Mag-log inDinner went by rather awkwardly. I could feel all their stares pointed directly at me. It is an unusual position to be in, from my perspective. I grew up as an Alpha; I was meant to be the leader who carried utmost authority and an aura feared by many. Yet here, in Valerie's rogue pack, it seemed to be the exact opposite.I was the outsider. Everybody's aura is either stronger or just as strong as the next. In fact, it almost feels as if their various energies are constantly battling in the air for dominance. Witches, vampires, and wolves all breathing the same air, their presence thick and suffocating. The sheer weight of it made Malek pace restlessly beneath my skin, his claws scratching at the back of my mind. We were used to being the apex predators in any room we entered, but here, the hierarchy was a jagged, multi-headed beast.Watching as they all spoke and laughed with one another, I felt a sharp, familiar pang in my chest.Suddenly, the room blurred. The warmth of the torches
Valerie's POV:Twenty minutes later, the main dining hall was packed, the long wooden tables groaning under the weight of roasted meats, heavy stews, and thick loaves of bread.But as I sat at the head of the Alpha’s table, one seat remained glaringly empty.“Where is he?” I asked one of the omega attendants who had been tasked with delivering a tray to the clinic wing.“He... he refused to come out, Alpha,” the girl stammered, avoiding my gaze.“He said he wouldn't dine like a caged animal for display. He told me to leave the tray outside the door and screw off.”My blood pressure spiked instantly. Typical. Ten years in a cage hadn't cured him of his stubborn, arrogant pride. He thought he could sit up there, nursing his bruised ego and avoiding the reality of the world he had discarded. Not on my watch.I stood up, my chair scraping loudly against the stone floor.“Enjoy your dinner. I’ll be right back.”I marched up the stairs to the clinic wing, my boots striking the floor with a
Valerie's POV: Once the crowd began to disperse into smaller, whispering clusters, I turned my attention to the one person whose anger worried me the most. I followed the rhythmic, heavy thud... thud... thud echoing from the training basement. Down here, the air smelled of old sweat, leather, and iron. In the center of the floor, Valerian was systematically destroying a heavy canvas punching bag. His knuckles were raw, split open and bleeding slightly, but he didn't care. He was throwing his entire body weight into every hook, his green eyes wide and wild with a dangerous, unstable fury. Standing a few feet away, arms crossed over his massive chest, was Igor. The dark-skinned trainer didn't have a bead of sweat on him, his pale, unnaturally still eyes tracking the boy’s movements with clinical precision. Igor didn't breathe and his presence alone was a stabilizing anchor for my son. “Again, brat,” Igor said, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that sounded like grinding stones. “Yo
VALERIE’S POV The heavy oak door of the clinic clicked shut behind me, isolating Evan and his scrambled memories on the other side. I leaned my back against the cool wood, closing my eyes as I let out a long, ragged breath that I had been holding for the last twenty minutes. My heart was hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against my ribs. ‘He smells the sulfur,’ my wolf muttered inside my head, her tone sharp and guarded. ‘He knows about Tyrone.’ “Let him know,” I whispered to the empty corridor, my voice flat. “It doesn't change a damn thing.” I headed upstairs to my room, feeling hot and incredibly bothered when I recall his mouth lingering too close to me. Way too close. My chest is heaving, and my heart is beating rapidly like a nonstop drum. The shower took longer than usual, as I had to scrub my body with soap every other minute. I would look at it and pick up the soap then lather my body with loofa all over again, then the cycle repeats at least four to six m
Evan's POV: “Because remembering what we used to have would only make what’s happening now a hell of a lot harder for you to swallow.” My brow furrows, a sudden, heavy dread settling deep into my gut. I already know about the betrayal. For months out in that brutal wilderness, the phantom pains of our fractured mate bond would rip through my chest in the dead of night. Every time she slept with him, my wolf and I bled from the inside out, enduring the agonizing telepathic echo of another man touching my female. I don't need a map to know she moved on; the scars on my soul told me that much. “What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, my voice tightening. “I know you’re with someone else, Val. I felt it. Every fucking time. You don't think I know what that phantom burning in my chest meant?” I snapped, anger and raw jealousy burned in my chest. Valerie tidies the tray, her movements deliberately slow, as if she’s measuring out the exact weight of the bricks she’s about to drop on my h
Evan's POV: “Well, that went well,” I say awkwardly, the words tasting completely flat as they leave my mouth. Valerie doesn't look at me right away. She keeps her focus on the tray, setting down a bottle of antiseptic with a sharp, clinical clink. “You’re lucky you’re still alive,” she mutters under her breath. “I didn't expect Valerian to look for his father the moment he got word.” she uttered. I watch her move, that Alpha posture rigid, the curves of her body shifting as she reaches for a clean roll of gauze. Ten years of missing pieces claw at my brain, but seeing her handle our spitfire of a son makes one thing abundantly clear. She didn't just survive without me. She conquered everything standing in her way. “He’s got a hell of an attitude,” I say, trying to inject a bit of levity into the suffocating silence. “Can’t imagine where he got the sarcasm from.” I said and chuckled, only to regret it the next moment when Valerie stops. Her shoulders tense up under her leather j







