로그인Haanshil Manor's medical wing smelled like antiseptic and blood, and Hart was getting really tired of watching people get stitched up because of decisions he'd made.He sat next to Mira's bed while a pack healer checked her vitals, his hand wrapped around hers like he could physically keep her safe through sheer stubborn will."I'm fine," Mira said for the third time, though her voice still shook. "Hart, seriously, I'm not hurt. Stop looking at me like I'm about to break.""You were kidnapped by werewolves and held hostage in a building that exploded," Hart said flatly. "I'm allowed to be worried."Across the room, Lewis sat with Sera, who'd been given enough sedatives to knock out a horse and was finally sleeping.Her broken arm was splinted, her other injuries bandaged, and Lewis hadn't let go of her hand since they'd gotten back."She thinks she hallucinated all of it," Lewis said quietly, his eyes red from crying or smoke or both."The healers said the trauma combined with the sed
The warehouse had turned into absolute chaos, all blood and violence and the sounds of wolves dying, and Hart was pretty sure this was the worst rescue mission in the history of rescue missions.He pressed Mira and Sera against the wall near the jammed elevator, using his body to shield them while Lewis frantically tried to pry the doors open with a piece of metal pipe."It's not working!" Lewis shouted over the sounds of combat. "The mechanism's completely destroyed!""Then we find another way out," Hart said, scanning the warehouse floor.Cole and Liam were still fighting near the center, both in wolf form now, a blur of black fur and golden eyes and violence that made Hart's stomach turn.Jethro and the strike team were holding off the BlackY Wolves, but they were outnumbered and losing ground fast.Through the bond, Hart felt Cole's pain when Liam's claws raked across his shoulder, felt his rage when three BlackY Wolves tried to attack from behind.The totem mark on Hart's wrist b
The inside of the factory was filled with bones and dried blood, which was exactly as horrifying as Hart expected.The BlackY Wolf led them through corridors that seemed designed specifically to be nightmare fuel, all exposed pipes and flickering lights.Lewis stayed close enough that Hart could hear his breathing, fast and shallow like he was fighting panic.Jethro walked behind them with the casual confidence of someone who'd done this a hundred times, but Hart could feel the tension radiating off him through the bond connection that apparently extended to Cole's Beta."Third floor," the BlackY Wolf said, gesturing toward a freight elevator that looked like it hadn't been inspected since the industrial revolution. "Liam's waiting.""Of course he is," Hart muttered, because apparently supernatural kidnapping came with dramatic flair.The elevator groaned upward with sounds that suggested it might give up and kill them before they even reached Liam, which would be an incredibly anticl
The war room in Haanshil Manor was giving the tension vibe, and Hart was pretty sure he was about to start a fight with an Alpha werewolf over the absolutely non-negotiable fact that he was going on this rescue mission whether Cole liked it or not."Six hours," Jethro said, spreading surveillance photos across the massive table."That's how long our scouts estimate before Liam executes one of them as a message.The warehouse is here, the eastern industrial district, third floor heavily guarded by approximately thirty BlackY Wolves."Hart's hands clenched on the table edge, staring at the abandoned factory complex in the grainy images.Mira was in there somewhere, probably terrified, and Sera didn't even know werewolves existed which meant she was dealing with a nightmare she couldn't even process.Lewis looked like he was about two seconds away from either breaking down or breaking something. "We can just go in, and get them out. So what's the problem?""The problem is it's an obvious
Dawn broke over the neutral territory like the world's worst morning, all grey sky and cold wind that carried the scent of violence waiting to happen.Hart stood between Jethro and Lewis, wrapped in a jacket that smelled like Cole and trying very hard not to throw up from anxiety and the residual heat symptoms."This is barbaric," Lewis said for the fifth time, filming everything on his phone because apparently supernatural secrecy was less important than documentation."We should call the actual police, or the FBI, or I don't know, animal control?""The police can't help with werewolf law," Jethro said, his eyes fixed on the clearing where Cole stood waiting, already shirtless despite the cold because apparently werewolf duels had a dress code."And if you try to leave this area before the duel is finished, the perimeter guards will knock you unconscious and drag you back."Hart's wrist throbbed where the totem mark was under his skin, and he could feel Cole across the distance.The
Twenty-four hours after Liam's ultimatum, Hart discovered that werewolf heat cycles were not, in fact, a metaphor, and he was going to murder Cole Haanshil for downplaying exactly how bad this was going to be."I'm fine," Hart lied through gritted teeth, clutching the edge of the bathroom sink while his entire body felt like it was burning from the inside out.His reflection looked like hell, his pupils is wider, and he was sweating through his third shirt of the day."Perfectly fine, nothing to worry about.""You're absolutely not fine," Lewis Sekwig his Bestfriend said from the doorway with crossed arms, he's wearing his investigative journalist face that meant he was mentally cataloging everything for the exposé he'd probably write if they survived this."You look like you're dying, and also I just watched you nearly tackle Cole in the hallway because apparently you can smell him from three floors away now."Hart splashed cold water on his face, which helped for approximately four







