LOGINELIAS I watched as Arden welcomed her child into the world after the war finally came to an end. Tears of joy streamed down everyone's faces at this moment. It was well-deserved after the turmoil we had endured over the past few months. I was happy, too. Genuinely. I was happy for them. I stood at the edge of the room, arms folded, leaning against the wall as I took it all in. I didn’t really fit into picture-perfect moments like this, but I’d been present since the very beginning. I had observed them fall apart, fall in love, fall again, and somehow manage to claw their way back up. I had earned my spot in the corner. I was a witness to the love story of these two. Arden was laughing softly, brushing a tender kiss onto her baby’s forehead while Cade looked like he might combust from joy. It was a good scene. A peaceful scene. Which is precisely why the universe decided to ruin it. Calla, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly stilled. Her eyes glazed over, that ee
MINAFor such a long time, I had hidden behind a cloak. I didn’t remember when it actually started, but I reckoned it was because I was hideous. I didn't grasp the meaning of “hideous” the first time the word was dropped on me like a stone, but I understood the way my aunt’s lips crimped when she uttered it. I noticed how the others in Montrose glanced at me, only to quickly look away.Eventually, I learned that “hideous” meant I should cover my face. So I did. Every day. Every night. Every hunt.Right now, as I crouched low in the frost-bitten brush with a handmade bow in my hands and my cloak hood dipped forward, I remained concealed even from the trees.Ahead of me, a boar pawed softly at the forest floor. Boars should have been meaty by nature, but this one’s ribs looked as though they wanted to pierce through its skin. Food had been scarce all winter. Montrose had always been poor, but this year felt particularly cruel.Bad luck. That was what they called me.My mother died g
TESSA“Come on. Say it again.” “A–ah… Rowan,” I moaned as he continued to tease me. “You said it so effortlessly a while ago. I won’t hold it against you if you say it again. In fact, I’ll stop moving if you don’t say it,” he teased with a smirk. With that, he halted his movement. I think you already know what happened after I said that word. The wedding preparations had undoubtedly taken up a lot of our time, so we had reduced the number of times we were making love. Now, all hell broke loose. I was right on top of him. From this position, I could see everything—from his teasing smirk to his muscular body, and even my slight belly bump that Rowan was already obsessed with. He kept fondling the still-soft area, and I didn’t even know I was sensitive in that area until now. I started moving my hips instinctively because I was so close to my release. Only a few more. However, Rowan decided to stop moving because I hadn’t called him that word once since he placed his cock inside my
TESSA I still hadn’t told him, though the words had been sitting at the back of my throat for days now, waiting to be freed. However, every time I tried, I faltered.Maybe it was cowardice. Maybe it was fear. Or maybe it was because Rowan had been so unbearably excited for the wedding that I didn’t want to do anything that might dim that light in his eyes. What if the moment I spoke the truth, it shifted his focus? What if it burdened him instead of blessing him?He had told me once—more than once, actually—that he was ready for another child. Although most of the time, it had a flirty undertone. So, I didn’t know what to make of it. My hand drifted to my stomach, smoothing over the fabric of my shirt. It wasn’t obvious yet, but I could feel the faint swell and the slight tightness of my clothes. According to my assessment, I was nearly two months along, and that was closer to halfway through than I had realized. It startled me how quickly time moved when I was holding back. The fr
ROWANI was humming happily as I drove through the borders of the South, smiling when I saw our house from afar. I actually didn’t want to go to the meeting today because Tessa was finally going to try on her wedding dress. Gosh, I wanted to see her in it already, but I must respect tradition. The groom can only see his bride on the actual day of the wedding. I held back pretty well, considering I went to the meeting. That and Cade would cut my head off if I didn’t go. Not literally, of course—although I’m not quite sure about that. I for sure wouldn’t let him, though. Speaking of Cade, we were supposed to head back together, but he was held back in the United Factions for a while by some elders. Unlucky for him. However, that was the consequence of being a Praetor.I grinned to myself as I pushed open the gates, already picturing her face. I felt like a pup on the night before his first run, jittery and unable to hold still. I’d done everything I could to make the wedding preparat
ROWANIt was supposed to be just another meeting with the staff of the United Factions, but honestly? It felt more like a fan meeting—like the ones those K-pop stars would have with their fans. They thought we didn’t notice. They thought our heightened senses didn’t pick up on the whispers, the small sighs whenever one of us leaned back in our chairs or casually ran a hand through our hair. They forgot we were werewolves, and not just ordinary ones. We were True Alphas. Even Cade, who didn’t have the same royal blood as we did, could feel it. “I want this to be a weekly thing,” one of the staff murmured from the back.“We’re so lucky to be working under them,” another whispered.“They’re so handsome. Wow, I’m not even tired despite this long meeting.”I smirked. Before this meeting, I bumped into Owen. He told me he was already tired because we looked like an “F4 lineup.” Did I know what F4 meant? Not really, but I could infer that it meant we looked cool.Looking at all four of u







