MasukALEXAVIAN’S POVWhose heart?The silence following Jules’s question hung over us, heavy and nearly suffocating.The thought twisted in my chest like a dull blade. Three hundred years ago, the loss of my father's heart had nearly crippled the Crimson Pack.It had forced me to lock our borders away from the world for good, but after all these centuries... What had it truly achieved?Knowing that another skinwalker had been revived and had infiltrated my pack once again was a horror that struck at the very core of everything I was sworn to protect.Perhaps Casimir was right. Locking the pack away from the world had done far more harm than good.But the question that burned through my thoughts was far more terrifying... Who inside my pack was buying Lorraine’s blood?I turned slowly to face Lorraine. She had not moved. She remained on her knees in the damp soil, her breath coming in ragged, shallow hitches as her gaze stayed fixed on Conrad’s lifeless corpse.Her fingers were pre
ALEXAVIAN’S POV“What do you mean she deserved what she got?” Lorraine demanded, confronting Conrad the moment the blinding glow of the teleportation array faded.I took a quick sweep of our surroundings. The array had dropped us at the crossroads marking the boundary between the Midnight Pack and the Euphoria Pack.Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhaled slowly, watching Lorraine and Andreus hover over Conrad. The man looked as though he were on the brink of losing consciousness.“Where is Jules?” I asked, struggling to suppress the tide of frustration threatening to boil over.I could understand Lorraine’s oversight given her emotional state, but Andreus...?They both froze, exchanging a guilty glance before turning toward me in unison.“Jules... I think he’s still... in the car,” Lorraine stammered, wetting her dry lips.“I can't believe we left Jules behind,” Andreus muttered, already pulling out his phone. “I will call him. That fossil better answer. He cannot miss a sh
LORRAINE’S POVI stood in the center of the very room that had served as my cage for the last two years.Nothing had changed. Not even after the fire.Everything had been meticulously replaced, down to the plush toy I used to keep beside my pillow. It was as though Conrad had always expected me to come crawling back.Sick bastard.When Andreus went inside the Euphoria Pack estate, it took less than ten minutes for the sentries at the gate to grant us entry following a brief phone call from him.I felt a subtle, reassuring squeeze on my shoulder and glanced up.“Are you all right?” Alexavian asked softly, his emerald eyes searching my face.I forced a faint smile and shook my head. “I’m good.”The door pushed open with a quiet click, and Andreus stepped into the room, a satisfied smirk resting on his lips.“Lorraine, you’re finally here. We’ve been waiting, let’s go,” he said, jerking his chin toward the hallway.I nodded, following him down the painfully familiar corridor
LORRAINE’S - POVI glanced at the morning sun peeking softly through the curtains.Six months had passed since I was brought to the Crimson Pack. Six months since I regained my sight and discovered the bitter truth about my mother’s death.Though it had been filled with chaotic ups and downs and a terrifying number of near-death experiences, it was still infinitely better than the two years I spent in the Euphoria Pack, treated as nothing more than a blind blood bank.“What would you do if you discovered Conrad was responsible for your mother’s death?”Alexavian’s question pulled me abruptly from the dark spiral of my thoughts.“I...” I trailed off. His question forced me to confront a reality I had been too terrified to face. “I have never truly considered it,” I confessed softly.My grip on his arm tightened.I had killed Saylor, but it had not been intentional. The memory of her death still haunted my dreams.Could I truly... bring myself to kill Conrad when the moment arri
LORRAINE’S POVSeconds ticked by in silence. Then, he let out a long sigh.He fell back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling with his hands tucked behind his head.Unlike what happened the last time I brought it up in his room, there was no anger from him this time. Instead, he looked as though he had been anticipating the question all along.His emerald eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in a distant, heavy memory.I remained completely still, counting internally from one to a hundred, granting him all the time he needed.I had almost given up on receiving an answer when his quiet voice finally cut through the dark.“Her name was Esmeralda…” He paused, his jaw tightening slightly. “She was my betrothed and the woman who killed my parents.”My heart skipped a beat.I had considered dozens of possibilities, but I had never pictured them engaged, much less considered her as the one who’d murdered his parents.“Was it an arranged pairing, or…” I trailed off, unsure of how to
LORRAINE’S POVI should push him off.We hadn’t resolved the heart of our issues yet, and kissing—or more—would only complicate things further.I should push him off.But I didn’t. Instead, I threaded my fingers through his hair and succumbed completely to the skillful assault on my senses.The firm grip on the back of my neck. The expert pressure of his lips.The way Alexavian's body molded to mine—all hard muscle and intoxicating heat. His mouth moved over mine, hot, demanding, and utterly possessive.Pleasure fogged my senses as the rich, bold taste of him invaded my mouth.My worries from earlier that day melted into nothing, and I instinctively curved my body into his, seeking more contact, more warmth, more.He stroked his tongue against the seam of my lips, demanding entry.I parted for him, and his heady, intoxicating taste coated my tongue.He cupped the back of my neck and angled my head to deepen the kiss, his hands sinking into my hair while his other palm swept beneath my







