Mag-log inSERENA POVI sat at the kitchen table an hour later. Tobi was unconscious upstairs, breathing but exhausted, human again for now. My mother had finally come home — ten minutes of crying, ten more of apologizing, twenty of point-blank refusing to answer a single question I asked her.I was done being patient."Enough."My mother looked up, eyes still red-rimmed. "You kept secrets from me my entire life," I said, before she could speak first."I was trying to protect you."I laughed, and it came out bitter and sharp, nothing like a real laugh at all. "Everyone says that. Kael says it. You say it. His father apparently said it from beyond the grave. Nadia's mother disappeared because of it." I planted both hands flat on the table. "And somehow every single person in my life thinks protecting me means lying straight to my face."My father sat there silently, and I turned on him next."You knew Tobi wasn't ordinary.""Yes.""You knew about werewolves.""Yes.""You knew about Kael's family.
The growl came again.It came from inside my family home. Deep. Animalistic. Wrong. My mother's last words were still ringing in my ears — Tobi just shifted — and I stared at the front door like it might change what waited on the other side if I looked hard enough.My hand was still clutching the phone."Mum?"Nothing. The call had already ended. I tried calling back and got voicemail on the first ring, like the line had been cut somewhere between her mouth and mine."Tobi?"No answer.I pushed the door open. The sitting room was wrecked — a chair overturned, the glass table shattered into a spray of shards across the carpet, one of my father's newspapers soaking dark red on the floor. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt."Dad?"Still nothing. Then something crashed upstairs, and I ran without thinking, because thinking was a luxury I didn't have."Dad!"I hit the hallway and stopped dead. My father stood outside Tobi's bedroom, shirt torn, blood on his forehead, a silver
SERENA POVI left the house before my parents could stop me. I needed air. Space. Something that didn't smell like secrets.My friend Mia had texted earlier, asking me to meet her at a small café near the shopping district. I'd almost ignored it. Then I remembered the six-month plan I'd made before my life became a conspiracy — my fashion brand, my financial independence, my life outside Kael's pack. I couldn't let it all disappear just because my world was unraveling at the seams.Mia stood outside the café in a bright yellow dress, holding two iced drinks. She looked me up and down."You look like you've fought three men and lost to all of them.""Only two men and one wolf, thank you very much. Get the count right."She stared at me, unimpressed by my precision. "That's not better.""It's marginally better."I took the drink from her. "Don't ask.""I wasn't going to.""You absolutely were about to.""Fine. I was. Sue me — I care about you, it's a character flaw."We went inside. For
SERENA POVThe floor stopped shaking, but nobody in the council chamber moved.I was still staring at Adrian.'I think the first heir is my father.'The words kept repeating inside my head. His father. The boy in the photograph. The asset in the company records. The hidden heir beneath the Blackwood territory. None of it made sense."Your father?" Kael asked, voice flat and dangerous. Adrian swallowed. "I said I think—""You don't get to think when we're talking about something connected to my pack."His eyes flashed gold. I stepped between them before the tension could become another fight. "Both of you, stop."Kael looked at me. Adrian looked at me. For once, neither man immediately argued.I turned toward Nadia. "I need to leave." Her eyebrows drew together. "Leave where?""My family."Kael's expression tightened. "Serena, the territory is under threat.""And my family has been dragged into this mess since before I even knew werewolves existed." I looked at the documents scattered
Chaos erupted.The council members pushed away from the table. The guards surrounded Adrian. Kael moved in front of me again."Everyone stay back!"Adrian's body convulsed. His fingers dug into the stone floor. Black lines began spreading from his neck toward his jaw. Nadia backed away. "What is happening to him?"Kael didn't answer. He was staring at Adrian with an expression I had never seen before. Recognition. Fear. And something dangerously close to hatred.Adrian's head snapped toward him. "Blackwood blood…" His voice echoed unnaturally through the room. "Still guarding the cage."Kael's claws extended. "Who are you?"Adrian's lips pulled into a smile. "The boy who watched his father bury the truth."Kael lunged. I grabbed his arm. "Don't!"He turned toward me. "Get away from him!""He's not in control!""Neither am I!"The admission silenced me. Kael was trembling. His Frenzy was rising faster than before. His eyes remained fixed on Adrian, but I could see his attention splitti
"Pregnant?" Kael's voice barely reached me. Yet the entire council chamber heard it. I stood in the middle of the room with my hand pressed against my stomach, wishing the floor would open and swallow me. Adrian stared at me. Kael stared at me. And every werewolf in the chamber waited for my answer. My mouth went dry. "Serena," Kael said again. This time, there was something different in his voice. Not anger. Not yet. Fear. I turned toward him. "Kael…" Adrian stepped forward. "You didn't tell him?" Kael's head moved sharply in his direction. "Shut your mouth." Adrian stopped. I wanted to scream at both of them. I wanted to run. I wanted to turn back time to the moment I had first answered Adrian's message and convince myself that I had never needed his money, his attention, or the false security he offered. But the past didn't care about my regrets. It had followed me into the council chamber. And now it was standing in front of my husband. "I was going to tell you," I







