LOGIN(Raymond’s POV)The sound of her scream tore through the walls like lightning. It wasn’t just pain, it was something deeper, primal, a sound that froze my heart and ignited my fury all at once. I didn’t wait for permission, didn’t care for the guards shouting behind me. I ran.The scent of smoke met me before I reached the hall. The closer I got, the heavier the air became, thick with heat and magic. My wolf roared inside me, frantic, clawing to break free. Every instinct screamed that she was in danger, my mate, my Luna, my everything.I slammed into the corridor doors, splintering them off their hinges. What I saw on the other side stopped me cold.The marble floor was scorched black, cracks glowing faintly with dying embers. The air shimmered with the aftermath of fire and chaos. And in the center of it all, Ryan. His body crouched protectively over Paige’s trembling form.For a second, I couldn’t breathe.Her body was limp, her hair tangled across his arm, her skin pale against t
(Paige’s POV)The council chamber’s heavy doors slammed shut behind me, sealing in the echo of judgment, lies, and heartbreak. My chest felt like it was splitting apart. The corridor outside spun, the walls warping as if they were breathing with me, fast, uneven, broken. My fingers trembled as I pressed them to my temple, but the pain in my chest didn’t ease. It was too raw, too deep, too full of betrayal.I had to keep walking. I had to keep breathing.The marble beneath my feet was cold, grounding, yet my skin burned with something hotter than grief. Anger coursed through me like fire licking through dry leaves. I could still hear Raymond’s voice, his confession, his pleas, the way he tried to justify everything. He knew. He knew what Ethan had done to me, he knew I wasn’t broken, and he said nothing.All those nights he held me while I cried, whispering that I wasn’t alone. All those soft reassurances that I could still be whole. Lies. Every single one.“Stop,” I whispered to myse
(Raymond’s POV)The weight of the chamber pressed down on me like a thousand stones. The torches lining the walls flickered in uneven rhythm, their shadows crawling across the carved symbols of judgment etched into the marble floor. I could hear every breath in that room, the shallow gasps of the council, the heavy murmurs of the pack seated behind them, and above it all, the sound that haunted me most, Paige’s trembling inhale.She stood a few feet away, her face pale but burning with accusation. The mark on her neck glowed faintly, her wolf close to the surface, her fury rising like a storm I could no longer contain.They had forced me into this.The elders demanded truth, and there was no longer room for silence. My secrets had rotted between us long enough, poisoning what we were trying to build. But to speak them aloud, to unravel what I’d buried to protect her, meant tearing open every scar we both carried.“Speak, Alpha Raymond,” Elder Merek said, his voice echoing. “Did you kn
(Paige POV)The walls of the council chamber closed in around me. The whispers blurred, voices melting into a low roar I couldn’t separate from the pounding of my heart. My fingers trembled as I pressed a hand against my stomach, as though I could feel the ghost of what Diana’s words had just ripped open.A child.My child.The one I had been told never drew breath, the one whose loss had been used to define me, to shame me, to make me small.The truth hung in the air like smoke, thick, suffocating, impossible to breathe through. I could still see Raymond standing there, his eyes wide, his jaw locked, silent. And that silence cut deeper than any of Diana’s venom.Because silence meant guilt.My voice came out small, broken. “Raymond…”He didn’t answer.He stood frozen in the middle of the chamber, his fists still clenched, his knuckles bleeding from where his nails had dug into his skin. The council sat in uneasy silence, eyes darting between us as though watching a wound bleed open.
(Raymond POV)The air in the council chamber had turned into something alive, thick, tense, humming with unspoken fury. I could still feel Paige trembling beside me, her pulse unsteady, her eyes glassy with the sting of humiliation.I had her hand in mine, tight, grounding. Every time her breathing hitched, I squeezed once, wordless, telling her to stay here, with me, not in that dark place Diana had dragged her back to.But even my calm had limits.Diana’s smug face was a match against dry wood. Every word that dripped from her mouth fed the fire I’d been trying to hold back since the moment she walked in.She stood now where she had fallen after I shoved her off the wall. Her lips bled, yet she smiled, the twisted satisfaction of someone who had already planned her next move.“You’ve made a mistake,” I said quietly, my voice low enough to make the chamber tremble.Diana tilted her head, brushing dust off her sleeve. “Oh? You mean exposing the truth?” She looked around, meeting the e
(Paige POV)The scent of smoke still clung to me.Even after the flames vanished, I could feel them, restless, alive, curling beneath my skin like something wild waiting to break free. The air in the council chamber was thick, every elder still staring at me as though I were a ghost that refused to stay buried.My legs trembled, but I refused to fall. I could feel Raymond’s hand hovering close, not touching me but near enough that his warmth steadied me. His chest rose and fell quickly, his burns still raw, his jaw tight with barely restrained fury.I wanted to reach for him. But I didn’t.Because the fire inside me was too close to the surface, and I feared what one simple touch might ignite.“Control yourself,” one of the elders whispered, though his voice shook.As if I wasn’t trying.Every heartbeat felt like thunder in my ears. My skin pulsed, hot and alive, veins glowing faintly beneath the surface. I could taste metal, the air thick with the scent of ash and blood.Inside my m
Paige POV“ Raymond blackwood”I repeated in my head, eyes wide open, my mouth slightly open enough to show how surprised I was. I was seated in front of the very famous billionaire bachelor in San Francisco , California. The one tyrant that never misses any business deal.I was in front of the gu
Paige POV My life was now a meaningless structure, a hopeless field that has lost every meaning to why it even existed in the first place.And I caused it. If I didn't open my filthy mouth to complain, maybe Ethan would still be by my side. Maybe we won't divorce each other at all.We suddenly pul
Paige POV I turned around, fuming and ready to unleash hell on whoever dared to tell me what to do, but the word cut in my throat the moment our eyes met.My eyes locked onto those icy blue eyes that stared into my soul. Tall, with broad shoulders that stretch under a perfectly tailored black coat
Paige POV Tears welled up my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest as fear enveloped me. I can't lose him. I can't bear the thought of giving him away.I didn't want to.Not after everything I had sacrificed, I couldn't just bring myself to leave him.He scoffed, stepping back like my touch was pois







