LOGINAlanza’s POV
"Any updates on the vampire?" I asked.
The taller guard leaned against the doorframe. He had cold eyes and shoulders that blocked out most of the hallway light. He looked at me like I was something he had stepped in on the sidewalk.
"Why do you even care?" he snapped.
His voice was like a physical slap. I felt the heat climb up my neck and sting my cheeks. I looked down at my hands, feeling small in the center of the room. "I just do not want any
Alanza’s POV"Did you actually see where it went, or are you just going to stare at the floor all night?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.The heavy oak door to my bedroom hadn't just opened; it had practically been kicked off its hinges. Two guards I recognized from my time at Lucia's apartment stood in the threshold, their postures rigid and their hands hovering near their tactical belts. They didn't look at me first. Instead, their eyes tracked toward the two men crumpled on the carpet like discarded laundry."Miss Verity, are you hurt?" the one on the left asked, though his attention remained on the unconscious pair. He sniffed the air, his nose wrinkling. "I smell tobacco. And we heard two distinct impacts. What happened in here?"I blinked, trying to reconcile the timing. "Just now? You heard them hit the floor just now?""Seconds ago," he confirmed, stepping over the threshold.On the floor, the two fallen guards began to
Alanza’s POV"Any updates on the vampire?" I asked.The taller guard leaned against the doorframe. He had cold eyes and shoulders that blocked out most of the hallway light. He looked at me like I was something he had stepped in on the sidewalk."Why do you even care?" he snapped.His voice was like a physical slap. I felt the heat climb up my neck and sting my cheeks. I looked down at my hands, feeling small in the center of the room. "I just do not want anyone to get hurt tonight," I said. My voice sounded thin, even to me.The second shifter, a shorter man with a scar under his eye, grabbed his partner’s arm. He gave a sharp, silent shake of his head. They both turned their backs on me. The dismissal felt like a wall of ice.I looked over at Sombra. She was curled in a square of moonlight on the rug, her tail tucked over her nose. Usually, she had something biting to say when people treated us like this. She usually told me to
Luciano’s POV“Stay on the trail and do not let him breathe,” I barked into the mind-link.The forest was a blur of silver and black. Hundreds of my kin moved through the trees like a tidal wave of fur and muscle. The air tasted like damp earth and pine needles, but underneath it all, the metallic tang of the hunt set my nerves on fire. My paws hit the ground in a steady, heavy rhythm. Every muscle in my body felt tight, ready to snap. I could feel the pride of the pack humming in my chest. We were the kings of these woods, and something foul had stepped into our home.A familiar voice cut through the noise in my head. Alanza is back at the lodge. She is behind the wards and totally safe. I am moving to join you now. Karlos sounded calm, which helped settle the frantic edge of my worry. If Alanza was safe, I could be the monster I needed to be. I didn't have to divide my mind anymore.Ramiro picked up a scent near the edge of the human d
Alanza’s POV"Do you understand that you cannot leave this room for any reason?" Karlos asked, his voice dropping to a low, hard edge.I didn't argue. I didn't roll my eyes or complain about the heavy security. I simply looked at the Alpha Lodge, a place that had felt like a prison only days ago, and nodded. The air was thick with the scent of pine and the fading, bitter stench of the funeral pyres we had left behind.Back at the clearing, Alpha Reynaldo used to love the sound of his own voice. When he held rites in Crystal Lake, he spent hours preaching, especially when he buried his sons. He used words like weapons. Here, Luciano was different. He didn't say a single word. He just stood there with his arms locked across his chest, his eyes fixed on the flames as they ate through the wood and the heavy white sheets.The crowd of people thinned out as they shifted. One by one, the mourners dropped to four legs, their clothes left in small piles as t
Alanza’s POV"Why does it feel so strange?"Sombra let out a soft, thin whine that pulled Karlos’s focus away from the road. He glanced at the dog in the back seat with a look of mild concern. "We are almost there. Is she going to be alright?"He still did not realize that Sombra was far more than a pet. I looked at her and then back to him. "She is fine."I tried to focus on what she was telling me through our mental link. I thought I had recovered all my memories, but when I tried to look back at the details, everything turned into a gray fog. I could not even picture my own name from before all of this. My head started to throb as I tried to force the thoughts."What kind of memories are missing?" I asked her silently. "Are these things from when you were just a dog?""Not really," she replied. Her voice in my mind was faint and shaky. "It is my past life. My identity. There are so many things I thought I knew. When Libbie spo
Alanza’s POV"If your mate was keeping something massive from you, even if they thought it was for your own protection, how would you handle that?"I keep my voice low, barely audible over the hum of the plane engines. Libbie isn't here to play therapist. She stayed behind in Crystal Lake, likely already deep into her schemes to rip information out of my mother’s wolf. That leaves me with Karlos as my only sounding board.Karlos doesn't even hesitate. "I’d be livid." He shifts in his seat, his gaze sharpening as it lands on me. "Why are you asking? What kind of trouble are you digging up now, Alanza?""I'm not doing anything," I mutter, turning my face toward the cold glass of the window.A sharp pang of guilt hits my chest. It stings that his first instinct is to assume I’m causing problems or inviting disaster. I can't exactly blame him given my track record, but the assumption still feels oily and gross. It settles in my
Alanza’s POV"Can you hear me? Wake up," a deep voice demands.The words feel like they are coming from underwater. I try to pull air into my lungs, but a sharp, stabbing heat in my chest cuts my breath short. My ribs are definitely broken. I keep my eyes squeezed shut for a s
Alanza’s POV"You better keep your eyes on the road before you kill us all," Mars growled.I stared past his shoulder at the blurring green of the forest. The city was long gone. Giant pines crowded the edges of the pavement like a wall. My throat felt tight, like a physical w
Luciano’s POV"Can I help who is next in line?"The voice is like a punch to my solar plexus. I have spent the last three weeks inhaling the ghost of her on unwashed pillowcases and lingering in the stairwell of her apartment building just to catch a stray note of vanilla and honey. Now, she is fiv
Alanza’s POV"That bastard was here."Sombra's voice was a low rumble in my head, rough like a snarl. The dog body she wore paced the small bedroom, hackles stiff, sniffing every corner. She was intimidating even as a husky."He won't harm you," she confirmed, her lip curling slightly. "I can smell







