty.My chest tightened instantly, the kind of tightening that steals your breath before panic even has time to take hold. I stepped closer, gripping the edge of the cradle like maybe my son had only shifted, maybe he had rolled onto his side and I hadn’t seen him.But there was nothing.The blanket was gone too.“Aria?” My voice came out rough, shaking.She appeared in the doorway, her eyes heavy with exhaustion, her hair a loose mess around her shoulders. She stopped when she saw my face. “What is it?”I swallowed hard, pointing at the cradle. “He’s not here.”Her lips parted. She rushed forward, hands searching the cradle even though we both knew it was empty. “No. No, no, Kael, he was right here—” She spun, scanning the room as if he mi
Venessa’s POVI hadn’t slept in two nights, and my body screamed for rest, but I couldn’t stop moving. Every corner of the forest felt like Kael’s shadow was waiting, ready to drag me back to the nightmare I had just escaped.So I ran. I ran until my lungs burned and the soles of my boots tore, until the thick green of the woods thinned and turned into dirt roads, until dirt roads became highway.By the time I stumbled onto a bus with the boy bundled close to my chest, the world outside had already shifted. Cities blurred past the window in streaks of light and noise, and each mile put more distance between me and that pack.Between me and Aria.The boy stirred restlessly against me, his tiny face scrunching as if he already knew his life had been split in two. “Shh,” I whispered, rocking him gently, ignoring the curious glances of strangers on the bus. “You’re safe. We’re almost there.”Almost there. Las Vegas.It was insane, maybe. But Elena was there. And Elena… well, Elena underst
Venessa’s POVThe sound of that newborn’s cry still clung to my skin like blood. Piercing, beautiful, and cruel all at once. I hadn’t planned to hear it so close, hadn’t planned to see his little face. But when the healer lifted the boy into the air, something inside me snapped.That should have been mine.It was like the universe reached inside my chest, ripping open every scar I’d tried to stitch shut. I’d spent months watching Kael parade around with Aria like she was his salvation. I’d watched him throw away every promise he’d made me, every whispered vow in the shadows, like I was just dust in his lungs.And then—this. Twins. The perfect family. The life I had been denied.I couldn’t let it stand.When the smoke cleared from the shattered vial and I broke through the healer’s chamber window, the boy was in my arms. His weight was so light, fragile, like he could vanish if I loosened my grip even slightly.He squirmed and whimpered, his tiny hands curling in fists, and I pressed h
Aria’s POVThe moment Kael carried me back through the pack house doors, my body betrayed me. The pain hit sharp and merciless, clenching my insides so violently I screamed.“Aria!” Kael’s voice boomed through the halls, panic raw in his tone. “Healer! Now!”I clutched his arm, gasping for air. “It’s… it’s happening. Kael, the baby—”His eyes widened in shock, then terror. “No. Not now. You’re too weak.”“It doesn’t matter!” I cried, my fingernails digging into his skin. “They’re coming. Kael, the pups are coming now.”He didn’t argue again. He stormed through the corridor with me in his arms like a warrior carrying a fallen comrade from the battlefield. The pack workers scattered, their faces pale as my screams echoed.By the time he set me down in the healer’s chamber, sweat slicked my skin, and I was shaking all over. The healer rushed forward, her hands steady, though her eyes betrayed her worry.“Alpha, you must leave,” she said firmly.“I’m not leaving her,” Kael growled, positi
ARIA POVThe door shut behind Kael and for a moment the silence pressed against me like a weight. My chest felt tight and I could not tell if it was from the way he had looked at me or from the ache twisting low in my stomach. I sat there staring at nothing, fingers gripping the blanket until my kn
Chapter 54Kael POVThe war room was empty but her voice still lingered.I had let her because I knew if I followed her now I would say things I could not take back. I would tear apart every wall I had built and I would hand her a truth that could damn both of us.But the silence pressed on me like
Aria POVThe morning light streamed through the curtains, soft and golden, but I couldn’t feel its warmth. I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers pressed against my stomach, tracing the curve that had grown heavier with each passing week. My thoughts were loud, crashing against each other, and my
Kael’s POVThe healer’s words echoed in my skull long after we’d left the hospital. Twins. A boy and a girl. My children.I had imagined this moment a thousand times,what it would be like to see my pup for the first time, to feel the weight of responsibility, to know my bloodline would continue,but







