LOGINMy gaze sweeps across the courtyard, taking in the faces, the laughter, and the sense of peace that still feels surreal.And then my eyes find her.Xena.I can’t bring myself to call her Lola, just as she can’t bring herself to call me Sadie. To everyone else, we are Lola and Sadie but to each other
“Sadie?” Alec murmurs gently beside me, voice low and coaxing. “You ready?”I turn, and he’s there, exactly where he’s always been. Tall, steady, eyes soft in a way I once thought I’d never be on the receiving end of. He’s holding our son in his arms, swaddled in a light silver blanket that shimmers
He already knows. He always does.“Ready?” I say quietly, though everyone hears me.“Definitely… Been waiting to make you officially mine for months,” he says, earning a chuckle from everyone.Slowly, he puts Aspen down, who is smiling from ear to ear.We told her the truth, that Alec is her dad, an
The night is quiet. Not the tense quiet that comes before war, not the brittle silence of grief but a living stillness, deep and steady, like the world has finally exhaled.It has been a month since the battle. A month since blood stained this land. A month since Kaden fell. A month since I learned
Kaden sees it too late. He lunges, but we are faster.I raise my hand and time stops and light pours from me in radiant waves. Lola steps forward, shadows trailing her like smoke. Light and shadow coil around us, not fighting, but circling, choosing. The air thickens, charged, every particle vibrat
The guilt is suffocating. It crawls up my throat like it wants to rip me apart from the inside.This isn’t how it was meant to be. This isn’t how it was meant to end. Kaden wasn’t supposed to win.I wipe away the tears. No! I refuse to let her die.I feel something crack open in my chest at my deter
The evening air was cool against my skin as I sat on the porch, wrapped in one of Alec’s oversized hoodies. The material draped over my knees, its warmth comforting, carrying his scent. The forest is alive with the sounds of night — crickets chirping, leaves rustling, and the distant howl of a lone
The entire pack gathered in the field, a sea of tense bodies and gleaming eyes, all waiting for Alec to speak.I stand among them, my skin prickling under the moon’s heavy gaze. The full moon looms above, its pull a visceral ache beneath my skin. The bond with Alec is stronger tonight, as if the moo
A soft, warm pressure envelops me, cocooning me in a familiar scent that seeps through my skin and calms the raging fire burning beneath. Alec.His chest is pressed to my back, his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me close. The slow, soothing stroke of his thumb against my skin sends a shiver do
His chin rests atop my head as he rocks me gently, his fingers stroking slow, comforting lines down my spine.“You’re okay,” he says, his voice a low rumble against my ear. I rest my head against his shoulder with my eyes closed. We don’t stay outside for long because within minutes I’m drained and