LOGIN•• Victoria’s POV •••Five years later.The ceremony was held in a sun-drenched meadow, a far cry from the usual grandeur expected of Alpha weddings—but Oli wouldn’t have it any other way. It was private. Peaceful. Just her, Liam, and a handful of close friends.Oli looked stunning in her ivory gown—sleeveless, clean-cut, with a high slit that screamed, "I’m still an Alpha, don’t forget it". Her hair was swept into a crown braid, a few strands artfully loose around her face. Her smile, though? That was real. Soft. Steady.Liam stood beside her in his usual black suit, eyes unreadable but unwavering. He looked every bit the quiet protector he’d always been, only now something had shifted. The way he looked at her, it wasn’t just pretend anymore.It never had been.What started as a fake bond, a shield against tradition, had slowly turned into
•• Victoria’s POV •••Three months passed in the blink of an eye.The scent of cedar and musk lingered in the air, wafting through the sleek new lobby of my company headquarters—modern, elegant, and entirely mine. The soft hum of excitement buzzed through the walls as press crews gathered for the launch of our newest fragrance: Forever.Designed as a men’s scent, it was everything Damien embodied—warm, dominant, earthy, and addictive. It was the first time I’d publicly tied a fragrance to something so personal, but I didn’t hesitate. This one wasn’t just about scent. It was about him. About us. About the bond that now pulsed in my neck and burned in my soul.The bottle shimmered in its black-gold finish. Simple. Bold. Like the man it was inspired by.Felix stood beside me as I answered the final round of questions from the press, his Beta aura calm and st
•• Victoria’s POV •••Silence greeted us in the pack house. Not the kind that haunted, but the kind that wrapped around me like a warm cloak after a long storm. I didn’t realize how much tension I had carried until now—until I felt the air shift the moment Damien locked the door behind us and turned to face me.His eyes, dark with restraint and longing, didn’t leave mine. Not even for a second.“Elijah’s mark is gone,” he said, voice low, possessive. “There’s nothing left of him on you now. It'll be my mark from now on. No one else’s.”I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening. “Then mark me.”A snarl of hunger slipped past his lips. In the next heartbeat, he was in front of me—pulling me into his arms, kissing me like he needed it to breathe. His mouth crashed into mine, and I melted into him, arching into his touch.
•• Victoria’s POV •••The chamber doors groaned open with the weight of final judgment.I stood beneath the high arch of the werewolf court, shoulders squared, heart steady. The stone floor beneath my boots felt colder than usual. Above us, carved wolves stared down in silence from their thrones of marble. They'd seen centuries of justice handed out. Today would be no different.The first time I came here was to witness Diana's trial. The second time was when the perfume industry was restored. Today, it was about a whole different matter.The room pulsed with authority. A dozen Elders sat at the curved dais, each one cloaked in robes that bore the insignia of ancient bloodlines. Their presence was overwhelming, but I did not bow. I had learned to stand straight under pressure—to meet judgment head-on.Behind me, Damien stood like a wall of silent fire. His presence didn’t oversh
•• Victoria’s POV •••The room was too quiet for a place that had just witnessed a birth—and a death. I stood at the edge of the nursery, my arms crossed over my chest, but not out of defense. I was holding myself together. Barely.“She didn’t even get to hold her,” I whispered.Damien said nothing. His hand hovered behind me, unsure whether to touch or pull away.“She gave birth, then died on the table,” he finally said. “Evelyn’s body will be taken care of. There’s nothing else anyone can do.”“Nothing else anyone can do?” I turned to face him slowly. “There’s a baby, Damien.”His jaw tensed. “I know.”I stared at the crib through the glass—so small, so pink, with that tuft of black hair and tiny fists clenched as if she already knew the world could be cruel. A nurse reached in to adjust her blanket. She made a sound, a little hiccup-like cry that went straight through my ribcage.“She’s innocent.”“She’s Elijah and Evelyn’s child.”“She’s still innocent," I insisted.Damien exhaled
•• Damien’s POV •••The wind howled as I tore through the forest, each step faster than the last, Eros snarling low inside me.Martin’s directions had led us south to the ruins of an old chapel hidden beneath the shadows of gnarled trees. The air was heavy with the scent of iron and ash. Her scent. I felt it like a dagger to my chest.Noah and two of my warriors flanked me, their breaths ragged with exertion. But I didn’t wait for them.I didn’t stop.I vaulted through the shattered doorway of the ruin, heart pounding, claws bared—And I saw her.She lay on the broken stone floor, blood smeared down her arm and soaking the front of her torn dress. Her skin was ghost-pale, and yet—her hand still gripped a jagged shard of tile, red dripping from its edge. Evelyn lay only a few feet away, clutching her abdomen and writhing, clearly wounded.My







