LOGIN"Like Nathan," Valduz said quietly. "No one calls me that anymore."Hope Elara frowned, trying to follow where the conversation was going."I use Valduz Ryker now. It reminds people who I am."A bitter smile touched his mouth but never reached his eyes."And who he is."Something changed in his expression.Not fear.More like the tension of someone who had spent too much of his life beneath another man's shadow."Everyone knows I'm his heir," Valduz continued. "And everyone knows what comes with that."But Hope Elara barely heard the rest.One thing he'd said earlier kept echoing in her mind.Her heritage.A cold feeling crept up her spine."What are you hiding from me?" she asked again.This time, Valduz didn't avoid the question."Your heritage."Hope Elara went still.Her heritage.Her mother.The pieces connected so suddenly that she almost stopped breathing."You know something about my mother?"Her voice cracked."And you said nothing?"Disbelief quickly turned into anger."Afte
Everything hurt.Not normal pain.Burning.Like Hope Elara's body no longer fully belonged to her.Even breathing felt wrong.Every inhale scraped through her chest.Where was she?Where were her babies?How long had she been unconscious?Panic tried to rise, but her body was too weak to hold onto it.Then something shifted beside her.Not movement.Presence.Something strong enough to press against her senses even with her eyes closed.She didn't recognize it.And somehow, she did.The scent reached her first.Warm.Deep.Earth after rain.Pine.And something darker underneath.It pulled at her immediately.Calmed her.Hope Elara hated that it did.Because the last time she'd trusted that feeling, everything had fallen apart."She's been like this since you left."Maria.Hope Elara knew that voice.Relief flickered weakly through her."She's waking up," Maria continued. "But this isn't how it was supposed to happen."Another voice cut through the room.Lower.Sharper."If you're not
"Sit down."Valduz did.Violetta immediately started fixing his hair with quick, efficient movements, like she was annoyed the world kept falling apart long enough to interrupt her work.Across the room, Perry's keyboard clicked nonstop.Fast.Sharp.Loud enough to scrape against Valduz's nerves.The apartment felt too bright.Too awake.No one here seemed to know how to relax anymore."How is home?" Valduz asked, mostly to break the pressure building inside his head."As bad as expected," Violetta answered without looking at him. "Power struggles. Old rules. Men pretending the world still works the way it did fifty years ago.""Traditionalists," Perry muttered from across the room.Her fingers never stopped typing."They want control without understanding how much the world has already changed.""I get that," Valduz said quietly.Violetta snorted."My father still thinks he's in charge."There was no heat in her voice.Just cold irritation."He isn't.""You talked to him?""A few tim
Valduz's chest tightened the second Perry and Violetta looked away at the same time.Too quick.Too practiced.Like they'd already agreed on the lie before he entered the room.Something inside him sharpened.He shoved the doctor's hands away before the man could finish checking the wound near his ribs."What did you do?"His voice came out rough.Violetta glanced at Perry.Perry almost smiled.That was enough."Don't play games with me," Valduz said quietly. "What did you do?"Perry shrugged as if they were discussing something ordinary instead of blood and betrayal."I took a contract. It helped all of us."Valduz's wolf went completely still.Listening.Waiting."How?""I don't know every detail. We don't ask questions." Perry paused. "But your father wanted someone gone."Cold recognition slid through Valduz."And when I found out who your mate was..." Perry tilted her head. "It became easy to connect the pieces."His stomach dropped."What did you do?"This time, the question cam
"Let's fix that, Angel," Valduz murmured.His voice was low and possessive.Wrong.Every instinct inside Hope Elara screamed at her to get away."I'm going to make you need me."Fear hit her instantly.Not uncertainty.Not confusion.Pure fear.Her body locked.Then pain exploded through her shoulder.Valduz bit her.His teeth sank deep enough to tear a scream from Hope Elara's throat.Everything inside her snapped.She shoved him with all the strength she had.Hard.Desperate.Valduz released her immediately.Hope Elara stumbled backward, barely catching herself.Her hand flew to her shoulder.Warm.Wet.Her stomach dropped.She slowly pulled her hand away.Blood covered her fingers.Too much blood.Bright red drops fell onto the floor.Hope Elara looked up.Valduz was several feet away, staring at her as if he had just realized what he'd done.His eyes were wide.Horrified.Her blood stained his mouth and shirt.The hallway had gone completely silent.Whatever had just happened wasn
The woman studied Hope Elara a little too long.Not hostile.Not warm either.Careful.“It wasn’t personal,” Bliss finally said. “You were in the wrong pack.”That word again.Pack.It seemed to follow Hope Elara everywhere now, like a warning she had never been meant to understand.“Alpha Zenna’s children don’t come here,” Bliss continued. “Even if they were human.”She paused.“Yours aren’t.”Hope Elara slowly nodded.“That tracks.”Disturbingly, it did.Too many things were starting to make sense.The staring.The whispers.The way danger seemed to circle her children before she even saw it coming.“I’m sorry,” Hope Elara said quietly. “I can be intense when it comes to my kids.”One corner of Bliss’s mouth lifted.“I noticed.”Some of the tension eased.Not completely.Just enough.“Clean slate?” Hope Elara asked.Bliss nodded.“Clean slate.”And just like that, it was done.Before the night ended, the paperwork was finalized.Uniforms.Schedules.A Monday start date.Everything f
The question slipped out before Azerbel could stop it."Who is she?"Her voice trembled.Not because she didn't want the answer.But because a part of her was suddenly terrified of hearing it.Luna Lorraine's hand tightened around hers.And somehow...that made everything worse.The grip was gentle
The man she loved was finally coming home.So why did it feel like her heart was warning her instead of celebrating?Azerbel stood at the entrance of the Hellfire Pack, pressing her trembling hands together as she tried to steady her breathing.Beside her stood Luna Lorraine.On Lorraine's other si
Azerbel’s Point of ViewI felt it before I saw him.A gaze.Heavy.Sharp.Unmoving.It slid over my skin and made me shiver.Slowly, I lifted my head...and froze.A man was staring at me.Not just looking.Watching.Like he was studying me.Like he already knew something about me that I didn't.My
Azerbel’s Point of ViewSkylar's words helped.Just a little.It felt...comforting.To know someone understood.She gave me a soft smile.Relieved."I've been telling her the same thing, Luna Lorraine," she said lightly.But I heard it.The sadness hidden beneath her voice.I lowered my gaze.I co







