LOGINJenn’s POV I was on my knees beside him before I understood I’d moved. My hands pressed against the wound, and I pushed every ounce of power I had into him – the dark wolf howling, Liam’s strength flooding through the bond, everything I had. But the poisoned light drank it all. “Vicktor –” He smiled. The hard lines of his face softened, the weight he’d been carrying for twenty years lifting all at once. “He’s dead. Grant is dead.” His hand found mine. His grip was still strong, even now. “Tell my people I died well.” “You’re not dying –” “I am.” His eyes drifted closed. “Your father would be proud of you, Jenn. And I can finally join them there. My family… they’re waiting for me.” His eyes finally closed and his hand went slack in mine. I knelt there in the blood, my hands still pressed against his wound, and I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Could only stare at his face – at the peace that had finally settled over his features. Liam’s hand found my shoulder. He didn’t try to pu
Jenn’s POV “You know,” I said, “I used to be afraid of you.” His lip curled. “You should still be afraid of me, little Alpha.” “No.” I stepped forward. The dark wolf pressed so close to the surface that my voice came out layered and strange, echoing against the ancient stone. “I was afraid of you when I didn’t know what I was. When I thought you were the monster under my bed, the reason my parents died, the shadow that would hunt me forever.” My boots scuffed against the stone as I halted at the base of the platform. The heirloom’s light washed over my face, cold as a dead hand against my skin. “But you’re not a monster. You’re just a man who spent his whole life chasing power that was never his to hold.” His hands shook harder. The heirloom’s pulse quickened, the colors swirling faster. “I held this realm in my fist for decades –” “You held nothing.” I tilted my head. “You killed my parents because you couldn’t have what you wanted. You sent your daughter into my husband’s bed
Jenn’s POV Liam’s hand found the small of my back as he appeared at my side. The mate bond hummed between us, and where I’d felt his fear coiled tight the night before, there was only stillness now. I didn’t say anything. I reached back and pressed my palm against his chest, right over his heart, and felt the steady thump of it against my fingers. Vicktor caught my eye from across the space. His fingers drummed once against the desk before he pushed himself to his feet. Behind him, Osiris stood apart from the others, his dark eyes fixed on the mountains. He’d been silent since the council ended. The dark wolf uncoiled beneath my ribs, a slow stretch of heat. “I guess it’s time to end this.” The convoy rolled out as the first pale light of dawn bled over the mountains. I rode in the lead vehicle with Liam at the wheel and Vicktor in the seat behind us, his blade across his knees. Behind us, the Fox soldiers followed in tight formation, their green and silver armor catching the mo
Jenn’s POV I swallowed the burning ache in my throat. “Nothing will happen to me.” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel. “I promise.” Alice pulled me into a hug then, and her arms wrapped around me with a fierce, desperate strength that reminded me of every time she had held me as a child after my parents died. I buried my face in her shoulder and breathed in the scent of her. When I finally pulled back, her cheeks were wet but her jaw was set. “I love you,” I whispered. “I love you too.” She cupped my face in both hands – the same gesture Liam used, I realized suddenly, the same tenderness – and her thumbs brushed the tears from my cheeks. “Now go. End this. And come back to me.” The estate was quiet when I finally made my way back to our quarters. The moon hung heavy in the sky, nearly full, and its pale light spilled through the window and pooled silver on the bed where Liam was waiting for me. He'd shed his jacket and kicked off his boots by the door. He was sitting on th
Jenn’s POV I didn't see Morgan arrive so much as feel her – a sudden, sharp tug of emotion that rippled through the courtyard like a stone dropped into still water. A strangled sound escaped her throat, and when I turned, the tears were already streaming down her cheeks in waves. Someone had taken the baby from her arms. A wise decision, as it turned out, because it gave her enough space to wring her hands together as she bit down on her bottom lip until I was certain it would bruise. “T – Tristan...” Her voice came out as a choked sob, barely recognizable. Tristan crossed the threshold in four long strides and engulfed her in his arms, pulling her against his chest with a desperation that spoke of months of separation and the kind of fear that only faded when you could finally touch the person you'd been terrified of losing. Morgan's fingers clutched at the torn fabric of his shirt, her shoulders shaking with the force of her sobs, and he held her like she was the only solid th
Jenn’s POV “Grant,” she gasped. “His name is Grant. He’s been on the Council for three hundred years. He’s worn a dozen bodies. But this one… he’s been waiting for this body for centuries. A vessel strong enough to hold an ancient power.” “And the heirloom?” I pressed. “What does it have to do with this ancient power? Why do you guys want it?” “It – it’s the key. Your blood – not the ancient power that lives inside you – activates it. Without you, the heirloom is just a stone.” Her fingers clawed at my wrist. “Please. I’ve told you everything.” I released her, watching as she collapsed onto the rocks, gasping, her body shuddering with silent sobs. Liam shifted back to his human form and stood beside me, his chest still heaving from the fight. Blood streaked his skin, but none of it was his. “Is she dead?” he asked. “No. But her power is broken.” I bent and picked up the silver ring. The obsidian stone was cold in my palm, as cold as the woman who had worn it. “And she’s going to
Jenn’s POV The pain radiating through my body woke me up the next morning. My muscles were sore, my throat was scratchy, and my eyes felt like they were glued shut. Above all, my chest and side felt like they were caving in. It took me a second to remember the pain was from getting injected by t
Liam’s POV I barely heard the door close behind Alva. By some miraculous intervention, Morgan had decided to give us the correct coordinates to Jenn’s location. My men had confirmed her presence there and now my wolf was desperate to get to her. I didn’t even stop to doubt that Morgan might be up
Jenn’s POV Osiris came back the next morning. I knew it was morning because the guards changed shifts and brought breakfast. I’d eaten in silence, thinking about everything he’d told me. His mother. Morgan’s mother. The way the Mad Alpha destroyed everything in his path just to prove a point. Th
Jenn’s POV The guards reappeared around the corner, their discomfort evident. It seemed I had overstayed my time talking to Osiris. They glanced at him, hesitated then looked back at me. “We should return you to your bedroom,” one of them said. I bit hard on my bottom lip as I stole one last glan







