ALORAThe house was quiet when the front doors opened. The sound of boots scuffing against the stone floor carried down the hall before Killian appeared, streaked with dirt and smelling of meat and smoke. He looked exhausted with his hair tousled, and jacket slung over one shoulder, but something in his eyes made me pause. That sharp, unreadable tension that didn’t belong to the usual fatigue of a long hunt.“Hey,” I said softly, shifting Storm to my other hip. “You’re back early.”He nodded once and dropped his jacket onto the nearest chair. “Yeah.” His voice was low, rougher than usual. “I needed to talk to you.”That tone froze me in place. I’d learned to read him. Killian didn’t do nerves. If something rattled him this much, it had to be bad. “What happened?” I asked.He didn’t answer right away. He ran a hand down his face, leaving a smear of dirt across his cheek, and exhaled slowly. “You should sit down.”The bottom of my stomach turned cold. “Killian… what’s going on?”He fina
SEBASTIANThe night was heavy with rain, and it lashed against the windows. The storm had been raging for hours, but I barely noticed.Inside the Alpha’s quarters, the fire burned low and I sat before it, shirtless. A half-empty alcohol bottle rested by his knee, the scent of deep regret was thick in the air.The whiskey bottle had long stopped offering comfort, yet I kept drinking, waiting for numbness that wouldn’t come.I had spent hours reliving my mother’s words.“I saw her, Sebastian. Lilith. She was kissing your father. In his study. The same woman you brought into our pack… the one you destroyed your entire life for.”.I thought it was a lie. Until I saw the truth reflected in Lilith’s eyes earlier that day — the guilt, the tremor in her hands, and the way she couldn’t meet my gaze.I had given her everything; my loyalty, my trust, my heart.And in return, she’d betrayed me and this pack..I took another drink. The burn was sharp, and almost felt like punishment..“You’re a d
CATHERINE“What the hell is going on?” My heart pounded wildly and my mouth dropped open at the sight of my husband pressed against another woman.Alaric quickly pushed Lilith away, but the damage was already done. Her lipstick was horribly smeared all over his face, her hair was messy, Alaric’s zipper was open, and guilt was all over their faces… well at least on my husband’s. Lilith looked like she had won the lottery.“Catherine,” Alaric said quietly “It's not what you think.” He was trying to come up with a lie to cover his mess.“Not what I think?” My eyes widened. My hands were trembling with cold fury. “After all I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? I gave you a son, I gave you a family and you stoop so low to sleep with a…”“She came on to me,” he interrupted, voice rising in defense. “I never meant to hurt you.”“Listen to yourself!” I snapped. “You’re actually trying to find a way to defend this betrayal?!”“Catherine, I can explain.” Lilith’s soft voice filtered in
LILITHAlaric was waiting for me outside the council room, the way a storm waits just beyond the horizon. His jaw was tight, he had one hand fisted at his side, the other dragging over his face as if trying to erase the last few weeks from existence. I smiled anyway, because watching him struggle was almost sweet.“Don’t you dare smile at me,” he said the moment the door shut behind us. His voice was low enough that it wouldn’t carry down the corridor, but the anger in it burned. “What the hell? I’ve been trying to talk to you for two weeks!”I shrugged. “I’ve been busy.”Alaric sighed. “What the hell was that?”I tilted my head. “What was what, darling?”He stepped closer, eyes flashing. “The announcement. You walked into the middle of a dedication ceremony and told the entire pack you were pregnant. Do you have any idea what that means? What it does to me and to this family?”“Alaric…”“You’re pregnant? For my son? What the hell, Lilith? He’s my son for goodness sake! I knew
Night settled softly over the mountains. Most of the pack had gone to bed; the steady hum of conversation in the great hall had faded to distant murmurs. I found myself on the back terrace. The twins were asleep inside, and the stars were sharp above the dark treeline.“Couldn’t sleep?”I didn’t jump this time when Killian’s voice came from the doorway. He carried two mugs, sending the smell of cocoa drifting between us.“I haven’t slept properly in weeks,” I admitted, taking the mug he offered. Our fingers brushed in a tiny, accidental motion that was enough to send a ripple up my spine.I frowned at my reaction for a second but quickly masked it. He sat beside me on the stone bench. For a while, we just listened to the night: the wind in the pines, the faint sound of a wolf calling somewhere far off.“Do you miss it?” he asked finally.“What?”“Home. The feeling, the people… everything.”I stared into the dark chocolate swirling in my mug. “Sometimes I think I miss the idea of it
ALORAOne Week Later“Killian, if you keep holding him like that, he’s going to think you’re his mother.”Killian looked up from the bundle in his arms, eyes bright with amusement. “I don’t mind. Ace can think whatever he wants. Look at that face. He looks like he’s already plotting how to take over my pack one day.”Storm was balanced against my shoulder, sleepy but listening. She always tried to fight off sleep for as long as she could before finally giving in. I laughed, and the sound surprised me. “You’d better hope he doesn’t. He’s the most stubborn little boy I’ve met.”The kitchen smelled of porridge and coffee. Morning sunlight slipped through the tall windows, painting the wooden floors gold. Killian’s pack house was nothing like Sebastian’s fortress of marble and authority. It just felt different. People came and went freely— warriors were grabbing breakfast, children were chasing each other, a pair of elders were sitting by the fire.“Luna Alora!” one of the kitchen women