ANMELDENCHAPTER 72: A NEW START ELENA:My heart gave a violent lurch, skipping a beat as the accusation hung in the air. The look of pure, unadulterated fury on Adrian’s face was enough to make a weaker woman faint. But my survival instinct kicked in. Before he could move away with the device, I moved with a speed born of pure desperation, my hand lashing out and snatching the phone from his grip.I glanced down at the screen. My eyes scanned the text message, my pulse thrumming in my ears like a war drum. “I haven't heard from you in days. Hope you're okay. If you're reading this message, that means the phone has been delivered to you. Get in touch as soon as you can. Dad.”I heaved a sigh of relief, the tension in my chest loosening just a fraction, though I knew I wasn't out of the woods yet. I looked up at Adrian, his towering frame casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the room."Where in this text does it indicate that I’ve been spying on you?" I challenged, my voice sharper than I i
CHAPTER 71: YOU'VE BEEN SPYING ON MEELENA:I spun around, and my soul nearly left my body. My breath hitched, catching in my throat like a jagged piece of glass. Adrian was standing there, inches behind me, his shadow looming over me like a shroud. I thought he left. How was he here now, lurking like a shadow?His eyes were darker than I had ever seen them, looking like bottomless pits of obsidian. He didn't rush, he didn't shout; he just stood there, vibrating with a cold, terrifying stillness."Will you tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked, his voice dropping so low I barely heard him. "Or do you want me to find out myself and punish you for it?"My heart was doing a frantic, uneven rhythm against my ribs, like a trapped bird desperate to escape. Instantly, my mind became a battlefield. Should I continue to lie to him? Pretending nothing had happened? But then, I remembered our conversation last night in his study. Adrian had told me about Marcus's betrayal and how he had
CHAPTER 70: A VISIT FROM THE THORNE PACK ELENA:The figure standing in the doorway wasn't what I was expecting; it was an unexpected visit from the Thorne Pack."Kamala?" I screamed, my voice rising.Kamala was my childhood best friend, the daughter of the Thorne Pack Beta, the girl who had braided my hair at summer festivals and helped me handle my chores. She was standing there in the flesh, looking like a woman on a mission. I didn't waste a minute as I lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her into the room before slamming the door shut."Kamala? What are you doing here?" I whispered, my voice frantic, my eyes darting to the door. "How did you even get past the guards? How did you get onto Adrian's floor? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"Kamala crossed her lip with her index finger, trying to shush me. Her expression was calm despite the sheer madness of her breaking into an Alpha’s private sanctuary. "Slow down, Elena! You’re going to give yourself an a
CHAPTER 69: THE RESTLESS NIGHT ELENA:I sat in that chair, staring at the polished wood of Adrian’s desk, feeling like the air had been sucked out of the room. My head was spinning. Everything I’d ever stood for, every memory I held onto, was rotting right in front of me. Marcus, my "sweet" Marcus, had been a traitor, a spy, and a murderer. And my own father? He’d orchestrated the death of the woman who had meant so much to Adrian, the woman whose death had set off this entire cycle of hate.No wonder Adrian was determined to wipe out the entire Thorne Pack, no wonder he looked at me like I was a disease. I was the daughter of the man who’d masterminded the killing of his mother, and the love of my life was the man who’d facilitated the process.The irony was a bitter pill to swallow: I was just as much a victim of this web of deceit and cruelty as Adrian was."I… I need to rest," I managed to choke out, my voice sounding small and foreign. I didn't wait for him to respond. I just st
CHAPTER 68: THE TRUTH ABOUT MARCUS ELENA:“Stay away from me until you have something real to say.”When I said that to Adrian, I expected him to storm out of the room like he always did when things didn't go his way. But instead, Adrian just let out a long, heavy sigh. He didn't look angry at all; he looked tired. Bone-deep tired."Sit down, Elena," he said, his voice quiet.I hesitated, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I looked at the door, then back at him. Against my better judgment, I walked over and took the seat directly opposite his desk. I folded my hands tightly in my lap to hide the fact that they wouldn't stop shaking.Adrian leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on some point behind me, his gaze reflective. When he finally looked at me, there was no malice in his eyes, just a brutal, cold clarity."Just like I told you earlier," he started, his voice steady. "Your beloved Marcus wasn't who you thought he was. He was a snake in your grass, and he wa
CHAPTER 67: MARCUS WASN'T WHO YOU THINK HE ISELENA:Wrapped in Adrian's arms, while his lips locked on mine, my heart was racing. Not because I was afraid, or because I was begging for his scraps. But because I was finally done playing games. I hadn't intentionally come here to be a spy—I sucked at that, anyway. My father had given me a mission to gather Intel from the Blackwood Pack and send it back home, but every day I spent in this house, I realized how far out of my depth I was. If I couldn't be the spy, I had to be the Luna. That was my only path to survival, my only way to secure a permanent alliance between the two packs.I knew Adrian hated me. I knew there was something buried under that rage, something deep and twisted that made him look at me with pure venom. But I was determined now. I thought if I stayed true to our bond—if I played the part of the faithful mate—maybe, just maybe, I could turn this ship around.After giving my response about choosing between Adrian an
CHAPTER 36: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?ELENA:Early the next morning, I got out of bed early and prepared for my new task. I washed up, got dressed and went downstairs where Clement was already waiting for me in the garage. He drove me to the pack clinic and by the time he dropped me off and I
CHAPTER 35: I DIDN'T ASK TO BE HEREELENA:“And what if I say no?”When I dropped that question on him, Adrian didn't answer right away. He just sat there on the edge of my bed, completely silent for a long moment. His dark eyes locked onto mine, burning through the shadows as if he was carefully t
CHAPTER 34: AND WHAT IF I SAY NO?ELENA:To be completely honest, I wasn't really surprised when Adrian said they weren't going for the birthday dinner anymore. Not even a little bit. The second Anna had come screaming about the blood, I already knew what time it was. That had been the exact and on
CHAPTER 33: NO BIRTHDAY DINNER ADRIAN:Clement slammed his foot on the gas, the tires screeching against the gravel as we tore out of the pack complex. During the entire ten-minute drive, I kept talking to Purity, begging her to stay awake, but she was completely unresponsive, her breathing shallo







