LOGINWayne didn’t go far after he parted ways with Ren. He told himself it didn’t matter, and that it was just a random meeting. A simple coincidence of some from the past showing up where they weren’t supposed to.By the time Ren disappeared from sight, Wayne already knew he wasn’t going to let it go, because no matter how he wanted to let it go—something about that encounter didn’t sit right. And more than that and everything else he missed Darius, their bond had been stronger lately. Even Deeper, and harder to ignore. And right now he needed him. Needed the steadiness, the clarity, and someone who would look at this and tell him he wasn’t overthinking it. So he turned and headed for him.Wayne didn’t knock. He pushed the door open and stepped inside Dariu's chamber and Darius looked up immediately. He didn’t need an explanation to know something was wrong.“What is it?” Darius asked.Wayne shut the door behind him, still a bit unsettled. "I just ran into someone,” he said.Darius’s gaz
Ren had had enough.The silence between him and Darius dragged longer than it needed to, and Ren wasn’t built for standing still while someone else controlled the pace. He exhaled once and then straightened.“So that’s it?” he said. “You’re not going to show me.”Darius didn’t move. “Not today.”Ren let out a quiet, humorless laugh.“Of course,” he muttered. “Still the same.”Darius’s gaze stayed on him. Calm. Firm. Final.“It’s not your decision to make,” he said.Ren nodded slowly, like he expected nothing else.“Yeah,” he replied. “That’s your favorite line.”Then Ren added, more direct this time“Is it really true that your mate is not a woman?.”Darius’s jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.Ren continued, voice low but clear. “A male mate,” he said. “In this pack. You know what that means. The elders won’t accept it, and the warriors won’t accept it. You built this place on rules, and now you’re the one breaking them.”Darius’s voice dropped. “I’m not breaking anythin
Ren didn’t move from where he sat.The hall had emptied, but the tension stayed behind like it belonged there. His Beta leaned against one of the pillars, arms folded as he watched everything without pretending not to.Darius stood across from Ren, quiet, like he had all the time in the world.“So?” Ren said finally. “Are we going to stand here all day, or are you going to show me?”Darius’s expression didn’t shift. “You don’t give orders here.”Ren tilted his head slightly. “I’m not giving orders. I’m asking a simple question.”“You already asked,” Darius replied. “You’ll get an answer when I decide.”Ren let out a short breath through his nose. “Still like this, huh.”“Like what?”“Control has always come first for you before anything else.”Darius didn’t respond to that, then Ren took a few slow steps forward, boots quiet against the floor.“You confirmed it,” he said. “You have a mate.”“Yes," replied Darius.“And you expect me to just accept that without seeing who it is?”“I ex
Something had already changed inside Ren, and this time he wouldn’t look away.He didn’t sleep, and for him the night passed without rest or dreams. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling beams of the longhouse while the pack settled around him, unaware that the ground beneath their certainty had begun to fracture. Wolves breathed, shifted and murmured in his half-sleep, because life would go on no matter what.By the time dawn thinned the dark, the decision had already been made. He rose before the Beta Ajax returned, and even before the enforcers finished rotating off watch. He dressed with deliberate calm—boots pulled on, coat fastened, weapons secured not out of fear but habit. Everything about his movements was steady, controlled. And nothing was rushed or wasted.The letter was burned to ashes and gone to ash. But the words remained, carved somewhere deeper than memory.Ren stepped outside the stretch of the morning, where it had dragged across the park in muted color. Pale
Ren stood at the edge of the ridge, arms folded across his chest with his eyes fixed on the park below The land was his. Every ridge, every path, and every tree answered to him.”Wolves moved through the clearing in practiced rhythm—two scouts circled the treeline, a small group sparred near the rocks, and the rest checked the borders where Bloodfang territory pressed too close for comfort. The air carried familiar scents of pine, damp earth, wolf, sweat. But control and order was stronger in the air.And that was how Ren liked it.“Western boundary’s clear,” his Beta, Ajex, said as he approached, stopping a respectful distance away. “No trespass or markers crossed.”Ren didn’t look at him. “And the north?”“Quiet. Too quiet.”Ren’s jaw tightened slightly. “Double patrols tonight.”Beta Ajax hesitated. “That’ll stretch us thin, Alpha.”Ren turned then, enough to let his gaze land.“Then they’ll learn endurance,” he said. “I won’t have Bloodfang thinking this land is unguarded.”The B
Rylan didn't bother to knock, he simply pushed open the door to Kael’s chambers and stepped inside like he owned it.Kael looked up slowly from the table where maps and council notes lay spread out, eyes sharpened immediately.“You look pleased,” Kael said. “That usually means trouble.”Rylan shut the door behind him and leaned against it. “Depends who’s in trouble.”Kael studied him for a long moment. “You don’t come here without reason. Speak.”Rylan straightened. “I saw the Alpha tonight.”Kael’s expression didn’t change. “You see the Alpha every day.”“Not like this.”That got Kael’s attention, and he rose from his chair. “Go on.”“He wasn’t alone,” Rylan said. “And it wasn’t business, strategy. And worse? It wasn’t pack matters.”Kael folded his arms. “Then what was it?”“Intimacy.”The word landed cleanly between them.Kael’s lips twitched not in shock but In interest.“With a woman?” He asked.Rylan shook his head once. “No.”Kael inhaled slowly. “Say it properly.”“The Alpha
The great hall buzzed with murmurs before the meeting even began.Every elder had been summoned, and even Wayne’s name was called.He sat at the far end of the table, shoulders tight, feeling the eyes on him. He didn’t belong here, not really. Not among people who looked at him like a mistake waiti
Kael’s study smelled of smoke and old wine.Astra stood by the door, spine straight, though her hands trembled behind her back.“So,” Kael said, swirling his glass. “You failed.”She forced herself to meet his eyes. “It wasn’t my fault. He—”“You embarrassed me,” he cut in, voice low. “You made me
Dawn crept into the room like a secret, brushing pale gold across tangled sheets and bare skin. For a moment, the world felt quiet—too quiet for Bloodfang. No orders, no growls, no duties. Just the faint rhythm of two hearts beating close.Wayne stirred first. His eyes blinked open, meeting the sof
Weeks had passed since the poisoning, and though Wayne’s body had healed, his mind hadn’t. The bruises were gone, the fever a memory, but something heavier lingered beneath his skin. The whispers and looks, especially from Darius.He had stopped visiting Wayne’s chamber as often, though Wayne could







