LOGINDANIELMinutes later, I gently released Miss Moonrack’s hand and stood, my legs feeling slightly stiff as I navigated the small space toward the crib. I leaned over, my breath hitching in my throat. She was breathtaking. Even for a newborn, she looked remarkably healthy, a sturdy, precious little thing with skin as soft as velvet. Everything about her... the tiny, curled fingers, the button nose, the faint fuzz of hair on her head... was perfection. She was a tiny, sleeping miracle, so peaceful in the quiet hum of the hospital room that I felt like an intruder just by breathing the same air.I extended a finger, trembling slightly, and brushed the back of it against her cheek. It was so incredibly soft, warm with the heat of life. I pulled back immediately, terrified that even the lightest touch might shatter the stillness of her slumber."Daniel?"The soft, fragile call pulled me back to reality. I turned around to find Miss Moonrack watching me, her gaze heavy with a questio
DANIEL "Yes, please do," she snapped, cutting me off with a jagged edge of sarcasm."Explain where you and my brother took Yelena to. Her parents are at the pack house right now, and they are absolutely livid. They are demanding answers, Daniel. My brother took her on a date, and they both just vanished off the face of the earth. Do you have any idea how that looks? Who disappears without a trace?"My heart hammered against my ribs, a dull thud of dread competing with the lingering joy of the baby's arrival. My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles blanched."They are at your place?" I asked, my voice dangerously low."Yes, they’re here, and they aren't leaving until they see their daughter," she fired back, her voice thick with the mounting pressure of the situation. "What would you do if your child didn't come home? If she was supposed to be back and she was just… gone? Tell me, what would you do?"I didn't have an answer, not while she was in this state.How do you explai
DANIELThe persistent, rhythmic tapping against the chair frame increased in the sterile silence of the hospital corridor, followed immediately by a soft, melodic voice. "Beta."The sound cut through the heavy fog of my exhaustion, dragging me back to consciousness. I stirred, my muscles screaming in protest. Every joint felt like it had been fused together, a direct consequence of spending the entire night curled into an unforgiving, stiff-backed hospital chair. I shifted my weight, trying to find a comfortable position, but my body just pulsed with dull, aching reminders of the long hours spent in wait.My eyes cracked open, heavy and grit-filled. The harsh morning light filtering through the window hit me with a sudden, stinging intensity, making me wince. I blinked rapidly, trying to bring the blurred shapes of the hallway into focus until my vision settled on the nurse standing before me. Her expression was neutral, yet it held a hint of professional sympathy.The memory of
DANIEL I floored the accelerator, the car fishtailing slightly as I tore out onto the main road. The city lights smeared into long, jagged streaks of color against the windshield.Every second felt like a decade.My wolf was pacing, claws scraping against the bars of my consciousness, howling in frustration at the lack of a target, at the inability to protect the one man who mattered more than anyone else in our pack.When the sterile, looming silhouette of the hospital finally rose out of the dark, I didn't slow down. I surged through the gates, skidding into a parking spot just as three familiar black SUVs flanked me. Our guards. They moved like shadows, spilling out of their vehicles with lethal efficiency, immediately fanning out to seal every exit and entrance. They were creating a fortress of the building, ensuring no one would get in, and more importantly, no one would leave until we had answers.I didn't wait for them. I sprinted toward the automatic glass doors, my sh
YELENA I set the glass down with a soft click, my hands suddenly clammy. Had I seen that, or was the fatigue finally playing tricks on my mind? Was I hallucinating, or was there something hidden behind those eyes that he hadn't yet dared to show me? The silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. I didn’t dwell on the strange flicker of violet I’d seen in Tristan’s eyes anymore, though the unease it sparked in my gut refused to settle. It sat there, a cold, jagged stone in my stomach. I pushed the plate away, the aroma of the rich venison suddenly turning cloying and unappealing. He had finished eating like someone was chasing him.The man who usually teased me while stealing bites off my plate, the man who was always present, always engaged, was suddenly a statue, his gaze fixed at some point in the distance that I couldn't see.I leaned forward, my hands gripping the edge of the table."Tristan, what’s wrong? You’re acting like a stranger. Why are you not talking to
YELENAThe night air outside the restaurant was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, a familiar perfume of our territory, but tonight, it felt charged with something else. I was still blushing, the heat of it lingering on my cheeks despite the cool evening breeze. Tristan had insisted on this outing with the stubbornness of a man possessed, refusing to take "no" for an answer. Even with my belly swollen and heavy, housing the little life that was preparing to greet the world, he had guided me into the car with such care, as if I were made of glass.He had been acting strange ever since he pulled into the driveway. There was a frantic, jittery energy beneath his calm exterior, a nervousness he tried to cloak behind a stoic expression, but I knew him too well. I could read the slight tension in his jaw, the way his fingers drummed rhythmically against the steering wheel, and the way his hand, usually so steady when it held mine, trembled just a fraction.As we were seated,
TRISTANWhen Jackson called to tell me the result was out, I stopped everything I was doing.The file in my hand stayed open on the desk, my beta was still talking, but his voice turned into noise. My wolf rose to the surface instantly, restless, and pacing. Something was wrong.I could feel it in
TRISTANYelena didn’t wake up all through yesterday.I stayed until dawn, sitting on that hard hospital chair, watching her chest rise and fall like it was the only thing holding my world together.When morning came, I had to leave. I told Jackson to call me the second her eyes opened. Not a minute
YELENAA whole week had passed.Seven long days of knocking on doors that never opened, of questions that led nowhere, of hope rising and crashing in the same breath. The police searched for Tyler everywhere they could think of. I followed them once, all the way to his house. I stood at the gate,
YELENAThe moment Jackson’s fingers touched the silver… he screamed.It wasn't a shout, it wasn't a curse but a raw, ripped sound that bounced off the walls and crawled straight under my skin.Nyra grabbed his wrist so fast the chair beside her fell over.Tristan and I froze for a breath too long.







