LOGINRILEYMy eyes widened in shock, and the crowd erupted in murmurs, the room buzzing with activity.I spotted Catherine standing not too far from us, alongside Sean. She seemed just as surprised by the accusation as everyone else.Bram’s features darkened further, his hand clenching so tightly around the handle of his cane that his knuckles turned white.Before he could say anything else, Bradley scoffed.“What do you suspect my daughter has done?” he asked, his eyes narrowing to slits. “Enlighten us, Sophia. Just what is Catherine hiding, hmm?”Sophia’s throat bobbed, but she met the Moon Ridge Alpha’s gaze without flinching.“I suspect that Catherine was responsible for the attack on the guard that’s still in the medical center.”Silence followed, and the air suddenly felt too thin.Bradley leaned forward. “Do you have any evidence of this? Other than speculation?”“I was training alone in the forest that night,” Sophia replied. “And I saw Catherine out there with someone, but I could
RILEYAs we entered the Pack House, I spotted Lisa’s golden-brown hair within the shifting crowd of people and navigated toward her.I hadn’t seen the petite woman much lately because she didn’t get along well with Hannah. Even though she didn’t say it outright, it seemed that she was the jealous type and wasn’t happy to share me with my best friend.“Lisa,” I called out, and when she didn’t respond, I tapped her shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on?”She startled at the sudden contact. “You scared me!”“Sorry,” I apologized. “It’s really loud in here. Is something happening?”“I’m not sure, honestly,” she admitted, craning her neck before she leaned in closer. “But I’ve heard a rumor that there’s going to be a trial against Sophia. The entire Pack is gathering, and I guess some representatives from Moon Ridge are involved too, so the problem must be serious.”“Against Sophia?” I echoed, my mind struggling to process the reasoning.Lisa nodded solemnly. “That’s what I overheard a couple of
RILEYI waited patiently for Domi to fall asleep again, and when his breath finally evened out, I turned to Hannah and motioned to the door.She nodded in acknowledgement.Once we were back in the main room of the suite, Hannah spoke to me in a low voice.“‘Daddy’?” she quoted Domi in surprise. “Did you already tell him about Killian?”I shook my head. “I didn’t really have to tell him. He told me he started piecing it together on his own a while ago, and some of the other children confirmed it. Which works, I suppose. There’s no point in hiding it anymore anyway.”“Wow,” she sighed. “He’s always been a clever one, hasn’t he?”Then, the rest of my statement seemed finally to register, and she frowned. “Wait, Riley… have you decided to stay here?”“I don’t really have a choice,” I said. “Dominic’s a werewolf, and leaving the Pack is obviously too dangerous for him. It’s in his best interest to stay.”She nodded in agreement. “ I suppose so. Even though I don’t like these arrogant, sham
RILEYWhat happened next was all a blur.I stood there frozen in shock, but Dominic’s tiny white wolf form didn’t last long, shimmering back into his human one moments later.Before I could react or run to him, there was a commotion, and a group of people emerged from the woods. I recognized a few of the werewolves from around the Pack House, but they weren’t the only ones present.Catherine rushed over to Killian, her dark gray eyes enormous as she started to fuss over him. “Oh, thank Goddess you’re all alright!”I averted my gaze, and my sight landed on Hannah as she barreled toward me.“Riles!” she shouted, drawing me into a hug that nearly knocked me over.Tears sprang from my eyes at the sight of my best friend. “You’re okay. I was so worried.”“Um, that should be my line,” Hannah interrupted with an abrupt laugh. “God, you scared me. C’mon, let’s get the hell out of these spooky ass woods.”When we parted, I went to Domi, who sleepily gazed up at me from the wet earth.“Hi Mommy
RILEYA strange mix of awe and surprise flooded through me at the sight of Killian’s impressive wolf form.A sensation I couldn’t quite name stirred within my chest, warm and familiar. It was similar to the one I’d felt in bed with him the night we kissed, but I didn’t have time to pinpoint why.Roscoe’s large hand suddenly clasped my shoulder, and he tugged me against him, pressing the knife’s blade against my throat.An involuntary whimper slipped out of me before I could stop it.“Stay back!” Roscoe threatened as my heart pounded in my ears. “Or I’ll slit her throat!”Killian stopped in his tracks but released a low, terrifying growl, flashing his sharp fangs. His paws flexed, his deadly claws digging into the earth. As his ears flattened back against his head, Roscoe tensed behind me.“Where are Nolan and Tanner?” the scarred man demanded, his hand trembling lightly.Killian responded with another deep sound, not quite a bark, but not a growl either.Even though wolf vocalizations
RILEYTwo days after my attempted escape, I sat on the basement floor, tied to a pillar with rope, and listened to the rogue werewolves argue upstairs. Their cabin’s soundproofing wasn’t very good, so it wasn’t hard to hear their grumbling and shouting above us.“It’s been two days,” the leader complained angrily. “We gave him three to consider our terms, so why the fuck hasn’t Killian Bryce responded?”“We should have been more realistic and asked for money instead,” one of them scoffed. “Goddess knows Bryce has it in abundance.”“Maybe he didn’t want the pup in the first place,” another quipped. “It would explain why he hasn’t come to save the woman and the kid.”“Yeah, and maybe it’s not even his,” another chimed in. “If it were infidelity, I wouldn’t want to keep another man’s pup either. Or give up territory to save it.”“The kid said Killian Bryce was his father, idiot,” Roscoe finally spoke up. “Why would he lie about that?”“Fuck off, Roscoe!” one hissed in anger. “I was just







