LOGINWhat the—Was that…?“Oh my god—Mom?”My heart hammered against my ribs, a painful drumbeat. Through the tangled, shadowy trees, a flicker of movement caught my eye, just at the edge of the deck's warm, yellow glow. Or perhaps it was just a trick of the light, a phantom glimpsed in the deepening dusk.A figure stood between the tree trunks. It was pale in the moonlight. The figure was slight. It looked familiar. Her hair. It looked just like hers. It was the same length. It fell over her shoulders in the same way.“Mom?” My voice cracked as I pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the protest in my ribs.She swayed, her body fragile against an unseen wind. It wasn't a graceful dance, but a desperate struggle for balance, as if her very bones had lost their will to support her. Each tilt and dip of her frame spoke of an internal battle, a silent testament to a pain that had rendered her unsteady on her feet. It was the kind of sway that hinted at bruises unseen, at muscles strained to thei
The room felt too small. Too tight. I couldn’t breathe.Phil’s voice dropped lower, rougher. “We cut our palms. Mixed blood. Spoke the binding words under the full moon.” His eyes flicked to Luka briefly before settling back on me. “It’s an old ritual. Older than most laws. It doesn’t just make someone ‘family’… it ties them to the pack’s magic.”A cold weight settled in my stomach.“What does that mean?” I asked quietly.“It means,” Luka said, his voice controlled but edged with something sharp, “you attempted to bind a human to a supernatural system that was never meant to hold them.”Phil didn’t deny it.“I was trying to save him,” he said simply.“And you might have done more than that,” Joel added, his head still bowed.I looked between them, my pulse starting to race. “More how?”Phil hesitated.That was worse than any answer.“It could have altered things,” he admitted. “Changed how magic recognized him. Changed what he… passed on.”The air left my lungs in a sharp, shaky breat
Luka helped me explain the dream of the white wolf I have had my whole life. Joel wonders if my father's passing unlocked my scent. They all figured some sort of magic was used to hide what I was. “Magic is a real thing too? How?” I asked. “So witches exist. Not in the way books and movies portray them but they do. They typically avoid conflicts between shifters and vampires. This changes if humans or the balance are affected,” Luka explained. “Why would someone need to hide what I was? What makes the white wolf so dangerous?” I asked. “You’re not just rare, Danni. You’re the kind of power that resets the board. Wolves will follow you. Enemies will hunt you. And the laws that protect everyone else? They don’t fully apply to you. You’re not part of the system… You’re what breaks it, if you choose too.” Joel explained. “White wolves are the first. They are the pure, they are not restricted to the things we are. Regardless of rank.” Luka added. “Rank?” I asked “Yes, shifters h
“Who is here?” I asked Luka, his imposing figure blocking my view, a solid wall of unwavering presence.He stood in front of me for what felt like forever. I watched the tension in his shoulders slowly ease, like he was forcing himself to relax.“It’s just the Holloways,” he finally said.I studied him. “Did you sense something else?”“No…” He shook his head slightly. “But I am uneasy about what has been going on around you. I just wanted to take an extra minute to be sure.”“Oh.” I looked down, rubbing my hands together.“You are safe here,” he added, voice firm. “Tell me if anything feels wrong. It’s better to be cautious. Vampires and others can be cunning.”The word vampires settled in my chest like a stone, but I didn’t get the chance to question it.Footsteps approached. They were steady and heavy. Thump, thump, thump. The sound echoed through the space. It filled the silence. My throat went dry.Vampires… and others?The world I knew started breaking apart. I felt a sudden, sha
The white wolf spoke with me for the first time outside of my dream the night of the fire, I explained. I continued explaining how I think she might have helped me get to my house so quickly. I figured it was like adrenaline from fear, like when a kid is hurt, and a mom could lift a car. “You know. I think you're right. The Holloways were so confused about how you got there so fast. It caused a lot of arguments among the 3 of them.” Luka mused.“And you?” I asked. What did he think of it?“I honestly didn’t care how you got there so fast. I was more concerned about you. Especially when I saw you drop. I handed your mother over to a paramedic for care. And took you from the paramedics who tried to take you.” I watched Luka’s jaw ticking when speaking about that night.“Why?” “I don’t know. Something came over me. I wouldn’t let anyone take you from my arms. I had to hand you over to the doctor.” Thankfully, Phil knew the lead man. And promised that they would take me to take you to t
Thankfully, Luka was willing to let me take the bath alone. My mind was still whirling from everything he had shared with me. How many people in my life were shifters, and I had no idea that they were. How was I a shifter? Was there a shifter among my parents? Was my dad one? Or my mom? The only reason I’m willing to hear the Holloways out right now is that they might have some of the answers to these questions I had. Among the questions I had for them. Why did they never tell me? I thought I was important, and did my parents know they were shifters? Wait, was Jess one? Maybe once I was done with my bath, I could ask. I did wonder if my parents were not shifters, how did I become one? Did that mean one or both of them were not my biological parents? I don’t know if I could handle that being true. This is too much. I wanted to drown, but I let myself soak in the warm, hot bath with lavender bubbles, and just soak my aching body.By some miracle, I wasn’t as banged up as I originally
I sat in shock from what Alex said. It took me a minute to realize Luka Stood over by me. Nose flaring. I hope it wasn’t from anything I did. “What's wrong?” I asked “You… Are… Hurt…” Luka bite out each word like it was difficult to speak. “You knew that? I was confused. He carried me out knowi
It was another 10-minute drive just to reach the cabin. I couldn’t believe it. How much of this land did he own to be able to do this? I couldn’t even fathom it. I was shocked when we reached the so-called cabin.“You call this a cabin?” I asked. I bet if I looked in the mirror, my eyes would be on
A heartbeat later, the elevator doors slid open with a soft metallic sigh. Luka stood there, framed by the warm gold light pouring from the hallway behind him. For a split second his expression was pure shock—wide eyes, frozen stance—then it shattered and reformed into something far darker. His jaw
We drove for hours, heading north—farther north than I had ever traveled in my entire life. The town I knew all my life disappeared behind us slowly, like it didn’t want to let me go, but it finally did. Everything I grew up knowing disappeared slowly into the vast forest.After we passed the last







